PREFATORY NOTE

  The John Jordan Crittenden papers, of which this is a Calendar,
consist of letters written to Crittenden, some law papers, principally
relating to land-title suits, and a few copies of his own letters and
speeches preserved by him and retained by his descendants. The
papers were acquired by the Library in April, 1905, from Mrs. Robert
H. Crittenden, of Frankfort, Ky.
  The depositions in lawsuits are of value for early Kentucky history.
The letters from prominent politicians and statesmen, during Critten-
den's long career in the public service, are replete with comments
on national questions and estimates of the public men of the time.
The letters of George M. Bibb, Henry Clay, Joseph H. Hawkins,
Francis P. Blair, and Anthony Butler are the most important of the
earliest correspondence; and the chief ones for the later period are
from James Barbour, William S. Archer, Samuel Smith Nicholas,
Humphrey Marshall, Orlando Brown, Robert Perkins Letcher, Alex-
ander Porter, Benjamin Watkins Leigh, Zachary Taylor, Reverdy
Johnson, Leslie Combs, Winfield Scott, James Middleton Clayton,
Abbott Lawrence, Robert Toombs, Thomas Ewing, Thomas Corwin,
Alexander H. Stephens, Robert Charles Winthrop, Amos Adams
Lawrence, and James Rogers Underwood.
  During the period of his attempted compromise, immediately before
the Civil War, the correspondence is extensive.
  The preliminary work on the Calendar was done by Mr. Wilmer R.
Leech, while an assistant in the Manuscripts Division, but now of the
State Historian's office, New York; it was completed by Mr. C. N.
Feamster, of the Manuscripts Division.
                                          GAILLARD HUrNT
                                 Chief, Divisitm of Manuscripts
  HERBERT PUTrNA
      Librarian of Congress
            Washington, November, 1912
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