No Treason. No. II. The Constitution
Boston: Published by the author, 1867. Original Wrappers. Good binding. Item #9974
Octavo. 16 pp. First edition. As issued, in self-wrappers. Stitching is perished and sections are loose; front wrapper detached, rear is tentatively attached; chipping to the margins with some brittle corners (none of this near the text); above the copyright is a 5-digit number in blue pencil, beneath that: "Lysander Spooner, Esq. / Nov. 1, 1867." We cannot verify if this is signed by Spooner or if someone has written his name—we presume the latter.
Spooner (1808-1887) was a lawyer and prominent political writer. He was an outspoken opponent of slavery writing several tracts and books, foremost among them, Unconstitutionality of Slavery (1845) and A Defence for Fugitive Slaves, against the Acts . . . of 1793 and . . . 1850 (1850). In this present tract, Spooner brings the same command of logic by which he was known in his time to argue that Southern secession and the recent war was not an act of treason. An interesting argument that also touches on the issues of Reconstruction Era, when the federal government and many citizens were looking for answers as the dust settled. This is the second pamphlet in six tracts. Sabin notes that there is no record of tracts III, IV, or V. And a note on the verso of the title of No. VI reads: "The first and second of this series were published in 1867. For reasons not necessary to be explained, the sixth is now published in advance of the third, fourth and fifth." It appears true that Nos. I, II, and VI were all published; we've found no evidence to the contrary. Sabin 89614.
Price: $300.00