DAVID R. ATCHISON - AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED 10/10/1837 CO-SIGNED BY: W. G. WILLIAMS - HFSID 31063

DAVID ATCHISON
As a plaintiff's attorney, in a breach of contract suit, the future US Senator, David Atchison signs an 8x12 brief on behalf of himself and his partner, Alexander Doniphan. Atchison, Doniphan, and close friends would have a falling out over the issue of secession, but gave their names to adjacent counties in Kansas.
Autograph Document signed: "Doniphan & Atchison/Atty for Plaintiff",[signed only by Atchison],5pages (integral leaf), 7¾x12¼. Also signed in docketing on verso "W G Williams/Clerk". Ray County, Missouri, 1837 October 10. On behalf of plaintiff Benjamin Benson, Atchison files a detailed Breach of Contract suit against defendant Alexander Bogart, claiming that Bogart had hired Benson to build a saw mill, and then failed to perform preparatory digging, to pay Benson for work performed, or to reimburse him for the cost of materials purchased. The suit demands payment to Benson of $500. ($500 in 1837 would equate to just under $10,000 in 2012.) Lawyer DAVID RICE ATCHISON (1807-1886), who began his practice of law in Liberty, Clay County, Missouri in 1829. His most famous client was Mormon leader Joseph Smith. Atchison represented Missouri in the U.S. Senate from 1843-1855, serving as President Pro Tempore of the Senate from 1846-1850 and 1852-1854.  A strong supporter of slavery, of Texas annexation, and of the Mexican War, Atchison was the bitter foe of Missouri's other Senator, fellow Democrat Thomas Hart Benton. The Atchison-Benton feud split the Party, eventually costing both men their Senate seats. Atchison played a key role in the routing of the first Transcontinental Railroad, which of course passed through Atchison, Kansas. As President Pro Tem of the Senate, Atchison was third in line for the Presidency. The terms of 11th President James K. Polk and Vice President George M. Dallas ended at noon on Sunday, March 4, 1849. President-elect Zachary Taylor, a religious man, refused to take the Oath of Office on Sunday, and he and Vice President-elect Millard Fillmore were not sworn in until noon on Monday, March 5. Therefore, historians content that Atchison was President of the United States for a 24-hour period (noon, March 4-noon, March 5). Although there was a question about his "time in office", since the Senate had been dismissed and there was no President, Vice President and President Pro Tem, Atchison was the first person sworn in on inauguration day, and, as the official President Pro Temp, he actually was President until he sworn in Vice President Millard Fillmore (who was then technically President until Taylor was sworn in). Atchison commanded a pro-Confederate Missouri militia force in the first year of the Civil War. Alexander William Doniphan (1808-1887) was Atchison's law partner from 1833, and a close friend. While serving on the staff of General Kearny during the Mexican War, Doniphan drafted the "Kearny code," a major influence on the legal system of the future state of New Mexico. The Atchison/Doniphan friendship was ruptured by the Civil War, in which Atchison supported Missouri's secession while Doniphan remained neutral. The former partners' names are attached to adjacent counties in Northeast Kansas, bordering Missouri. Two vertical and three horizontal folds. Minor tears at folds and edges. Lightly toned. Lightly creased. Lightly worn. Otherwise, fine condition.