Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

Follett, Foster & Company to Abraham Lincoln, 26 June 18581

FOLLETT, FOSTER & CO.,
Publishers, Printers and Book-Binders,
COLUMBUS, OHIO.
June 26/58Dear Sir,
We forward you herewith a copy of M^r Giddings new book, the Exiles of Florida.2

The work is purely historical and by disclosing the objects and causes of the Florida Wars, in which so much blood, and treasure have been expended, it is hoped by the author in some degree to elevate, and purify the political morality of the country.3

The facts are drawn from reliable sources in most cases from the archives at Washington— and whatever view the reader may have of the authors purposes we think he will readily agree that there is a charm in the work rarely found in historical publications.4

We hope your time will admit of your giving the book a discriminating examination, and shall be pleased to receive your impression of its probable usefulness, we, think that its wide circulation will do much toward the tearing down of the "Democracy"5
Yours very Resp^y[Respectfully]Follett & Foster Co.Hon. Abram Lincoln,SpringfieldIll

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[Envelope]

FOLLETT, FOSTER & CO.,
Publishers, Printers, and Book-Binders,
COLUMBUS, OHIO.
Hon. Abram Lincoln.SpringfieldIlls

[ docketing ]
Lincoln, Abraham (President)

[~~R. Morely~~?]6

1An unknown person wrote this letter and signed on behalf of Follet & Foster Company.

2The full title of Joshua R. Gidding's book is The Exiles of Florida: or, The Crimes Committed by Our Government Against the Maroons, who Fled from South Carolina and Other Slave States, Seeking Protection Under Spanish laws.

3The work focuses on the First (1816-1818) and Second (1835-1843) Seminole wars. Giddings, an abolitionist, defines the exiles as the enslaved persons of African and Native American descent who fled to Spanish Florida and later theFlorida Territory to become free under Spanish law. Enslaved people often ended up in territory claimed by the Seminole Nation, leading to tension between the United States and the slaveholders, who launched cross-borders raids to regain their slaves. These skirmishes eventually lead to war between the U.S. Army and the Seminole. Giddings describes the result of the Florida migration and the U.S. Government's response: "At a time of profound peace, our army, acting under the direction of the Executive, invaded Florida, murdered many of these free men, and brought others to the United States and consigned them to slavery."
Joshua R. Giddings, The Exiles of Florida: or, The Crimes Committed by Our Government Against the Maroons, who Fled from South Carolina and Other Slave States, Seeking Protection Under Spanish laws (Columbus, OH: Follet, Foster, 1858), v, 44, 315.

4Giddings defined as the object of his book, "to expose fraud, falsehood, treachery, and other crimes of public men, who have prostituted the powers of Government to the perpetration of murders, at the contemplation of which our humanity revolts." He obtained his sources—official reports, orders, and letters—through his position as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Claims.
Joshua R. Giddings, The Exiles of Florida, vi; Western Reserve Chronicle (Warren, OH), 28 April 1858, 2:3.

5No letters from Abraham Lincoln regarding this book have been found, either to Follet, Foster & Company or to Joshua R. Giddings.

6This docketing was written by Lincoln and stricken out. The identification of R. Morely is unknown.