Use Restrictions

Public Domain. There are no known restrictions.

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Alternative Form Available

This collection has been digitized and is available to view here.

Preferred Citation

Letter from Senator James M. Mason to U.S. Secretary of State William Marcy, C0367, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

The donor is unknown.

Processing Information

Reprocessing completed by Amanda Brent in July 2019. EAD markup completed by Amanda Brent in July 2019.

Biographical Information

James Murray Mason, born on November 3, 1798, was a U.S. Senator, representing Virginia from 1847 - 1861. Mason vehemently supported southern states' interests, introducing the Fugitive Slave Act on January 4, 1850, which eventually was passed. Upon the advent of the Civil War, he joined the Confederacy, and was eventually expelled from the Senate. Mason was a key player in the Trent Affair, in which the U.S. arrested him and former Senator John Slidell for acting as diplomats to Europe from the Confederacy. After his release from prison, he continued to represent the Confederacy until its downfall, and then resided in Canada until 1868. He then returned to Virginia, passing away April 28, 1871.

Scope and Content

Letter from Senator James M. Mason to U.S. Secretary of State William Marcy, written August 14, 1855. The bulk of the letter reads as follows: "Will the Secretary of State oblige me, by causing the [illegible] letters to Mr. Mason [ampersand] Mr. Buchanan, to be sent with next mails for his departure."

Arrangement

This is a single item collection.

Related Material

The Special Collections Research Center holds other items related to the Mason family, including the Mason family manuscript account book and the George Mason letters to John Augustine Washington III. It also holds the Letter from Senator James M. Mason to U.S. President James Buchanan.

The Virginia Military Institute holds the James M. Mason papers. The Library of Virginia holds the James M. Mason Papers.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Correspondence
• United States. Congress. Senate