Lot 8

James Buchanan As Pres. Requests Survey Estimate of U.S. Coastlines Prior to Vetoing MI Navigation & Commerce Appropriation, Ex-Christie's

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James Buchanan As Pres. Requests Survey Estimate of U.S. Coastlines Prior to Vetoing MI Navigation & Commerce Appropriation, Ex-Christie's

Estimate: $1,500 - $2,000

Current Bid: $500

(1 Bid)

by University Archives
July 28, 2026 10:00 AM EDT
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Wilton, CT, US 06897

James Buchanan
Washington, DC, December 29, 1859
James Buchanan As Pres. Requests Survey Estimate of U.S. Coastlines Prior to Vetoing MI Navigation & Commerce Appropriation, Ex-Christie's
ALS

A 1p autograph letter signed by sitting 15th U.S. President James Buchanan (1791-1868), as "James Buchanan" at lower right. December 29, 1859. Washington, D.C. Inscribed on a single sheet of laid watermarked paper, probably once bifold but now neatly sheared along the left edge. Expected wear including flattened paper folds and light, even toning. A minor water stain is located at lower left and affects a few letters of Buchanan's correspondent's name, just above a tiny professionally restored hole. Else near fine. Trimmed to an overall size of 6.25" x 8". Provenance: Ex-Christie's, Sale 1840, Lot 54 (May 2007); comes with its original sleeve affixed with Christie's sticker.

President Buchanan addressed this letter to Alexander Dallas Bache (1806-1867), a former army engineer who currently served as Superintendent of the U.S. Coast Survey. Under Bache's able administration, Congressional confidence in the Survey bureau increased, leading to more prestige and allocated project funding. Ultimately, Bache served as Superintendent of the U.S. Coast Survey for over 20 years, from 1843-1867, and reported to seven presidents including Buchanan, from Polk to Andrew Johnson. In this letter, President Buchanan requested that Bache provide him with an estimate of the total number of miles of U.S. coast on both seaboards and in the Great Lakes region.

Buchanan wrote in full:

"Washington 29 December 1859.

My dear Sir,

I would thank you to furnish me an estimate of the number of miles of our coast along the Atlanta, Pacific + Lakes. Of course I do not expect accuracy; because I know you can only approximate to it. I desire, however, to use the estimate in a message + it would be well to make it as accurate as possible.

from your friend
very respectfully

James Buchanan

A.D. Bache, Esq."

Buchanan explains that Bache's estimates will be used "in a message" to Congress. He does not stipulate which message, but it was probably used in Buchanan's Pocket Veto of "An act making an appropriation for deepening the channel over the St. Clair flats, in the State of Michigan," delivered before the U.S. Senate on February 1, 1859, just five weeks after writing this inquiry to Bache. The bill proposed deepening the channel over the St. Clair Flats, at an intersection of rivers, wetlands, and Lake St. Clair in southeastern Michigan near the U.S./Canada border. Deepening the channel would facilitate navigation and promote commerce, the act sponsors contended.

Buchanan cites a statistic in the "St. Clair flats" veto message that almost certainly came from Bache's office, viz.: "According to the best estimate, our immense coast on the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific, and the Lakes embraces more than 9,500 miles, and, measuring by its indentations and to the head of tide water on the rivers, the distance is believed to be more than 33,000 miles…" Buchanan deployed this data to show that it was fiscally irresponsible, as well as impractical and unconstitutional, to secure appropriations for all the other states that might ask for similar federal grants once Michigan had set a precedent.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 6.25" x 8"
  • Medium: ALS

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Bid Increments
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$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000