VP Beast Butler?

[Wild Bill]

Thank you for your comments, Tom. I believe much as you do on the value of debate.

I am willing to admit the problem of the Land Ordnance of 1787 and the Constitution and other examples given above. I assume that you have read Paul Finkleman's articles on this. It seems so from your argument.

However, I will stand with Roger B. Taney in seeing the Missouri Compromise 1820 as unconstitutional and the Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854 as constitutional. The Founders were not completely infallible, just mostly so. Extraterritoriality is admittedly an interpolation of Art IV Sect 2. of the Constitution of 1787, not an exact science by any means. You are correct in saying that Slavery in the Territories was the main cause of the Civil War, for this exact reason. I have a paper on this topic that is a bit much in length for the Courier on this being why the North caused the Civil War.

My new book, The Assassinators: The Trial and Hanging of JWB (available through the Surratt Society bookstore) does treat on this in abbreviated form. I plan to be at the annual meeting, unless unforeseen family matters intervene.