“The Kansas-Nebraska Act... has been made subject of so much excitement so as to shut out public view all other questions... and has contrived to tinge all legislation with the black defilement....”

“I believe the provisions of the Nebraska Bill were honestly intended to allay the slavery excitement, and and notwithstanding the present stormy aspect of the political horizon; I believe the abolition cloud, that is beating upon it, will blow itself away by the mere wind and dust of its own fierce and diabolical spirit.”

MORSE, SAMUEL F.B. (1791-1872). American artist and inventor of the electric telegraph and Morse code. Superb Autograph Letter Signed, “Samuel F.B. Morse.” Two full pages, quarto. Poughkeepsie, New York, November 1, 1854. Traces of mounting on verso, else very fine condition. To “S.M. Dorr, Esq., Chatham 4 Comers.” Morse writes:

“In reply to your query, ‘Do you, or do you not approve of the legislation of the last Congress, in the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and the Territorial Government bills of Nebraska and Kansas?’—I would say, that with the intent to examine coolly and dispassionately into the merits of the Nebraska bill since I have been called upon to give an opinion, I must say that on reading the exposition of the reporter of the bill Judge Douglas, I am entirely at a loss, on any rational view of its provisions, to account for the opposition and obloquy which this measure has encountered. What my views may be from a more extended examination of the whole subject, I cannot say. But at present, certainly, I see no just cause for the clamor and savage denunciation with which this measure has been assailed. If I have understood rightly its intent, it is to place just such limits to the extension and existence of Slavery in any and all parts of the country, as enlightened public opinion will create, and so fast as it is created. And the main intention of those who favored the bill was a more complete pacification of the country than could be brought about by the Missouri Compromise virtually repealed, not by the Nebraska Act, but by the Compromise Bill of 1850. Whatever may have been the temporary result in this respect, I have no doubt that this was the honest design of Mr. Douglas, and of the Administration. How it has been made subject of so much excitement so as to shut out of public view all other questions, some of vastly more general importance, and has contrived to tinge all legislation with the black defilement, I cannot conceive. I believe the provisions of the Nebraska bill were honestly intended to allay the Slavery excitement, and notwithstanding the present stormy aspect of the political horizon; I believe the abolition cloud, that is beating upon it, will blow itself away by the mere wind and dusts of its own fierce and diabolical Spirit. Respectfully, your obedient servant, Samuel F.B. Morse. P.S. I send herewith a pamphlet [not present] written as you will see by my brother S.E. Morse of N. York. The views generally which he gives on the subject of Slavery, are in coincidence with my own. I have marked the passages which more especially accord with my own opinions.”

Sidney Finely Breese Morse, the inventor of the telegraph, was also a political aspirant, running twice for public office. His first bid for a political position occurred in 1836 when he ran unsuccessfully in the mayoral elections for New York. In 1854, Samuel Morse, then world renowned for his invention, set his sights on a seat in Congress. As in his mayoral platform, anti-abolitionist sentiment was a foundational aspect of Morse’s political views, as this letter, likely occasioned by his Congressional campaign, shows.

As America expanded during the 1800s, the issue of slavery came to occupy an increasingly central and divisive place in the nation’s political discourse. Early in the century, pro and anti slavery groups attempted to reach an amicable agreement through the passage of the Missouri Comprise. This 1820 legislation sought to settle the slavery issue for posterity by maintaining an equal number of slave and free states. Still, the national debate over slavery did not abate. Thirty years later, the issue again reached the floor of Congress, this time prompting the passage of the Compromise of 1850, a bill which carefully balanced the interests of both pro and anti slavery groups, and met with widespread approbation. As before, compromises between the pro and anti slavery factions proved tenuous at best, and the divisive issue of slavery soon reappeared on the national stage.

In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, sponsored by Stephen Douglas, repealed the Missouri Compromise and allowed settlers of Kansas and Nebraska to decide whether their respective territories would allow slavery or not. While this bill may have been “honestly intended to allay the Slavery excitement…” through popular sovereignty as Morse opines, the legislation sparked a heated political debate, and much worse. Following a peaceful vote in Nebraska, anti and pro slavery factions poured into Kansas. Over the next four years, violence marred the territory, quickly dubbed “Bleeding Kansas” by Horace Greely. Regardless of the intentions behind the act, it effectively fanned the flames of the slavery controversy, further polarizing the nation, and bringing it one step closer to the Civil War.

By the time Morse penned this virulently anti-abolitionist letter, the experimental Washington-Baltimore telegraph line was a decade old, and he was established as a central figure in the burgeoning telegraph business. Respected the world over for his invention, Morse’s possibly controversial opinions on the slavery issue had no effect on his public image. He continued to enjoy national and international prestige, and received numerous honors, most notably a grant of four hundred thousand francs from a consortium of several European governments in 1858. A truly unique and fascinating document from a less known aspect of Samuel F.B. Morse’s life.

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