Longtime Missouri U.S. Senator, THOMAS H. BENTON, one-page, ALS, 7 ¾ x 9 ¾, St. Louis, Nov. 3, 1832, to unknown recipient, about the “universal scourge,” an apparent reference to the cholera outbreak, which reached St. Louis from Europe in 1832, killing 300.

“I have to thank you for the letter which Mr. Updike brought me, and to express my regret that the approach of the universal scourge soon deprived us of his company, and under circumstances that give reason to fear that we shall not have the benefit of his permanent residence among us. The cholera raged here for some days, and has threatened...for some months; at present it seems to be nearly subsided.

“I trouble you with a letter to Mr. Updike, and have the honor to be, dear sir,

“Yours most truly & faithfully,

“Thomas H. Benton”

Benton was a member of the Democratic Party and an architect and champion of westward expansion, a cause that became known as Manifest Destiny. He served in the U.S. Senate from 1821 to 1851.  He was born in North Carolina and, after being expelled from the University of North Carolina for theft, established a law practice and plantation near Nashville, Tennessee. He served as an aide to Gen. Andrew Jackson during the War of 1812. Though he owned slaves, Benton became opposed to slavery after the Mexican-American War. He also opposed the Compromise of 1850 for being too favorable to pro-slavery interests.

Folds. Toning. Scattered wrinkling. A strip of mounting adhesive remaining in the vertical left column. Letter comes with an original engraving of Benton

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