Autographed Note Signed

1 page, 3.25 x 7.5 inches, no place (but almost certainly Washington, D.C.), January 31, 1860. Signed at the very beginning of the Secession Movement. Written to William Towns, clerk of the U.S. Senate, in full: "I will take 1,000 copies of the Hon. R. Toombs speech. R.W. Johnson." "Defend yourselves, the enemy is at your door!" thundered Robert Toombs from the Senate floor on January 24, 1860, the very speech that Johnson has undoubtedly requested, and the speech that historians consider the turning point in history that led to secession and ultimately the War between the States. At one point in his landmark speech, Toombs stated that Republicans "engaged in stealing our property" and this "daily committing offense against the people and property of these.states, which, by laws of Nations, are good and sufficient causes of war!" Toombs became Confederate Secretary of State and a Brigadier General who was wounded at the Battle of Antietam. Mounting stains and remnants on verso; otherwise very good condition. Democratic United States Senator (1853 - 1861) who resigned his seat to become a delegate and later Senator in the Provisional Government of the Confederate States of America. His political mentor was Robert Toombs whom he supported for Confederate President over Jefferson Davis. …