The first letter in this letter press book concerns political affairs in the territory. The letter is addressed to Thomas Ewing, Sr., in Lancaster, Ohio, and dated Leavenworth, Kansas, August 5, 1857. Responding to his father's observations about the situation in Kansas, Ewing, Jr., wrote "I have all along regarded the attempt at an organization of a State Government, while we are a Territory, as the extreme of folly . . ." and some additional observations about the Topeka movement. Ewing "intend[ed] to stand clear of the political arena in Kansas while the leaders of the Democracy are made up of political murderers, and while the free state party is but the football for the Free soilers in the Northern States."