In this letter (marked Private) to W. I. Whitthorne, S. H. Laughlin discusses local and national politics. He touches on the possible adjournment of the U. S. House of Representatives, the state of the Native American Democratic ticket and the Whig Party, and his own efforts to promote the Democratic Party and fight the Whigs in Tennessee. He ends with a plea for funds to support his work.

Although Laughlin addresses his letter to W. I. Whitthorne, he is most likely corresponding with the Washington Curran Whitthorne who represented Tennessee in both the U. S. House of Representatives and the U. S. Senate.