Letter from James Buchanan to Thomas A. Goodman

Former President James Buchanan explains to Thomas A. Goodman that he will not provide the autograph of another individual. While "it is true that in the course of my life I have received letters from most of the persons you enumerate," Buchanan explains that "those of importance have been filed away and of course I should be unwilling to mutilate them." "The desire to obtain autographs seems to pervade the whole country," as Buchanan notes. Transcript included.