Letters from James Buchanan to Nahum Capen

James Buchanan writes three letters to Nahum Capen regarding the publication of President Thomas Jefferson's papers, the collapse of national political parties like the Whigs, the Compromise of 1850, the Senatorial election in Massachusetts, and the increase in sectional tensions. "Disaffection to the Union is spreading in the extreme Southern States; & should South Carolina attempt to secede, which may Heaven forbid! no man can predict the consequences," as Buchanan observes. Transcripts included.