A collection of letters to the children of Amos Lawrence. Edited by his son, William R. Lawrence M.D. During the 1850s, Amos Lawrence was deeply interested and involved in the political and social issues of the day. In both 1856 and 1860, he was nominated for the governorship of Massachusetts by the American Party, but declined. In 1860, he ran for governor on the Constitutional Union ticket, but was defeated. In 1862, Lawrence was authorized by Massachusetts Governor John A. Andrew to raise a battalion that became known as the 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry.