This collection of letters exchanged between South Carolina Senator James Henry Hammond and prominent Maryland lawyer John H.B. Latrobe provides a unique window into the pro-slavery arguments advanced by southern politicians in the years leading up to the Civil War. Hammond, a fervent defender of slavery, engages in detailed legal and political discussions with Latrobe, who challenges many of his assumptions and offers alternative perspectives on the issues. This book is an essential resource for anyone seeking to understand the complex debates over slavery and the Union that dominated American politics in the 1850s and 1860s.

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