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Introduction
In this letter to George Turner, Dorr warns the Newport attorney not to be fooled by the lawyers representing the state. Dorr’s old political nemesis from the 1830s, Richard Ward Greene, was apparently lending a hand to John Whipple (Dorr’s former legal mentor) and Daniel Webster (former Secretary of State under President John Tyler). Dorr informs Turner that it is in the interest of the Defense for the case to be argued quickly; the Dorrite hope would only come with a continuance. Dorr references Robert Walker, former U.S. Senator from Mississippi and Secretary of the Treasury under Polk, who was assisting Turner, along with Massachusetts attorney/journalist Benjamin F. Hallett. Dorr references New York politics, referring to a multi-year campaign by reformers to petition the legislature for a constitutional convention. The legislature responded by passing such an act on May 13, 1845. New York voters approved the call for a constitutional convention at the polls that November. Towards the end of the letter, Dorr expresses pleasure at learning of the death of Brown University Professor William Giles Goddard, an old opponent of free suffrage.