Letter from the President: Stop Dorr
In a letter to Governor Samuel Ward King regarding the Dorr Rebellion of 1842, President John Tyler discusses his perspective on the situation in Rhode Island and his opinions regarding the use of troops against the people. He writes:
…I have to (inform) your Excellency that if resistance is made to the Execution of the laws of Rhode Island by such force as the Civil-People shall be unable to overcome, it will be the duty of his foremost to enforce the Constitutional guarantee- a guarantee given and adopted mutually by all the original States of which number Rhode Island was one, and which in the same way has been given and adopted by each of the states since admitted into the union… I sincerely hope however, that no such exigency may occur, and that every citizen of Rhode Island will manifest his love of peace and good order, by submitting to the laws…
This excerpt from President Tyler’s letter communicates his reluctance to use troops against the people, and also his belief that if the situation progressed it would be the Governor’s job to use necessary force to maintain order.
