YALE
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

THE

Struggle of '72.

ISSUES AND CANDIDATES

PRESENT POLITICAL CAMPAIGN:
CONTAINING
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF ALL THE CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT
AND VICE-PRESIDENT ; HISTORY AND PLATFORMS OF THE GREAT
POLITICAL PARTIES ; FACTS ABOUT PUBLIC MEN AND MEAS
URES ; REVIEW OF GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION ; THE
QUEER RECORD OF HORACE GREELEY.

EVERETT CHAMBERLIN.

EMBELLISHED WITH MANY PORTRAITS AND HUMOROUS ILLUSTRATIONS.
 * 
UNION PUBLISHING COMPANY:
165 TWENTY-SECOND STREET, CHICAGO, ILL.
26 SOUTH SEVENTH ST., PHILADELPHIA, PA.
A. L. BANCROFT & CO., SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.
1872.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872,
By E. S. DE GOLYER,
In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.

STEAM PRESS OF
OTTAWAY, BROWN & COLBERT,
7 & 9 S. Jefferson St., Chicago.

ZEESE 6c CO.
ELECTROTYPERS, Chicago.

INTRODUCTION.

The Republican party of the United States has been entrusted
with the management of the national affairs since 1861 — a pe
riod of nearly three successive Presidential terms. During that
period this party has had to meet and overcome, at almost
every step of its progress, political difficulties more serious than
any which the nation has ever known before since its birth ; and
it has met them with a success which has won the admiration of
the world. And so completely has the world identified the
Republican party with the stability and dignity of the nation>
that the prospects of its success or defeat in pending elections
have regulated the upward or downward tendencies of the na
tional securities, and such other indices as serve to show the
estimation in which a country is held abroad.
During the most of the years referred to, the Republican party
has enjoyed a complete and undisputed supremacy in all the
branches of the government — a condition of things very trying
to the virtue of a political party. It is now threatened with a
serious schism, brought about by men, some of whom have been
reckoned among our best statesmen and publicists, and sympa
thized in by a considerable portion of the thoughtful and con
servative classes of the population, the avowed object of this
schism being the reformation of serious abuses alleged to exist
in the administration of the government and the theories of
¦legislation. Is there sufficient cause to be found in the existing condi-
(5)

6 INTRODUCTION.
tion of things for the overthrow of the Republican party,
and the installation of a new dynasty, to be built chiefly of the
material of the long-dishonored Democratic party — founded,
however, upon principles, or at least upon platforms, furnished
by the disaffected Republicans ? To answer this question, or
rather to furnish the reader with material with which to answer
it for himself, is the purpose of the present volume. In the
pages which follow, the reader will find, among other things, a
History of the Republican Party with the issues it has
made and the positions which it has taken, from its origin to
the present time ; also a History of the Democratic Party,
particularly during the years when its history has been contem
poraneous with that of the Republican party ; also sketches of
the life and character of the several Candidates for Presi
dent and Vice President; also, since the main question of
next November is whether or not we shall have another term
of President Grant's administration, a brief, though we trust an
acceptably comprehensive view of the salient points of his first
term, so far as it is past ; also many other facts and ideas perti
nent to the present exciting canvass, and such as the voter
will naturally like to peruse, and lay away for reference. In
short, it has been the aim of the author (or compiler, if you
please) of this book, to furnish a useful compendium of facts
and points for the campaign. Though the reader may discover
in the manner of putting things a bias in favor of that which
now is, he will not, it is hoped, encounter any misstatement of
fact. The book is illustrated with portraits and cartoons, which
have their own peculiar momentary interest, and for which the
artist alone must have the credit, whatever it may be.
Chicago, July, 1872. E. C.

Richard J. Oglesby,   !jy

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
HISTORY OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.
Its Origin and Organization — The Philadelphia Convention of 1856 —
The First Platform — The Fremont Campaign — Lecompton — A Pro-
Slavery Constitution — The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858, Etc. -..19
CHAPTER II.
THE SAME, CONTINUED.
The Chicago Convention of i860 — Nomination of Lincoln and Hamlin
— The Platform — The Canvass — Success of the Republicans — The
South Belligerent — President Lincoln's Inaugural Address — His Cabi
net, Etc  28
CHAPTER III.
THE SAME, CONTINUED.
General History of the Party During the War — Emancipation — The
Amendments to the Constitution — The Campaign of 1864 — The Balti
more Platform — The Cleveland Convention — The Democratic Conven
tion — The Democratic Convention and Platform — The Canvass — The
Death of President Lincoln — Andrew Johnson — His Treachery and
Impeachment — Reconstruction commenced  40
CHAPTER IV.
THE SAME, CONTINUED.
The Campaign of 1868 — Nomination of Grant and Colfax by the Re
publicans — An Easy Triumph Over Seymour and Blair — Grant in the
Presidential Chair — Difficulties which he Encountered  The Ku-Klux
and the Office Seekers — Grant Astonishes the Latter by his Appoint
ments — What his Administration Accomplished  »«
(10)

CONTENTS. I I
CHAPTER V.
THE SAME, CONTINUED.
The Campaign of 1872 — Action of the Forty-Second Congress at its
Second Session — $60,000,000 Taxes Taken Off — Amnesty Extended
Greatly — Force Bill Discontinued — The House Votes to Abolish the
Franking Privilege — Everything Investigated— Call for a National
Convention — Spirit of the Party — Unanimous for Grant — The Con
vention is Held — Its Doings in Detail — Harmony and Enthusiasm —
Platform of 1872 — Grant's Letter Accepting the Nomination  66
CHAPTER VI.
THE SAME, CONTINUED.
The Legislation of the Republican Party, State and National — Sketch of
Some of the More Prominent Acts of Congress — The Constitutional
Amendments — A Brief Resume of All  102
CHAPTER VII.
ULYSSES S. GRANT — HIS MILITARY CAREER.
Early New England Ancestry — "Blood will tell" — Birth of Ulysses —
Boyhood — Life at West Point — His Part in the Mexican War — A
Brilliant Record — Twice Brevetted for Bravery and Efficiency in
Battle — Becomes a Captain and A. Q. M. — Marries and Resigns — An
Uneventid Interval — The Long Roll Sounds Again  m
CHAPTER VIII.
THE SAME, CONTINUED.
Colonel of the Twenty-first Illinois Volunteers— Brigadier General— His
Fellows of that Rank — Captures Forts Henry and Donelson — Is Pro
moted to Major General — Battle of Shiloh  -124
CHAPTER IX.
THE SAME, CONTINUED.
Rank in Command— Corinth Captured— Battle of Iuka— Desperate
Fighting at Corinth— The Rebels Out-Generaled— Grant as an Ad
ministrator— Vicksburg Striven After— Two Unsuccessful Attempts to
Reach it— Grant "Takes the Responsibility," and Wins the Most
Decisive Victory of the War  T4'

1 2 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER X.
THE SAME, CONTINUED.
Re-organization of the Army— The Slaves Emancipated— The Second
Campaign against Vicksburg— Difficulties by Water— Porter runs the
Gauntlet with his Gunboats— Attack on Grand Gulf— Battle of Port
Gibson— Vicksburg Described— Feints— The Battles of Champion
Hills— The Town Invested— The Grand Assault— The Outer Works
Carried— The Rebel Commander Capitulates— "Unconditional Sur
render" Again — Vicksburg and its Spoils — Port Hudson Too — The
Victor's Crown   -  --  -  -  l6_ 5l 5i
CHAPTER XL
THE SAME, CONTINUED.
Grant Busies Himself with Administration — Is Promoted to the Com
mand of Four Armies — Prepares to Attack Bragg at Lookout Moun
tain — Plan of the Battle — A Dashing Assault — Grant "Refuses to be
Embarrassed" — The Battle Above the Clouds — A Mighty Charge —
Phil. Sheridan Distinguishes Himself — Victory — Its Trophies — Grati
tude of the Nation      183 33 33
CHAPTER XII.
THE SAME, CONTINUED.
Created Lieutenant General — Goes to Washington to Receive his Com
mission — Two Memorable Speeches — Grant Takes Command — With
the Army of the Potomac — In the Wilderness — How he Kept Flank
ing Lee— An Alert Enemy — The Assault Upon Petersburg — A Fail
ure—The Winter, and How it Was Passed— The End Near— Grant
Discovers his Antagonist's Purpose, and Thwarts Him — Sheridan
"Pushes Things"— Lee Surrounded— He Surrenders— Collapse of the
Confederacy   !qr ,5 ,5
CHAPTER XIII.
GRANT AS PRESIDENT.
Difficulties Encountered on his Induction to the Chair of State— General
Policy of the Administration— The Will of the People Supreme 
Economy the Rule— Some Figures— Grant and the Civil Service— Im
portant Reforms— Grant Amnesty — Policy toward the Colored Race
—The Treaty with England— History of the Negotiations— Grant's
Indian Policy— The Olive Branch Armed with a Switch  2I-, t-, t_, ,

CONTENTS. 13
CHAPTER XIV.
THE SAME, CONTINUED.
Grant and the Workingmen — Grant and Education — The Postal Tele
graph System — Grant and the Colored Race — Down with Polygamy —
Grant the Immigrant's Friend — Messages in their Behalf — Rights of
Naturalized Citizens — The Houard Hubbub — Grant and San Domingo
— How would Greeley have Worked it? — Grant and the Veto Power-
Legislative Jobbery — Sumner's Vile Insinuations — Is the White House
a Military Headquarters? — Summer Put Down with a Plain Tale—
Greeley's Tributes to Grant  _  247
CHAPTER XV.
GRANT AS A MAN.
Some Personal Traits — A Glance at the White House — The President's
Daily Programme — Grant's Personal Appearance — His Habits — His
Conversation — A Little Story — His Mental and Moral Qualities — A
Friendly Portrait — How the Painter Came Afterward to be Unfriendly
— Grant and Sumner Contrasted   .269
CHAPTER XVI.
GRANT AND THE COLORED RACE.
The Real Question for the Colored Man's Consideration — Grant's Record
as to Treatment of Negroes — Early Orders, Letters, Etc. — He
Shuts Down at Donelson upon Fugitive Slave Hunters — Issues Prac
tical Military Orders in Behalf of Freedmen in Advance of the Govern
ment — Organizes the First Freedmen's Bureau — Encourages the
Formation of Negro Regiments — Favors a Negroes' Paradise at
Milliken's Bend — His Expressions as President — Appointments of
Colored Men to Office, Etc..  --  285
CHAPTER XVII.
THE SO-CALLED LIBERAL MOVEMENT.
How and When it Originated — The Grand Hobby — Attempt to Split
the Republican Party in 1868 — Trumbull's Backbone Stiffened — A
Regular Seige — Approaching the Citadel by Parallels— Sumner's
Grievance — His Ejection from the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee
— A General Misunderstanding — How it Happened — The Civil Ser
vice Purists — The Bee in Trumbull's Bonnet — The Newspaper Ring—
"WeFour and No More."  -  -3°5

14 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE SAME, CONTINUED.
The Ring Reinforced — Greeley gets a Bee in his Bonnet, too — The Pos
sum Policy of the Democrats — The Blair Family Smell the Battle Afar
off — The Movement Begins in Missouri — Some of the Pioneers — Sore
heads — The Cincinnati Convention Called — The Response — The Spring
Elections — The Democracy Weakens Perceptibly — Greeley Smiles upon
the Movement    321
CHAPTER XIX.
THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION.
The Place— Gathering of the Clans— No Concert of Action— The Tariff
Question — The Rival Candidates — Greeley's Name Received with
Laughter — The Davis Hordes — Caucuses of the Syndicate — Opening of
the Convention — A Side Show — Row in the New York Delegation —
How Greeley's Strikers Captured that Body — Flank Movements — A
Woman in the Case — Trouble, of Course— A Turbulent Session —
Permanent Organization — Carl Schurz's Speech — Good Advice which
was Not Followed  _     330
CHAPTER XX.
THE SAME, CONTINUED.
"The Apple of Discord"— Struggle Over the Tariff— The Temporary
President Demands a Free Fight— Reformers Beaten on Both Candi
date and Platform— The Balloting for President— Blair's Game-
Arrival of Gratz Brown— Greeley Forging Ahead— Schurz Denounces
Him Before the Missouri Delegation— White Might Have Saved His
Own Humiliation, but Did Not— Greeley Nominated and Blair
Triumphant— Brown Also— Chagrin of the Reformers— Their Utter
ances—Carl Schurz Plays a Plaintive Air, and the Curtain Falls  367
CHAPTER XXI.
HORACE GREELEY.
Birth of the Hero— His Youthful Experiences-A Statesman in Leading
Strings— Almost Drowned— The Mystery of Ox-yoking too Great for
Him— Apprenticed to a Printer— Migrates to New York— Makes an
impression upon a Boss Printer— Begins to Develop his Eccentricities
—His Grahamite Experience— An Eating Exploit not Down in Gra-

CONTENTS. 15
ham's Bill of Fare — Divers Instructive Anecdotes — Rise of the
"Tribune" — Greeley's Characteristics as a Journalist — What Horace
White Said of Him — Greeley Travels — His Imprisonment at Paris.. 410
CHAPTER XXII. -
GREELEY AS A FOURIERITE.
The Sage of Lackawaxen — He Espouses the Philosophy of Fourier —
What That Means — Socialism in America — Greeley as its Great
Apostle — His First Bull Run — "On to Lackawaxen" — His Colony
Fails Miserably and Calls the Members hard Names — Greeley's Utter
ances in Favor of Communism — His Discussion with Raymond  441
CHAPTER XXIII.
GREELEY AS A POLITICIAN.
His Political Life Chacterized — Greeley's First Experience at "Relegat
ing" — The Tippecanoe Campaign — The Clay Fiasco — "Isms" of the
Philosopher — In Congress — His Career as a Legislator — The Partner
ship with Seward and Weed — Greeley Indignantly Withdraws — Cause
of his Wrath — The Famous Seward Letter — Greeley Favors Secession
— Defeats Seward at Chicago — The War Comes On — "Forward to
Richmond !" — Thorning Lincoln — The Cleveland Convention — "Any
body to beat Lincoln" — Greeley Winks at the Movement — The Niagara
Falls Affair — Greeley Hobnobs with Bogus Rebel Commissioners —
Blames Lincoln and Misrepresents Him— Noble Letter of the Martyr
President — The War Ended — Greeley Does go On to Richmond —
What He Does There — Indignation of the Public — Greeley's Opinion
of Himself and Other Presidency-Hunters— Greeley and Tammany ...459
CHAPTER XXIV.
GREELEY AS A BOOK FARMER.
A Chapter Consisting of what Mr. Greeley Knows about Farming, and
which, therefore, has Nothing In It  49°
CHAPTER XXV.
IS HE FIT ?
Traits of Horace Greeley's Character— For what His Genius Fits him—
For what it Does Not — How an Honest Man Can Do Dishonest Acts

1 6 CONTENTS.
—Some Faults and How they Might be Cured — Can the Country
Afford it ?— How his One-Term Theory Kills His Own Chances— H.
G., his Plea at the Jubilee— H. G., as an Administrator— Eleven
Specific Points— Wm. C. Bryant's Portraiture of Greeley  498
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
Its Record During and Since the War — Some Nice Tidbits from the
History of Greeley's Present Allies — The Essence of their Policy Then
the Same as Now — A Democratic Club of 500,000 — Greeley's New
York Associates — Who and What They Are — Greeley the Ring Candi
dal — That Good Honest Soul — What he has Promised to do for
Them — Frank Blair as Painted by H. G. — The Southern Aristocrats,
Ditto — Some of Greeley's Western Friends — Democratic Record on
Financial Question — On Congressional Abuses — The Original Nomi
nator of H. G. — He Favors Repudiation of the Yankee War Debt
and a Return of Negroes to Slavery — A Question by H. G. in 1864 —
Will he Answer it in 1872?   _  507
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE BALTIMORE CONVENTION.
Its Composition — A Cut and Dried Affair — To Nominate or to Endorse ?
That is the Question — Organization — "Dixie" for Music — Greeley
Swallowed — Likewise the Cincinnati Platform — Delaware, Pennsyl
vania, Georgia, Remonstrate in Vain — A Sudden Adjournment.-  524
CHAPTER XXVIII.
HENRY WILSON.
His Humble Birth— Apprenticed to a Farmer— Learns the Shoemaker's
Trade After Becoming twenty-one — Pursues an Academical Course
After That — Becomes a Stump Orator — Great Success — Enters Public
Life — In the Legislature — An Ardent Free Soiler — An Editor for Two
Years — Chosen United States Senator in 1855 — His Career in the
Senate— Challenged by Bully Brooks— Service on the Military Commit
tee — Joins the Army — His Labors for the Colored Race — Why He
Would Not Join the Workingmen's Party — An Answer Worth Reading
— A Busy Career    _  -,_

CONTENTS 1 7
CHAPTER XXIX.
BENJAMIN GRATZ BROWN.
Of Aristocratic Family — Graduates at Yale — Studies Law — Moves to St.
Louis — Cultivates the Germans — Goes to the Legislature — Starts the
"Democrat" — Elected to the United States Senate — Governor of Mis
souri — His Characteristic Traits — A Habitual Bolter and Extremist 
How he Doubled on his Track as to Amnesty — Brown and the School-
ma'ams — Some of his Flights Accounted for  540
APPENDIX.
Greeley's Letter of Acceptance — Henry Wilson's ditto — Scraps fiom
Greeley's Paper — A Secessionist through 1860-01-62 — Converted to
Republicanism — Eulogizes Grant's Administration Repeatedly — What
the Tribune Said for Grant in 1870 and 1871 — Sumner's Falsehood
Concerning Stanton Exposed — " Bayonet Legislation " — Of What it
Consists — The New Tax Law — Burdens Lifted from the People — Elec
tion Statistics — National and State Governments — Presidential Tickets
in the Field — Sumner Rebuked by a Fellow-Abolitionist — Greeley's
Intrigues with the Democracy — The Two Charges against Grant — Ne
potism   --  549

HISTORY OF THE
t^ejmblicikq cPkrty.

CHAPTER I.

Its Origin and Organization — The Philadelphia Convention of 1856 — The
First Platform — The Fremont Campaign — Lecompton — A Pro-Slavery
Constitution — The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858, Etc.
In its origin the Republican party was a develop
ment into organized form of the principles of free
dom. In its organization it was the fusion of polit
ical elements which had always before refused to
coalesce. In the year 1852 there were three par
ties in the Union, presenting three presidential
tickets to the American people. These were the
Democratic, the Whig, and the Free Soil parties.
In that year the Democratic party gained an over
whelming victory, carrying a large majority of the
popular suffrage, and all the votes of the electoral
college except those of Massachusetts, Vermont,
Kentucky, and Tennessee. Under this crushing
defeat the Whig party was destroyed.
During the administration of President Pierce,
2 (19)

20 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
who had been elected in 1852, an event occurred
which greatly aroused the country, and broke up
old party ties. This was the introduction and pas
sage by Congress of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill,
repealing the famous Missouri Compromise of
1820. Large numbers of Democrats, especially
throughout all the Northern States, refused to sus
tain this measure, and the Democratic party, so
triumphant in 1852, almost everywhere met with
disastrous defeat in the elections of 1854. This
defeat would, doubtless, have been even more dis
astrous but for the fact that the disruption of par
ties, caused by the elections of 1852 and the Kan
sas-Nebraska Bill, had been too recent' to allow the
organization of a permanent political party. There
appears to be a temporary necessity for a " make
shift " organization, and this was found in the "Know
Nothing" party. Of a narrow creed and with
secret workings, it was necessarily of short
duration. Meantime, the anti-slavery discussion of the
Abolitionists had been doing its perfect work. The
Abolitionists had for many years received the
hearty moral sympathies of many of the purest
and ablest men in the old Whig and Democratic
parties. The literature and the best journalism of
the country were long thus in moral sympathy with
what was generally denounced in political circles
as " crazy fanaticism." A novel of great literary
merit and wonderful popularity — Mrs. Stowe's
"Uncle Tom's Cabin" — had taught the people to

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 21
believe in the gross political immorality of slavery.
And hence there was a logical fitness, and appar
ent national necessity for the formation of a party
to be built upon the broad basis of freedom. And
it was upon this broad basis, large numbers of peo
ple being now ready therefor, that the Republican
party was organized early in 1856. The applica
tion of the doctrine was not in the abolition of sla
very, but in its confinement to the localities in
which it then existed. This involved no breach of
fundamental law, and tended to accomplish two
great beaefits: First, the dedication of our vast
Western domain to freedom ; secondly, the destruc
tion of the political despotism of the Slave Power.
The first great triumph of the party was in the
admission of Kansas as a free State ; and this was
a most refreshing demonstration — that the political
despotism of the Slave Power had received a mor
tal wound. FULLY ORGANIZED AT PHILADELPHIA.
But before this the party had been regularly
organized in national convention. Much, also, had
been done toward its organization in some of the
states during the years 1854 and 1855. Its first
national convention was held at the city of Pitts
burgh, Penn., February 2 2d, 1856. An address
written by Henry J. Raymond, the editor of the
New York Times, was adopted, but no nominations
were made. The regular nominating convention
assembled at Philadelphia, on the following 17th

22 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
of June, a fortnight after the Democratic party had
nominated James Buchanan and John C rirecic-
inridge for the Presidency and Vice-Presidency, at
a convention held in the city of Cincinnati Uver
the Philadelphia convention the Hon. Henry b.
Lane, of Indiana, presided. It was a large enthu
siastic and harmonious gathering. John C. Fre
mont of California, was nominated candidate for
President, and Wm. L. Dayton, of New Jersey, for
Vice-President, each on the first ballot. The con
vention also adopted a platform of which the fol
lowing is a copy :
PHILADELPHIA PLATFORM OF 1 856.
" This Convention of Delegates, assembled in pursuance of a call addressed
to the people of the United States, without regard to past political differ
ences or divisions, who are opposed to the repeal of the Missouri Comprom
ise, to the policy of the present Administration, to the extension of slavery
into free territory; in favor of admitting Kansas as a free State, of restoring
the action of the Federal Government to the principles of Washington and
Jefferson, and who propose to unite in presenting candidates for the office of
President and Vice-President, do resolve as follows :
"Resolved, that the maintenance of the principles promulgated in the
Declaration of Independence and embodied in the Federal Constitution is
essential to the preservation of our republican institutions, and that the Fed
eral Constitution, the rights of the States, and the union of the States, shall
be preserved.
•' Resolved, That with our republican fathers we hold it to be a self-evident
truth, that all men are endowed with the inalienable rights to life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness, and that the primaiy object and ulterior
designs of our Federal Government were to secure these rights to all persons
within its exclusive jurisdiction ; that as our republican fathers, when they
had abolished Slavery in all our national territory, crdained that no person
should be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law,
it becomes our duty to maintain this provision of the Constitution against
all attempts to violate it for the purpose of establishing Slavery in any terri
tory of the United States, by positive legislation, prohibiting its existence or
extension therein. That we deny the authority of Congress, of a territorial

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 2_J
legislature, of any individual or association of individuals, to give legal exist
ence to Slavery in any territory of the United States, while the present Con
stitution shall be maintained.
" Resolved, That the Constitution confers upon Congress sovereign power
over the territories of the United States for their government, and that in
the exercise of this power it is both the right and the duty of Congress to
prohibit in the territories those twin relics of barbarism — Polygamy and
Slavery. "Resolved, That while the Constitution of the United States was ordained
and established by the people in order to form a more perfect Union, estab
lish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense,
and secure the blessings of liberty, and contains ample provisions for the
protection of life, liberty and property of every citizen, the dearest constitu
tional rights of the people of Kansas have been fraudulently and violently
taken from them — their territory has been invaded by an armed force — spu
rious and pretended legislative, judicial and executive officers have been set
over them, by whose usurped authority, sustained by the military power of
the Government, tyrannical and unconstitutional laws have been enacted
and enforced — the rights of the people to keep and bear arms have been
infringed — test oaths of an extraordinary and entangling nature have been
imposed as a condition of exercising the right of suffrage and holding office —
the right of an accused person to a speedy and public trial by an impartial
jury has been denied — the right of the people to be secure in their persons,
houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures has
been violated — they have been deprived of life, liberty, and property with
out due process of law — that the freedom of speech and of the press has
been abridged — the right to choose their representatives has been made of
no effect— murders, robberies, and arsons have been instigated and encour
aged, and the offenders have been allowed to go unpunished — that all these
things have been done with the knowledge, sanction, and procurement of
the present Administration, and that for this high crime against the Consti
tution, the Union, and Humanity, we arraign the Administration, the Pres
ident, his advisers, agents, supporters, apologists and accessories, either
before or after the facts, before the country and before the world, and that it
is our fixed purpose to bring the actual perpetrators of these atrocious out
rages, and their accomplices, to a sure and condign punishment hereafter.
" Resolved, That Kansas should be immediately admitted as a State of the
Union, with her present free Constitution, as at once the most effectual way
of securing to her citizens the enjoyment of the rights and privileges to
which they are entitled, and of ending the civil strife now raging in her
territory. " Resolved, That the highwayman's plea, that • might makes right,' embod
ied in the Ostend Circular, was in every respect unworthy of American

24 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
diplomacy, and would bring shame and dishonor upon any Government or
people that gave it their sanction.
'¦' Resolved, That a railroad to the Pacific Ocean, by the most central and
practicable route, is imperatively demanded by the interests of the whole
country, and that the Federal Government ought to render immediate and
efficient aid in its construction, and, as an auxiliary thereto, the immediate
construction of an emigrant rout_ on the line of the railroad.
Resolved, That appropriations by Congress for the improvement of rivers
and harbors, of a national character, required for the accommodation and
security of our existing commerce, are authorized by the Constitution, and
justified by the obligation of Government to protect the lives and property
of its citizens."
THE CAMPAIGN.
The action of the convention was heartily sus
tained by the Republican party, which had now
become well organized in all the non-slaveholding
States, and numbered many adherents in the bor
der slave States. The campaign was characterized
by great enthusiasm on the part of the Republi
cans. Their journals were crowded with accounts
of mass meetings in various parts of the country.
The current events in Kansas, in a state of civil
war, were calculated to arouse the public feeling to
the highest pitch ; and, in fact, did so. So when
the election came on, in November, it was found
that Fremont and Dayton had carried all the New
England States, New York, Ohio, Michigan, Wis
consin, and Iowa, and large popular votes in all the
other Northern States. The popular votes of the
Republican party, at its first presidential election
numbered 1,341,264. James Buchanan, the Dem
ocratic candidate, was chosen President, but Mil
lard Filmore, the " American " candidate, received
the vote of Maryland and nearly nine hundred

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.

25

thousand popular votes in the thirty-one States
which then composed the Union. Mr. Buchanan,
therefore, was in a popular minority, though receiv
ing a large majority of the votes in the electoral
college. "LECOMPTON."
The event of most political significance, perhaps,
which occurred during the administration of Presi
dent Buchanan, was the attempt to force slavery
into Kansas, against the will of the people, under
what was known at the time as " the Lecompton
Constitution" — an instrument representing fraud
and force only. Against this policy the illustrious
Stephen A. Douglas, Senator from Illinois, revolted,
and with undisguised indignation assailed the admin
istration. In this he was most heartily in accord
with the Republican party, which, with his great
aid, was enabled herein to achieve a memorable
victory. It was not until some years after this,
however, that Kansas was admitted into the Union.
THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES.
The discussion of the Lecompton Constitution
in Congress gave rise to two important events.
First, it caused a division in the Democratic party
which continued through the following presiden
tial campaign ; and, secondly, it was the indirect
cause of that remarkable series of debates between
Senator Douglas and Abraham Lincoln in 1858,
through which the latter became first honorably

26 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
known to the American public generally, thereby
gaining a national renown, without which his nom
ination for the Presidency in i860 would have been
impossible. On account of the plucky revolt of
Senator Douglas against the administration in the
Kansas affair, not a few Republicans and Republi
can journals of note in the country thought that he
ought to be returned to the Senate by the Illinois
Legislature to be chosen in 1858. The Republi
cans of Illinois were not of this opinion, and in
their State Convention of that year did the unu
sual thing of actually nominating Mr. Lincoln as
candidate for United States Senator. It was upon
this occasion that Mr. Lincoln delivered that great
speech, new become historical, beginning with this
remarkable exordium :
" Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention :
" If we could first know where we are and whither we are tending, we
could better judge what to do and how to do it. We are now far into the
fifth year since a policy was initiated with the avowed object and confident
promise of putting an end to slavery agitation. Under the operation of that
policy, that agitation not only has not ceased, but has constantly augmented.
In my opinion it will not cease until a crisis shall have been reached and
passed. ' A house divided against itself cannot stand.' I believe this gov
ernment cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not
expect the Union to be dissolved ; I do not expect the house to fall : but I
expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the
other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it,
and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the
course of ultimate extinction ; or its advocates will push it forward till it
shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new— North as well
as South."
Mr. Lincoln's demonstration of the tendency of
the government to the latter condition through
the operation of the Nebraska Doctrine and the

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 27
Dred Scot Decision, was profound, unanswerable.
The speech startled the convention, and, published
in all the leading journals, made a profound impres
sion throughout the republic. It served as text for
many a political harangue during subsequent cam
paigns, and it at once taught the country that if
Senator Douglas did not have his equal in debate
on the floor of the Senate, he would find him in this
till then comparatively unknown lawyer of Illinois.
He did, in fact, soon return home from Washington,
and made a speech in the city of Chicago, in reply
to Mr. Lincoln's Springfield address. To this, Mr.
Lincoln speedily rejoined, and soon afterwards
arrangements were made for a series of joint
debates between these two celebrated men. It is
certain that no State campaign was ever more ani
matedly conducted, or attracted more general atten
tion. On those days when these great disputants
were not engaged in joint discussion, they addressed
large audiences in independent meetings, and all
Illinois rang with their argumentation and elo
quence. Through the elaborate reports of the
newspaper press, the whole country listened, and
with eager interest, to the joint debates. At their
conclusion Abraham Lincoln was universally
acknowledged to be among the ablest of American
thinkers and speakers. His fame was exalted and
national.

CHAPTER II.
HISTORY OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.
(CONTINUED.)
The Chicago Convention of i860 — Nomination of Lincoln and Hamlin —
The Platform — The Canvass — Success of the Republicans — The South
Belligerent — President Lincoln's Inaugural Address — His Cabinet, Etc.
Lincoln was, however, defeated for the Senate,
Mr. Douglas being again elected by the Legisla
ture. But when the National Convention of the
Republican party assembled at Chicago in i860, it
was at once discovered that Mr. Lincoln was a for
midable candidate for the Presidency. He had
friends and admirers in all parts of the country.
The convention itself was very large, while the
attendance of visitors was so great as to crowd the
city for days. The "outside pressure" for Mr. Lin
coln was tremendous. He was nominated on the
third ballot, amid excitement and enthusiasm the
like of which has rarely been witnessed in this
country. Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine, was chosen
for the second place on the ticket. The platform,
which, it is believed, was chiefly prepared by Hor
ace Greeley and the Hon. John A. Kasson.of Iowa,
was much more elaborate than that of 1856. As
showing the growth of the party in respect of plat
form literature, it may be well to quote the entire
document : (28)

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 29

CHICAGO PLATFORM OF i860.
" Resolved, That we, the delegated representatives of the Republican elec
tors of the United States, in Convention assembled, in discharge of the
duty we owe to our constituents and our country, unite in the following dec
laration :
" 1. That the history of the nation, during the last four years, has fully
established the propriety and necessity of the organization and perpetuation
of the Republican party, and that the causes which called it into existence
are permanent in their nature, and now, more than ever before, demand its
peaceful and constitutional triumph.
" 2. That the maintainance of the principles promulgated in the Declara
tion of Independence, and embodied in the Federal Constitution, "That all
men are created equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
inalienable rights ; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of hap
piness ; that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men,
deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed," is essential to
the preservation of our Republican institutions ; and that the Federal Con
stitution, the rights of the States, and the Union of the States, must and
shall be preserved.
" 3. That to the Union of the States this nation owes its unprecedented
increase in population, its surprising development of material resources, its
rapid augmentation of wealth, its happiness at home, and its honor abroad ;
and we hold in abhorrence all schemes for Disunion, come from whatever
source they may ; and we congratulate the country that no Republican
member of Congress has uttered or countenanced the threats of Disunion so
often made by Democratic members, without rebuke and with applause
from their political associates ; and we denounce those threats of Disunion,
in case of a popular overthrow of their ascendancy, as denying the vital
principles of a free government, and as an avowal of contemplated treason,
which it is the imperative duty of an indignant people sternly to rebuke and
forever silence.
" 4. That the maintainance, inviolate, of the rights of the States, and espe
cially the right of each State to order and control its own domestic institu
tions according to its own judgment exclusively, is essential to that balance
of powers on which the perfection and endurance of our political fabric
depends ; and we denounce the lawless invasion by armed force of the soil
of any State or Territory, no matter under what pretext, as among the grav-
est of crimes.
" 5. That the present Democratic Admistration has far exceeded onr
worst apprehensions in its measureless subserviency to the exactions of a
sectional interest, as especially evinced in its desperate exertions to force the
infamous Lecompton Constitution upon the protesting people of Kansas ; in

*0 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
construing the personal relation between master and servant to involve an
unqualified property in persons; in its attempted enforcement everywhere,
on land and sea, through the intervention of Congress, and of the Federal
Courts, of the extreme pretentions of a purely local interest ; and in its gen
eral and unvarying abuse of the power entrusted to it by a confiding people.
" 6. That the people justly view with alarm the reckless extravagance
which pervades every department of the Federal Government ; that a return
to rigid economy and accountability is indispensable to arrest the systematic
plunder of the public Treasury by favored partisans, while the recent start
ling developments of frauds and corruptions at the Federal metropolis show
that an entire change of Administration is imperatively demanded.
" 7. That the new dogma, that the Constitution, of its own force, carries
Slavery into any or all of the Territories of the United States, is a danger
ous political heresy, at variance with the explicit provisions of that instru
ment itself, with contemporaneous exposition, and with legislative and judi
cial precedent ; is revolutionary in its tendency, and subversive of the peace
and harmony of the country.
" 8. That the normal condition of all the territory of the United States, is
that ot freedom ; that as our Republican fathers, when they had abolished
Slavery in all our national territory, ordained that " no person should be
deprived of life, liberty, and property, without due process of law," it becomes
our duty, by legislation, whenever such legislation is necessary, to maintain
this provision of the Constitution against all attempts to violate it ; and we
deny the authority of Congress, of a territorial legislature, or of any indi
viduals, to give legal existence to Slavery in any Territory of the United
States. " 9. That we brand the recent re-opening of the African slave-trade, under
the cover of our national flag, aided by perversions of judicial power, as a
crime against humanity, and a burning shame to our country and age ; and
we call upon Congress to take prompt and efficient measures for the total
and final suppression of that execrable traffic.
" 10. That in the recent vetoes, by their Federal Governors, of the acts of
the Legislatures of Kansas and Nebraska, prohibiting Slavery in those Ter
ritories, we find a practical illustration of the boasted Democratic principle
of Non-intervention and "Popular Sovereignty, embodied in the Kansas-
Nebraska bill, and a demonstration of the deception and fraud involved
therein. "11. That Kansas should, of right, be immediately admitted as a State
under the Constitution recently formed and adopted by her people, and
accepted by the House of Representatives.
" 12. That, while providing revenue for the support of the General Gov
ernment by duties upon imports, sound policy requires such an adjustment
of these imposts as to encourage the development of the industrial interest

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 31
oif the whole country ; and we commend that policy of national exchanges
which secures to the working men liberal wages, to agriculture remunerative
prices, to mechanics and manufactures an adequate reward for their
skill, labor, and enterprise, and to the nation commercial prosperity and
independence. " 13. That we protest against any sale or alienation to others of the Pub
lic Lands held by actual settlers, and against any view of the Homestead
policy that regards the settlers as paupers or suppliants for public bounty ;
and we demand the passage by Congress of the complete and satisfactory
Homestead measure which has already passed the House.
"14. That the Republican party is opposed to any change in our Natural
ization Laws or any State legislation by which the rights of citizenship, hith
erto accorded to emigrants from foreign lands shall be abridged or impaired ;
and in favor of giving a full and efficient protection to the rights of all
classes of citizens, whether native or naturalized, both at home and abroad.
" 15. That appropriations by Congress for River and Harbor improve
ments of a national character, required for the accommodation and security
of an existing commerce, are authorized by the Constitution, and justified
by the obligations of Government to protect the lives and property of its
citizens. " 16. That a railroad to the Pacific Ocean is imperatively demanded by
the interest of the whole country ; that the Federal Government ought to
render immediate and efficient aid in its construction ; and that, as prelim
inary thereto, a daily overland mail should be promptly established.
" 17. Finally, having thus set forth our distinctive principles and views,
we invite the co-operation of all citizens, however differing on other ques
tions, who substantially agree with us in their affirmance and support."
THE CANVASS.
Mr. Lincoln accepted the nomination in the fol
lowing letter : Springfield, 111., May 23d, i860.
Hon. George Ashmun, President of the Republican National Con
vention: —
Sir: — I accept the nomination tendered me by the Convention over
which you presided, and of which I am formally apprised in the letter of
yourself and others acting as a Committee of the Convention for that
purpose. The declaration of principles and sentiments which accompanies your let
ter meets my approval ; and it shall be my care not to violate or disregard it
in any part.
Imploring the assistance of Divine Providence, and with due regard to

32 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
the views and feelings of all who were represented in the Convention ; to
the rights of all the States and Territories, and people of the nation ; to the
inviolability of the Constitution and the perpetual union, harmony, and
prosperity of all, I am most happy to co-operate for the practical success of
the principles declared by the Convention.
"Your obliged friend and fellow citizen, Abraham Lincoln.
Mr. Hamlin accepted the nomination for the
Vice- Presidency in a neat letter of which the fol
lowing is the concluding paragraph :
" It is to be observed in connection with the doings of the Republican
Convention, that a paramount object with us is to preserve the normal con
dition of our territorial domain as homes for free men. The able advocate
and defender of Republican principles whom you have nominated for the
highest place that can gratify the ambition of man, comes from a State which
has been made what it is by special action in that respect of the wise and
good men who founded our institutions. The rights of free labor have there
been vindicated and maintained. The thrift and enterprise which so distin
guish Illinois, one of the most flourishing States of the glorious West, we
would see secured lo all the territories of the Union ; and restore peace and-
harmony to the whole country by bringing back the Government to what it
was under the wise and patriotic men who created it. If the Republicans
shall succeed in that object, as they hope to, they will be held in grateful
remembrance by the busy and teeming millions of future ages.
"I am very truly yours, H. Hamlin."
The campaign which ensued was one of the most
memorable in the history of American politics.
The convention of the Democratic party, which
assembled at Charleston, South Carolina, failed to
agree. After fifty-seven ineffectual ballotings for
a candidate for President— Senator Douglas all
the time receiving a handsome majority, but not
the necessary two-thirds,— the convention of storms
adjourned for other storms at Baltimore. There
Mr. Douglas was nominated, but the seceding del
egations of several States nominated John C
Breckinridge for President, and Joseph Lane of

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 33
Oregon, for Vice-President. Herschel V. Johnson,
of Georgia, was the Douglas candidate for Vice-
President, Benjamin Fitzpatrick, of Alabama, hav
ing declined the nomination of the convention.
The "Constitutional Union Party" nominated
John Bell, of Tennessee, for President and Edward
Everett, of Massachusetts, for Vice-President. Thus
the campaign of i860 was a quadrilateral contest.
The Charleston convention and that which nomi
nated Messrs. Bell and Everett had been held
before that which placed Mr. Lincoln in nomina
tion. Hence the campaign at once opened with
" thundering all around the skies."
The members of the Chicago convention had
not departed for their homes without seeing an im
mense procession of " Wide Awakes " parading the
streets, with music, and banners and torches. In
an incredibly short space of time similar organiza
tions were formed in all parts of the North, and
everywhere the Republicans went to work with
earnest good will to elect their candidates. A sin
gular interest was added to the campaign by the
fact that Senator Douglas himself went upon the
rostrum, and in a series of speeches to immense
audiences, assailed the policy of the Republicans
and the Breckinridge wing of the Democratic party.
It was clear, however, to the careful observer, that
Senator Douglas, despairing of his own election,
desired the election of Mr. Lincoln, and at last
only labored to control the organization of the

34 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
party of which he had so long been a prominent
member Of the 315 votes of the electoral college, Mr.
Lincoln received 180, Mr. Breckinridge 72, Mr.
Bell 39, and Mr. Douglas 12. The States which
sustained the Republican cause were : Maine,
New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
Connecticut, Vermont, New York, New Jersey,.
(casting for electoral votes four Lincoln and Ham
lin, three for Douglas and Johnson,) Pennsylvania,
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin.
California, Minnesota, Oregon. Breckinridge and
Lane received the votes of Delaware, Maryland,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Missis
sippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Texas. Virginia,
Kentucky and Tennessee voted for Bell and Ever
ett. In addition to the three votes from New Jer
sey, Douglas and Johnson received the nine votes
of Missouri. Of popular votes Lincoln and Ham
lin received 1,857,610; Douglas and Johnson,
M^^6; Breckinridge and Lane, 847,553 ; Bell
and Everett, 590,631. The Republicans every
where received the intelligence of their triumph
with manifestations of enthusiastic delight.
THE SOUTH BELLIGERENT.
It was received, however, with very different feel
ings in the South. On the very day after the elec
tion the "Southern Confederacy" was cheered in
the city of Charleston, and the " palmetto flag " was
raised on shipping in the harbor. Before Mr L"

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 35
coin had been inducted into office, several States
had undertaken formally to secede from the Union;
several members of President Buchanan's cabinet
had resigned, some in the interest of secession,
others because of their disgust at Mr. Buchanan's
alleged imbecility and indecision ; a number of
Southern Senators and Representatives in Con
gress had retired from the halls, " pride in their
port, defiance in their eye ;" large quantities of pub
lic property had been captured by the Secession
ists ; a large Union army had been surrendered by
a faithless general; the South below the border
States was practically in armed rebellion, under the
"Confederate" Government, against the Union.
All this before the President-elect had uttered a
word in justification of the opinion that his admin
istration would be in any unlawful respect revolu
tionary or hostile to the South.
president Lincoln's inaugural address.
It was under these unhappy circumstances, that
the first Republican national administration as
sumed control of the Government. President Lin
coln's Inaugural Address was a model of modera
tion, forbearance, statesmanship, courage. It con
tains no single word of menace or of unkindnessP
yet declared the duty of the Chief Magistrate to
transmit the government of the Union unimpaired
by him to his successor. The conclusion of this
notable address is of historical value :
" My countrymen, one and all, think calmly and
3

36 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
well upon this whole subject. Nothing valuable
can be lost by taking time. If there be an object
to hurry any of you, in hot haste, to a step which
you would never take deliberately, that object will
be frustrated by taking time ; but no good object
can be frustrated by it. Such of you as are now
dissatisfied still have the old Constitution unim
paired, and, on the sensitive point, the laws of your
own framing under it; while the new Adminis
tration will have no immediate power, if it would,
to change either. If it were admitted that you who
are dissatisfied, hold the right side in the dispute,
there still is no single good reason for precipitate
action. Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a
firm reliance on Him who has never yet forsaken
this favored land, are still competent to adjust, in
the best way, all our present difficulty.
"In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-country
men, and not in mine, is the ^momentous issue of
civil war. The Government will not assail you.
You can have no conflict without being yourselves
the aggressors. You have no oath registered in
heaven to destroy the government, while I shall
have the most solemn one to 'preserve, protect, and
defend it.'
" I am loth to close. We are not enemies, but
friends. We must not be enemies. Though pas
sion may have strained it must not break our bonds
of affection. The mystic cords of memory, stretch
ing from every battle-field and patriot grave to
every living heart and hearthstone all over this

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.

39

broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union
when again touched, as surely they will be, by the
better angels of our nature."
Lincoln's cabinet.
The Inaugural was well received by the people of
the North quite generally and also by those of the
Border States ; but the " Southern heart" had been
" fired," and the people of that section were coerced
by their hot-headed leaders into most cruel and
unjustifiable rebellion. Meantime, President Lin
coln proceeded to administer the government with
patience and wisdom. He selected a cabinet of
eminent men in the party, a majority of whom had
been his competitors for the nomination at Chicago,
namely: William H. Seward, of New York, Secre
tary of State ; Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio, Secretary
of the Treasury ; Simon Cameron, of Pennsylvania,
Secretary of War ; Gideon Welles, of Connecticut,
Secretary of the Navy ; Caleb B. Smith, of Indi
ana, Secretary of the Interior ; Edward Bates, of
Missouri, Attorney General ; Montgomery Blair, of
Maryland, Postmaster General.

CHAPTER III.
HISTORY OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.
(CONTINUED.)
General History of the Party During the War — Emancipation — The
Amendments to the Constitution — The Campaign of 1846— The Balti
more Platform — The Cleveland Convention — The Democratic Convention
— The Democratic Convention and Platform — The Canvass — The Death
of President Lincoln — Andrew Johnson — His Treachery and Impeach
ment — Reconstruction Commenced,
From this time forth until the close of the war
of the rebellion, the history of the Republican
party is so interwoven with the history of the Union
itself that it would be impossible to separate the
two. Called by the people to the conduct of affairs
during this momentous era in the history of the
country, the policy of the party was necessarily en
grafted into the conduct of the war and the ma
terial, financial, and legislative measures of the stir
ring and exceptional times. That the adminis
tration of affairs during this national crisis was in
the main highly successful, the event of the war is
ample demonstration. For not only was the Union
saved, but the credit of the nation was also con
stantly maintained, so that notwithstanding the war
the people continued to be prosperous, and remain
highly prosperous to this day. The soldiers and
sailors were promptly paid. There never was any
(40)

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 41
discontent either in the army or navy. The people
cheerfully paid heavy taxes because they perceived
that they were wisely levied, honestly collected,
and faithfully disbursed to the patriotic saviours of
the Republic. It were useless to relate the details
of legislation and administration during these ex
citing years, the result so amply vindicating the
statesmanship and patriotism of the party in power,
but it may be well to recur to a few facts which are
especially illustrative of Republican policy.
SLAVERY THE CORNER-STONE OF REBELLION.
The success of the Republican party was not the
cause, but only the pretext of the war. It cannot
be pretended that the election of Abraham Lin
coln was not in every particular lawful. Nor can
it be claimed that after election and before inaug
uration, he or his party had yiolated any law what
ever, or in any way manifested any disposition to
do so. Nevertheless, before his inauguration, the
pretended " Confederate " Government was set up,
and a provisional President and Vice-President
were elected. The corner-stone of this new gov
ernment, as claimed by its chief architects, was
Slavery. They proposed to overthrow the Consti
tution and the principle of freedom at the same
time; by the same blow to destroy both. Both
were in the keeping of the Republican party.
The party maintained both not only, but strictly
in accordance with law, gave new triumphs to free
dom, and added new provisions of beneficent polit
ical effect to the Constitution.

42 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
PRELIMINARIES OF EMANCIPATION.
Among these the first in practical importance, per
haps, will be regarded President Lincoln's Procla
mation of Emancipation. On the 22d of September,
1862, President Lincoln issued a proclamation in
which, after reciting the provisions of certain acts of
Congress, he declared that on the first of the follow
ing January he would, as Commander-in-Chief of the
Army and Navy, set free all slaves in all parts of
the country remaining in rebellion against the gov
ernment. This proclamation created a profound
impression throughout the country. Many asserted
it was proof that the war was carried on, not for
the restoration of the Union, but for the abolition
of Slavery. This, however, the proclamation itself
disproved. It is to be observed also, that on the
6th of March previous, the President had sent a
message to Congress, recommending compensated
emancipation, in accordance with which both
Houses very soon passed the following joint
resolution :
" Resolved, etc.. That the United States ought to co-operate with any State
which may adopt gradual abolishment of slavery, giving to such State pecun
iary aid, to be used by such State in its discretion, to compensate for the
inconvenience, public and private, produced by such change of system."
Other legislative attempts in the same direction
were also made, and there was much diplomacy on
the subject between representatives of the border
Slave States and President Lincoln ; but all such
efforts failed to reach a practical result. A recur
rence to them, however, is regarded proper, as

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 43
showing that emancipation, through the war pow
er of the government, was not adopted except as
the last extremity and on account of the dire
necessity of the military situation. Accordingly,
after many months of wearying patience the Pres
ident issued that immortal document, the " Procla
mation of Emancipation," wherein, after citing the
preliminary proclamation already referred to, he
proclaimed :
" Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States,
by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and
Navy of the United States, in time of actual armed rebellion against the
authority and Government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary
war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of January,
in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and in
accordance with my purpose so to do, publicly proclaimed for the full period
of one hundred days, from the day first above mentioned, order and designate
as the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof respectively are
this day in rebellion against the United States, the following, to wit :
[Here follows an enumeration of the Slave States, with certain- reservations
in favor of districts occupied by Federal troops.]
¦'¦ And by virtue of the power and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and
declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States and parts
of States are and henceforward shall be free ; and that the Executive Gov
ernment of the United States, including the military and naval authorities
thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.
"And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain from
all violence, unless in necessary self-defense ; and I recommend to them that,
in all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages.
"And I further declare and make known that such persons, of suitable con
dition, will be received into the armed service of the United States to gar
rison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all
sorts in said service.
"And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by
the Constitution upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment
of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God.

44 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my name, and caused t e sea
of the United States to be affixed. .
Done at the city of Washington, the first day of January, in me
[l. s.] year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of
the Independence of the United States the eighty-seventh.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President :
William H. Seward, Secretary of State.
LINCOLN TO THE CHICAGO CLERGYMEN.
It belongs, perhaps, rather to a biography of
Abraham Lincoln than the province of history, to
say that he gave to this subject his profoundest
reflection, considering it not only in its legal and
military bearings, but as affected by Christian civ
ilization also. Only a few days before the warning
proclamation of September 2 2d, the President
gave audience at the Executive Mansion, to a
deputation from all the religious denominations
of the city of Chicago, who waited upon him to
urge the propriety and necessity of emancipation.
In the course of his reply to their remarks, Mr. Lin
coln said :
" Do not misunderstand me because I have mentioned these objections.
They indicate the difficulties that have thus far prevented my action in some
such way as you desire. I have not decided against a proclamation of lib
erty to the slaves, but hold the matter under advisement. And I can assure
you that the subject is on my mind by day and night more than any other
Whatever shall appear to be God's will I will do."
It would thus appear that no great measure ever
received more deliberate, earnest consideration
than that sublime document by which the chains
of three million slaves were at once destroyed.
Congress and the people approved the measure

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 45
with much unanimity. An amendment to the Con
stitution, forever abolishing slavery — introduced by
Representative James F. Wilson, of Iowa — was
speedily adopted by Congress, and soon ratified
by the requisite number* of State Legislatures.
Thus was freedom established throughout the
land much sooner than, without the rebellion, it
could possibly have been done.
THE AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION.
It will be in logical order to speak here of two
other great triumphs of the Republican party in
behalf of human rights, though they were not
gained for some years after the amendment by
which slavery was abolished. The Fourteenth
Amendment to the Constitution, the joint resolu
tion for which passed Congress in 1 866, declared
that all persons born or naturalized in the United
States are citizens, whose rights as such must be
protected alike in all the States. By the same
amendment the validity of the public debt is for
ever assured, and payment of the Rebel debt pro
hibited. By the Fifteenth Amendment, adopted in
1869, the right of franchise is secured to colored
men in all parts of the Union. It is hardly too
much to say that in the success of these amend
ments to the Constitution, following emancipation
by military authority, as they did, the Republican
party did more in behalf of genuine liberty and
more against political and civil injustice than was
ever before accomplished in a much longer period,
by any party or by any nation.

46 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
THE CAMPAIGN OF 1 864.
But it was not alone by great success in the man
agement of the civil Government, and by the prac
tical adoption in legislation of liberal and progres
sive ideas, that the Republican party was able to
maintain its ascendancy. The conduct of the war
had for some time been such as to merit the appro
bation of the country. The Army of the Potomac,
under General Meade, had gained the great victory
of Gettysburgh. With the Western armies under
Grant and Sherman, victory had been the rule.
With them there had been no such word as fail
By the time the presidential campaign of 1864 be
gan, a large portion of " Confederate" territory had
been regained; the Mississippi river was open to
the Gulf; the backbone of the rebellion had been
broken by the remarkable battle of Chattanooga;
Sherman was marching on toward his rapid con
quest of Georgia ; Grant was thundering through
the Wilderness on that notable campaign which
finally resulted in the capitulation of all the rebel
armies, and the glorious triumph of the Union arms.
Thus the military situation gave every promise
of speedy success, when the third Republican Na
tional Convention assembled at Baltimore, June 7,
1864. Over this convention temporarily presided
the Rev. Robert J. Breckinridge, the distinguished
divine of Kentucky. Governor Dennison, of Ohio,
was permanent President. Abraham Lincoln was
re-nominated candidate for President, receiving all

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 47
the votes except eleven from the State of Missouri,
which were cast for General Grant. Andrew John
son, of Tennessee, was nominated for Vice
President. The platform adopted by this convention was an
admirable expression of patriotic sentiment and
wisdom. It, of course, forms an important part of
the political annals of the times :
THE BALTIMORE PLATFORM OF 1 864.
Resolved, That it is the highest duty of every American citizen to maintain
against all their enemies the integrity of the Union, and the paramount
authority of the Constitution and laws of the United States ; and that, lay
ing aside all differences of political opinion, we pledge ourselves as Union
men, animated by a common sentiment, and aiming at a common object, to
do everything in our power to aid the Government in quelling by force of
arms the Rebellion now raging against its authority, and in bringing to the
punishment due to their crimes the Rebels and traitors arrayed against it.
Resolved, That we approve the determination of the Government of the
United States not to compromise with Rebels, nor to offer any terms of peace
except such as may be based upon an " unconditional surrender" of their
hostility and a return to their just allegiance to the Constitution and laws of
the United States, and that we call upon the Government to maintain this
position and to prosecute the war with the utmost possible vigor to the com
plete suppression of the Rebellion, in full reliance upon the self-sacrifice, the
patriotism, the heroic valor, and the undying devotion of the American
people to their country and its free institutions.
Resolved, That, as Slavery was the cause, and now constitutes the strength,
of this Rebellion, and as it must be always and everywhere hostile to the
principles of Republican government, justice and the national safety demand
its utter and complete extirpation from the soil of the Republic ; and that we
uphold and maintain the acts and proclamations by which the Government,
in its own defense, has aimed a death-blow at the gigantic evil. We are in
favor, furthermore, of such an amendment to the Constitution, to be made by
the people in conformity with its provisions, as shall terminate and forever
prohibit the existence of Slavery within the limits of the jurisdiction of the
United States.
Resolved, That the thanks of the American people are due to the soldiers
and sailors of the Army and Navy, who have periled their lives in defense of

48 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
their country, and in vindication of the honor of the flag ; that the nation
owes to them some permanent recognition of their patriotism and valor, and
ample and permanent provision for those of their survivors who have received
disabling and honorable wounds in the service of the country ; and that the
memories of those who have fallen in its defense shall be held in grateful and
everlasting remembrance.
Resolved, That we approve and applaud the practical wisdom, the unselfish
patriotism, and unswerving fidelity to the Constitution and the principles of
American liberty, with which Abraham Lincoln has discharged, under circum
stances of unparalleled difficulty, the great duties and responsibilities of the
Presidential office ; that we approve and indorse, as demanded by the emer
gency and essential to the preservation of the nation, and as within the Con
stitution, the measures and acts which he has adopted to defend the nation
against its open and secret foes ; that we approve especially of the Procla
mation of Emancipation, and the employment as Union soldiers of man here
tofore held in Slavery ; and that we have full confidence in his determination
to carry these and all other constitutional measures essential to the salvation
of the country into full and complete effect.
Resolved, That we deem it essential to the general welfare that harmony
should prevail in the national council, and we regard as worthy of public con
fidence and official trust those only who cordially indorse the principles pro
claimed in these resolutions, and which should characterize the adminis
tration of the Government.
Resolved, That the Government owes to all men employed in its armies,
without regard to distinction of color, the full protection of the laws of war ;
and that any violation of these laws or of the usages of civilized nations in
the time of war by the Rebels now in arms should be made the subject of full
and prompt redress.
Resolved, That the foreign immigration, which in the past has added so
much to the wealth and development of resources and increase of power to
this nation, the asylum of the oppressed of all nations, should be fostered and
encouraged by a liberal and just policy.
Resolved, That we are in favor of the speedy construction of a railroad to
the Pacific.
Resolved, That the national faith, pledged for the redemption of the Public
Debt, must be kept inviolate ; and that for this purpose we recommend
economy and rigid responsibility in the public expenditures, and a vigorous
and just system of taxation ; that it is the duty of every loyal State to sustain
the credit and promote the use of the national currency.
Resolved, That we approve the position taken by the Government that the
people of the United States never regarded with indifference the attemnt of
any European power to overthrow by force, or to supplant by fraud th

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 49
stitutions of any republican government on the western continent, and that
they view with extreme jealousy, as menacing to the peace and independence
of this our country, the efforts of any such power to obtain new footholds for
monarchial governments, sustained by a foreign military force, in near prox
imity to the United States.
THE CLEVELAND CONVENTION.
There was some dissatisfaction with the admin
istration of President Lincoln on the part of Re
publicans. These had held a convention at the
City of Cleveland on the 31st of May, and had
nominated General John C. Fremont for President
and General John Cochrane for Vice-President.
These gentlemen accepted the nominations, and
for a time there was a prospect of a triangular con
test. Among the most eminent men who took
part in this movement were Wendell Phillips, B.
Gratz Brown, (now again in the bolting business,)
Frederick Douglas and James Redpath. It was
winked at, but not boldly advocated, by Horace
Greeley in his newspaper. The practical unani
mity with which the Baltimore platform and nomi
nations were received by the masses of the Repub
lican party, however, demonstrated the futility of
the Cleveland movement. Montgomery Blair re
tired from President Lincoln's cabinet, and the
Cleveland ticket collapsed.
THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION.
The National Democratic Convention assembled
at Chicago several weeks after the Republicans
had entered upon the active operations of a vig
orous campaign. The Union armies were at the

50 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
same time carrying on vigorous and successful cam
paigns. Nevertheless, the Democracy adopted a
peace platform. The most noteworthy resolution
was the following:
" Resolved, That this convention does explicetly declare, as the sense of
the American people, that after four years of failure to restore the Union by
the experiment of war, during which, under the pretense of military neces
sity or war power, higher than the Constitution, the Constitution itself has
been disregarded in every part, and public liberty and private right alike
trodden down, and the material prosperity of the country essentially impaired,
justice, humanity, liberty, and the public welfare demand that immediate
efforts be made for a cessation of hostilities, with a view to an ultimate con
vention of the States, or other peaceful means, to the end that at the earliest
practicable moment peace may be restored on the basis of the Federal Union
of the States."
Gen. George B. McClellan was nominated as the
candidate for President, and George H. Pendleton,
of Ohio, for Vice-President. THE CANVASS.
The canvass was one of great earnestness on the
part of the Republicans. Their meetings were ev
erywhere largely attended, but there was little mani
festation of excitement. It was clear that a vast ma
jority of the people had firmly resolved to save the
republic, and by means of the re-election of Presi
dent Lincoln. He carried all of the States voting
except New Jersey, Delaware and Kentucky. The
States of Virginia, North Carolina, South Caro
lina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana,
Texas, Florida, Arkansas and Tennessee being
in rebellion, did not participate in the election.
Of the popular votes, Lincoln received 2,216127
against 1,808,725 for McClellan, being a Republican
majority of 407,402 votes.

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 5 1
This crushing political victory, in addition to
the recent triumphs of arms, settled the question
of the war. It was universally agreed that the re
election of President Lincoln meant the salvation
of the republic. Thus the triumph of the Repub
lican party was identical with the triumqh of the
national cause. And as a matter of fact, it was
only a little more than one month after President
Lincoln's second inauguration that the Rebel
armies surrendered and the pretended " Confeder
ate " Government gave up the ghost.
THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN.
On the 14th of April, 1865, President Lincoln
was assassinated, and expired the next morning,
only five days after the surrender of the Rebel
General Lee at Appomattox. By this fearful crime
the nation was thrown from the highest state of
enjoyment over the near prospect of peace into the
deepest gloom. Had there been wanting evidence
of the necessity of the abolition of slavery it would
have been found in the possibility of so terrible a
crime by one of its defenders. Mr. Lincoln's was
" the kindest heart that ever beat," and the " deep
damnation of his taking off" would forever place
any cause in unmixed condemnation. Upon his
death the Presidency devolved upon Vice-Presi
dent Johnson. It is not to be denied that the sit
uation at this time was one of grave responsibility
and difficulty. Perhaps no man could have filled
the office without making himself in some respects

52 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
vulnerable to honest and well grounded criticism.
But there are many reasons for believing that Presi
dent Johnson's policy of reconstructing the States
lately in rebellion, to which he adhered with obsti
nate determination, greatly added to the difficulties
of the times and cast many unnecessary embarrass
ments in the way of a speedy, just and wise adjust
ment of troubles which, at best, could not have
been easily arranged. As it turned out, the Repub
lican party, instead of having one exceedingly dif
ficult problem to solve, had two ; namely, the ques
tion of reconstruction and President Johnson. In
this great emergency the party performed its mis
sion with such success as to entitle it to the favor
able judgment of the country. The President was
placed in a hopeless minority, and the friends of
the Union in the late rebellious States were given
the control of affairs. The President was after
wards impeached by the House of Representatives
for high crimes and misdemeanors, but after a long
and exciting trial by the Senate he was acquitted,
two-thirds failing to vote for conviction. This un
happy difference between the executive and legis
lative branches of the government certainly, to
some extent, delayed practical reconstruction, but
that before the close of the first presidential term
after Mr. Johnson, the seats of both Houses of Con
gress were all filled and the Union again fully re
stored and essentially harmonious, is a justification
of Republican policy and statesmanship which it
would be difficult to dispute. That, in addition

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 53
the result was brought about with a notable victory
for the civil and political rights of millions who had
been slaves, and notwithstanding the sturdy oppo
sition of a determined executive, greatly adds to
the significance of the triumph.

CHAPTER IV.
HISTORY OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.
(CONTINUED.)
The Campaign of 1868 — Nomination of Grant and Colfax by the Republi
cans — An Easy Triumph Over Seymour and Blair — Grant in the Presi
dential Chair — Difficulties which he Encountered — The Ku Klux and the
Office Seekers — Grant astonishes the Latter by His Appointments — What
His Administration Accomplished.
The National Convention of 1868 was held in
the city of Chicago, and was unquestionably one
of the most enthusiastic occasions of the kind
which has been witnessed in the country. Just be
fore the time for the convention, there was a na
tional gathering of the soldiers of the Union armies,
which brought together vast numbers of the veteran
defenders of the Republic. They remained in the
city during the sittings of the Convention. The
hotels and boarding houses were packed. . For a
week the Garden City was jammed with people.
The Crosby Opera House, in which the Conven
tion was held, one of the largest buildings of the
kind in the country — since destroyed by the great
fire— could not contain a tithe of the people who
desired admittance.
Carl Schurz was selected as temporary chairman.
(54)

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 55
Governor Hawley, of Connecticut, was the perma
nent President of the Convention ; an admirable
presiding officer, quick and correct in decision, ever
good-natured, and having a fine voice easily heard
in every part of an immense auditorium. The Con
vention adopted a platform as follows :
THE CHICAGO PLATFORM OF 1 868.
1. We congratulate the country on the assured success of the reconstruc
tion policy of Congress, as evidenced by the adoption, in the majority of the
States lately in rebellion, of constitutions securing equal civil and political
rights to all ; and it is the duty of the Government to sustain those insti
tutions and to prevent the people of such States from being remitted to a
state of anarchy
2. The guarantee by Congress of equal suffrage to all loyal men at the
South was demanded by every consideration of public safety, of gratitude,
and of justice, and must be maintained ; while the question of suffrage in all
the loyal States properly belongs to the people of those States.
3. We denounce all forms of repudiation as a national crime ; and the
national honor requires the payment of the public indebtedness in the utter
most good faith to all creditors at home and abroad, not only according to
the letter, but the spirit of the laws under which it was contracted.
4. It is due to the labor of the nation that taxation should be equalized,
and reduced as rapidly as the national faith will permit.
5. The national debt, contracted as it has been for the preservation of the
Union for all time to come, should be extended over a fair period for redemp
tion ; and it is the duty of Congress to reduce the rate of interest thereon,
whenever it can be honestly done.
6. That the best policy to diminish our burden of debt is to so improve
our credit that capitalists will seek to loan us money at lower rates of interest
than we now pay, and must continue to pay so long as repudiation, partial or
total, open or covert, is threatened or suspected.
7. The Government of the United States should be administered with the
strictest economy ; and the corruptions which have been so shamefully nursed
and fostered by Andrew Johnson call loudly for radical reform.
8. We profoundly deplore the untimely and tragic death of Abraham Lin
coln, and regret the accession to the Presidency of Andrew Johnson, who has
acted treacherously to the people who elected him and the cause he was
pledged to support ; who has usurped high legislative and judicial functions ;
who has refused to execute the laws ; who has used his high office to induce

56 THE STRUGGLE OF '72-
other officers to ignore and violate the laws ; who has employed his executive
powers to render insecure the property, the peace, liberty, and life of the
citizen ; who has abused the pardoning power ; who has denounced the Na
tional Legislature as unconstitutional; who has persistently and corruptly
resisted, by every means in his power, every proper attempt at the reconstruc
tion of the States lately in rebellion ; who has perverted the public patronage
into an engine of wholesale corruption ; and who has been justly impeached
for high crimes and misdemeanors, and properly pronounced guilty thereof by
the vote of 35 Senators.
9. The doctrine of Great Britain and other European powers, that because
a man is once a subject, he is always so, must be resisted at every hazard by
the United States, as a relic of feudal times not authorized by the laws of
nations, and at war with our National honor and independence. Naturalized
citizens' are entitled to protection in all their rights of citizenship, as though
they were native born ; and no citizen of the United States, native or
naturalized, must be liable to arrest and imprisonment by any foreign power
for acts done or words spoken in this country ; and, if so arrested and im
prisoned, it is the duty of the Government to interfere in his behalf.
10. Of all who were faithful in the trials of the late war, there were none
entitled to more especial honor than the brave soldiers and seamen who en
dured the hardships of campaign and cruise, and imperiled their lives in the
srrvice of the country ; the bounties and pensions provided by the laws for
these brave defenders of the nation are obligations never to be forgotten ; the
widows and orphans of the gallant dead are the wards of the people — a sacred
legacy bequeathed to the nation's protecting care.
11. Foreign immigration, which in the past has added so much to the
wealth, development, and resources, and increase of power to this Republic,
the asylum of the oppressed of all nations, should be fostered and encouraged
by a liberal and just policy.
12. This Convention declares itself in sympathy with all oppressed peoples
struggling for their rights.
13. That we highly commend the spirit of magnanimity and forbearance
with which men who have served in the Rebellion, but who now frankly and
honestly co-operate with us in restoring the peace of the country and recon
structing the Southern State Governments upon the basis of impartial justice
and equal rights, are received back into the communion of the loyal people ;
and we favor the removal of the disqualifications and restrictions imposed
upon the late Rebels in the same measure as the spirit of disloyalty will die
out, and as may be consistent with the safety of the loyal people.
14. That we recognize the great principles laid down in the immortal De
claration of Independence as the true foundation of democratic government •
and we hail with gladness every effort toward making these principles a liv
ing reality on every inch of American soil.

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 59
On motion of General John A. Logan, Chairman
of the Illinois delegation, General Ulysses S.
Grant, of that State, was unanimously nominated
candidate for President. On the third ballot,
Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana, was nominated for
Vice-President, defeating Reuben E. Fenton, of
New York, Andrew G. Curtin, of Pennsylvania,
Henry Wilson, of Massachusetts, and others. The
platform and candidates were heartily approved
by the party, and the campaign at once began and
was carried on to the end withjreat zeal. The Demo
cratic party held its convention in the city of New
York in the month of July, nominating Horatio Sey
mour, of New York, candidate for President and
Francis P. Blair, Jr., of Missouri, for Vice-Presi
dent. Grant and Colfax carried the States of Ala
bama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Illinois,
Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Mich
igan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New
Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont,
West Virginia, Wisconsin. Seymour and Blair
carried Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana
(by intimidation), Maryland, New Jersey, New
York and Oregon. General Grant received 3,013,-
188 votes, Mr. Seymour receiving 2,703,600, the
Republican majority being 309,588 votes.
PRESIDENT GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION.
It will not be denied by those who fairly con
sider the matter, that President Grant assumed

60 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
control of the executive department of the Gov
ernment under circumstances of peculiar difficulty.
The administration of President Johnson had not
been calculated to hasten a just system of recon
struction. The animosities of the war, so far from
being allayed by Mr. Johnson's policy, had been
aggravated, and the discontent, among the less
honorable classes of society manifested itself in se
cret organizations which became responsible for
many hideous crimes, and in some portions of the
South a reign of terror. That all this has ceased,
and that with the interposition of martial law, as
expressly authorized by Congress, in only a single
instance, is largely due to the personal influence of
President Grant himself. When he entered the
presidential office, many seats of Senators and Re
presentatives were vacant — the result of the sever
ance of relations with the Union caused by seces
sion — and a year before the expiration of his first
term, every seat was occupied, some by gentlemen
who had taken active part in the rebellion, but had
become qualified by the magnanimous clemency of
the Government. Complete reconstruction has,
therefore, for some time been a practical fact, and
thorough reconciliation is rapidly being brought
about. It is difficult to conceive how more could
have been done in the same time.
PATRONAGE AND ITS EVILS.
But the embarrassments of the administration
only began with the question of reconstruction.

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 6 1
The practical matter of patronage at once present
ed serious trouble. The President selected as his
cabinet E. B. Washburne, of Illinois, Secretary of
State ; A. T. Stewart, of New York, Secretary of
the Treasury ; A. E. Borie, of Pennsylvania, Secre
tary of the Navy ; Jacob D. Cox, of Ohio, Secre
tary of the Interior; John A. J. Creswell, of Mary
land, Postmaster-General, and E. R. Hoar, of Mas
sachusetts, Attorney-General. General Sherman
was allowed to act as Secretary of War for a time.
Mr. Stewart being found ineligible, George S. Bout-
well, of Massachusetts, was appointed Secretary of
the Treasury. Mr. Washburne soon resigned, and
Hamilton Fish, of New York, was made Secretary
of State. Soon afterwards General John A. Raw
lins, of Illinois, was made Secretary of War. He
was a most admirable officer, but soon succumbed
to a dread disease — consumption — by which his
life had long been threatened. After his death,
Gen. William W. Belknap, of Iowa, was appointed.
His department was assailed on a memorable occa
sion, and by able men, but the assault was signally
and honorably repulsed, and the integrity and abil
ity of the Secretary completely sustained. Mr.
Hoar was appointed one of the Circuit Judges,
under the act of Congress creating that adjunct to
the Supreme Court of the United States, but the
Senate, in a spasm of childish resentment, refused
to confirm him, and he resigned the office of At
torney-General. Amos T. Akerman, of Georgia,
was appointed to the place, but resigning in 1871,

62 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
Ex-Senator George H. Williams, of Oregon, was
selected in his stead. Mr. Borie had previously
resigned his position as Secretary of the Navy, to
which Hon. George M. Robeson, of New Jersey,
was appointed.
THE CIVIL SERVICE— DIFFICULTIES IN ITS MANAGEMENT.
The war had vastly augmented the civil ser
vice establishment. When President Grant en
tered the executive office, there were single bu
reaux of departments more extensive than had
been some of the departments, or perhaps any of
them, before the war. These had large numbers
of officials at the national capital and throughout
the country. One of the ill results of the war was
this necessary increase of public offices. Many
persons in every community directed their energies
to office-getting as though it were a regular busi
ness. When President Grant was inaugurated,
Washington swarmed with office-seekers; with
many thousands of men asking the privilege of
serving their country in public place. Many were
necessarily disappointed, and hence arose a certain
disaffection in the Republican party, which, aided
by some opposed to the existing laws imposing
duties on imports and the plan of internal taxation
in being, culminated in the Cincinnati Convention
of May, 1872, which is treated at length in subse
quent chapters of this book.
Meanwhile, however, the vast patronage of the
Government was distributed to the general satis-

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 63
faction of the body politic, and, in the main, to the
good of the service. It is believed that no more
mistakes were made than were inevitable under the
system in force.
Another great source of embarrassment to the
Administration of President Grant — as it neces
sarily would have been to any administration — was
the conflicting opinions among members of the Re
publican party upon questions which, of compara
tively little moment during the war, had by this
time come to be of grave importance. The patri
otic public willingly endured high taxation to sus
tain those who were periling their lives to save the
Republic and the cause of freedom. The war
ended, and the armies disbanded, it was proper for
the Government to cut off many of the sources of
revenue. Upon the question of how this could
most wisely be done, there was, and there still is,
wide difference of opinion among patriotic states
men. If it was impossible to secure unanimity of senti
ment among Republicans during the war, when it
was necessary for the Executive to exercise extra
ordinary powers, and the people to make extraordi
nary sacrifices both of substance and opinion, it
would require a miracle to secure such unanimity
in an era necessarily requiring many changes of
policy, many changes of law. The ocean is said to
be more dangerous to navigators just after a storm
than during its prevalence. There is an irregular
wildness about the waves as they settle back to

64 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
calmness, which is peculiarly perilous. Such was
the political situation when President Grant as
sumed office. It was more difficult to administer
the Government to the satisfaction of the party in
power after the war than it had been during the
war. SUCCESS OF GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION.
And yet there has L.^en constant progress and
success. Taxation has been greatly reduced, and
that without giving so rude a shock to systems in
being, to which the trade and commerce of the
country had become accustomed, as to produce a
financial panic. Large numbers of officials in the
internal revenue department have been dispensed
with by reason of this reduction, and taxation by
this mode now rests but upon a few articles. The
free list in the tariff has been considerably increased,
and duties upon a large number of the necessaries
of life and national development have been reduced.
The expenditures of the government have been con
siderably diminished. The national debt has been
paid to the amount of three hundred millions of dol
lars, in round numbers, during the first three years
of President Grant's administration. A large
amount of the government bonds, bearing six per
cent, interest per annum has been converted into a
like amount of bonds bearing six per cent, interest.
Thus, by the action of a Republican Congress, ably
sustained by a Republican administration, have the
finances of the nation been successfully conducted,

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 65
and the public credit maintained against every
assault, and even from time to time improved in
the great commercial marts of Christendom. Nor
has there been any considerable revulsion in the
business of the country. The material wealth of
the Republic has been constantly augmenting; its
great cities have been all the time prosperous ; the
agricultural capacities of the nation have never
ceased to grow ; labor has been well paid, and the
laboring man has constantly grown in the public
esteem and in power ; the development of all the
material interests of the land has simply been stu
pendous. Even the South, which suffered most of
the calamities resulting from the war, is in a situa
tion of rapid recuperation, and will surely be more
wealthy and progressive than ever before, ere the
first centennial of American Independence.
These plain facts, which are known and read of
all men, demonstrate the general success of Presi
dent Grant's administration, and show that the Re
publican party continues to be entitled to the con
fidence of the American people.

CHAPTER V.
HISTORY OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.
(CONTINUED.)
The Campaign of 1872 — Action of the Forty-Second Congress at its Second
Session— $60,000,000 Taxes Taken Off— Amnesty Extended Greatly—
Force Bill Discontinued — The House Votes to Abolish the Franking
Privilege — Everything Investigated — Call for a National Convention —
Spirit of the Party — Unanimous for Grant — The Convention is Held —
Its Doings in Detail — Harmony and Enthusiasm — Platform of 1872 —
Grant's Letter Accepting the Nomination.
" What are you going to do in Congress next
winter?" the writer asked of one of the most dis
tinguished Senators, nearly a year ago.
" O, make Presidents," was the answer.
Such being confessedly the main purpose of
both political parties during the session next pre
ceding each Presidential election, we may properly
reckon the political campaign of 1872 as having
commenced with the assembling of the second ses
sion of the Forty-second Congress, on the first Mon
day of December, 1871.
The meaning of the Senator's expression is ob
vious, viz : that the Congressmen of each party
would endeavor to shape legislation so as to secure
the success of their party in the ensuing campaign ;
and this means, of course, where voters are as free
and intelligent as in America, that the dominant
party will endeavor to enact good and wholesome
(66)

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 67
laws, such as the people will approve, while the min
ority will strive, in the debates and in multitudin
ous investigations and newspaper attacks, Sena
torial "philippics," etc., to create the impression
among the people that all the virtue resides in their
ranks, all the vice in that of the majority and in the
existing administration.
ATTACKS ON THE ADMINISTRATION.
Of this sort of tactics were the attack on the
Navy Department in the House, the tirade of
Charles Sumner in the Senate and other similar
demonstrations against the Executive and his cabi
net, and against the majority party in Congress.
No less than fifteen different investigations, founded
on this or that man's allegations against the con
duct of the Government, in one department or an
other, were asked by the Democrats or the dis
affected Republicans during the session. These
investigations were promptly ordered by the con
sent of the majority — the only case where any de
bate occurred being on the resolution concerning
the sale of arms to French agents, introduced by
Mr. Sumner in the Senate, and preceded by a pre
amble which contained a virulent attack on the ad
ministration, and which assumed as proven all the
allegations made by the enemies of the Govern
ment. This the Senate would not pass, but it did
order the investigation, and gave Mr. Schurz, the
instigator of the charges, the privilege of examin
ing or cross-examining all witnesses. The investi-

68 THE STRUGGLE OF '72-
gations were, for the most part, conducted openly,
and all the testimony was published ; and the re
sults (which are given at some length in a subse
quent chapter) were found to strengthen, rather
than weaken the position of the administration in
the hearts of the people. Never was there so co
gent an illustration of the proverb, " great cry and
little wool," as was furnished by these investigations
and the clamors which preceded them.
ACTS OF CONGRESS.
The laws enacted by the Forty-Second Congress
at this session were also of a nature to strengthen
the dominant party. Among the most important
of these were the act reducing the taxes, internal
and import, by $53,000,000 a year, estimated upon
the receipts of last year ; the act conferring addi
tional civil rights upon the colored class of citizens,
hitherto discriminated against by society, in despite
of the manifest spirit of the recent amendments to
the national Constitution ; the act granting com
plete amnesty to 25,000 rebels of the late war, who
had hitherto labored under certain political dis
abilities ; the act extending to soldiers, widows and
orphans, the benefit of the bounty laws, and the act
for facilitating the entry of land by soldiers entitled
to bounty ; all of which became law by the Presi
dent's signature. Nor is the present Republican
Congress less praiseworthy for what it has left un
done than for what it has done. The still rampant
spirit of outlawry in many sections of the South,

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 69
as proven before the Joint Committee on Southern
Outrages, offered a great temptation (which was
pressed by many Southern members) to continue
the bill authorizing the suspension of the habeas
corpus by the President — a privilege which termi
nated by limitation with the expiration of the late
session. The enemies of the Republican party
would have liked very much to see the majority
vote to continue this law, so that an outcry against
" federal usurpation" could be made. They would
also have liked to see the majority committed to a
bill for the federal regulation of the Southern elec
tions, with the authorization of such measures of en
forcement as should furnish grounds for some clamor
about "bayonet rule." But the party refused to
commit itself to such acts, and also refrained in a
provoking way from doing much that was indis
creet in the way of land grants and private appro
priations, out of which the Opposition orators and
journals could forge any effective weapons for the
campaign. In short, the freshest acts of the Re
publican party, even as shown in its representation
in Congress — the place where, if anywhere, vulner
able points may usually be found — are probably less
partisan, and no less just, moderate and virtuous
than those of any political party, similarly repre
sented, in any previous period of our history — even
in the "good old days" of Andrew Jackson, or any
other canonized politician whom we are accustomed
to laud in our allusions. Such a record of course
fortifies a party, and should always .be striven after,

70 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
not only before, but after national elections ; and
nothing will tend so strongly towards it as the prin
ciple of progressiveness and catholicity of opinion
which has come to prevail among Republican states
men, (especially in the journalistic estate and in the
lower house of Congress) and which is now recog
nized as one of the quickening elements of the Re
publican creed. THE PHILADELPHIA CONVENTION.
Still fresher than the acts of Congress, however,
and perhaps more authoritative, as being the more
direct expression of the popular sentiments of the
party, are the acts and declarations of the National
Republican Convention of 1872, held at Philadel
phia, on the 5th and 6th of June. And the proceed
ings of this body we must now record.
The Philadelphia Convention was called by the
National Republican Committee, in accordance with
party usages, after a prolonged session of the Com
mittee at Washington. The call bears date Janu
ary nth, 1872. It enumerates the achievements
and the leading present tenets of the Republican
party, and closes with this invitation :
"To continue and firmly establish its fundamen
tal principles, we invite the co-operation of all cit
izens of the United States."
The National Committee, in a special resolution,
sent by telegraph to all parts of the country, urged
all holders of office under the national administration
to abstain from .participating in local conventions,
or officiating as delegates ; and the injunction was

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 71
so generally obeyed that, notwithstanding the fact
that the Opposition freely stigmatized it as the
"Federal Office-holders' Convention," and Mr. Gree
ley's paper usually called it "Grant's Convention,"
there were not two dozen such office-holders in the
Convention — i. e. a little more than one per cent.
of the whole number of delegates and alternates.
THE POPULAR FEELING.
Even before this call was issued, the Senators,
journalists and other public men who were dis
pleased with General Grant's administration, or
who had reasons, personal or otherwise, for desiring
a change in the government, had begun to agitate
the subject of such a change. This had been done
chiefly by indirection, however ; the only method
resorted to being free criticism of Grant's adminis
tration, and a studied tone of disrespect, or a habit
of sly innuendo when speaking of the President.
What these Anti-Grant journalists, etc., did after
discovering the drift of popular feeling within the
party will be told in a subsequent chapter. That
the drift was decidedly and irresistibly toward Grant
as the nominee for another term of four years, was
soon plainly manifest. GRANT ENDORSED.
The Republicans of Connecticut were the first
to meet after this call was issued. At their conven
tion, at Hartford, January 24th, they avowed their
"undiminished confidence in the patriotism, integ-
5

72 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
rity and ability of President Grant." Those of
Florida followed, on April nth, with a resolution,
unanimously adopted, instructing delegates to use
" every effort to secure his [Grant's] renomination."
The Indiana Republicans, commemorating with
their meeting, as usual, the sacred birthday of
Washington, declared in their resolutions that the
administration of General Grant had been "consist
ent with the principles of the Republican party,
and eminently just, wise and humane"; and they
accordingly instructed their delegates at Philadel
phia to "vote for the renomination of Grant and
'Colfax." Iowa, at her convention, at Des Moines, on the
:27th of March, was no less explicit and positive
in her declarations and instructions.
South Carolina had already done the same, at
Columbia, on the 19th of February. And Missou
ri, favorite nesting-place of the so-called Liberals,
declared, on the same day with Indiana, her "un
swerving confidence in the integrity, patriotism,
and zealous devotion of the present Chief Magis
trate." Maine, Kansas, Kentucky, Oregon, Massachu
setts, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and
other States joined in the chorus of approval until
it echoed from ocean to ocean, and from the Gulf
to the Lakes. THE CONVENTION MEETS.
When, therefore, the Republicans of the nation

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 77,
met at Philadelphia, they had a simple task before
them, so far as the nomination of a Presidentali
candidate was concerned. They assembled at noon,
on the 5th of June, in the spacious Academy of
Music, at Philadelphia, which building had been
gorgeously draped and decorated for the occasion.
Never did a finer and more thoroughly representative
body of men assemble for a similar purpose in this
country. Coming fresh from the people, they were
possessed by an intense and unanimous enthusiasm
for the cause which they came to organize — the re
flected and concentrated glow of that great popular
heart, from which all the acts of the convention
seemed to spring.
It was evident that the Republican masses did
not intend to be trifled with in the present crisis,
and that they sent up, therefore, to Philadelphia,
delegates composed of their strongest men. It
was a general remark among those who came as
lookers-on, and many of whom were avowedly hos
tile to the object of the convention, that the array
of well known men—men of authority and influ
ence, not derived from their present office — had
never been excelled, if equalled, in any similar
gathering. When William E. Chandler, as Secre
tary of the National Republican Committee, called
the assemblage to order, at 1 2 o'clock, on Wednes
day, his gavel was obeyed by nearly a score of
Governors of States, by twenty-four ex-Senators
of the United States, by fifteen members of Con
gress, two retired Cabinet officers, forty or fifty

74 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
generals of the great Union army, and other dig
nitaries of wide public recognition too numerous
to particularize. Among the Governors of States,
with or without the ex, we can now call to mind
sixteen or seventeen ; viz., Claflin, of Massachusetts ;
Smyth, of New Hampshire; Smith, of Vermont;
Hawley, of Connecticut ; Burnside, of Rhode Isl
and ; Orr, of South Carolina ; Parsons, of Alabama;
Oglesby, of Illinois ; Noyes and Hayes, of Ohio ;
Lane and Baker, of Indiana; Morgan, of New
York; Fairchild, of Wisconsin; Howard, of Mich
igan; and Wells, of Virginia. Among the heroes
of the War for the Union were Generals Logan,
Woodford, Fairchild, Hawley, Burnside, Sol. Mere
dith, Thos. S. Allen, E. F. Noyes, and a host of
others, many of whom have, since doffing their
army blue, been honored by a grateful country
with official stations, the title of which has super
seded the military " handles" of their names.
But it was not of generals and politicians alone
that the convention was made up. Learning had
its representatives there in goodly numbers, and
prominent among them were President White, of
Cornell University, and Prof. Steele, of Vermont,
the latter of whom had the honor of writing the
most acceptable of the many platforms submitted
for the use of the convention. Philanthropy and
reform were there in the person of the venerable
Gerrit Smith, Nestor of the Anti-Slavery army,
and a man whose milk of human kindness had
never been soured by personal jealousy, like that

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 75
of Charles Sumner. The business community,
which seems to have awakened earlier than usual
to the importance of this campaign, was repre
sented, perhaps, more ably than ever before in a
similar convention. When we mention Alexander
H. Rice, ex-mayor of Boston ; Horace B. Claflin,
the leading New York dry goods merchant; John
A. Griswold, the Troy, iron manufacturer; J. Y.
Scammon, the Chicago banker ; Horace Fairbanks,
the largest manufacturer in Vermont ; Wm. Orton,
head of the telegraph business in the United States;
Thaddeus C. Pound and J. G. Thorpe, prominent
in the Wisconsin lumber business, and Eber B.
Ward, the great iron manufacturer of the North
west, we have named but a tithe of the solid busi
ness men of the country who participated in this
convention as delegates. Many more were inter
ested lookers-on, and expressed earnestly their
readiness to co-operate with the convention in the
work of the campaign.
Thus constituted and thus determined, the dele
gates came together in the historical town of Phil
adelphia. No better city could have been selected,
on two accounts : first, there were better hotel facil
ities than anywhere else, except New York; and
second, there was more local enthusiasm prevailing
to add eclat to the occasion. The fall election com
ing on early in Pennsylvania, there were already a
great many Republicans organized into clubs and
prepared for public demonstrations. These, re-in-
forced by numerous corps from abroad — one from

76 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
Boston, one from Washington, one from Pittsburgh,
and numerous others from Lancaster and elsewhere
in Pennsylvania, paraded the streets with stirring
music and significant banners by day, or with
torches and transparencies by night, or joined in
mass-meetings with unprecedented numbers and
enthusiasm. Their music filled their streets with
its "voluptuous swell," and their brave faces and lusty
huzzas inspired enthusiasm in every breast. On
Wednesday, at noon, as already mentioned, the
convention assembled and organized itself for busi
ness. Hon. Morton McMichael, ex-Mayor of
Philadelphia, was made temporary chairman, and,
in accordance with notice previously served, the
various State delegations announced to him, as
called upon, their own selections for the following
officers, of which each State furnished a complete
set : Vice-presidents and secretaries of the conven
tion ; committees on resolutions, on credentials,
on rules and on permanent organization.
The permanent officers of the convention, who
assumed their functions just before the adjourn
ment of the first session, were as follows :
President — Thomas Settle, of North Carolina.
Vice-Presidents— Alabama, Paul Strobach ; Arkansas, Elijah Baxter ; Cali
fornia, H. S. Sargent ; Connecticut, Sabin L. Gage ; Delaware, Isaac June ;
Georgia, B. F. Conley ; Illinois, Emory A. Storrs ; Indiana, Gen. Solomon
D. Meredith ; Iowa, N. H. Kevers ; Kansas, John C. Carpenter ; Kentucky,
R. M. Keely ; Lousiana, Louis F. Frazer ; Maine, P. F. Rohey ; Maryland,
Alexander H. Rice ; Michigan, Eber B. Ward ; Minnesota, C. F. Benedict ;
Mississippi, R. W. Fleemey ; Nebraska, John S. Bowen ; New Hampshire,
William H. Y. Hackett ; New Jersey, Dudley S. Gregory ; New York, H. B.
Claflin ; North Carolina, Edward Cantwell ; Ohio, Lt. Gov. Jacob Mueller ;
Oregon, John P. Booth ; Pennsylvania, H. W. Oliver ; Rhode Island, A. E.

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 79
Burnside ; North Carolina, A. J. Rensier ; Tennessee, William H. Wisner ;
Texas, A. B. Norton ; Vermont, H. Fairbanks ; Virginia, Charles T. Mallard ;
West Virginia, Charles Horton ; Wisconsin, Hon. Lucius Fairchild ; Florida,
Dennis Evan ; Colorado, George M. Chilcot ; District of Columbia, John F.
Cooke ; Idaho, John R. McBride ; Wyoming, J. M. Donnellon ; Nevada,
Gen. John Benjamin.
Secretaries — H. H. Bingham, of Pennsylvania, and forty-one others— one
from each State and territory.
Committee on Platform — Alabama, R. M. Ruggles Arkansas, w. W. Way ;
California, J. H. Withington ; Connecticut, Gen. J. R. Hawley ; Delaware.
Henry F. Pickles ; Florida. J. W. Johnson ; Georgia, D. A. Walker ; Illinois,
Herman Raster ; Indiana, Charles Krug ; Iowa, William Vandetter ; Kan
sas, John C. Carpenter ; Kentucky, James Speed ; Louisiana, John Ray ;
Maine, J. P. Pullen ; Maryland, Thomas A. Spence ; Massachusetts, J. B.
D. Coggswell ; Michigan, W. A. Howard ; Minnesota, A. E. Hicks ; Missis
sippi, John R. Linch ; Missouri, John Stover ; Nebraska, John B. Weston ;
Nevada, L. H. Head ; New Hampshire, Osborne Ray ; New Jersey, Charles
Hewitt ; New York, James N. Matthews ; North Carolina, J. W. Hood ;
Ohio, B. R. Hayes ; Oregon, H. R. Kincaid ; Pennsylvania, G. W. Scofield ;
Rhode Island, William Goddard ; South Carolina, R. B. Elliott ; Tennessee,
A. J. Ricks ; Texas, J. W. Talbot ; Vermont, Benjamin H. Steele ; Virginia,
Col. Ed. Daniels ; West Virginia, Thomas B. Swan ; Wisconsin, Thomas S.
Allen ; Colorado, Jerome B. Chaffee ; District of Columbia, A. R. Sheppard ;
Idaho, J. Curtis ; Montana, W. F. Sanders ; Wyoming, J. W. Donnellton.
All that was accomplished of moment on the first
day of the convention was the reporting of the per
manent officers by the committee appointed for
that purpose. While the Committee on Perma
nent Organization was out deliberating, speech-
making was in order, and Senators Morton and
Logan, who were occupying a proscenium box, were
successively called upon and responded briefly, the
former finding time, however, to enter into a careful
consideration of the duties now pressing on the
Republican party, and a cogent answer to those
who pretend that the mission of the party is ac
complished. The Senators were followed by Ex-

80 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
Governor Oglesby, of Illinois, Ex-Governor Orr.
of South Carolina, and by two colored delegates,
W. H. Gray, of Arkansas, and R. B. Elliott, M. C,
of South Carolina. This negro oratory was a pe
culiar feature of the convention, and was continued,
to some extent on the following day — in every case
with great credit to the newly enfranchised race,
whose representatives had never before been heard
in a national convention of one of the great politi
cal parties. The principal speakers of sable skin
were the two above named and Messrs. Lynch, of
Mississippi [Secretary of State], and Harris, of
Georgia, all of whom were greatly to be commended
for their keen insight into the main issues, and their
sharp method of bringing the subject home to their
auditors' comprehension. The colored race was
certainly well represented in this convention, and
its representatives have reason to be gratified with
the impression which they made. It should be re
marked here that two or three of the State -dele
gations had colored men for Chairmen, and that the
African nationality had three places upon the Plat
form Committee, and was also well represented
upon the other committees. NO CONTESTS.
After the speeches had been made and the Com
mittee on Permanent Organization heard from, the
"slate" made out by that body was adopted, and
Judge Settle, the permanent President, made a little
inaugural, which closed the first day's proceedings.

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 8 1
The Committee on Credentials, whose duty of
settling contested seats is usually quite arduous,
was not heard from until the second day. Indeed
their office proved to be a sinecure, for of all the
752 seats in the convention, not a single one was
contested. Yes, there were two — from far Utah,
which, of course, had to have a Mormon and a Gen
tile representation. The latter won, as might have
been expected in view of the more than doubtful
Republicanism of the Young Party. As the dele
gates from the land of the Saints were only two out
of seven hundred and fifty-two, it can be readily
seen that the contest in that quarrelsome quarter
did not shake the convention very severely.
THE PLATFORM.
On Thursday morning the serious work of the
convention was to commence with, it was hoped, a
prompt report of the Platform Committee. This
body, however, was not ready to report. Its mem
bers had met on the previous evening, and found on
their table a stack of resolutions big enough to have
filled the hats of all the forty-two members, and
still left a surplus larger than was necessary to
equip a party for the campaign. To dispose of this
embarrass de richesse, a sub-committee of nine was
appointed, and this sub-committee ground away
until near morning. By that time they would have
been through with their job, perhaps, had not the
pressure in behalf of certain particular propositions
been renewed on Thursday before the full commit-

82 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
tee. There were several complete sets of declar
ations and resolutions, principally those of Dr. Lor-
ing, of Boston ; of George Wm. Curtis, of New
York; of Prof. Steele, of Vermont, and of Prof.
Edward Daniels, a member of the committee from
Virginia, and editor of the Richmond State Jour
nal. None of these were adopted in any consider
able part. The phraseology of the platform is due
more to General Joseph Hawley than to anybody
else, though Judge Scofield, of Pennsylvania, was
chairman of the committee. Of course the most
important question was that of reconstruction, and
upon this the Southern delegates were clamorous
for something radical and unequivocal. Hence it
was, that after declaring in the second and third
paragraphs that complete civil and political liberty
should be guaranted to the colored men of the
South, and that the recent amendments to the Na
tional Constitution should be enforced according to '
their spirit, the committee afterward came to adopt,
in the twelfth paragraph, a specific and positive in
dorsement of all the anti-Ku Klux measures of the
President and Congress. There was likewise much
pressure for a recognition of the cause of woman.
Mrs. Lucy Stone Blackwell labored with certain
members of the committee in behalf of the reso
lution adopted last winter by the Massachusetts
Legislature. With other members, Miss Anthony
became eloquent. To tell the truth, the committee
were rather desirous of saying something in behalf
of enlarged opportunities and education for the

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 83
softer sex, with an admission coupled, if necessary;
that the question of their admission to any " ad
ditional rights" was worthy of consideration. This
was finally incorporated into the platform, in the
fourteenth paragraph ; though in such a diplomatic
and general way that one is almost surprised to hear
that the representatives of the oppressed sex are
satisfied with it. They usually prefer stronger meat
when it comes to expressions of opinion on their
especial topics.
The resolution bn the subject of capita! and labor
is essentially the same as that submitted by Wen
dell Phillips, and is therefore acceptable to the
powerful body of voters whom he represents — the
Labor Reformers.
The result of the committee's labors, as reported
and adopted, nem. con., is the following declaration
of principles:
The Republican party of the United States assembled in National Conven
tion in the city of Philadelphia, on the 5th and 6th days of June, 1872, again
declares its faith, appeals to its history, and announces its position upon the
questions before the country.
1. During eleven years of supremacy it has accepted with grand courage
p the solemn duties of the time. It suppressed a gigantic re
bellion, emancipated four millions of slaves, decreed the equal
citizenship of all, and established universal suffrage. Exhibiting unparalleled
magnanimity, it criminally punished no man for political offences, and warmly
welcomed all who proved loyalty by obeying the laws and dealing justly with
their neighbors. It has steadily decreased with firm hand the resultant disor
ders of a great war, and initiated a wise and humane policy towards the Indians.
The Pacific railroad, and similar vast enterprises, have been generally aided
and successfully conducted ; the public lands freely given to actual settlers ;
immigration protected and encouraged, and a full acknowledgment of the
naturalized citizens' rights secured from European powers. A uniform
national currency has been provided, repudiation frowned down, the national
credit sustained under most extraordinary burdens, and new bonds negotiated

84 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
at lower rates. The revenues have been carefully collected and honestly
applied ; despite annual large reductions of the rates of taxation, the public
debt has been reduced during General Grant's Presidency at the rate of a
hundred millions a year ; great financial crises have been avoided, and peace
and plenty prevail throughout the land. Menacing foreign difficulties have
been peacefully and honorably composed, and the honor and power of the
nation kept in high respect throughout the world.
This glorious record of the past is the party's best pledge for the future.
We believe the people will not entrust the government to any party or com
bination of men composed chiefly of those who have resisted' every step of
this beneficial progress.
2. Complete liberty and exact equality in the enjoyment of all civil, polit
ical and public rights should be established and effectually
Equality maintained throughout the Union by efficient and appropriate
State and Federal legislation. Neither the law nor its admin
istration should admit of any discrimination in respect of citizens, by reason
of race, creed, color, or previous condition of servitude.
3. The recent amendments to the National Constitution should be cor-
_ . dially sustained, because they are right, not merely tolerated
Late Con=titu- ' ' ,,,,,., ,.
tional Amend- because they are law, and should be carried out according to
1 u their spirit by appropriate legislation, the enforcement of which
can safely be entrusted only to the party that secured those amendments.
4. The National Government should seek to maintain honorable peace
Foreien Pol- with all nations, protecting the citizens everywhere, and sym-
»cy- pathizing with all peoples who strive for greater liberty.
5. Any system of the civil service under which the subordinate positions
of the Government are considered rewards for mere party
Reform^106 zea' *s fa-tally demoralizing ; and we therefore favor a reform of
the system by laws which shall abolish the evils of patronage,
and make honesty, efficiency, and fidelity the essential qualifications for pub
lic positions, without practically creating a life-tenure of office.
6. We are opposed to further grants of public lands to corporations and
Land Grants, monopolies, and demand that the national domain be set apart
etc- for free homes for the people.
7. The annual revenue, after paying current expenditures, pensions, and
the interest on the public debt, should furnisha moderate bal-
I_dustry?d ance for the reduction of the principal, and the revenue, except
so much as may be derived from a tax upon tobacco and linuors,
be raised by duties upon importations, the duties of which should be so
adjusted as to aid in securing remunerative wages for labor, and promote
the industries, growth and prosperity of the whole country.
8. We hold in undying honor the soldiers and sailors whose valor saved the
S Id' ' R Union- Tneir pensions are a sacred debt of the nation ; and
wards. ' the widows and orphans of those who died for their country
are entitled to the care of a generous and grateful people. We

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 85
favor such additional legislation as will extend the bounty of the Government
to all our soldiers and sailors who were honorably discharged, and who in
the line of duty became disabled, without regard to the length of service
or the cause of such discharge.
9. The doctrine of Great Britain and other European powers, concerning
, allegiance — "Once a subject, always a subject," — having at
Naturalized last, through the efforts of the Republican party, been aban-
Cmzens. doned, and the American idea of the individual's right to trans
fer allegiance having been accepted by European nations, it is the duty of
our Government to guard with jealous care the rights of adopted citizens against
the assumption of unauthorized claims of their former Governments ; and
we urge continual careful protection and encouragement, of voluntary im
migration. Franking lo. The franking privilege ought to be abolished and the way
Abuse. prepared for a speedy reduction of the rates of postage.
II. Among the questions which press for attention, is that which concerns
Capital and *^e relations of capital and labor ; and the Republican party
Labor. recognize the duty of so shaping legislation as to secure full
protection and the amplest field for capital ; and for labor, the creator of cap
ital, the largest opportunities, and a just share of mutual profits of these two
great servants of civilization.
12. We hold that Congress and the President have only fulfilled an imper-
The Southern *'ve duty in their measures for the suppression of violent and
Policy. treasonable organizations in certain lately rebellious regions,
and for the protection of the ballot-box, and therefore they are entitled to the
thanks of the nation.
13. We denounce repudiation of the public debt, in any form or disguise,
as a national crime. We witness with pride the reduction of
Finance. the principal of the debt and the rates of interest upon the bal
ance ; and confidently expect that our excellent national currency will be
perfected by a speedy resumption of specie payment.
14. The Republican party is mindful of its obligations to the loyal women
Advancement °^ America for their noble devotion to the cause of freedom.
of Woman. Their admission to .wider fields of usefulness is viewed with
satisfaction, and the honest demands of any class of citizens should be treated
with respectful consideration.
15. We heartily approve the action of Congress in extending amnesty to
those lately in rebellion, and rejoice in the growth of peace
and fraternal feeling throughout the land.
16. The Republican party propose to respect the rights reserved by the
Personal Lib- People to themselves as carefully as the powers delegated by
er'y- them to the State and to the Federal Government. It disap
proves of the resort to unconstitutional laws, for the purpose of removing evils,
by interference with rights not surrendered by the people to either the State
or National Government.

86 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
17. It is the duty of the Federal Government to adopt such measures as
may best tend to encourage and restore American commerce
Commerce. . ... ....
and shipbuilding.
18. We believe that the modest patriotism, the earnest purpose, the sound
judgment, the practical wisdom, the incorruptible integrity, and
Grant. the illustrious services of Ulysses S. Grant have commended
him to the heart of the American people ; and with him at our head we
start to-day upon a new march of victory.
This platform constitutes a very complete, though
terse and compact presentation of all issues likely
to arise during the campaign, and on which the
position of the party required to be defined. It
even goes beyond that, and takes ground on sev
eral new questions of which " great " political par
ties have usually fought shy — as for instance, the
woman question, the labor question and the ques
tion of personal rights. On the last named of these,
many of our German fellow citizens are decidedly
sensitive, and the enunciation of principle contained
in the sixteenth paragraph was accepted by Her
mann Raster, of the Chicago Staats Zeitung, as
satisfactory to the American citizens of German
birth, for whom he was well qualified to speak. It
is to be understood, of course, that the " rights not
surrendered by the people to either the State or
National Government " mean more particularly the
rights of conscience, as to religion, personal regimen,
etc., which some people would have the laws to
interfere with.
Concerning this series of declarations a con
temporary writer remarked in a letter from Phila
delphia, "The platform, as a whole, gives great
satisfaction, no less for its felicity of expression than

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 87
for its boldness and loyalty of tone with regard to
reconstructing the South, protecting the persecuted,
paying off the debt, keeping up the national credit,
etc., and its progressiveness in favoring amnesty to
Southern political offenders, and in demanding the
reform of the civil service, the abolition of the
franking privilege, land-grants, etc. It leaves the
Cincinnati crowd nothing to fight for — nothing but
Greeley and Gratz. But they might have known
as much before. They might have known, when
they undertook to steal our best and newest planks
for their raft of distress, that the property would be
claimed by its rightful owners as soon as the proper
time should come." RE-NOMINATION OF GRANT.
In following the Platform through from its in
ception in the committee room to its adoption by
the Convention, we have shot past the great event
of the day — the renomination of General Ulysses
S.Grant for President. This was accomplished by
the usual routine, though the moment was so
crowded with consequence as to lend a factitious
interest and excitement to even the driest detail of
the transaction. It was about one o'clock on
Thursday afternoon, when, the Platform Committee
being still dilatory with their report, the convention
resolved to proceed at once to the nomination of a
candidate for President. To Illinois, as the home
of Grant, and to the Hon. Shelby M. Cullum, ex-
member of Congress, as chairman of the delegation,

88 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
was accorded the honor of making the formal pre
sentation of General Grant's name. This was done
in a speech which, for terseness and force, was
worthy of the nominee himself. Mr. Cullum said :
" Gentlemen of the Convention : On behalf of the great Republican party
of Illinois, and that of the Union, in the name of liberty, of loyalty, of jus
tice and of law ; in the name of economy, of good government, of peace and
all of the equal rights of all ; remembering, with profound gratitude, his
glorious achievements on the field and his noble statesmanship as chief magis
trate of the great nation, J nominate as President of the United States, for a
second term, Ulysses S. Grant."
A THRILLING SCENE.
The vast assemblage could hardly wait for the
few timely words which the speaker had to utter
before its enthusiasm found vent in such an ex
plosion of spontaneous applause as never was heard
before in any deliberative body. The whole audience
rose and waved hats, handkerchiefs, etc., and shouted
promiscuously. Then there was sufficient lull for somebody to
start " Cheers for Grant and victory," and the cheers
rang out with deafening volume from broad parquet,
and from the four vast semi-circles of thrilled hu
manity, until the festoons of laurel, that stretched
away to the lofty dome, shook and quivered with the
sound. The musicians caught the infection, and waved
their brass horns and laced caps. There was not a
square inch of space in the room but seemed to
quiver with excitement and motion.
Finally from out the swelling volume of sound
rose the concerted strains of music. " Hail to the
Chief" was the salute of the band, as a colossal

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 89
equestrian portrait of General Grant was lowered
from the clouds of the scene set at the back of the
stage. The picture was well executed and life-like,
the main portion being bordered with medallions of
Lincoln and Stanton, and full-length representations
of Peace and Plenty.
Then the cheers arose again, and all was spon
taneous and informal until the form of General
Stewart L. Woodford, of New York, was seen upon
the stage, where he appeared for the purpose of
seconding the nomination of President Grant for
re-election. General Woodford seemed inspired for
the occasion. His words were laden with feeling,
and at the same time not mere gush. They were
logical and practical, and, coming from an influential
and much honored citizen of the State where Hor
ace Greeley betrayed his party, and where the fac
tion to which he has committed himself was chiefly
nourished, they were doubly welcome to the as
sembly. One more speech in this behalf was made, and
then the applause broke out again.
The roll of States were called and every vote of
the whole 752 was solemnly recorded for U. S.
Grant, the chairman of the several delegations vie-
ing with each other in the nice bits of epigramatic
eloquence, in which they laid their laurel tributes at
the feet of the conqueror of the rebellion.
The result was announced, after which another
surfeit of applause, out of which again rose strains
of music from the band, the prelude to a stirring

90 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
new campaign song, which some local genius here
sprung upon the convention. It was good, and re
minded certain demonstrative ones among the dele
gates of other songs, chiefly patriotic — melodies
associated with the late war which they desired to
have played and sung. " Red, White and Blue,"
"John Brown's Body,"" Marching through Georgia,"
and other patriotic songs were sung and joined in
with immense force by the audience — still standing.
THE VICE PRESIDENT QUESTION.
It was not until after fifteen or twenty minutes
of this kind of proceedings that the Convention
could bring itself down to routine business. When
it did so, the work of nominating a Vice President
was in hand. The chief contest for this office was
between Schuyler Colfax, the incumbent, and
Henry Wilson, long Senator from Massachusetts.
All other candidates were merely local in their
strength, and scarcely any other were voted for ex
cept as a passing compliment from the party in their
own States.
There was nothing of a serious nature alleged
against Mr. Colfax as a reason why he should not
be renominated. Indeed, the feeling of a majority
of the delegates, on assembling, was in his favor,
and showed Kim to be still a very popular man.
There was active effort made in every delegation,
however, by the friends of " the Natick cobbler,"
who made use of the following arguments :
1. That, on general principles, a change in the

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.

91

nomination for Vice-President was desirable, when
the same candidate for President was presented.
2. That considerations of locality demanded the
nomination of an Eastern man, after two terms
with neither a President nor Vice-President from
the East.
3. That Mr. Wilson possessed special elements
of strength with the working men and with the
negroes, which Mr. Colfax had not.
4. That Mr. Colfax had, in a letter published in
the New York Independent, a year and a half ago,
withdrawn from the field, and alleged reasons which
would be used against him in the campaign.
5. That, at the same time and since, Mr. Colfax
had encouraged Mr. Wilson to come out as a can
didate, which he would not otherwise have done.
These considerations, especially the last two,
which were vigorously advertised by an organized
body of newspaper reporters from Washington,
proved sufficient to defeat Mr. Colfax and secure
the nomination of his principal rival. This was
done on the first ballot, which, at the completion
of the roll-call, stood thus :
WILSON. COLFAX. MAYNARD. SCATTERING.
Alabama  •-  -  I2 7 *
Arkansas    I2
California..   I2
Connecticut    -  6 6..
Delaware   - - - - "
Florida   5 3
Georgia    I0 6
Illinois    25 J7
Indiana    3°
Iowa   J9 3.

92 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
WILSON. COLFAX. MAYNARD. SCATTERING.
Kansas  10
Kentucky  | 20
Louisiana   5 IJ
Maine    4 10
Maryland  16
Massachusetts  26
Michigan.   22
Minnesota.  _  ...  10
Mississippi   11 41
Missouri  27 2 ._ I
Nebraska    24..
Nevada    6
New Hampshire    IO
New Jersey     18
New York   16 53 .. I
North Carolina   _  20
Ohio.     30 14
Oregon  ._ 6
Pennsylvania   58
Rhode Island  8
South Carolina   95..
Tennessee   -. .. 24
*Texas   -. .. .. 16
Vermont    .. 10
fVirgima  .- .-  22
West Virginia  .. 10
Wisconsin   15 5
Arizona   -- 2
Colorado    I I ..
Dakotah  -   >_ . Ij_
District of Columbia  2
Idaho  ---'-  - -- 2
Montana     2
New Mexico   -  2 .. ...
Utah...  ---  2
Washington   - - - 2
Wyoming     1 1
Total   _.  364^ 32i>_ 26 40
* For E. J. Davis, f For John F. Lewis.
It was found, on footing this up, that the excel
lent incumbent of the Vice-Presidential chair was

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 93
overtopped by his principal opponent by some
forty-three votes. It was immediately apparent to
the Colfax men that this disadvantage could not be
overcome. But they had no time for effort in this
direction, if they had been ever so much disposed
for it ; for before the result was announced, Virginia
had risen and transferred her vote from her own
local favorite to Henry Wilson, giving him 384^
votes in all, or seven more than were necessary to
a choice. The result was sudden, but it did not
demoralize or disaffect anybody. The Indiana del
egation, who had worked incessantly night and day
for their beloved statesman, Colfax, should have
been demoralized and disaffected, if any were so ;
and they were heard, as soon as the lusty applause
of the throng could be penetrated by any intelli
gible sound, recording their unanimous vote for
their candidate's chief rival ! This did not look like
disaffection. In fact, it would seem as if the heroic
determination to whip the enemy had overcome
every other consideration at this convention, and
that some hand higher than any that is human had
overruled all turbulent passions, and envies, and
bickerings, in order to facilitate this greatly desir
able end. COLFAX MAGNANIMOUS.
Before the Convention adjourned, (which oc
curred a very short time after the result of the bal
loting was declared), the chairman of the Indiana
delegation, had received the following telegraphic
dispatch from. Mr Colfax :

94 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
Washington, June 6.— John W. Foster, Indiana. — Accept for yourself
and delegation my sincere gratitude for your gallant contest. I support your
ticket cheerfully. Men are nothing — principles everything. Nothing must
arrest Republican triumph until equality under the law, like the liberty from
which it springs, is universally acknowledged, and the citizenship of the
humblest becomes a sure protection against outrage and wrong, as was Ro
man citizenship of old. SCHUYLER Colfax.
NATIONAL COMMITTEE.
Before the adjournment, which occurred at ten
minutes past 4, the chair announced the following
gentlemen as composing the National Committee
for the ensuing five years :
Alabama     George D. Spencer,
Arkansas      Edwell Clayton.
California    George C. Gorham.
Connecticut   Marshall fewell.
Delaware    .James Riddle.
Florida  _     William H. Gleason.
Georgia     Isaac S. Fannin.
Illinois    y. V. Scamnwn.
Indiana     O. P. Morton.
Iowa   _  _  Grenville M. Dodge,
Kansas  John A. Martin.
Kentucky     William C. Goodloe.
Louisiana    G. Cassinave.
Maine     William G. Fry.
Maryland   C. C. Pulton.
Massachusetts     William Claflin.
Michigan     William A. Howard.
Minnesota  yohn T. Averill.
Mississippi  _   O. C. French.
Missouri  _  R. T. Vanhorn.
Nebraska   E. T. Cunningham.
Nevada  James W. Nye.
New Hampshire  _  William E. Chandler.
New Jersey  Alexander G. Cattell.
New York  Edwin D. Morgan.
North Carolina    yoseph C. Abbott.
Ohio   B. R. Cowen.
Oregon  Joseph G. Wilson.

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 95
Pennsylvania    William H. Kemble.
Rhode Island  William D. Brayton.
South Carolina  Franklin J. Moses, Jr.
Tennessee  Horace Maynard.
Texas  
Vermont      George Nichols.
Virginia   W. H. Wells, Jr.
West Virginia  Anson Criswell.
Wisconsin   David Atwood.
Arizona     .John Titus.
Colorado  Edward M. McCook.
Dakotah  _  William H. H. Beadle.
District of Columbia   Henry D. Cooke.
Idaho  John R. McBride.
Montana      Lucius B. Church.
New Mexico   Joseph G. Palen.
Utah.  Alfred S. Gould.
Washington    L. B. Andrews,
Wyoming     William T. Jones.
Of the committee, those whose names are printed
in italics belong to a sub-committee of fifteen,
called an Executive Campaign Committee. The
chairman of all is Ex-Governor Edwin D. Morgan, of
New York ; the Secretary, William E. Chandler, of
New Hampshire. The committee is one of unpre
cedented ability and financial strength, and the
organization for the campaign is already very com
plete — so much so that the Republican party pos
sesses great advantages in this respect over any of
its rivals in its facility for working its field of labor.
THE CANDIDATES NOTIFIED.
On the 10th of June, the President and several
of the Vice-Presidents of the Philadelphia Conven
tion, waited upon President Grant and Senator
Wilson, to inform them officially of their nomina-

96 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
tion. They found the President at the White
House, whither, at half-past one, he resorted for
the purpose of receiving their visit, the .day being
the final one of the session of Congress, and the
President having been on duty at the Capitol since
early in the morning. Judge Settle said laconic
ally, emulating his illustrious interlocutor :
"Mr. President.' — We are before you to perform
a very agreeable duty. We are here to officially
inform you of your unanimous nomination for the
Presidency by the National Republican Conven
tion assembled at Philadelphia on the 6th inst.
Beyond this, I do not know that we have anything
to say."
Here Judge Settle handed the President the fol
lowing letter, formally notifying him of his nomi
nation : Washington, June 10.
" Mr. President — Sir : In pursuance of our instructions, we, the under
signed, President and Vice-Presidents of the National Republican Conven
tion, held in Philadelphia, on the 5 th and 6th insts., have the honor to inform
you of your nomination for re-election to the office of President of the'
United States. As it is impossible to give an adequate idea of the enthusi
asm which prevailed, or the unanimity which hailed you as the choice of the
people, we can only add that you received the entire vote of every State and
Territory. Regarding your re-election as necessary to the peace and contin
ued prosperity of the country, we ask your acceptance of the nomination.
[Signed] -THOMAS SETTLE, President.
Paul Strobach and forty-one others, Vice-Presidents.
The President said :
"Gentlemen : I am not now ready to respond
to your letter, but will take an early opportunity
to do so in writing. It is certainly gratifying for
me to learn that, after holding office for three years,

Hon. Chas. F.Adam~
"IU

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.

99

never having before held political office, never hav
ing been a candidate for nomination, I have been
endorsed by my former supporters. This is some
thing I cannot forget. I am, of course, very
grateful." The several Vice-Presidents addressed General
Grant briefly, each pledging him the hearty and
energetic support of the Republicans of his State,
and after some pleasant conversational sallies all
around, the deputation retired. The President
took his lunch and returned to duty at the Capitol,
where, in the Executive room, surrounded by cabi
net officers, by clerks, by Senators, importuning
him anxiously about the vital question of an extra
session, which the filibustering of the Democrats
threatened to necessitate, he wrote out in pencil
this formal letter of acceptance — a letter of which
it has been said, " Every sentence is a platform ":
Executive Mansion, Washington, June 10.
Hon. Thos. Settle, President National Republican Convention ; Paul Stro-
bace, Elisha Baxter, and others, Vice-Presidents :
Gentlemen : Your letter of this date, advising me of the action of the
convention held at Philadelphia, on the 5th and 6th of this month, and of my
unanimous nomination for the Presidency by it, is received.
I accept the nomination, and through you return my heartfelt thanks to
your constituents for this mark of their confidence and support. If elected
in November, and protected by a kind Providence in health and strength to
perform the duties of the high trust conferred, I premise the same zeal and
devotion to the good of the whole people for the future of my official life as
shown in the past. Experience may guide me in avoiding mistakes inevi
table with novices in all professions and in all occupations. When relieved
from the responsibilities of my present trust by the election of a successor,
whether it be at the end of this term or next, I hope to leave to him, as Ex
ecutive, a country at peace within its own border ; at peace with outside
nations ; with a firm credit at home and abroad ; without embarrasing ques
tions to threaten its future prosperity.

IOO THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
With the expression of my desire to see the speedy healing of all bitter
ness of feeling between sections, parties, or races of citizens, and the time
when the title of citizen carries with it all the protection and privileges to
the humblest that it does to the most exalted, I subscribe myself,
Very respectfully, Your obedient servant,
U. S. GRANT.
After the interview with Grant, the committee
waited upon Wilson, whom they found in the room
of the Senate Military Committee, of which he is
Chairman. Him Judge Settle addressed in much
the same manner as he had addressed the Presi
dent ; and Senator Wilson made the following
reply, quite impromptu :
"Gentlemen : I will in a day or two give you an answer in writing to this
communication. I take this occasion, however, to thank you and the mem
bers of the convention you represent for this manifestation of confidence, as
I neither asked for or wrote to any member of the convention to give me a
vote. I am all the more grateful for their generous support. I am gratified
too, for the friendly tone of the Republican press of the country. For thir
ty-six years, in public life and in private life, I have striven to maintain the
distinguishing idea of the Republican party— freedom and equality of all
men. I have striven ever to be true to my country, and to the rights of our
common humanity ; to know no sectional interest, nor race, nor color. In the
future, as in the past, I shall unfalteringly adhere to these principles, which
are convictions of my judgment, heart, and conscience. I am clearly of
opinion that the great soldier, who rendered such illustrious service to his
country in a great civil war, will be re-elected President of the United States.
His humanity to the vanquished, his firmness to vindicate the rights of the
humble and defenceless, his devotion to the leading ideas of the Republican
party, cannot be questioned. I esteem it high honor to be associated with
him in the coming contest. While I am grateful to my friends who gave me
such generons support, I honor those who adhered with such devotion to Mr.
Colfax. We have been personal and political friends for nearly twenty years,
and it is a source of profound satisfaction to me that our personal relations
have not been disturbed by the recent contest. While I shall never cease to
feel grateful to the friends who honored me by their support, I shall ever
entertain sincere respect for those who deemed it to be their duty to give
their support to others.' I hope we shall all strive to win to our support every
honest and patriotic man in the country — every man true to the rights of

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. IOI
humanity — every man who would elevate the condition of the toiling mil
lions, and have our republic become a great Christian nation, an example to
the world.* Let it be understood that our ranks are wide open to receive all
devoted to the country, and who would advance its happiness and the general
well-being of all sections of the land and all conditions of the people. We,
Republicans, should offer the hand of reconciliation to all fair-minded and
honorable men, and use all legitimate means to achieve success for the honor
and salvation of the country, as well as for that of the party which saved the
Union and established freedom in every part of the land."
Mr. Wilson afterwards sent the deputation a very
able letter of acceptance, which is printed in an
appendix near the close of this volume.

CHAPTER VI.
HISTORY OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.
(CONTINUED.)
The Legislation of the Republican Party, State and National — Sketch of
Some of the More Prominent Acts of Congress — The Constitutional
Amendments — A Brief Resume of All.
Within a short time after the organization of the
Republican party it obtained political control of
every free State, except Indiana. Illinois, which
cast its electoral vote for Mr. Buchanan in 1856,
nevertheless elected at the same time a Republican
Governor, the lamented Bissell; and in i860, Indi
ana passed into Republican Government by con
siderable majorities.
It is not within the design of this work to relate
the achievements of the Republican party in the
several states, wherein it gained supremacy. It
may be well to remark, generally, however, that it
is historically true that with the beginning of Re
publican ascendancy in those states there was also
a beginning of a new era of progress ; a more rapid
development of those material interests by which
national wealth is increased, the public good foster
ed, and the general happiness augmented ; a more
liberal policy inaugurated in respect to those public
institutions whereby crime is repressed, suffering
alleviated, and civilization advanced. All such in-

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. IO3
ternal improvements — railways, canals, etc. — as are
of benefit to the people at large, have been liberally
sustained. Generous appropriations have been made
in behalf of institutions for the care of the deaf and
dumb, the blind, and the insane. Many of these
beneficent institutions, in fact, which so much honor
our country, are due to Republican policy, against
the protest of Democratic opposition. In all these
Republican states, too, honesty and economy have
been the rule of administration. Peculations and
frauds have unquestionably occurred, but they have
ever been promptly exposed and punished. The
system of public schools has been extended and im
proved. In a word, every state which has been Re
publican has had its laws more or less reformed for
the better; its material interest developed; its
wealth increased ; its political morality elevated ; its
substantial progress constantly assured, The legis
lation and administration of affairs in every Repub
lican state demonstrate that the Republican party
has everywhere been a benefactor to the body
politic. NATIONAL LEGISLATION.
Since the 4th of March, 1861, the Republican
party has been responsible for all federal legislation
and administration. We have already seen, by
general view, how much it has accomplished ; that
its history has been in truth the history of the Re
public. But it will not be thought out of place, or,
it is hoped, tedious, here to recur to some of the

IO4 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
more important matters of legislation which may be
regarded as specially due to Republican policy.
Congress met in extra session at Washington, in
accordance with a proclamation from President Lin
coln, on the 4th of July, 1861. A short time after
wards the first battle of Bull Run occurred, whereby
the Union General McDowell, who had, in obedi
ence to the clamor of the New York Tribune, moved
" on to Richmond " before he was ready for such an
expedition, suffered an ignominous defeat
Congress at once perceived that we were in a state
of civil war, and proceeded to declare and legislate
accordingly. On the 29th of July an act was passed
which provided for men and means wherewithal to
suppress the rebellion. This act gave the President
ample power to call forth volunteers and to carry
on the war with vigor. A week afterwards an act
was passed confiscating property and setting free
all slaves used in aid of the rebellion. Other acts
of a practical nature were passed, so that when the
campaigns of 1802 began, Edwin M. Stanton being
now Secretary oFWar, and Grant in command in the
West, results of the most gratifying nature were
brought about.
In this rapid sketch of national legislation it
would be well to place first an account of the amend
ments to the Constitution. These embody the
great political and civil triumphs of the war. They
will be found at length in the appendix to this
work. Let it suffice here to state that the Thir
teenth amendment (abolishing slavery) was passed

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.

105

by Congress January 27th, 1865 ; the Fourteenth
(securing civil rights, repudiating the rebel debt,
and guaranteeing the national debt), June 16th,
1866; the Fifteenth (establishing manhood suf
frage), February 27th, 1869. Meantime, Congress
had passed many other acts calculated to be of serv
ice to the cause of freedom and progress. Not to
mention all these, reference may be made to an act
which abolished the Coolie trade by American cit
izens in American vessels, February 19,1862; an
act forbidding the return of fugitive slaves by the
army or navy, March 13, 1862; the abolition of
slavery in the District of Columbia, April 16, 1862 ;
an act authorizing the President to send diplomatic
representatives of the United States to the negro
republics of Hayti and Liberia ; an act forever
prohibiting slavery in any of the Territories of the
United States, June 19, 1862 ; an act to carry into
practical effect a treaty with Great Britain for the
suppression of the African slave trade, July 1 1, 1862 ;
an act incorporating a national university (Howard)
at Washington city for the education of colored
youth, March 3, 1863; the repeal of the Fugitive
Slave Law of 1850, January 28, 1864; the act estab
lishing the Freedmen's Bureau, March 3, 1865; the
civil rights bill, April 9, 1866; an act expressly pro
viding that there shall be no denial of the right of
franchise in any of the Territories of the United
States to any citizen on account of race, color, or
previous condition of servitude; an act enforcing
the Fourteenth amendment, and empowering the

106 THE STRUGGLE OF '72-
Executive to suppress rebellious conspiracies (known
as "the Ku-Klux law "), April 20, 1871 ; the act of
general amnesty passed by the Congress which is
still (1872) in existence, by which measure of mag
nanimity it may be said the last trace of the rebel
lion, so far as legislation is concerned, was obliter
ated. LEGISLATION IN BEHALF OF LABOR.
Reference ought also to be made to a few acts in
the direct interest of labor. The first of these in
importance, perhaps, as also the earliest in date of
enactment, was the Homestead law, passed May
20th, 1862, by which every actual settler was ena
bled to obtain 160 acres of land free of expense. -
The praise due to the Republican party on account
of the success of this measure in behalf of the
actual tiller of the soil is all the greater because
President Buchanan vetoed a bill of a similar na
ture during the declining days of Democratic pow
er. A similar act in behalf of labor was that do
nating public lands to the several States and Ter
ritories, to provide endowments for colleges for the
benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts, July
2d, 1862. The public lands of the South, amount
ing to about 45,000,000 acres, were also reserved
to the laborer by an act of Congress. The Repub
lican party, also set a national example for the
eight hour law, by enacting that eight hours shall
constitute a day's work on all the public works of
the United States.

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 107
Of those acts of national legislation in behalf
of the general interests of the body politic, we
may mention the law of May 15th, 1862, by which
a Department of Agriculture was established ; the
Pacific Railroad act of July ist, 1862; the act of
February 25th, 1863, providing a national currency,
amply secured by stocks of the United States ;
the act of June 15th, 1866, whereby the commer
cial, postal and military communication between
the different States has been greatly facilitated;
the act of July 27th, 1866, in aid of a railroad from
Arkansas and Missouri to the Pacific coast ; the
act of January 20th, 1871, authorizing the refund
ing of the national debt at a lower rate of interest.
Of a similar nature may be regarded the law of
March 2d, 1867, establishing a Bureau of Educa-
cation, and subsequent Pacific Railroad acts.
The acts and resolutions of Congress in behalf
of disabled and honorably discharged soldiers and
sailors, and the widows and orphans of deceased
soldiers and sailors of the Union, are very numer
ous. It is not insisted that these laws are due to
the Republican party entirely ; but it may be safely
claimed that because of the supremacy of that
party in the conduct of national affairs, they are
more liberal than they otherwise would be.
But, without further particularization, it is be
lieved that the legislation of the Repnblican party,
in all those acts which may be called specially its
own, will, when thoroughly examined, show as much
in behalf of the good of the whole people, and as
7

108 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
little against that good, as can be justly claimed for
the legislation of any political organization which
has had control of public affairs.
CONCLUSION.
We have thus briefly and imperfectly sketched
the outlines of the history of the Republican party.
We have seen that it had its origin in the principle
of freedom, its organization in a practical agree
ment of men who had previously belonged to the
various political organizations of the country. We
have seen that, having once suffered defeat, it after
wards constantly received the earnest confidence
of the American people. It had control of the
government during the most trying period of our
institutions; during those four years of terrible
war, throughout which freedom and the cause of
man were placed in imminent jeopardy of being
lost. Never was higher trust reposed in any party;
never was high trust more faithfully fulfilled. The
Union was saved through a sublime victory for lib
erty, and by policies of practical statesmanship in
finance, and the general conduct of affairs the wis
dom of which must forever challenge the admira
tion of all candid minds. But it has not been a
party of one idea. It has not only saved the
Union, and made the Constitution a chart of gen
uine freedom, but it has accomplished many other
things of great good to the country. It has sup
plied a uniform currency for the business of the
people, with a national banking system confessedly

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 109
the best we have ever had, and against which no
serious criticism is uttered. It fulfilled its prom
ises — what no other party herein had done — by
building a railroad to the Pacific Ocean, and pro
viding means for building others, by which the
whole continent may be rapidly developed and
made able to control the most wealthy commerce
of the world. It has extended the election franchise.
It has provided that every citizen who wants may
have a free homestead on the public domain. It
has elevated the tone of political morality. It has
destroyed corrupt political "rings" with merciless
severity. Ever since the close of the war of the
rebellion, it has lightened the burdens of taxation,
and yet is diminishing the public debt at the rate
of one hundred millions annually. It has demon
strated beyond dispute its practical and valuable
sympathy with the cause of labor, by adopting the
eight-hour law for public workmen, and by years
of devotion to the idea of the dignity of labor.
There is not a citizen of the republic who is not
better off because of the existence and the tri
umphs of the Republican party. Indeed, it is not
too much to say that but for this party and its tri
umphs, there would be no American Union at all,
but a number of discordant, belligerent States,
through whose conflicts civilization would needs
long meet with sad reverses, and despotism at last
gain most mournful victory. The campaign of
1872 is to decide whether this party of long-tried
patriotism, virtue, and great statesmanship shall

IIO THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
give way before a party, a large majority of whose
supporters have been in opposition to all the great
victories of the past and blind to the great ideas
ot _he present.

lily^e^ $. Grfkqt.

CHAPTER VII.
HIS MILITARY CAREER.
Early New England Ancestry — "Blood will tell" — Birth of Ulysses — Boy
hood — Life at West Point — His Part in the Mexican War — A Brilliant
Record — Twice Brevetted for Bravery and Efficiency in Battle — Becomes
a Captain and A. Q. M. — Marries and Resigns — An Uneventful Inter
val — The Long Roll Sounds Again.
It is not proposed in this book to give anything
beyond a brief outline of the personal history of
General Grant, since an elaborate work of the sort,
though, perhaps, not out of place here, has been
rendered almost supererogatory by the score or more
of biographies of Grant which have already been
issued from the press. Aiming at nothing more
than a compilation, but desiring to make that com
pilation as just as possible, the writer inquired of
the illustrious subject of all these memoirs which
was the most worthy of confidence. The President
replied that he had examined but two or three, and
that they were by no means trustworthy ; and he

112 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
specified one — the most popular of all, probably —
as being particularly inaccurate. In view of this it
becomes especially desirable to obtain facts for the
following pages from original sources, as far as pos
sible ; and this has been done".
grant's ancestry.
Ulysses S. Grant, the seventeenth President of
the United States of America, has at the writing
of this, but lately completed his fiftieth year, having
been born on the 27th of April, 1822'. Perhaps it
is not necessary to say anything about the family
of President Grant, as the Opposition press has
kept that subject well before the public since his
inauguration. Nevertheless, it will be interesting
to genealogists, and those who believe strongly in
hereditary qualities, to learn that the ancestors of
the President were sturdy, plain, New England peo
ple. His father, Jesse Root Grant, was born in
Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania ; but his father,
and all his ancestors back to Samuel, son of Matthew
Grant, one of the early Puritan emigrants, were born
in Massachusetts or Connecticut. Matthew Grant,
of the seventh generation from Ulysses, came to
America from Plymouth, England, in the " Mary
and John," in May, 1630, and settled in Dorchester,
Mass. The heads of the third, fourth and fifth
generations following Matthew were each named
Noah Grant, and were born in Windsor and Tol
land, Connecticut. The second Noah Grant was a
famous captain in the French and Indian War, and

GRANTS MILITARY CAREER. 113
would, doubtless, have appeared conspicuously
among the heroes of the Revolution, had he not
fallen by an Indian's bullet, while out scouting, in
1756. His son Noah served through the War for
Independence, having enlisted at the first call. Of
this Noah, the President's father, Jesse Root Grant,
is the oldest son. He was born, as above remarked,
in Westmoreland county, Penn. (twenty miles above
Pittsburgh, on the Monongahela), on the 23d of
January, 1794. The old man is still hale at 78
years, and able to discharge the duties of the post-
office at Covington, Kentucky, a city of 30,000
inhabitants, on the Ohio, opposite Cincinnati. Ap
prenticed when sixteen years old, to an Ohio tan
ner, whose trade he learned, Jesse Grant took up
his residence, shortly after coming of age, at Point
Pleasant, Clermont county, Ohio. Here, in 1821,
he married Hannah Simpson, a woman who con
tributed to the conjugal capital stock of qualities a
large degree of piety, firmness, and strength of
character ; her husband contributing plentiful vital
ity, quickness of discernment, and that general
cleverness which takes a man along well through
the world and keeps him on good terms with his
fellow men ; these, combined with an unswerving
integrity and independence of habits which never
left him, no matter in what emergency.
THE BOY GRANT.
Of this marriage, contracted in June, 1821, was
born, on the 27th of April, 1822, Ulysses Grant,

114 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
whose name, reckoning according to the wideness
of its celebrity, stands third in the long list of
statesmen, generals, and philosophers which our
country is able to boast. It is not proper to at
tempt in this sketch a detailed account of the boy
hood life of Grant, which has already become famil
iar to millions of readers through the efforts of his
many biographers. Suffice it to say that he soon
developed several noticeable qualities — physical
courage, self-possession, honesty, and modesty ; one
particular talent — that of horsemanship, which he
possessed to a remarkable degree ; and one special
passion — a dislike to tannery work. He was not
lazy, however, nor yet untractable ; nor had he any
vices which his father ever discovered. One fact
which the old man recalls with satisfaction, was the
boy's freedom from the taint of profane or intem
perate language. A CADET AT WEST POINT.
By the time he had arrived at the age of sixteen,
Ulysses had acquired at the common school of
Pleasant Point the rudiments of a common school
education, and had read the Life of Washington,
but not many other books. Fortunately for the
American Union (as it has turned out since,) Jesse
Grant knew a member of Congress well enough to
secure the appointment of his boy to the West
Point Military Academy — subject, of course, to the
prescribed examination. It was while passing
through the hands of this Congressman, and through

grant's military career. 115
the forms incident to its owner's muster as a cadet,
that the name of young Grant underwent that sin
gular change, from Hiram Ulysses, the boy's baptis
mal title to Ulysses Simpson. The obliging
Member was precisely like other obliging Members
in his inability to remember the full names of all
the promising sons of his respectable constituents.
He did know, however, that the principal Christian
name of his hopeful young protege at Point Pleas
ant was Ulysses ; and remembering also that the
surname of the mother was Simpson, he jumped at
a conclusion, as many another Congressman has
done, and decided that the full name was Ulysses
Simpson. Thus it was written down in the appli
cation ; thus it went down on the muster rolls
and records pertaining to the matriculation of the
newly-fledged cadet ; and thus it had to be borne
during the period at the Academy, since the officers
declined to comply with Ulysses's request and
restore the name to its original form.
Grant's military life commenced at 1 7, the time
of his admission, in July, 1839, to West Point — the
class of 1843. His career at the Military Acad
emy was characterized by these features : he was
quiet, self-poised, plodding, and not brilliant, except
in horsemanship. He was a green youth from the
backwoods, and, of course, there was a disposition
among his more free and easy classmates to snub
him, and " put him through," as young gentlemen
from sixteen to eighteen are fond of doing. He
also came in for his share of the "hazing," in which

Il6 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
the class above was bound to indulge toward the
fresh class ; but his self-respect and self-possession
helped him easily through all these, and he was in
good standing with his classmates before the term
had progressed far. He had few intimates, how
ever, and among these were Ingalls, now high in
the Quartermaster's department of the army, Frank
lin and Steele, both distinguished as corps com
manders during the late war, and Augur, one of the
finest soldiers in any army, and a cavalry officer of
considerable distinction.
Of the intellectual qualities exhibited at, West
Point by young Grant, the most noticeable was his
cool, unerring, judicial faculty, (such that his class
mates, in case of a dispute, were accustomed to say,
' We'll leave it to Uncle Sam " — Grant's soubriquet
among the boys.) Another, he was much above the
average of his class in mathematics ; but then it
must be admitted that the average was uncommonly
low for West Point. Of the hundred who entered
along with him, Grant was one of the thirty-nine
who got through, and of these thirty-nine he stood
the twenty-first on the list at graduation. When
his class rank and the rank of his class amongst
other leading Academy classes are taken into con
sideration together, there is nothing remarkably
favorable to be inferred concerning his intellectual
standing at that time. But it has generally proved
the case that the most brilliant cadets have not
turned out the ablest generals, or the ablest men,
when set to work in the world of affairs.

GRANTS MILITARY CAREER. 117
GRADUATES.
Among the military men who were contempora
ries of Grant at West Point were Geo. B. McClel
lan, Kirby Smith and Thos. Jeff. (" Stonewall ")
Jackson, of the class of 1844; Rosecrans, Long-
street, Doubleday and Van Dorn, of the class of
1842; Buell, Rodman (inventor of the gun,) Rey
nolds and Lyon, of the class of 1841 ; and Sher
man, Thomas and Earle, of the class of 1840.
Grant graduated on the 30th of June, 1843, cap
ping the climax of the feats of horsemanship per
formed by the cadets before the board of visitors
by leaping the famous horse " York " over a hurdle
six feet and three inches in height. Receiving his
commission of Brevet Second Lieutenant — the
same which is, by regulation, awarded to all gradu
ating cadets — young Grant betook himself to his
home in Ohio, and afterwards to St. Louis, the
home of his classmate and (now) brother-in-law,
Frederic T. Dent; his principle industry for a time
being "waiting orders" and paying court to the
young sister of his friend, Miss Julia Dent, fifth
child of his host, Col. Frederic Dent. Between
this young pair — the girl being then seventeen —
an ardent attachment sprang up, which ultimately
resulted in their union, notwithstanding the very
moderate prospects of the swain and the high
social standing of his sweetheart had seemed to
Miss Julia's parents a serious obstacle to such a
union.

Il8 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
SUMMONED TO ACTION.
On leaving West Point, the young subaltern was
assigned to the Fourth Infantry — a fine old regi
ment, with a record stretching back into a former
century ; and when in the early summer of 1845,
the difficulties with Mexico began to culminate in
war, the regiment was rapidly moved to a point
near the frontier of the hostile country, and Grant
was summoned from his wooing to a much sterner
scene. In August of that year the Fourth took up a
station near Corpus Christi, waiting for the shock
to come. On the ist of October, Grant received
a commission as full Second Lieutenant in the
Seventh Infantry ; but with the esprit du corps which
characterizes good soldiers, he asked to be retained,
if possible, in the Fourth, and his request was
granted. On the ist of December, Brevet Second
Lieutenant Grant received his commission as full
Second Lieutenant in his favorite corps. It could
not have been admiration for his colonel, which
made Grant so devoted to the Fourth ; for Colonel
Whistler, who commanded, was a miserable toper,
and was constantly failing and disappointing Gen.
Taylor, who commanded the army.
THE CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO.
Grant's first engagement was at Palo Alto, on the
2nd of May, 1846. The skirmish of Resaca de la
Palma followed the next day, and the army of In-

GRANT'S MILITARY CAREER. ng
vasion — squad of invasion, it would have been called
in the late civil war — went on its triumphant way
toward Monterey, which Taylor stormed and cap
tured on the 2 1 st of September, 1846. By this
time, Lieutenant Grant had been detailed as
quartermaster, and soon after as adjutant of the
regiment, both of which duties he discharged simul
taneously and satisfactorily. At Monterey, after
the storming party to which Grant belonged had
entered the city, it was discovered that there was
no ammunition with which to keep up the fight —
the Mexicans contesting the ground inch by inch,
and keeping up a rattling hail of bullets from house
tops and windows. To supply this pressing want,
Grant put his fancy horsemanship to good use, and
made a ride which has become historical, through
showers of bullets and over walls and ditches, to
Twiggs' headquarters for ammunition. He is said
to have escaped only by hanging, Indian fashion,
along one side of his steed.
WITH SCOTT.
In the following ¦spring, Grant's regiment was as
signed to the force of General Winfield Scott, who
had landed at Vera Cruz and assumed command of
the movement against the Mexican capital, leaving
Taylor with barely five thousand men to hold Monte
rey and the mountain country around, while he (the
commander-in-chief) undertook his famous and
brilliant campaign from Vera Cruz to Mexico. The
way was won by dint of sharp tactics on Scott's part,

120 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
and extraordinary endurance and bravery on the
part of his men, who in the hard-fought engagements
at Cerro Cordo, Contreras, Churubusco, Chapulta-
pec and Molino del Rey, achieved no little glory
for American arms. They achieved it not without
severe sacrifices, however. Of Grant's regiment,
which was attached to Worth's splendid division,
and which went to Mexico five hundred and eleven
strong, one hundred and ninety perished in the
campaign. In such a campaign it is obvious that a
young officer need not lack opportunities to dis
tinguish himself.
TWICE BREVETTED FOR GALLANT DEEDS.
Grant, though a quartermaster, detached from the
line, insisted upon joining in all the actions,- and
threw himself into the thickest of every fight. As
a consequence, he won at Molino del Rey a brevet
as First Lieutenant, and at Chapultapec, a still fur
ther brevet as captain. He was mentioned in the
reports of his brigade commander as acquitting him
self most nobly on several occasions under my ob
servation." On the 1 8th of September, 1847, tne
city of Mexico was captured, and General Scott
made a triumphal entry with his troops. In this
triumph joined many officers, then serving as mere
subalterns for the most part, who were destined
afterwards to figure most conspicuously in the
great civil war of 186 1-5, — some on the side of the
Union, and some (alas ! for them) on the side of dis
union and rebellion. Among these were Generals

GRANT'S MILITARY CAREER. I2I
Grant, McClellan, Hancock, Buell, Steele and Lyon,
of the Federal, and Generals Lee and Beauregard!
of the Rebel army. In Taylor's force were many
more young men of destiny, including Braxton,
Bragg, Pillow, and Hardee, of the regular^
and Jeff. Davis, of the volunteer army. A roll-
call of all the officers mustered in the streets
of Mexico on the morning of that triumphal
entry would, if repeated a few years afterwards,
have been answered from the heads of a hundred
corps and divisions of the two great hostile hosts
either of which swallowed up scores of armies, like
that which we sent to Mexico. The campaigns of
Scott and Taylor were thought to be very import
ant in their immediate political consequences. They
were far more important in developing generals for
the great struggle to which this Mexican affair was
a mere preliminary skirmish — or rather, a simple
drill exercise. - MARRIED AND SETTLED.
With the capitulation of Mexico the war with
the Mexican Republic ended ; but it was not until
the middle of the following summer that the treaty
of peace was ratified by both countries, and the
Army of Occupation withdrawn. Grant arrived
home on furlough in August of that year, and on
the (to him) very importamt errand of marrying
Miss Dent — an arrangement to which the parents
of that young lady had, perhaps, become more rec
onciled by the brilliant military record of the pro-

I22 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
posed son-in-law. At all events, the pair wer_
married, and " settled down " — so much as an army
quartermaster may be said to settle down — in quar
ters of their own, at Detroit — the first station to
which Captain Grant was assigned. The Bedouin
like wanderings to which the exigencies of the ser
vice condemned him, were too much for even the
strong devotion to a military life with which Grant
had become imbued; and in 1854, after having
been successively assigned to Sacketts Harbor, N.
Y.; Detroit ; Fort Columbus, N. Y.; Benicia, Cal.;
Fort Vancouver, Oregon ; and Fort Humboldt,
Colorado ; and having then obtained the full rank
of Captain of the Fourth Infantry* he resigned his
commission, and betook himself to a citizen's life.
When, in the fall of 1854, he retired from the
army, to manage the little unimproved farm at
" Hardscrabble," near St. Louis, — a name which
seems to have fitly characterized the place and its
proprietor's farming course, — Grant was the father
of two boys, and a devoted domestic pater familias
Indeed, it was only his devotion to wife and chil
dren that induced "him to relinquish that military
life for which he was so well qualified, and to which
his tastes had been so thoroughly trained.
THE FIRST GUN  GRANT RESPONDS.
Grant now spent nearly seven years — dull and
unprofitable years apparently — in the pursuits of
* His commission, as such, bears date August, 1853.

GRANTS MILITARY CAREER. j.23
civil life ; first, on the farm near St. Louis, after
wards in that city as partner of a Mr. Boggs, in
the real estate business, and finally as a partner
with his father in the leather business, at Galena
It was his vocation as a tanner which led his
admirers in after days to form Tanner's clubs in
furtherance of his election as President. He was
called from his hides and " findings " by the guns
which battered down Sumpter; and a few days
after the memorable commencement of hostilities
Grant had raised a company at Galena, drilled
them, and tendered his services, both at Washing
ton and to the Governor of his State, at Spring
field. Governor Yates took him into his service,
on the recommendation of Elihu Washburne, as
Adjutant General. He soon after tendered him
the command of the Twenty-first Illinois Volun
teer Infantry, and Grant, after waiting a few days
for the War Department to make use of him in
the regular army, if it chose, accepted the commis
sion. Being sent to Quincy, 111., and afterwards
into Northeastern Missouri, to defend various rail
road points, Col. Grant's regiment was assimilated
with other troops into a brigade, and he was se
lected by General Pope, commanding the district,
as acting Brigadier.

CHAPTER VIII.
GRANTS MILITARY CAREER.
(CONTINUED.)
Colonel .of the Twenty-first Illinois Volunteers — Brigadier General — His
Fellows of that Rank — Captures Forts Henry and Donelson — Is Pro
moted to Major General — Battle of Shiloh.
This was early in July, 1861, and in August
Grant received a commission as full brigadier gen
eral. His commission-dates from the May preced
ing. He was one of the first "batch" of brigadier
generals of volunteers, and amongst the rest were
Heintzelman, Franklin, Couch, Kearney, Sherman,
Pope, Buel, Sigel and twenty-five others, the most of
whom became more famous as politicians than as
soldiers. Grant's district embraced the Mississippi
and its valley from Cape Girardeau to New Madrid,
and the lower part of the Ohio Valley, including all of
Western Kentucky. Establishing his headquarters
at Cairo, the most important strategic point in all
that valley, Grant threw a force over into Paducah
just in time to save that point from being occupied
by Bishop Polk's rebels, who would doubtless oth
erwise have soon shelled him out of Cairo, and
made havoc generally.
THE BATTLE OF BELMONT.
Grant's first engagement was on the 7th of No-
124

GRANTS MILITARY CAREER. 125
vember, at Belmont, a small town on the west, or
right, bank of the Mississippi, opposite Columbus,
Ky. This engagement wore the appearance of a
defeat, since it ended by the Union force retreating
to their starting point, leaving their dead and
wounded in the enemy's hands. Subsequent
reports, however, put a different phase upon it, as
it was made to appear what was the object of the
expedition. This, according to the official report
of General Grant, was mainly to demonstrate upon
Polk's works, and prevent him from reinforcing
some troops against whom Pope was operating in
Missouri. If so, its object was accomplished,
though not without severe loss to the attacking
party ; viz., 84 killed and 300 wounded and missing
out of a command of 2,850 men. Of the five regi
ments of infantry, one battery and two squadrons
of cavalry engaged, the 7th Iowa Infantry suffered
most seriously. The rebel loss is stated by some
authorities as high as one thousand men ; and the
rebel force was certainly larger than ours. The
affair was of the nature of a forest skirmish, and
was waged with great courage and desperation on
both sides. It was, however, magnified into a grave
defeat, the public mind being morbidly excited after
the disasters of Big Bethel and Bull Run, with
which the war opened. It proved to be almost the
only engagement of this great commander's many
trying campaigns which could be construed into a
defeat, even by the most captious of his detractors

126 THE STRUGGLE OF '72-
CAPTURE OF FORT HENRY.
The brilliant engagements ending with the cap
ture of Forts Henry and Donelson, of which Grant
was the directing genius, occurred in the February
following, having been set on foot some weeks ear
lier. By the middle of January the Rebels had
established a pretty continuous and well defended
line (so far as numerical forces were concerned),
stretching from Manassas to Columbus. Lying in
this line were several important strategic points —
none more so than Forts Henry and Donelson —
two strong earthworks which had been thrown up
and were rapidly being finished off as first-class
forts, situated respectively on the Tennessee and
Cumberland rivers, where those great navigable
streams approach within twelve miles of each other,
and not far south of the boundary between Tennes
see and Kentucky. Against these Grant moved
early in February, with twenty regiments of infan
try, one regiment and four independent companies
of cavalry and four batteries of artillery, as land
forces, aided by six river gun boats, of the pattern
then just originated, under Commodore Foote.
Fort Henry was easily taken, the gallant Commo
dore having indeed secured its capitulation before
the land forces arrived in front.
FORT DONELSON.
The easily won victory of Fort Henry was fol
lowed by the capture of Fort Donelson, won at the
end of two day's hard fighting. Fort Donelson was
defended by Generals Floyd and Pillow, with a force

GRANT'S MILITARY CAREER. I 27
of sixteen to eighteen thousand men and a very
heavy armament of columbiads and field pieces.
The work was a very strong one, every way worthy
in the engineering skill which had placed and plan
ned it to defend the most important stragetic
point west of the Blue Ridge. The movement
upon Donelson from the fort on the Tennessee
was made on the i ith of February ; but the engage
ment on land was not commenced until the 15th.
(The gunboats had been pounding away during the
two previous days, and had damaged seriously the
water batteries of the fort, and at the same time ex
perienced severe punishment themselves.)
Grant's forces consisted of the divisions of Gen
erals McClernand, C. F. Smith, and Lew. Wallace.
The first of these was furiously attacked by a force
of 10,000 rebels, hurled suddenly against them at day
break. The engagement thus inaugurated was con
tinued all day with varying fortune, Grant sending
McClernand heavy reinforcements from Smith and
Wallace, and at the same time pushing the attack
on the right of the enemies lines, which had been
left weakened by the massing in front of McCler
nand. A dashing charge was made, led by Smith
in person, and all the positions carried. This was
the turning point in the engagement. Night closed
in and the attaek was to have been renewed and the
advantage followed up in the morning; but with
the morning came a flag of truce with a note, pro
posing a capitulation. It was from Simon B. Buck-
ner— not from Floyd, nor yet from Pillow, both of

128 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
whom had ignominiously fled during the night.
GRANT'S CORRESPONDENCE IN THE FIELD.
The correspondence which ensued between the
victorious and the defeated commanders has be
come famous, and, being remarkably laconic, may
be properly given here. Buckner who was much
more of a soldier by nature than his superiors, and
who was evidently disgusted at their course, lost no
time in sending Grant the following note :
" Head-quarters, Fort Donelson, February 16th. 1862.
" Sir : — In consideration of all the circumstances governing the present
situation of affairs at this station, I propose to the commanding officer of the
Federal forces ^he appointment of commissioners to agree upon terms of
capitulation of the forces and fort under my command, and in that view sug
gest an armistice until twelve o'clock to-day.
" I am sir very respectfully, your obedient servant, •' S. B. BUCKNER,
"Brigadier-General, C. S. A.
" To Brigadier-General Grant, commanding United States forces
near Fort Donelson."
To which Grant made this memorable reply:
Head-Quarters, Army in the Field,
"Camp near Donelson, February 16th, 1862.
" To General S. B. Buckner, Confederate Army .
" Yours of this date, proposing an armistice and appointment of commis
sioners to settle terms of capitulation, is just received. No terms other than
an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move
immediately upon your works.
" I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
"U.S. GRANT.
" Brigadier-General, U. S. A., Commanding."
And soon the final answer came from Buckner :
" Head-quarters, Dover, Tenn., February 16th, 1862.
" To'Brigadier-General U. S. Grant, U. S. A. :
" Sir : — The distribution of the forces under my command, incident to an
unexpected change of commanders and the overwhelming force under your

GRANT S MILITARY CAREER. 1 29
command, compel me, notwithstanding the brilliant success of the Confede
rate arms yesterday, to accept the ungenerous and unchivalrous terms which
you propose. , " I am, sir, your very obedient servant,
"S. B. BUCKNER,
" Brigadier-General, C. S. A."
It may be added, in passing, that the style ex
hibited in the communication to Gen. Buckner
fairly exemplifies Grant's style of correspondence
in similar exigencies throughout the war. He was
always laconic, but not affectedly so. He always
embraced all the essential points at issue, but never
expanded upon them, nor indulged in mere brag-
adocia or stilted grandiloquence, such as character
izes the orders and proclamations of many com
manders, both great and small. Grant's brevity of
epistle is a result of his simplicity of diction rather
than of any scarcity of ideas, and of his apparently
intuitive perception, rather than labored analysis
of the elements of each critical situation.
The victory at Fort Donelson was dearly bought,
though no less so than could have been expected
from the exceeding strength of the work to be taken
and the courage with which the Confederate troops
fought. Of the Union forces, 446 were killed, 1,735
wounded and 1 50 made prisoners ; while the rebels
lost in killed 231, in wounded 1,007 and in prisoners
nearly 14,000 — a few having escaped along with the
cowards, Floyd and Pillow.
PUBLIC REJOICINGS.
This victory occasioned more rejoicing through
out the North, especially the Northwest, than any

I30 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
other victory of the war, except the great final tri
umphs which it was given to the hero of the Don
elson fight to win also. Spontaneous meetings were
held everywhere and all manner of jubilant public
demonstrations were indulged in. The anniversary
of Washington's birthday came within a day or two
after the public obtained the particulars of the fight ;
and there has never been so fervently patriotic a
celebration of the birthday of the Father of his
Country as took place on the 22nd of February,
1862. The writer had the privilege of listening, at
Milwaukee, to a very eloquent oration from Hon.
Matthias H. Carpenter, in which the elogium in
memory of the great dead was gracefully interwo
ven with a tribute to our northern soldiery and to
their intrepid leader in Tennessee. Little did his
hearers then think, when mingling their tears of
gratitude to the living and of bereavement for the
dead, that the same gifted orator would, ten years
after, be called upon to defend the fame of the same
gallant General from attacks of slander and innu
endo made in the United States Senate, and inspir
ed by motives far less worthy of charity than those
which made necessary the attack upon Donelson !
PROMOTED TO MAJOR GENERAL.
The victory achieved at Forts Henry and Don
elson was most prolific of good results. The nav
igation of the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers
was assured by it, and the Rebel line of occupation
was so effectually penetrated that it had to be with-

GRANT'S MILITARY CAREER. 131
drawn fully two hundred miles on the average,
necessitating the abandonment, within a few days,
of the strongholds of Columbus, Bowling Green,
and Nashville, all of which were speedily occupied
by the Union armies. For this achievement Grant
was promoted to be a Major General of volunteers.
His name was also greatly promoted in the affec
tions of all loyal people, who, whether or not they
appreciated the strategic advantages of his position,
or the military difficulties which he had overcome,
did appreciate the value of a trustworthy leader
for the troops whose fighting qualities had been so
bravely demonstrated. And it was very refreshing to
the souls of the patriotic to learn of a signal vic
tory to the national arms after hearing scarcely
aught for months but disaster to a cause and an
army that deserved only good fortune.
SHILOH.
Six months afterwards — as soon as the new lev
ies of troops, now rapidly pouring in from the
North, under Lincoln's call for half a million of
men, could be organized and drilled a little — came
the battle of Pittsburgh Landing; or, as the Reb
els called it, Shiloh. This was a step in the aggres
sive campaign which had been inaugurated (though
unfortunately with Halleck, the least aggressive of
generals, to direct it) against the strong and threat
ening forces of the Rebels. These forces had been
strengthened by the arrival of Beauregard from
Manassas, with 15,000 troops; and an army of at

I32 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
least 60,000 was raised at Corinth, under command
of General Albert Sidney Johnston, probably the
ablest of all the Rebel generals. To dislodge this
army, and to prevent it from assuming the offensive,
was the task of Grant. To this end he crossed
the Tennessee at Savannah and took up a position
on the left bank of the river at Pittsburgh Landing.
The ground, a series of wooded ridges and ravines,
flanked by creeks, was selected by General C. F.
Smith, with reference to its defensibility against
the attack which the enemy was deemed sure to
make. The attack came rather sooner than was
expected, on the morning of the 6th of April, and
before Buell's army, which formed a part of Grant's
force, could come up from Savannah. The organi
zation and officering of the contending armies
were as follows : REBELS.
Force, 45,000.
Commander-in-chief, Gen. A. S. Johnston.
Second in Command, Gen. P. T. Beauregard.
First Corps, Lieut.-Gen. Leonidas Polk.
Second Corps, Lieut-Gen. Braxton Bragg.
Third Corps, Lieut.-Gen. W. T. Hardee.
Reserves, Maj.-Gen. G. B. Crittenden.
UNION FORCES.
Force, 38,000.
Commander-in-chief, Maj.-Gen. U. S. Grant.
First Division, Maj.-Gen. John A. McClernand.

GRANT S MILITARY CAREER 1 33
Second Division, Brig.-Gen. W. H. L. Wallace.
Third Division, Maj.-Gen. Lewis Wallace.
Fourth Division, Brig.-Gen. S. A. Hurlbut.
Fifth Division, Brig.-Gen. W. T, Sherman.
(The Division of Gen. Lew. Wallace, 5,000 strong,
was not engaged during the first days.)
In the disposition of Grant's forces for the battle,
Gen Prentiss occupied the left, resting on the left
bank of the river, near the mouth of Lick Creek.
At his right, his line stretching in a curvilinear di
rection to Owl Creek, was Gen. Sherman, sup
ported in the rear by McClernand, while W. H. L.
Wallace was posted with his command a mile in
the rear, so as to command the bridge across Owl
Creek, (or Snake Creek, into which it has emptied)
and at the same time act as a reserve for use in
case the attack should be pressed too hotly upon
the left and center. To guard the flank and rear.
Lew, Wallace was stationed with his division in
column by brigades across the Burdy road, near
Crump s Landing, six miles below.
The story of the battle was briefly this (for we
must not go into detail in regard to each of Grant's
battles — there were too many of them) : The
fight was precipitated by a collision between a
small reconnoitering party sent out from Prentiss's
headquarters, and the advance guard of the enemy,
who had already assembled for the attack. The
two or three companies of scouts were driven in
pell-mell, and Prentiss's force a good deal disor
dered by the suddenness of the onset. They ral-

I34 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
lied, however, and, with help from McClernand,
were soon able to make a stand. The battle was
waged fiercely all the forenoon, all along Sherman's
and Prentiss's lines (the latter officer was taken
prisoner early in the day, together with a consider
able portion of his command), and again about four
o'clock in the afternoon, when the Rebels made a
furious charge on our left. This last was directed
by Beauregard, General Johnston having fallen
mortally wounded at half past two o'clock. The
plan of the Rebel commander was to turn Grant's
left flank and crowd him away from the river alto
gether; and to this end the whole force of the
enemy was hurled impetuously against the raw
levies who made up the larger part of Grant's army.
But they fought with all the firmness and more
than the desperation of the coolest veterans. The
discharge of musketry and artillery was deafening
and continuous, from daylight till dark, and the
wooded ridges and ravines which formed the battle
ground were covered with the dead and wounded,
men and horses. Night closed in upon two defeated
and shattered armies. That is, the Union forces
were driven back a mile all along, and were in a
bad plight for fighting on the morrow ; and as for
the Rebels, when Grant, reinforced by a few regi
ments brought by Buell, and by the division of
Wallace, now tardily arrived from Crump's Land
ing, ordered an advance and an attack at daybreak,
it was found that the "Johnnies," too, had fallen
back, and were so weak as to afford next to no

GRANTS MILITARY CAREER. 135
resistance to the onset. A pursuit was ordered
under Sherman ; but the storm of Sunday night
had rendered the roads impracticable for cavalry,
and the pursuit was not pressed. Beauregard, who,
according to contemporary accounts, had made his
boast that he "would water his horses that night in
the Tennessee or in h — 1," was in full retreat away
from the Tennessee, and presumably in the direc
tion of the other place named.
During the terrible engagement of Sunday — one
of the most severe of modern times — General
Grant had been always noticeable for his activity
and energy, though always cool and seemingly ob
livious to danger. He seemed ubiquitous, and
more than once averted disaster by his presence
and timely directions. Prodigies of valor were
displayed by officers and prodigies of endurance
by the men. General Sherman had three horses
shot under him and received two wounds, but kept
his saddle in spite of them. At night, after giving
directions for the morrow, Grant (who, by the way,
had been suffering for two days with a sprained
ankle, which disabled him either from walking or
mounting without help), lay down on the field
and slept, with a log for his pillow, and the sleety
rain falling upon him. But this was no worse for
the General commanding than for his noble troops
— not so bad as for the thousands of them who lay
wounded upon the field, the most of them in hostile
hands, as they believed. The losses of the Union
army in this bloody engagement amounted to 1,700

136 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
killed, 7,495 wounded and 3,022 missing; while
those of the Rebels were still greater in killed and
wounded, but aggregating about 1,500 less than
ours. grant's generalship criticised.
General Grant's management of this affair has
been a subject of much acrimonious discussion.
The friends of Halleck and Buell, jealous of the
fame which Grant was already winning, made a
persistent exhibition of all the unfavorable features
of the engagement — such as the severe mortality
among our troops (the rebels lost still more), the
surprise of Prentiss and Stuart, and especially the
absence of General Grant during the first three
hours of the engagement. The only criticism which
seems to stand the test of subsequent investi
gation and very free discussion by men of military
science is that, in view of the proximity and sup
posed force of the enemy, Grant should not have
ent renched himself in front. This mistake, however,
was shared by Sherman and by other officers of
now acknowledged genius ; and it was counterbal
anced by such qualities and feats on the part of the
Commander-in-chief, during the progress of the
fight, as were unquestionably the means of winning
it in more than one crisis when another commander
would have lost. The charge was made that the
army was not efficiently directed during the first day
of the battle ; and Don Carlos Buell, who arrived
quite at his leisure, at four o'clock that afternoon,

grants military career. 139
caused it to be understood that he then found the
army practically without ahead. Nothing could be
farther from the truth. Grant's orders, from the time
of leaving Savanna at five o'clock in the morning
and ordering up Nelson's division (the advance of
Buell's army) to the time of directing the triumphant
advance on Monday morning, were those of a clear
headed and far-seeing general, as well as an active
and courageous soldier. At ten o'clock on Sunday
forenoon, when Sherman was so hotly pressed,
Grant was with him, sustaining him with his coun
sel , at other critical junctures and places during
the day. he was always to be found, reforming the
line and giving directions ; at four o'clock in the
afternoon he. met Buell at the Landing; at five
o'clock he placed in position a brigade just arrived
from Nelson's Division across the river; in the even
ing he met Buell and Sherman for consultation, and
gave orders for the attack on the following morn
ing. When Buell arrived, his question to Grant
was, "Well, General, what preparations have you
made for retreating ?" And Grant's answer, " I
haven't despaired of whipping them yet," and his
order to hurry up the troops from Savanna showed,
when coupled with the result of the next day's ad
vance, that Grant understood the situation much
better than his critic.
It should be borne in mind that this battle of
Shiloh was the first general engagement since the
disastrous battle of Bull Run, in which a large,
well organized and well commanded force of the

I40 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
rebels had been met by our boys, and that the
result was, at all events, such as to completely
erase the painful impression produced by the panic
into which the Northern army had been thrown.
General Wm. Tecumseh Sherman, now General-in-
Chief of the army, (and who warmly defends the
course of Grant at Shiloh), is of opinion that just
such a deadly engagement as this was necessary,
to demonstrate the perfect morale of our men when
on the field and without entrenchments — a very
important element in the conduct, plan and man
agement of all military operations.

CHAPTER IX.
GRANT'S MILITARY CAREER.
(CONTINUED.)
Halleck in Command — Corinth Captured — Battle of Iuka — Desperate Fight
ing at Corinth — The Rebels Out-Generaled — Grant as an Administrator —
Vicksburg Striven After — Two Unsuccessful Attempts to Reach it — Grant
"Takes the Responsibility," and Wins the Most Decisive Victory of the
War. On the 8th of April, 1862, General Halleck, in
charge of the department, took the chief com
mand of the combined armies of Grant and Buell.
Sherman, with a large cavalry and infantry force,
made a reconnoisance on the line toward Corinth,
and, after a brief, but brilliant skirmish, compelled
an outlying force of the enemy to retire, and de
stroyed their camp. Several movements of a sim
ilar character were made by our forces during the
month of April. On the 30th, the town of Purdy
was occupied, two important bridges were blown
up, and the siege of Corinth began to assume defi
nite shape. Beauregard made good use of his time
in concentrating his forces and strengthening his
fortifications. The Grand Army of the Tennessee was organ
ized early in May, under the supreme command of
General Halleck, as follows: The Army of the
Tennessee, under Grant, was on the right ; Buell,
n 9

142 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
with the Army of the Ohio, occupied the center,
and Pope's Army of the Mississippi was on the
left. There were in all sixteen divisions, eight of
which were in the army of General Grant, whose
right wing was commanded by General George
H. Thomas. Grant was made second in command,
under Halleck, a promotion which was warmly ap
proved by the soldiers of the Grand Army.
CAPTURE OF CORINTH.
The investment of Corinth proceeded with credit
able rapidity. From the 8th of May to the 16th,
there was almost continual skirmishing between
the advance guards on both sides. On the 17th,
Sherman captured Thorsell's House, a strong point
which was held by a large Rebel force. The place
was immediately occupied by our victorious troops.
On the 21st Thomas A. Davis's division, after a
very sharp engagement, captured an important
bridge, within shelling distance of the Southern
lines, north of Philips's Creek. Sherman's division
drove a strong body of the enemy on the 2 7th, and
on the 28th the columns commanded by Thomas,
Pope and Buell, under the chief direction of Gen
eral Grant, advanced within easy gunshot range of
the Rebel stronghold. The loss on our side was
severe, but the fight sickened the enemy, who, on
the succeeding day, evacuated Corinth, conceiving
that it would be impossible to defend it successfully
against the skillful disposition and impatient valor
of our investing force. The fifth division of Grant's

GRANTS MILITARY CAREER.

143

Army of the Tennessee was the first to plant its
colors on the captured ramparts. The enemy were
vigorously pursued, but their flight was so rapid
that nothing could be done with them, beyond de
stroying railroad communications and capturing
supplies. General Sherman again signalized him
self in this pursuit, and at Holly Springs damaged
the enemy's communications with such effect that
their future movements were much embarrassed.
The pursuers were then recalled and the Grand
Army rested on its arms.
When Memphis capitulated, in the month of
June. 1862, Grant visited that city, and placed a
Provost-Marshal in charge of it. He immediately
issued such orders as effectually checked the rebel
lious practices of a majority of the citizens. The
guerilla outrages were greatly mitigated and illicit
trade with Rebels in arms was peremptorily pro
hibited. The families of such persons as held offi
cial position, civil or military, under the Rebel Gov
ernment, were ordered to move south beyond our
lines, unless they signed a prescribed parole and
guaranteed good behavior in the future. Other
important orders were also issued, all of which had
a happy effect on our cause, and showed favorably
for the executive ability of General Grant.
GRANT. SUPREME IN THE SOUTHWEST.
General Halleck bade farewell to the Grand
Army of the Tennessee on the 17th of July, and
proceeded to the National Capitol, where he as-

144 THE STUGGLE OF 72.
sumed a still higher office, that of Commander-in-
Chief of the Union Armies. The Department of
the Mississippi was then subdivided, and Grant was
placed in command of the Department of West
Tennessee, his headquarters being at Corinth. This
was the idlest military period of Grant's active career
in the War of the Rebellion. From July until the
middle of September nothing of importance, from
a fighting standpoint, occurred. Some skirmishes
took place, in which our troops where uniformly the
victors. The army was perfected in discipline, and
the rebel positions were fully reconnoitred, prepar
atory to another campaign.
On the nth day of August 1862, the following
significant order was issued :
grant's administrative orders.
On the nth of August, 1862, General Grant is
sued an important order (published in full in a sub
sequent chapter) relating to the employment of
negroes who came into camp as fugitives from slav
ery. He soon afterwards caused the adoption in
his army of a system of educating and caring for
the negroes, which was substantially that adopted
afterwards by Congress in the formation of the
Freedmen's Bureau. On the 16th of the same
month another order was issued providing for the
enlistment of all skulkers, from States within the
Union, who would be subject to the draft if at home.
Their enrollment was to be allowed for "in the
quotas of their proper districts. Traffic with the

grant's military career. 145
enemy, or with sympathizers with the rebellion, was
forbidden, under heavy penalties.
BATTLE OF IUKA.
On the day of the famous battle of Antietam,
September 17, 1862, General Grant ordered an ad
vance against the rebel commander, Sterling Price,
who had concentrated his forces near luka, on the
Memphis and Charleston Railroad. Price had with
'him about 15,000 men, and was endeavoring to de
ceive Grant into the belief that he intended to fol
low Buell's army, which was then retiring upon
Nashville. He wanted to draw Grant away from
Corinth, upon which place Van Dorn's rebel column
was marching with rapid strides. Price's plan,
which Grant instantly penetrated, was to join his
forces to Van Dorn's and so recapture the fortified
camp which the rebel army had evacuated in the
early part of the campaign. Grant was aware, from
information he received through his scouts, that it
would require at least four days' rapid marching to
bring Van Dorn before Corinth. In that time he
hoped to surround and capture Price, — so he laid
his plans accordingly.
General Ord, with about 3,500 men, having left
garrisons at Corinth and other points of import
ance, was ordered to move on the left of the rail
road to luka. General Ross, posted at Bolivar,
was ordered, by telegram, to follow that route also,
raising the Union force, which was destined to attack
Price from the North, to something over 6,500 men.

146 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
Stanley's division, of Rosecrans's command, with
Mizner's troopers, was ordered to move by way of
Jacinto, and so take the enemy in flank, while
Hamilton's brigade was ordered to move around by
the Fulton road, so as to encompass the enemy on
the south and cut off his retreat, or, at least, throw
him into hopeless confusion.
The forces were pretty nearly equalized, but the
enemy had the advantage of position. At 4 o'clock
on the morning of September 18, the grand move
ment of our troops commenced. Rosecrans, that
same night, having marched all day over bad roads
and through a heavy rain-storm, rested his tired
soldiers at Jacinto. He continued his advance
early next morning, and, after sharp fighting at
Barnett's Corners, marched direct on luka and en
countered Price in force on the center ridge which
helped to defend that position. The fighting lasted
until darkness set in, and, during the long struggle,
three guns, belonging to an Ohio regiment, were
frequently taken and retaken, but finally, at night,
the enemy held them.
Grant rode with Ord's column, expecting, when
he reached the objective point, to be in full com
munication with Rosecrans. That general had,
however, encountered greater difficulties than he
calculated upon. The roads on the line of his ad
vance were miserable. The rebels were well posted
and in formidable force and the messengers sent by
either general, being unused to that tangled coun
try, lost their way in the woods so that the com-

GRANTS MILITARY CAREER. 147
munications sent after operations began, were late
in arriving. Thus Ord's force could not be brought
into action in time to capture Price and his army,
but the approach of our soldiers from the North
made the rebel commander retreat in hot haste in
the direction of Bay Springs, twenty-seven miles
south from the,battle field. He had lost one of
his best officers, Gen. Little ; his diversion in favor
of Van Dorn was defeated ; he had lost over 2,000
of his men, in killed, wounded and prisoners.
Grant, although the effort to surround Price had
failed, had effectually punished his audacity, de
moralized his forces and prevented his proposed
attack on Corinth, at least for that time.
Meanwhile Van Dorn was marching from the
West, hoping to eat up Grant's forces without even
a note of warning. Price's fugitive army, having
made a tremendous circuit, joined Van Dorn at
Dumas and the combined forces moved northward
on Pocahontas.where they were still further strength
ened by the rebel division of Mansfield Lovell.
The enemy then marched by the railroad, through
Chewalla, upon Corinth.
THE BATTLE, ABOUT CORINTH.
Grant, being in a state of uncertainty as to
which route the rebels would decide to advance
upon, had provided for the safety of all the posts
within his command. Rosecrans had been marched
back from Jacinto and reached Corinth on Septem
ber 26. Ord was stationed at Bolivar, which was

I48 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
a threatened point, and from which he could read
ily support Rosecrans in the event of a strong at
tack upon his position. Hurlbut's division senti
nelled the country toward Pocahontas, while Gen
eral Grant's headquarters were at Jackson.
The works at Corinth had been improved, under
Grant's orders, in a manner that rendered them de
fensible by a small, as well as by a large army, for
which they were originally intended. Every pre
caution was taken, and Corinth was a very hard
rock against which Van Dorn was determined to
dash his unfortunate soldiers.
The 3d of October brought the enemy in force
on the Chewalla road. The reconnoitering troops,
after a heavy fight, were driven in on the outer
intrenchments, which they stubbornly defended.
Davis's brigade lost two heavy guns in the retreat,
and the yelling foe halted within range of our ram
parts. Van Dorn immediately telegraphed Jeff.
Davis that he had gained a surprising victory.
The rebels made merry in their camps that night,
and devoured their hoe cake with gusto.
Next morning, the memorable 4th of October,
dawned on one of the most fiercely contested
battles of that murderous war. The enemy, during
the night, had erected several batteries in our front,
and had closed up their lines to within 1,000
yards of our works. Their generals addressed
them in stirring words, and they were wild for the
onset. Our men stood cool and firm, making no demon-

grant's military CAREER. 149
strations, but evincing a calm courage that was well
borne out on that sanguinary day.
The enemy opened the ball with a fierce cannon
ade from the batteries erected on our right, which-
was held by the division of General Hamilton, sup
ported by Dillon's battery. Davies's division, sup
ported by the Powell battery, occupied the centre,
while Stanley's division, protected by the batteries
of Williams and Robinett, defended the extreme
left of our line. The attack on Davies was the first
grand movement of the day, and it was one of the
most determined on record. The rebel columns,
headed by Price, rushed upon our left centre, de
spite our tremendous fire, like furious bisons. They
fell in whole sections, but nothing in the way of
cannon balls and cannister could drive them back.
Davies's division was too hard pressed, and began
to waver, but Rosencrans rushed to its aid, and,
fighting magnificently, drove back the savage hordes.
The latter, however, rallied again, advanced with
fresh fury and actually entered the outskirts of the
town, where they were finally mowed down and
bloodily repulsed by a section of artillery, which
was gallantly supported by the Tenth Ohio and
Fifth Minnesota infantry.
Price had thus disastrously failed, but Van Dorn,
not to be outdone in foolhardy valor, led a terrific
attack on our left, which, after a terrible struggle,
was driven back in confusion. Again the glorious
maniacs, led by brainless officers, are hurled into
the very flaming mouth of destruction. Nothing

I50 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
daunted, on they came, strewing the intervening
ground with their dead and wounded, mown down
like summer grass. Their charging shout was
heard even above that infernal din. But all was in
vain. Torn with round shot, shattered with grape,
mown down by shell, and literally overwhelmed by
a concentrated fire of musketry, those dauntless
troops, worthy of wiser leaders and a better cause,
were at length compelled to retreat, from sheer ex
haustion. Our brave fellows, having received the
stirring order to charge upon the foe, advanced at
a double-quick, and quickened the enemy's flight.
They retreated on Pocahontas, where, early on the
morning of October 5th, they were attacked by the
division of General Hurlbut, which Grant had dis
patched on that route to intercept them. The en
emy were driven back over the Hatchie river, to
ward Corinth. Ord now arrived and took com
mand. The pursuit was very vigorous. The Reb
els retreated to Crum's Mill, six miles above, where
they recrossed the Hatchie in a fearfully disorgan
ized condition. Their ruin being complete, Grant
recalled the pursuers and issued a congratulatory
order to the troops who had participated in the
dreadful conflict. This order is worthy of being
preserved : General Orders, No. 88.
Headquarters Department of West Tennessee.
Jackson, Tenn., October 7, 1862.
It is with heartfelt gratitude the general commanding congratulates the
armies of the West for another great victory, won by them on the 3d, 4th,
and 5th instant, over the combined armies of Van Dorn, Price and Lovell.

GRANT'S MILITARY CAREER.

151

The enemy chose his own time and place of attack, and, knowing the
troops of the West as he does, and with great facilities for knowing their
numbers, never would have made the attempt, except with a superior force
numerically. But for the undaunted bravery of officers and soldiers, who have
yet to learn defeat, the efforts of the enemy must have proven successful.
Whilst one division of the army, under Major-General Rosecrans, was
resisting and repelling the onslaught of the Rebel hosts at Corinth, another,
from Bolivar, under Major-General Hurlbut, was marching upon the enemy's
rear, driving in their pickets and cavalry, and attracting the attention of a
large force of infantry and artillery. On the following day under Major-
General Ord these forces advanced with unsurpassed gallantry, driving the
enemy back across the Hatchie, over ground where it is almost incredible
that a superior force should be driven by an inferior, capturing two of the
batteries (eight guns), many hundred small-arms, and several hundred
prisoners. To those two divisions of the army all praise is due, and will be rewarded
by a grateful country.
Between them there should be, and I trust are, the warmest bonds of broth
erhood. Each was risking life in the same cause, and, on this occasion,
risking it also to save and assist the other. No troops could do more than
these separate armies. Each did all possible for it to do in the places as
signed it.
As in all great battles, so in this, it becomes our fate to mourn the loss of
many brave and faithful officers and soldiers who have given up their lives
as a sacrifice for a great principle. The nation mourns for them.
By command of
Major-General U. S. Grant.
John A. Rawlins, A. A. G.
The plans of General Grant had succeeded be
yond his most sanguine hopes. He had confided
to Rosecrans, for the defence of Corinth, the fol
lowing troops : Hamilton's division, containing the
brigades of Buford and Sullivan ; Davies's division,
brigades of Oglesby and Hackelman ; Stanley's
division, nine regiments ; McArthur's and Oliver's
brigades, commanded by McArthur. Batteries:
First Missouri; Third Michigan; Company F,
United States artillery; Tenth and Eleventh Ohio;
Eighth and Twelfth Wisconsin; Three Missouri

152 THE STUGGLE OF 72.
companies, together with the strong batteries al
ready mentioned.
With the commands of Hurlbut and Ord he had
operated in rear of the discomfited foe and com
pleted his demoralization. The enemy had lost
in killed 1,423 officers and enlisted men ; nearly
6,000 in wounded and 2,300 prisoners, while four
teen regimental colors and two pieces of field ord
nance were among the trophies of this brilliant
victory. Our loss was relatively slight, amounting
to only 2,000 in killed, wounded and missing. Gen
eral Hackelman was killed and Generals Ord and
Oglesby were both severely wounded.
President Lincoln telegraphed his congratu
lations, and asked how it all summed up. It cleared
Grant's road to Vicksburg. The country again did
honor to the Western heroes, and Corinth became
a synonym of hope to all loyal citizens of the
United States. AGAIN PROMOTED.
The War Department recognized the services of
General Grant by making him, on October 16, 1862,
Commander of the Department of the Tennessee,
embracing the State of Mississippi to Vicksburg,
together with Cairo, Fort Henry, Fort Donelson,
and those portions of Kentucky and Tennessee
west of the river of the latter name.
Grant established his headquarters at Jackson,
Tenn., and, on the 26th of October, issued a general
order placing the District of Memphis under con-

GRANT S MILITARY CAREER. 153
trol of General W. T. Sherman; the District of
Jackson under charge of General W. S. Hurlbut ;
the District of Corinth under command of General
C. S. Hamilton, and the District of Columbus under
the orders of General T. A. Davies. These Dis
tricts comprised four geographical divisions, each
commander being held responsible to the head of
the Department. The Army of the Mississippi was
continued as a separate organization, and matters of
detail were clearly disposed of.
In addition to the foregoing, on November i,
General Grant issued a general order which regu
lated the movements of trains and limited the
equipments of the soldiery to the smallest possible
weight and bulk. He set his face against the en
cumbrance of numerous baggage wagons; dis
countenanced dandyism in the office, and set an
example to all his forces by going through the ap
proaching campaign destitute of everything super
fluous in the way of personal baggage.
VICKSBURG NEXT!
The fall of Memphis had left the Mississippi
open, from Minneapolis on the North, and from
New Orleans on the South, to Vicksburg and the
country surrounding it, which was held by the rebel
forces under John C. Pemberton.
' Vicksburg, key of the Mississippi, was now the
splendid prize toward which the undaunted mind
of Grant was directing all its attention.
The attempt to cut a new channel for the Mis-

154 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
sissippi, and leave Vicksburg high and dry inland,
had failed. Farragut had been operating around
Vicksburg with his fleet, about the middle of the sum
mer ; he had even silenced some of the enemy's
batteries ; but low water had eventually compelled
him to take his flotilla down the river to New
Orleans. Pemberton's main army covered Vicksburg on
the line of the Mississippi Central Railroad, the
strong points of his position being Abbeville, be
hind the Tallahatchie river, and Holly Springs,
Miss. His advance guard was posted between
Grand Junction and La Grange.
THE FIRST ASSAULT.
Several reconnoisances had been made by our
troops, under Grant's directions, and, on Novem
ber 4th, that general's plans having been completed
and his forces concentrated, he pushed briskly for
ward and, encountering Pemberton's advance at
La Grange, drove it back, with great loss, on Holly
Springs. This movement flanked the enemy at
Grand Junction, on the Memphis and Charleston
Railroad, and they rapidly fell back from that posi
tion. Grant urged forward his elated troops, and
succeeded in capturing Ripley, Orizaba and Hud-
sonville, thereby uncovering the enemy's strong
positions of Holly Springs and Coldwater.
Sherman was advancing from Memphis with a
splendid army, and an expeditionary force from
Arkansas, under Generals A. T. Hovey and Wash-

GRANTS MILITARY CAREER

J55

burne, was taking the Rebel army in flank. Thus,
surrounded on almost every side, Lovell, who com
manded that portion of the Rebel army, aban
doned the line of the Tallahatchie and fell back in
confusion, without making even a respectable effort
to defend his position.
It would be impossible, in a book of this extent,
to give details of the brilliant manoeuvring on the
part of General Grant's , forces, which led to this
result. The Rebels had fallen back to Grenada,
and Northern Mississippi appeared to be almost
entirely under control of our forces. Grant moved
forward on the Rebel lines at Grenada, and was
preparing for a final assault upon Pemberton, when
an unexpected disaster, due to the treason or cow
ardice of a subordinate, destroyed all his plans,
uncovered his rear to the enemy and threatened to
destroy his communications. It came about in the
following manner:
Hovey, after the retreat of the rebels, had been
ordered to return to Helena, and, when Van Dorn,
who commanded a division of Pemberton's army,
was aware of this fact, he resolved upon a bold ex
pedition in rear of Grant's forces, with the intention
of capturing the posts of Columbus, Trenton, Jack
son, Bolivar, Corinth, Holly Springs and other
places of lesser importance, and, by this means, com
pelling Grant, in order to save his line of communica
tion with the North, to fall back and so relieve Pem
berton, whose front and flanks were being roughly
assailed by the indefatigable captor of Fort Donelson.

156 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
Van Dorn lost no time in putting his plan into
execution. He fell like a thunderbolt on Cold
Water, Davis's Mills and Middlesburg, but was
bloodily repulsed in each- endeavor. Unfortu
nately the strong and important post of Holly
Springs, which contained many valuable stores,
and which was garrisoned by the Eighth Wiscon
sin infantry, was under the command of a man
who was utterly inadequate to the task before him
Van Dorn surrounded the place on the 20th
of December, and at once moved to an assault
upon it. Murphy, the commander, deeming his
regiment too weak to resist the shock, despite
the protestations of his officers and men, disgrace
fully surrendered the place, almost without firing
a shot. Grant was then at Oxford, Miss., thirty miles
away, and, when this disastrous news reached him,
fearing a, movement of the enemy in his rear, he
fell back to Holly Springs, which Van Dorn had
evacuated, after burning or carrying off everything
of value.
Grant immediately issued a ringing order, in
which he denounced the surrender of the place, and
refused to accede to terms of parole agreed upon
between the inefficient commander and the rebel
general, unless some modifications were made by
the latter. He also congratulated the garrisons
that held out, most warmly. The wretched Colonel
was dismissed in disgrace from the service of the
United States.

GRANTS MILITARY CAREER. T59
SHERMANS UNSUCCESSFUL ENDEAVOR.
Prior to the mishap at Holly Springs, the first
act in the drama having been successfully performed,
Grant proposed to the Commander-in-Chief to hold
Pemberton beyond the Yalebooka river, while forces
from Helena and Memphis were moved on Vicks
burg. Halleck acceeded to this proposal, and, on
the 8th of December, General Sherman, who com
manded the right wing of the army, and who had
formed a junction with Grant, near Waterford,
Miss., on December i, received the following order:
Headquarters Department of the Tennessee, )
Oxford, Miss., Dec. 8, 1862. J
Major-General W. T. Sherman, Commanding Right Wing :
General — You will proceed with as little delay as possible to Memphis,
Tenn., taking with you one division of your present command. On your ar
rival at Memphis, you will assume command of all the troops there, and that
portion of General Curtis's force at present east of the Mississippi River, and
organize them into brigades and divisions in your own way. As soon as
possible, move with them down the river, to the vicinity of Vicksburg ; and,
with the co-operation of the gunboat fleet under command of Flag-Officer
Porter, proceed to the reduction of that place, in such manner as circum
stances and your own judgment may dictate.
The amount of rations, forage, land transportation, etc., necessary to take
will be left entirely with yourself. The quartermaster at St. Louis will be
instructed to send you transportation for thirty thousand men. Should you
still find yourself deficient, your quartermaster will be authorized to make
up the deficiency from such transports as may come into the port of Memphis.
On arriving in Memphis, put yourself in communication with Admiral
Porter, and arrange with him for his co-operation.
Inform me at the earliest practicable day of the time when you will embark,
and such plans as may then be matured. I will hold the forces here in readi
ness to co-operate with you in such manner as the movements of the enemy
may make necessary.
Leave the district of Memphis in the command of an efficient officer, and
with a garrison of four regiments of infantry, the siege-guns, and whatever
cavalry may be there. (Signed) U. S. GRANT, Major-General.
IO

l6o THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
In pursuance of this order, General Sherman
prepared, in concert with Admiral Porter, the first
expedition against Vicksburg. On the day after the
surrender of Holly Springs, (December 21st, of
which unfortunate event he was in total ignorance),
this gallant officer embarked his expeditionary force
at Memphis and Helena. He had with him four
splendid divisions of infantry, with artillery and a
small force of cavajry. On the 2 7th the main body
of his forces debarked at Johnston's Landing, on the
Yazoo river, about eight miles north of Vicksburg.
The result of the assault on the Rebel positions
along Haines's Bluff, is well known. Unsupported
from the interior by Grant, who had been com
pelled by the Holly Springs disaster to fall back,
as before stated, Sherman did all that man could
do, and failed, but not ingloriously. He buried his
dead, picked up his wounded and re-embarked his
troops, to rejoin Grant, whose vexation was great,
but whose gallant spirit was in no wise damped by
disappointment.

CHAPTER X.
GRANT'S. MILITARY CAREER.
(CONTINUED.)
Re-organization of the Army — The Slaves Emancipated — The Second Cam
paign against Vicksburg — Difficulties by Water — Porter Runs the Gaunt
let with his Gunboats — Attack on Grand Gulf — Battle of Port Gibson —
Vicksburg Described — Feints — The Battles of Champion Hills — The
Town Invested— The Grand Assault— The Outer Works Carried— The
Rebel Commander Capitulates — " Unconditional Surrender " Again —
Vicksburg and its Spoils — Port Hudson Too — The Victor's Crown.
FORMATION OF CORPS D'ARMEE.
Notwithstanding the results of these attempts
to reduce the Rebel stronghold of the Southwest,
the Government at Washington had learned to
confide in General Grant, and, as a consequence,
re-inforced him heavily. The army was immedi
ately divided into distinct corps, on the Napoleonic
plan, which is so admirably adapted to prevent con
fusion and develop the military talent of subordi
nate commanders. Numerous divisions were not
suited to the measures which the war, then assum
ing gigantic proportions, called for.
Accordingly, on December 2 2d, 1863, orders
were issued from headquarters, dividing the troops
in the Department of the Mississippi into four
corps d' armee. The divisions of G. W. Morgan
and A. J. Smith, with all troops operating on the
(16,)

1 62 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
river, below Memphis, except those included in the
Fifteenth Corps, comprised the Thirteenth Army
Corps, under the command of General McClernand,
Generals M. L. Smith and F. Steele's divisions,
with the forces in the "District of Memphis," were
formed into the Fifteenth Army Corps, Major-
General W. T Sherman commanding. The divi
sions of McArthur, Quimby and Ross, with the cav
alry of Colonel A. L. Lee, and the commands of
Davies and Sullivan, comprised the Sixteenth
Army Corps, commanded by Major-General Hurl
but. The Seventeenth Army Corps was made up
from the divisions of J. W. Denver, John A. Logan,
and J. G. Lauman, with Grierson's cavalry and
General Dodge's command in the Corinth district.
Major-General J. B. McPherson commanded this
organization. Subsequently, McArthur's and Quinby's divisions
were transferred from the Sixteenth to the Seven
teenth, and those of Denver and Lauman from the
Seventeenth to the Sixteenth Corps.
NEGRO EMANCIPATION.
When, on the 22d of September, 1862, Abraham
Lincoln issued that proclamation which has immor-
. talized his name, declaring that on the first day of
the new year, 1863, all persons held as slaves with
in the States which were in arms against the Fed
eral Government should be free, General Grant,
like a good soldier and faithful citizen, heartily
seconded the Administration, and allowed, wherever

GRANT'S MILITARY CAREER I 63
his department extended, no obstacle to be thrown
in the way of the Administration policy. He en
couraged the organization of colored troops, and
used all his influence to subdue the senseless pre
judice which then exsited against that unhappy
race. SECOND MOVEMENT ON VICKSBURG.
General Grant felt much chagrined over the fail
ure of the first movement on Vicksburg, but, daunt
less as ever, immediately set on foot plans by which
the next attempt might be rendered brilliantly suc
cessful. He had a choice of five routes by which
to move on the Rebel citadel from the interior and
secure a base of operations. The first of these
routes was the Williams Canal, which the gallant
general of that name cut across the peninsula, on the
Louisiana side of the Mississippi, in the preceding
year. This canal was situated six miles below Vicks
burg, and, could it be made available, would infi
nitely lighten the labor of capturing the coveted
stronghold. Work was recommenced on this chan
nel on the 2d of February, 1863, and was contin
ued with energy until the 8th of March, when the
Mississippi arose in its wrath and, breaking through
the mouth of the "cut off," overwhelmed everything
and compelled our engineers to desist from that
project. Of course the Rebels were elated at our misfor
tune ; but Grant, although annoyed, was not dis
heartened, and immediately gave orders to try Mil-

164 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
liken's Bend, where large bayous run from.that point
on the north to New Carthage on the south. From
the latter point Roundabout Bayou ran into the
Tensas River. This place was worked upon for a
week, but, finding it impossible to effect a passage,
Grant ordered the digging and dredging discon
tinued. Lake Providence, situated 75 miles from Vicks
burg, immediately south of the Arkansas S,tate
line, was the next point on which engineering skill
was tried. This sheet of water is six miles long,
two miles wide, and is only one mile west of the
great river. A water channel, called Bayou Baxter,
connected it with Bayou Macon, which latter is con
nected with the Tensas river, which communicates
with the Washita and Red rivers, and so into the
Mississippi. A canal was cut through the short
strips of land, already referred to, but without ef
fect. The project was soon given up.
The Yazoo Pass, eight miles below Helena, a
very winding channel, running eastward from the
Mississippi into Moon Lake, whence by a tortuous
course, it again runs eastward until it empties into
the Coldwater, which in turn empties into the Tal
lahatchie river, was next attempted. After in
credible exertions and an attempt by a portion of
the Thirteenth and Fifteenth corps, under Gener
als McPherson, Quinby and Ross, to storm Fort
Pemberton, which obstructed navigation at the
head of the Pass, this project had to be abandoned
on the 23d of March.

GRANT S MILITARY CAREER. 1 65
A WAY AT LAST.
After vainly attempting to utilize States Bayou,
the success of which adventure would give to his
army all the base of operations he required, Grant
finally determined to occupy New Carthage, which
was accessible by land, and the possession of which
point would insure the safety of his water com
munication. McClernand's corps — the Thirteenth
— was moved forward on March 29, but at Smith's
plantation, two miles from the desired position,
McClernand, to his intense disgust, found that the
levee at Bayou Vidal had burst, and that New
Carthage was, as a consequence, surrounded by a
deep channel of water. Grant, however, by mar
velous exertions, provided a way out of the diffi
culty. He led his troops around the bayou and
gained what he had toiled for so long — a base of
operations. His supplies had to be hauled over
execrable roads, thirty-five miles, all the way from
Milliken's Bend. No such feat had been accom
plished in warfare since the days of Bonaparte.
" THE ARMY AND NAVY FOREVER."
The 1 6th of April, 1863, was destined to be
splendidly signalized by one of the most superb
naval manoeuvers that had ever, up to that time,
been chronicled. Grant, by his untiring zeal, had
provided for the march of the army down the
western bank of the Mississippi, so that he could
get south of Vicksburg, the only point, as he cor-

1 66 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
rectly estimated, from which that fortress could be
successfully attacked. The great problem was,
after marching the army down the river to a suf
ficient distance, how to procure transportation to
the eastern bank, and, at the same time, protect
the landings.
Acting under Grant's instructions, Admiral Por
ter, on April 16, declared himself ready to run
south on the river, past the batteries of Vicksburg !
He had seven iron clad gunboats and one of the
old pattern. He also had three transports, laden
with supplies. He protected the bulwarks of his
boats by piling on hay and cotton, in bales. The
Admiral arranged the gun boats to run past in
single file, prepared to broadside the enemy's bat
teries if discovered. The transports were arranged
on the starboard side, so as to sneak past under
cover. PORTER RUNS THE GAUNTLET.
It was within an hour of midnight when the van
guard of the brave flotilla appeared around the
bend. Vicksburg, to all appearance, slept upon her
arms, and the entire fleet came even with her guns
before she made a sign.
Then, when, as the rebels thought, they had Por
ter fairly within their power, as if hell itself had
opened, the batteries of the fortress belched their
fire upon the daring flotilla, the guns from which
pealed back a dauntless answer. The spectacle
was sublime. The hills along the left bank of the

GRANT'S MILITARY CAREER. 167.
river gave back the thunderous echoes, while the
dark waters reflected the cannons' flash and the
angry glare of exploding shells. The enemy kept
up a continuous cannonade, which seemed to grow
louder every second, while the gunboats of Porter
returned, with interest, the iron hail from fort and
battery. This running battle lasted two hours and
a half, by which time Porter, with most of his fleet,
was safe below: The transports were more or less
damaged; one of them, the Henry Clay, was burned to
the water's edge. This was the only serious loss sus
tained in prosecuting this glorious adventure, upon
the success of which so many vital issues depended.
On the 2 2d of the same month, Gen. Grant, in
spired by the brilliant success of the first expedi
tion, ordered six other transports, having in tow
twelve bareges laden with forages, to be run past.
The experiment was tried and resulted very en
couragingly. One transport only, the Tigress,
was sunk by the fire from Vicksburg, while five
boats were damaged. The greater portion of the
stores and forage were safely carried through.
Volunteers bravely manned the transports in each
expedition. Grant, in his official report, refers in
complimentary terms to these men, and calls atten
tion to the gratifying fact that skilled mechanics,
of all branches, could be_ procured from the armies,
whenever their services were needed.
THE ATTACK ON GRAND GULF.
The General, having seen the passage of the

1 68 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
fleet safely accomplished, moved his army, by a cir
cuitous road, down the Louisiana shore, to Hard
Times. This place is just above Grand Gulf, and
its distance from Milliken's Bend, is at least seventy
miles. Grant had with him here, on April 29, the
13th corps, under McClernand, and the 17th corps,
under McPherson. The enemy's fortifications were
very strong at Grand Gulf, and Porter, with his
gunboats, was called upon to assist in reducing the
place. When the fleet had silenced the enemy's
batteries, it was calculated that McClernand's corps,
which had been crossed to the other side of the
river, could carry the forts by assault.
Porter proceeded to attack the forts in a most
gallant manner. He advanced his boats to with
in hailing distance of the batteries, and gradu
ally narrowed the space. Then opened an infernal
fire from both sides. Our sailors exhibited superb
courage, and the Rebels kept up a tremendous can
nonade. After this practice had lasted some hours,
it was found impossible to reduce the place by bom
bardment or storm just then, and the affair ended
in a drawn battle. Grant, from a tug-boat in the
river, witnessed the engagement.
THE CROSSING AT BRUINSBURG.
Next morning found Grant marching down the
river to a point opposite Bruinsburg, on the Mis
sissippi side of the river. The corps of McCler
nand had been already recrossed to the western
bank. The gunboats and transports ran the Rebel

GRANT S MILITARY CAREER. 169
gauntlet at Grand Gulf, and were ready to co-oper
ate. With extraordinary celerity, McClernand's
corps was again flung across the river and, not
waiting for a moment's refreshment, these gallant
troops immediately commenced their march and
occupied the highlands above Bruinsburg, without
any show of resistance. McPherson's corps fol
lowed, Grant crossing with them. The troops were
in high spirits, and glad to be once more about to
face the enemy, whom fortune had so long protec
ted. That same night the Rebels were encoun
tered in force about seven miles northeast of Bru
insburg, and, after some hot fighting, were compelled
to retire.
Next morning, May ist, General Bowen's Rebel
division was encountered by our advance, strongly
posted at a place called Port Gibson. This led to
a serious battle. GRAND GULF OCCUPIED.
The enemy were posted on two roads, which
branched on ridges right and left in such a manner
as to protect Grand Gulf. The Rebels made a
determined opposition, fighting vehemently for
several hours, until, at length, General Grant had
to send portions of McPherson's corps to reinforce
McClernand, who had stood the brunt of the en
gagement. The fighting continued until night,
when the enemy retreated, thoroughly whipped,
beyond Bayou Pierre, having first taken care to
blow up all the bridges, and doing much damage

170 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
in the line of our advance. McPherson, by morn
ing, had constructed a floating bridge across the
bayou, and his corps followed the Rebels on the
road to Harkinson's Ferry. Grand Gulf was im
mediately evacuated, being badly fortified on the
land side. The enemy left fifteen heavy guns
behind them. The capture of this place, so strong
from the river side, gave great joy to our soldiers,
and was a brilliant earnest of what was to follow.
THE KEY OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
The great Rebel stronghold of Vicksburg has
been so frequently described that its extent and
importance must be fully known to every Ameri
can citizen who has "kept track" of our tremendous
civil war. Still, to keep the thread of this story, a
slight description of the Southern Sebastapol may
not be out of order.
The city stands on an extensive bluff, situated
above one of the sharpest curves on the Mis
sissippi River, which, at that time, its guns com
pletely commanded, barring that great water tho
roughfare to our arms. The line of bluffs ex
tend from Yazoo River on the north to Warren-
ton on the south, a distance of some fifteen miles.
These bluffs, with the Yazoo and Mississippi
river-fronts, formed an almost impregnable line
of defense on its northern approaches. Bayous,
swamps, ravines, and other natural obstacles, ad
ded to the immense strength of the position. It
was the Southern Sebastapol, and required an

GRANT'S MILITARY CAREER. 171
American Pelissier to conquer its stubborn resist
ance. In 1863, the land side of the great fortress was
equally formidable, and General Grant at once rec
ognized the necessity of fighting several battles with
the outlying forces of Pemberton before the thor
ough investment of the place could be accomplished.
CO-OPERATING MOVEMENTS.
Simultaneously with Grant's movement by way
of Bruinsburg, Sherman made his celebrated feint
movement by way of Haines's Bluff, thus dividing
the rebel corps so much that they were unable to
support each other, with alacrity in the movements
which followed. This demonstration of Sherman's
was only the precursor of several others of a simi
lar nature, all along the rebel line, so that poor
Pemberton was utterly confounded and unable to
pierce the real design of his opponent.
The Federal corps were moved on the Na
poleonic principle, that is, never so separated that
combination at a critical time would be rendered
difficult. Grant, with his searching gaze, followed
every move, and knew precisely where each di
vision was before the grand movement began.
THE BATTLES AROUND VICKSBURG.
On May 13, McPherson attacked the rebel
General Gregg at Raymond, and gained a complete
victory. Sherman immediately joined the victorious
general, and both pushed on to Jackson, upon

I 72 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
which point the enemy had retreated and were con
centrating reinforcements. McClernand was held
in reserve at Raymond. On the 14th, Sherman
and McPherson came up with the rebel out-posts
near Jackson, where they learned that Joseph E.
Johnston was in command.
The action was short, sharp and bloody. John
ston was utterly defeated, narrowly escaped capture,
and retreated in great disaster. Grant, accom
panied by his eldest son, then a mere boy, joined
the combined corps after the battle, and immedi
ately put the army in motion toward Champion
Hills, where Pemberton held a strong position, hav
ing most of his forces well in hand. Sherman's
corps was in the rear, having orders to destroy all
rebel property, of a public character, lying in the
line of march. McClernand had received orders to
co-operate in the movement on Champion Hills,
but did not arrive until the conflict was decided.
One of his divisions, however, under General
Hovey, got on the field in time, and materially as
sisted Logan's and Quinby's divisions of Mc
Pherson's corps in winning the battle. Pemberton
fought obstinately, and his men showed their cus
tomary valor, but nothing could withstand the im
petuous courage of our troops, and once more Pem
berton showed a light pair of heels. He determined,
however, on making one more grand effort before
retiring within the main fortifications of Vicksburg.
Grant directed the pursuit, which continued until
night-fall. This battle was fought on May 16.

GRANTS MILITARY CAREER. 173
Next evening was fought the battle of the Big
Black, where the enemy occupied formidable posi
tions on both sides of the river, but, after a long
resistance, an undirected charge of Carr's division
of McClernand's corps struck them with panic, and
they fled in tumultuous disorder toward their strong
hold. Pemberton and his officers did all that men
could to stay the tide of flight, but in vain.
INVESTMENT OF THE REBEL STRONGHOLD.
Sherman, having learned the result of the battles
last fought, crossed his corps, on pontoons, at
Bridgeport on the 18th, took possession of Walnut
Hills and the Yazoo river, driving the enemy before
him within sight of the walls of Vicksburg.
McPherson crossed on floating bridges above the
Jackson road, and McClernand, by the same means,
below. The former followed Sherman, and the lat
ter, marching through Mount Albans, occupied the
left of the line, on the south, while McPherson and
Sherman, the latter occupying the right of the line,
completed the investment on the north.
This series of manoeuvres, directed by General
Grant, placed the Key of the Mississippi within
his grasp ; and never, in the history of warfare, had
a campaign been more skillfully planned or more
brilliantly executed.
Admiral Porter, with his fleet, having learned the
position of affairs, immediately co-operated, so that
Pemberton was effectually cooped up by land and
water.

174 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
THE ASSAULTS OF THE I9TH AND 2 1 ST OF MAY.
0
Grant, conceiving that the enemy were in a very
demoralized condition after their recent defeats, de
termined on giving them no rest, especially as his
army was eager for an assault on Vicksburg, and
hated the prospect of a long siege, with .all its at
tendant discomfort and drudgery. The brave fel
lows preferred to risk their lives in a bold attempt
rather than dig trenches, advance parallels, and act
rather as prisoners than warriors.
On the afternoon of the 19th, Sherman's corps
attacked the fortifications, in front of our right, with
great vigor. The rebels made a gallant stand, and,
at nightfall, our soldiers were withdrawn from the
attempt. The assault was renewed along the whole
line on the 21st, Porter's fleet pounding the rebel
batteries and firing shot and shell into their citadel
from the side of the river. Each army exhibited
unsurpassed valor. McClernand imagined that he
had captured two forts, and badgered Grant upon
the field about reinforcements and divisions in his
favor. The General, who saw the position better
than McClernand, doubted the accuracy of his state
ment, but reinforced him with Quinby's division
and against his inclination, ordered Sherman to
make another assault. The result was a repulse,
andour army, when night came, had gained nothing,
but mourned the loss of many gallant soldiers.
McClernand, imitating the egotism of Bernadotte
on an occasion almost similar, issued a compli-

GRANT'S MILITARY CAREER. 175
mentary order to his corps, in which he was disre
spectful to his superior officer. Grant, very prop
erly, removed the gasconading general from com
mand, and transferred the command of his corps to
General Ord, a brave and modest soldier.
THE REGULAR SIEGE COMMENCED.
Our losses in both assaults numbered over 3,000
in killed and wounded. Grant immediately made
his dispositions for a regular siege, and the army,
cured of its ardor for assaulting Vicksburg, settled-
down patiently to its task of digging trenches and
pelting Pemberton with iron hail from behind them.
Meanwhile, re-inforcements from the Ninth and
Sixteenth corps, under Generals Washburn and
Parke, arrived from Memphis and St. Louis.
The investment now commenced in earnest, and
Pemberton found himself in anything but an envi
able position. Sherman, with a portion of his
corps, went to observe General Joseph Johnston,
who was reported marching to raise the siege ; but
Joseph, whatever might have been his original in
tention, did not give his alert enemy a chance to
overhaul him. He let Vicksburg "severely alone,"
until it was too late to save it.
FORT HILL CAPTURED BY STORMERS.
By June 25th, a mine, which had been pushed
forward, in spite of amazing obstacles, was exploded
in front of Fort Hill, and our forlorn hope, consist
ing of detachments from the Forty-fifth Illinois

11

176 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
and Twenty-third Indiana, supported by LeggettV
brigade, rushed in with a terrific shout and pos
sessed themselves of that important outwork.
Grant, in support of the stormers, ordered a can
nonade along the whole line and from the fleet. It
seemed as though the earth was being rent. The
astonished Rebels paused for a moment and then
commenced a deadly struggle with the gallant men
who had planted the "Stars and Stripes" above the
ramparts of Vicksburg. The effort proved^vain, for
McPherson supported Leggett, and Fort Hill re
mained in the possession of Grant's forces.
Another mine, of even greater proportions, had
been constructed in the meantime, and on July ist
it was exploded, causing the demolition of a re
dan, and killing a number of Rebels who were
manning the ramparts or engaged in counter
mining. PEMBERTON PARLEYS.
This last success, in addition to the terrific bom
bardment constantly kept up from all sides by our
army, caused consternation in Vicksburg. Provis
ions were giving out, and, in a word, Pemberton's
position was desperate. In his despair, he blamed
Johnston for not supporting him, and vowed never
to surrender Vicksburg while a pound of beef, or
other food, remained, or while a man was left to
defend the walls. This was on the 2d of July.
Grant, having occupied the portion of the enemy's
works uncovered by the mine, prepared for the

GRANTS MILITARY CAREER 179
grand assault. On the morning of the 3d, at 8
o'clock, a flag of truce was displayed by the enemy,
in front of A. J. Smith's position. Half an hour
later, General Bowen and another officer of the
Rebel army placed in Grant's hands a proposition
from Pemberton to surrender Vicksburg! The
Rebel general wished for the appointment of com
missioners for the purpose of treating, but Grant
utterly refused to comply with his request. He
agreed, however, to meet Pemberton on neutral
ground, that afternoon, and arrange terms.
At this famous interview Grant was attended by
Gens. McPherson and A. J. Smith. Pemberton
was accompanied by Gen. Bowen and Col. Mont
gomery. The rebel asked what terms Grant could
give. The Union General at once replied — "un
conditional SURRENDER ! "
Pemberton expostulated and even threatened to
renew his defence. Grant was quite collected, and
told him to follow his own counsel, but warned him
that the siege would be pressed with merciless
vigor. Finally the two Generals walked apart, and,
after a short consultation, Pemberton agreed to lay
the matter before a counsel of war and send his
answer next noon. vicksburg capitulates.
After consultation with his corps commanders,
Grant submitted to Pemberton, in writing, the
terms of surrender, which were, as is well known,
courteous and liberal in the extreme. The Gene-

l8o THE STRUGGLE OF '72'.
ral, however, utterly refused to make any stipu
lation in regard to the treatment of citizens or
their private property. Pemberton endeavored to
procure some modifications, but Grant was obstin
ate, and on the following morning,. July 4, 1863,
Pemberton surrendered Vicksburg and the army
which had defended it, with all the arms, stores, etc.,
which it contained.
The rebels, who stacked their arms under the eye
of McPherson's corps, numbered 31,600 men. No
less than 1 72 guns fell into the hands of the victor.
McPherson's men immediately occupied the evacu
ated works, and in the afternoon Grant made his
triumphal entry. The rebels received him sullenly,
and well they might. Since the investment had
commenced, 37,000 prisoners, including 19 generals
and about 4,000 officers of lower grades had been
taken. In killed, wounded and missing, the enemy,
since the campaign opened, had lost 12,000 men,
with 300 pieces of cannon and an immense amount
of public property, including railroads, steamboats,
locomotives, and other matters of great value.
At last — (since Fort Sumpter was fired upon it
could not be said) — the Mississippi, to use the ex
pression of Lincoln, flowed " unvexed to the sea,"
and the rebel territory was rent in twain. The news
of Vicksburg, with that of Gettysburg, crowded the
wires, and, on that auspicious Fourth of July,
" Grant and Meade" were the names that swelled
upon the breeze far and wide throughout the loyal
States.

GRANT S MILITARY CAREER. l8l
THE VICTOR'S CROWN.
The meed of victory soon reached the victor.
The cool and veteran Halleck compared Grant's
exploit with Napoleon's at Ulm and Ratisbon. The
generous and genial Lincoln wrote him the follow
ing letter, so worthy of his great mind and noble
heart : Executive Mansion, Washington, July 13, 1863.
To Major-General Grant:
My Dear General — I do not remember that you and I ever met person
ally. I write this now as a grateful acknowledgment for the almost inesti
mable service you have done the country. I wish to say a word further. When
you first reached the vicinity of Vicksburg, I thought you should do what you
finally did — march the troops across the neck, run the batteries with the trans
ports, and thus go below ; and I never had any fairh, except a general hope
that you knew better than I, that the \ azoo Pass expedition and the like could
succeed. When you got below and took Port Gibson, Grand Gulf, and vicin
ity, I thought you should go down the river and join General Banks ; and
when you turned northward east of the Big Black, I feared it was a mistake.
I now wish to make a personal acknowledgment that you were right and I was
•wrong. Yours, very truly, A. LINCOLN.
The Southern press, when commenting on the
surrender, spoke respectfully of Gen. Grant and
even allowed that his terms to Pemberton were
generous, considering how completely that unfor
tunate general was in his power.
THE CAMPAIGN ENDED.
On the 9th of July, the rebel General Gardner
surrendered the important fortress of Port Hudson
to Gen. Banks, having first learned that Vicksburg
had fallen.
Sherman followed Johnston, who, when too late,

1 82 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
had approached toward Vicksburg and was manceuv-
ering in the vicinity of Jackson. The rebel issued a
boastful order to his troops on July 9 and awaited
Sherman's attack. On the 13th the rebels made
a desperate sortie from Jackson and were repulsed.
Sherman then prepared for a general assault — but
his opponent did not await the result. Johnston
evacuated his works on the night, of the 1 7th, and
next day Sherman entered them in triumph. ,
This virtually ended the campaign, and Grant
was promptly rewarded by being appointed a
Major-General in the regular army of the United
States, his commission dating from July 4th, 1863.
The officers of his command presented the success
ful commander with a magnificent sword. After
ward an obelisk was erected on the spot, outside of
Vicksburg, where the interview between Grant and
Pemberton took place.

CHAPTER XI.
GRANT'S MILITARY CAREER.
(CONTINUED.)
Grant Busies Himself with Administration — Is Promoted to the Command
of Four Armies — Prepares to Attack Bragg at Lookout Mountain — Plan
of the Battle — A Dashing Assault— Grant "Refuses to be Embarrassed" —
The Battle Above the Clouds— A Mighty Charge— Phil. Sheridan Distin
guishes Himself — Victory — Its Trophies — Gratitude of the Nation.
GRANT AS AN ADMINISTRATOR
The few succeeding summer months were occu
pied by General Grant in managing the general
executive business of his department, checking
smugglers, baffling traitors and punishing extor
tionists. He gave no countenance to stragglers,
and put the contraband Negroes to good use in the
colored regiments, or else in constructing camps,
driving train wagons, repairing railroads, etc. His
administration of public affairs was highly suc
cessful throughout the region over which he had
authority. He compelled unprincipled captains of
Mississippi steamboats to disgorge money fraudu
lently obtained from officers and enlisted men, who
were compelled to voyage by the river. Never
was such strict discipline and thorough honesty
enforced in that State or in Tennessee. He made
a tour of observation in August, and received an
enthusiastic ovation from the loyal portion of the
(183)

184 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
citizens of Memphis. He thanked them in a mod
est, manly, patriotic letter, in which he bore noble
testimony to the courage and endurance of the
brave troops who had followed his fortunes.
He returned to Vicksburg and went to Natchez
and from thence to New Orleans. He arrived in
the Crescent City on September 2d, and on the 3d,
the trade of the Southwestern metropolis was de
clared free ; that is, with the ports of the North
west. Military restriction on commerce was re
moved, and everything wore an aspect of returning
peace and prosperity. AN UNLUCKY ACCIDENT.
On September 4th, General Grant reviewed the
Thirteenth Army Corps, in company with General
Banks, who commanded the departme.it. During
the review the strange horse which General Grant •
rode stumbled and threw him heavily, injuring him
so severely that it was feared his future active ser
vice in the field was somewhat doubtful. The Gov
ernment had intended to place him in command of
the troops marching on Georgia, and his accident
caused Lincoln and the country at large great
anxiety. His case, fortunately, did not prove so
serious as was first anticipated, and in a few weeks
he was again fit for duty.
GRANT PLACED IN COMMAND OF FOUR ARMIES.
Then he went up the Mississippi to Cairo, hav
ing stopped at Vicksburg and other points, to

grant's military career. 185
arrange the route of the troops who were to form
part of the corps then concentrating in and around
Chattanooga, Tenn. He made provisions for a
medal commemorative of the fall of Vicksburg, and
then proceeded to Indianapolis, where the following
communication from the War Office was handed
him : War Department, Adjutant-General's Office,
Washington, October 16th, 1863.
By direction of the President of the United States, the Departments of the
Ohio, of the Cumberland, and of the Tennessee, will constitute the Military
Division of the Mississippi. Major-General U. S. Grant, United States
Army, is placed in command of the Military Division of the 'Mississippi,
with his headquarters in the field.
Major-General W. S. Rosecrans, United States volunteers, is relieved from
the commaud of the Department of the Army of the Cumberland. Major-
General G. H. Thomas is hereby assigned to that command.
By order of the Secretary of War,
E. D. Townsend, A. A. G.
On the 1 8th, Grant issued his general order, at
Louisville, Ky., assuming the above command,
and announcing that the headquarters of the
Military Division of the Mississippi would be in
the field. HE ORGANIZES THE GRAND ARMY.
The States of Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio,
Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Northern Ala
bama, and Northwestern Georgia were included
within the limits of the new department. He had
under his command four fine armies — " The Army
of the Tennessee, (conquerors of Vicksburg) " The
Army of the Cumberland," " The Army of the
Ohio," and the Eleventh and Twelfth corps de-

1 86 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
tached, under Hooker, from the Army of the Poto
mac. These last named troops were afterward con
solidated into the splendid Twentieth corps.
The corps of this magnificent command were of
ficered by the following able generals: Fourth
Army Corps, General Gordon Granger; Ninth,
General Porter; Eleventh, General O. O.Howard;
Twelfth, General Slocum ; Fourteenth, General J.
M. Palmer; Fifteenth, General John A. Logan;
Sixteenth, General Hurlbut ; Seventeenth, Gen
eral McPherson, and Twenty-third, General Mun-
son. This was the largest army that had ever been
controlled by one general on the American conti
nent. Those who were jealous of Grant predicted
his ruin. Those who knew him best, and who had
fought under him, were enthusiastic in their con
gratulations and strong in hope. With his usual
sagacity, Grant had placed in command of his four
armies Sherman, Thomas, Hooker, Burnside, and,
in after days, Foster.
BRAGG BRACES HIMSELF FOR BATTLE.
General Braxton Bragg, the rebel commander, had
gathered a force equally large and prepared to defend
the road to Georgia, with all the resources at his com
mand. The unfortunate issue of the battle of
Chickamauga, fought and lost by Rosecrans, had
enabled the rebels to occupy Lookout Mountain and
Missionary Ridge, which eminences commanded the
route to Atlanta, and from thence to the sea.

GRANT'S MILITARY CAREER 1 87
THE SITUATION AT CHATTANOOGA.
Thomas, commanding the Army of the Cumber
land, occupied Chattanooga, and, as the rebels
threatened to make an attack in force on that point
before Grant could arrive, the latter telegraphed
Thomas to hold it at any cost. The sturdy old
hero promptly replied over the wires — " I will hold
the town till we starve !"
This expression alluded to the fact that his men
were on half rations, it being a matter of much risk
and difficulty to convey supplies over a wretched
road from Stevenson, in Northern Alabama, to the
village of Chattanooga GRANT'S PLAN OF OPERATIONS.
Grant arrived at the destined point on October
23, and found that Thomas had taken very skillful
measures to defend the place. Hooker had been
concentrated at Bridgeport, on the Tennessee river,
and was prepared to secure the river and main
wagon road between Brown's Ferry, just below
Lookout Mountain, and the headquarters of Hook
er's army. Other dispositions for defence had been
made, but the moment Grant arrived everything
was put in working order, and, after a careful sur
vey of the enemy's position, he resolved to assume
the offensive, so soon as all his force arrived on the
ground. The General thus briefly explains a por
tion of his tactics :
" The next morning after my arrival at Chattanooga, in company with
Thomas and Brigadier-General W. F. Smith, Chief Engineer, I made a

l88 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
reconnoissance of Brown's Ferry, and the hills on the south side of the
river and at the mouth of Lookout Valley. After the reconnoissance, the
plan agreed upon was for Hooker to cross at Bridgeport to the south side of
the river with all the force that could be spared from the railroad, and move
on the main wagon-road, by way of Whitesides to Wauhatchie, in Lookout
Valley. Major-General J. M. Palmer was to proceed by the only practicable
route north of the river from his position opposite Chattanooga to a point on
the north bank of the Tennessee river and opposite Whitesides, then to cross
to the south side, to hold the road passed over by Hooker. In the meantime,
and before the enemy could be apprised of our intention, a force under the
direction of Brigadier-General W. F. Smith. Chief Engineer, was to be
thrown across the river at or near Brown's Ferry, to seize the range of hills
at the mouth of Lookout Valley, covering the Brown's Ferry road, and orders
were given accordingly."
HAZEN'S HAPPY HAZARD
Brigadier-General Hazen, a dashing young offi
cer, took charge of Smith's expedition, and, after a
series of brilliant stratagems, landed the * 1 ,800
picked men composing the expeditionary force at
two points on the enemy's side of the river, cap
tured the pickets and seized the spurs of the
ridge near the river. Four thousand men who
had marched along the north bank of the Tennes
see, while their comrades, floated down the river on
pontoon boats, were ferried across from Brown's
Ferry, to support the forlorn hope, and, at 10 o'clock
on the morning of October 28th, General Smith
had laid down his pontoon bridge, which was nine
hundred feet long. The captured points were
strongly intrenched, giving full play to our artillery,
and compelling the enemy between Lookout and
Fhell Mound to evacuate their positions.
OTHER MOVEMENTS.
Hooker advanced that same day and occupied, a

GRANTS MILITARY CAREER. 189
portion of Lookout Valley. Palmer, according to
the programme, followed in his rear, protecting the
route on which the army had advanced.
These advantages alarmed Bragg. They also
alarmed Jeff Davis, and that worthy, • in person,
came down to inspect the situation. Our army
was now abundantly supplied with provisions, and
felt in fighting humor.
Longstreet ma*de a night attack on Geary's divi
sion of Hooker's Corps, but Hazard hurried up to
his comrade's aid, the Rebel attack was dashingly
repulsed, and Hooker followed up his success by
seizing all the hills lying west of Lookout Creek.
BRAGG MAKES A BLUNDER.
Prompted by his bad angel, Bragg imagined that
he was doing a brilliant thing when he detached
Longstreet's corps to attack Burnside at Knoxville.
He hoped by this movement to embarrass Grant.
That general, however, refused to be embarrassed.
He knew that Burnside was enough for Longstreet,
and he also knew that Sherman's corps (the Fif
teenth) was near at hand to re-inforce his own
army. Halleck besought Grant to re-inforce Burn
side; but our stubborn hero would not play into
the enemy's hand, and resolved to thrash Braxton
Bragg and his army without loss of time. He
knew that to defeat Bragg's army would be to
compel Longstreet's retreat from Knoxville. So
he held to his own plans and refused to be or
dered around by telegraph. Burnside lured

I9O THE STRUGGLE OF '72..
Longstreet on, doing just what Grant required
of him.
Sherman's army had arrived on November 23d,
and having marched from Bridgeport, crossed the
river at Brown's Ferry, then moved cautiously up
the north bank and established itself at an impor
tant point -near the South Chickamauga
THOMAS ADVANCES.
Bragg having given indications of falling back,
Grant determined to test the matter, and for this
purpose ordered Thomas to demonstrate on the
enemy's lines in front of his position. Thomas,
beside his own corps, had with him the major por
tion of Howard's command, and demonstrated to
such effect that he carried Orchard Knob by a bril
liant charge of General Wood's division of How
ard's corps. The Rebels did not expect a serious
attack, and were actually taken by surprise. The
division of Buckner's corps, sent to re-inforce Long-
street's attack on Burnside, was recalled, and Gen
eral Braxton Bragg prepared to meet the grand
shock which he now saw was rapidly approaching.
SHERMAN AND HOOKER MOVE.
Taking advantage of the darkness, in the early
morning of November 24th, Sherman's army, after
a series of movements, crossed the Tennessee and
South Chickamauga rivers, and, early in the fore
noon, had taken position below the north end of
Mission Ridge. The position was well fortified,

GRANTS MILITARY CAREER I9I
and formed a good base for the operations which
were to follow.
Hooker moved on the same day, his part being
to capture Lookout Mountain, cross the valley of
Chattanooga to Rossville, and then co-operate with
Sherman's attack on Mission Ridge, by way of
Rossville Gap. The enemy's pickets on the North
ern slope of Lookout were driven higher up the
mountain, and the Tennessee river was rendered
safe to all our boats, thus effectually destroying the
Rebel blockade. "above the clouds."
Hooker, like Thomas, had surprised the enemy,
and followed up his success, fighting that action
which is known in American history as "The battle
above the clouds." The spectacle of the fight, as
seen from Chattanooga, was superb, but the results
were more superb still, for the enemy's left was
turned, and Hooker, leaving a force to hold the
mountain, advanced on the extreme right of our
line, to take part in the main attack. Thomas oc
cupied the centre, at Orchard Knob, and Sherman
held our left, in front of Tunnel Hill.
Grant, during the prosecution of these unrivaled
plans, was, or seemed to be, everywhere present.
His energy was untiring, and he left nothing to
subordinates that could in any way jeopardize the
safety of the army.
- Wednesday, November 25th, ushered in the final
struggle, on which the fortunes of both generals,

IQ2 the struggle of '72.
and, in great measure, of both causes, were staked.
Grant had fairly outwitted his opponent, and the
latter felt it. To add to his misfortunes, Bragg
permitted himself to be again out-generaled, in this
way : Sherman made the attack on the Rebel posi
tion, in front of Tunnel Hill, and Bragg, conceiv
ing that that was to be the main point of attack,
commenced moving brigades and regiments from
his centre, to aid, as he thought, in annihilating
Sherman's army. Grant allowed the Rebels to
proceed with their tactical mistake until it was too
late to rectify it. THE GRAND ATTACK.
Grant watched for the advance of Hooker on the
Rossville road, and at 20 minutes past three o'clock
the signal informed him that " Fighting Joe" had
fulfilled his part of the contract, and was in line on
the right ready to fall upon the foe. He had been
unavoidably detained by a broken bridge across
Chattanooga Creek, but he made up for this late in
the day.
Scarcely had the head of Hooker's advance ap
peared, when the signal for the storming of Mis
sion Ridge, being six guns fired at intervals, was
given. On the weakened centre and disheartened
left of Bragg's army the soldiers of Thomas and
Hooker were hurled, charging right up the slopes
of the Ridge in defiance of the deluge of fire which
the enemy rolled down upon them. Sherman, on
the left, renewed his attack with ten-fold energy.

GRANTS MILITARY CAREER 1 93
Consternation seized on the rebel army. Their
general proved himself a brave soldier, if not a
skillful one, and his exertions to restore the battle
were tremendous. But it was all of no use. With
enthusiastic shouts our soldiers stormed the crest
of the Ridge, and the rebel left fled in panic before
Hooker's assault Their entire line soon gave way,
and, after one of the grandest struggles on record,
the battle of Chattanooga was won. Grant, elated
as he must have been by his splendid success, re
mained calm as ever, directing the pursuit and tak
ing measures to clear off the wreck of the battle
fields. In this battle, among the many brave and noble
men who distinguished themselves as generals was
Phil. H. Sheridan, who commanded a division of
Granger's corps. He had a horse killed under him,
but, undaunted, he stepped upon a gun and re-
retained his position, so that he could view the
fight, until the battle was over. He made a
brief but stirring address to his division, which
cheered every heart, and, from that day, Grant
knew that he had found his thunderbolt — his caval
ry leader.
The retreat of the enemy was followed by Sheri
dan's division. Bragg left 6,000 prisoners in our
hands, not counting stragglers ; 40 guns ; 7,500
small arms, and a large amount of ammunition.
The retreat would have been followed up more
closely had it not been that Grant feared to leave
Burnside isolated in Knoxville.
12

I94 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
Burnside had fought gallantly, in retreat, and con
fronted his enemy with confidence. Sherman and
Granger were sent to reinforce him. Longstreet,
learning of Bragg's defeat, assaulted Knoxville
desperately on November 28, and was bloodily re
pulsed. The advance of the supporting Federal
generals compelled the rebels to raise the siege and
retreat in great haste to a safer locality.
END OF THE CHATTANOOGA CAMPAIGN.
On December 10, 1863, General Grant issued a
congratulatory order to his army, and predicted the
speedy downfall of the so-called Confederacy.
With this campaign the active military campaign
of Braxton Bragg terminated. His after efforts in
the Rebel cause were obscure and unchronicled.
Meanwhile the thanks of the Executive and of
Congress were awarded to the victor of Chat
tanooga. These thanks were supplemented by a
magnificent gold medal, voted by Congress, com
memorative of General Grant's great victories, and
symbolical of the respect and gratitude of the
American people.

CHAPTER XII.
GRANT'S MILITARY CAREER.
(CONTINUED.)
Created Lieutenant General — Goes to Washington to Receive his Commis
sion — Two Memorable Speeches — Grant Takes Command — With the
Army of the Potomac — In the Wilderness — How he Kept Flanking Lee —
An Alert Enemy — The Assault Upon Petersburg — A Failure — The Winter,
and How it Was Passed — The End Near — Grant Discovers his Antagon
ist's Purpose, and Thwarts Him — Sheridan " Pushes Things" — Lee Sur
rounded — He Surrenders — Collapse of the Confederacy.
CREATED LIEUTENANT-GENERAL.
Such had been the signal abilities displayed by
General Grant. The success which had uniformly
attended his campaigns, and the confidence and
enthusiasm which his name everywhere evoked,
that it was deemed best for the public service to
place him in the general command of all our armies.
Accordingly the committee on Military Affairs of
the House of Representatives reported a bill to re
vive the rank of Lieutenant General.
The fact that during *our whole previous history
only two soldiers had been thus honored, will give
some idea of the confidence which this new rank
implied. Washington and Scott were his glorious
predecessors, and Gen. Grant was fully entitled to
wear the honors a grateful country had tendered
her greatest captains. (i95)

I96 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
The bill establishing the new rank was as fol
lows:
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America, in Congress assembled. That the grade of lieutenant-
general be, and the same is hereby, revived in the Army of the United States
of America ; and the President is hereby authorized, whenever he shall deem
it expedient, to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate,
a commander of the army, to be selected during war, from among those of
ficers in the military service of the United States, not below the grade of
major-general, most distinguished for courage, skill, and ability ; and who,
being commissioned as lieutenant-general, shall be authorized, under the
direction of the President, to command the armies of the United States.
While the bill was under discussion, Mr. Ross
offered an amendment recommending General
Grant for the new rank. The amendment was
adopted by a large majority, and on the 2d of
March, 1864, General Grant was confirmed by the
Senate as Lieutenant-General, giving, him rank
over all our other generals.
GENERAL GRANT GOES TO WASHINGTON.
He was immediately notified, and late in the after
noon of Tuesday, March 8th, he arrived in Wash
ington, for the purpose of receiving his commis
sion and instructions. His arrival was unheralded,
and he took his seat at the dinner-table of Willard's
Hotel unnoticed.
Though four years in the service, and the most
successful and popular of all our generals, he had
been so little in Washington that he was known
to but few. It happened, however, that there was
seated near him at the table a gentleman who had
made his acquaintance at New Orleans. He soon
spread the information, and in a few minutes the

GRANTS MILITARY CAREER. 199
dining-room was ringing with cheers for the hero of
Vicksburg. General Grant modestly acknowledged
the honor, and soon withdrew.
RECEIVES HIS COMMISSION.
The next day he was received by President Lin
coln in the cabinet chamber and presented with his
commission. In doing this, President Lincoln said:
" General Grant — The Nation's appreciation
of what you have done, and its reliance upon you
for what remains to be done in the existing great
struggle, are now presented with this commis
sion, constituting you Lieutenant-General in the
army of the United States. With this high
honor devolves upon you also a corresponding
responsibility. As the country herein trusts you,
so, under God, it will sustain you. I scarcely
need to add, that, with what I here speak for
the nation, goes my own hearty personal concur
rence." To this, General Grant responded as follows :
"Mr. President — I accept the commission, with
gratitude for the high honor conferred. With the
aid of the noble armies that have fought on so
many fields for our common country, it will be my
earnest endeavor not to disappoint your expecta
tions. I feel the full weight of the responsibilities
now devolving on me ; and I know that if they are
met, it will be due to those armies, and, above all,
to the favor of that Providence which leads both
nations and men."

200 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
THE DIFFICULTIES OF HIS POSITION.
The position to which General Grant was thus
called was one of grave responsibility, attended by
numerous and serious embarrassments. A confid
ing nation had, as it were, placed its destinies in his
hands, and the public expectation was such that
only great achievements would satisfy it. The en
emy was brave, active, vigilant, full of confidence
in its own power, and actuated by a blind faith in
its commander. Having the advantage of position,
acting on the offensive or defensive with equal facil
ity, possessing the means of communication which
enabled it to rapidly shift its armies from one ex
posed point to another, it was, though inferior in
numbers in the aggregate, able to meet its oppo
nents with equal forces on the most important field
of operations. HIS PLAN FOR THE CAMPAIGN.
Fully conscious of these points of advantage
possessed by his enemy, General Grant immedi
ately formed his plans for meeting them.
First — To counterpoise the Rebels' interior ad
vantages and prevent them from shifting their for
ces to relieve the most hard-pressed points in their
line of defense, he resolved to attack their whole line
simultaneously at all points.
Second — To make constant and unrelenting war
upon his main enemy's armies, particularly the forces
General Lee in Virginia and of General Johnson of

GRANT S MILITARY CAREER. 201
in Georgia, believing, and that correctly, that these
once destroyed or captured it would be impossible
for the Confederacy to continue further armed re
sistance to the Federal forces.
GENERAL GRANT GOES TO THE FRONT.
Having matured the details of these plans, Gen
eral Grant hastened to join the Army of the Poto
mac which it was decided should contest with Gen
eral Lee the issue of the war.
On the 1 8th of March he issued the following
order : Headquarters of the Armies of the United States,
Nashville, Tenn., March 17, 1864.
In pursuance of the following order of the President,
"Executive Mansion, Washington, March 10, 1864.
"Under the authority of the act of Congress to appoint to the grade of
lieutenant-general in the army, of March 1, 1864, Lieutenant-General Ulys
ses S. Grant, United States Army, is appointed to the command of the armies
of the United States. ABRAHAM LINCOLN."
I assume command of the armies of the United States. Headquarters will
be in the field, and, until iurther orders, will be with the Army of the Poto
mac. There will be an office headquarters in Washington, to which all offi
cial communications will be sent, except those from the army where the head
quarters are at the date of their address. U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant-General.
To crush the Rebel army of Northern Virginia,
the flower of the Confederate forces, commanded
by General Lee in person, was the task General
Grant had chosen for the army directly under his
command. The first step in this endeavor was to
issue orders the all-pervading tenor of which was
to attack Lee whenever opportunity offered, and
follow him wherever he went, fighting or harrassing

202 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
him without cessation, allowing him no time for
rest or opportunity for recuperation.
HOW TO ATTACK LEE.
Two plans of attack were considered :
First : To cross the Rapidan below Lee's army,
move rapidly upon his right flank, and turn or
crush it.
Second: To cross above Lee's army, threaten his
left flank, and force him to accept a general en
gagement or retreat.
While either plan possessed many strong points
in its favor, there were considerations which ren
dered each somewhat hazardous. After due de
liberation, the first was adopted.
General Sherman was to keep General John
ston's army well employed. General Banks was to
operate in the Department of the Gulf, while
General McPherson assumed command of the
Army of the Department of the Tennessee. The
general orders to these commanders were to con
stantly face the enemy, keep him so well engaged
that not a man or a gun could be sent to re-enforce
any of the yielding points of their line elsewhere.
THE WORK OF PREPARATION.
For a few weeks the camps of the Army of the
Potomac resounded with the notes of preparation.
Re-enforcements were gathered in, supplies were ac
cumulated, and the organization perfected. Grant
made constant tours of inspection, cultivated the

grant's military career. 203
confidence of the army, and kindled anew its faith
and enthusiasm. He was in almost daily confer
ence with the authorities at Washington, receiving
their suggestions and explaining his own plan of
operation. When everything had been arranged,
he took the field, and just eight weeks from the
time of receiving his commission he issued the
order of advance, to turn if possible the right flank
of the enemy. THE POSITION OF THE ARMY.
The position of the Army of the Potomac at
the commencement of this movement was along
the north bank of the Rapidan, confronting and
watching the army of General Lee. The forces of
the latter were strongly entrenched on the opposite
bank, his corps admirably disposed, and all his ex
posed points adequately guarded. Thus secured,
he defiantly awaited the development of the plans
of his new adversary.
This, as we have said before, was to cross the
river below, and, by a sudden movement, turn his
right flank and cut him off from Richmond ; then
by fiercer battles beat him, and destroy his army.
Failing in this, his plan was to force his left, and by
this flank movement follow him to Richmond.
THE WILDERNESS.
In making the movement desired, it was neces
sary that our troops should pass over a broken
table-land called the Wilderness, covered with

204 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
patches of timber — a dense undergrowth ; ravines
and fallen trees affording a natural covert for the
enemy, and rendering our own movement slow,
tedious, and full of danger. It was almost impos
sible for cavalry to operate there, and our artillery
was rendered, mostly useless. It was hoped that by
a sudden movement our army would be able to
cross this dangerous field without encountering
Lee's legions. A FIERCE STRUGGLE.
On the 3d of May a stirring address was issued
to the army, and at midnight the movement com
menced. Our forces were successfully crossed at
Germanna and Ely's Ford. The crossing was a sur
prise, but Lee soon recovered and pushed forward
two columns to contest our advance ; it thus became
evident that the ugly Wilderness could not be
passed without a fierce battle, and General Grant
prepared for the struggle. As soon as the enemy's
advance was known, General Warren, who led the
Union advance, was ordered to halt, concentrate his
forces, and attack vigorously whatever he should find
in his front, while several other divisions were put
in motion for his support. Warren drove the enemy,
but the almost impenetrable nature of the wood pre
vented the arrival of the supports, and the advant
age was lost. Thus encouraged, the enemy made
frantic efforts to crush General Warren before aid
could arrive ; but they were handsomely foiled.
Soon re-enforcements for both armies began to come

grant's military career. 205
up, and the battle raged more fiercely than ever.
While our gallant troops were heroically resisting
.the headlong outset of the enemy, General Han
cock reached the field with the Second Corps, and
the battle was resumed with increased fury, and
continued with varying success until nightfall.
As soon as he had received reports from his corps
commanders, General Grant issued orders to have
everything in readiness for a general attack at pre
cisely 5 o'clock the next morning, each commander
being directed to vigorously assault whatever it
found in its front.
It is not our purpose to describe in detail the
battle of the Wilderness. It is sufficient to say
that another day of heroic fighting followed with
out decisive results for either party. Lee, it is true,
had been forced from the Wilderness, but he had
withdrawn to a new line of defence, little inferior in
strength to the one he had been forced to abandon.
THE FLANK MOVEMENT.
General Grant instantly determined upon a flank
movement by the way of Spottsylvania Court
House. Scarcely had our columns begun to move
before traitors in camp found means to communi
cate the fact to General Lee, or else that able
general penetrated the design ; for he hurried all
his available force in the same direction, and pre
pared to oppose us. Desultory fighting followed,
and on the 10th a terrible general engagement en
sued, of which, though the advantage was on the

206 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
side of the Union arms, the result was not de
cisive. The next day General Grant sent the following
dispatch to the Secretary of War :
Headquarters in the Field, May 11, 1864, 8 A. M.
We have now ended the sixth day of very heavy fighting. The result, to
this time, is much in our favor.
Our losses have been heavy, as well as those of the enemy. I think the
loss of the enemy must be greater.
We have taken over five thousand prisoners by battle, while he has taken
from us but few, except stragglers.
I propose to fight it out on this line, if it takes all summer.
U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant-General,
Commanding the Armies of the United States.
The next day, being the 12th, General Han
cock was ordered to make another assault upon
the enemy's works, which proved one of the most
brilliant of the campaign. General Edward John
son's entire division, with its general, two other
brigades, Brigadier-General Geo. H. Stewart and
thirty guns were captured. The Rebels, largely
re-enforced, made frantic efforts to retrieve the for
tunes of the day, but with poor success ; and at
nightfall the fighting ceased.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TROOPS.
The result of the last day's work had been so
decidedly in our favor that General Meade deemed
it proper to issue the following order :
Headquarters Army of the Potomac,
May 13, 1864.
Soldiers — The moment has arrived when your commanding general
feels authorized to address you in terms of congratulation.
For eight days and nights, almost without intermission, in rain and sun-

GRANT S MILITARY CAREER. 207
shine, you have been gallantly fighting a desperate foe, in positions naturally
strong, and rendered doubly so by intrenchments.
You have compelled him to abandon his fortifications on the Rapidan, to
retire and attempt to stop your onward progress ; and now he has abandoned
the last intrenched position so tenaciously held, suffering a loss in all of
eighteen guns, twenty-two colors, and eight thousand prisoners, including
two general officers.
Your heroic deeds and noble endurance of fatigue and privations, will
ever be memorable. Let us return thanks to God for the mercy thus shown
us, and ask earnestly for its continuation.
Soldiers ! Your work is not yet over. The enemy must be pursued, and,
if possible, overcome. The courage and fortitude you have displayed renders
your commanding general confident your future efforts will result in success.
While we mourn the loss of many gallant comrades, let us remember the
enemy must have suffered equal, if not greater, losses.
We shall soon receive re-inforcements, which he cannot expect. Let us
determine to continue vigorously the work so well begnn, and, under God's
blessing, in a short time the object of our labors will be accomplished.
GEORGE G. MEADE,
Major-General commanding.
Official, S. Williams, A. A. G.
Approved, U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant General.
Commanding the Armies of the United States.
THE PROGRESS OF THE CAMPAIGN.
The campaign had now lasted nearly two weeks,
with almost constant fighting; and although the
enemy had been steadily forced back, he had retired
sullenly, fought gallantly and still presented a defi
ant front. To avoid the hazard and loss of another
direct assault, General Grant resolved upon another
flank movement, the purpose of which was to turn
the enemy's left, and force him to confront him. upon
the former battle-fields of Cold Harbor and Gaines's
Mills. Incessant fighting marked the progress of
this movement, and Grant's abilities as a commander
were never more severely taxed. He was called

208 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
upon to manoeuvre a large army in an extremely
difficult and thoroughly hostile country, in the face
of a brave, sagacious and desperate enemy fighting
for the salvation of his capital and the very life of
his cause. The flanking movements we had inaug
urated, and in which we must persist until we should
reach more permanent ground south of Richmond,
constantly exposed our flank, and our troops must
be kept well together, always ready to form in line
of battle to repel the enemy's attack.
FLANKING AGAIN.
Carefully watching every exposed point, General
Grant moved his army to the North Anna river
and crossed it, when he again found Lee in a strong
position. Finding, after a severe engagement, that
his works could only be carried with heavy loss,
General Grant again flanked him, and swinging
around toward Cold Harbor and Gaines's Mill,
gradually approached Richmond, and at the same
time again forced Lee to leave his strongly en
trenched position. BATTLE OF COLD HARBOR
At Cold Harbor the two armies met, and fought
one of the most fierce and deadly battles of the
war. The enemy again successfully resisted our
assault, and then Grant decided to cross his army
to the south side of the James river by the enemy's
right flank, and cut his communications and lines of
supply. As the first important step in the pro-

GRANTS MILITARY CAREER 209
gramme, Generals Butler and Gilmore were direct
ed to seize Petersburg, an important railway point,
and destroy the bridges. A succession of unto
ward circumstances followed, and before General
Grant could reach the field in person to repair the
mistakes of his subordinates, the enemy had ren
dered the position too strong for assault. Into
that stronghold the enemy gathered his strength,
and around it the great captain drew his lines, thus
laying upon the devoted city of Richmond the first
coil of that anaconda grasp, ever tightening and
never to be released until the object of assault
should be strangled and lie lifeless in his embrace.
AROUND PETERSBURG.
From 'the 28th of June, 1864, to the 29th of
March, 1865, the grand armies confronted each
other at Petersburg. In the meantime numerous
raiding parties had gone out in every direction,
harassing the enemy, breaking his line of com
munication, capturing his trains and wearing him
out by unremitting assaults or threats of assault, at
all points of his line.
General Grant became convinced early in March,
that General Lee was only waiting the opportunity
to evacuate Petersburg, and if he could elude our
army, join General Johnston in North Carolina, and
with the united forces, inaugurate a new, long and
bloody campaign.
To prevent a consummation so full of peril, now
became Grant's sole purpose. General Sherman,

2IO THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
who was operating against Johnston, was summoned
to Petersburg for consultation, and instructed to
press the latter without cessation, and allow no op
portunity for any concerted action with General
Lee. THE FINAL STRUGGLE.
For himself, he put everything in readiness for
any emergency. His camp was cleared of the sick,
and all superfluous baggage. The several divi
sions were reviewed, the organization perfected, and,
thus prepared, he waited the first signal of the
Rebel retreat. His plan was to attack him the
moment the movement began, and rout him if pos
sible ; failing in this, he was to mass his cavalry,
destroy the communications between Lee and John
ston, and not only prevent their junction, but beat
them in detail.
On the 28th of March, orders were issued for
General Sheridan to move. The following is an
extract from Sheridan's instructions :
" You may go out by the nearest roads in rear of the Fifth Corps, pass by
its left, and passing near to or through Dinwiddie, reach the right and rear
of the enemy as soon as you can. It is not the intention to attack the
enemy in his intrenched position, but to force him out if possible. Should he
come out and attack us, or get himself where he can be attacked, move in
with your entire force in your own way, and with the full reliance that the
army will engage or follow as circumstances will dictate. I shall be on the
field, and will probably be able to communicate with you. Should I not do
so, and you find that the enemy keeps within his main intrenched line, you
may cut loose and push for the Danville road. If you find it practicable, I
would like you to cross the Southside road, between Petersburg and Burkes-
ville, and destroy it to some extent. I would not advise much detention.
however, until you reach the Danville road, which I would like you to strike
as near to the Appomattox as possible. Make your destruction of that road

GRANT S MILITARY CAREER. 211
as complete as possible. You can then pass on to the Southside road, west
of Burkesville, and destroy that in like manner."
NO ESCAPE FOR LEE.
In the meantime our lines continued to contract
around the Rebel stronghold, and had been so
strengthened that General Grant felt almost certain
that the time had at last come for capturing Rich
mond, and, what was more important, defeating
Lee and forcing him to a surrender.
He accordingly sent to General Sheridan the
following significant dispatch :
Gravelly Run, March 29, 1865.
General — Our line is now unbroken from the Appomattox to Dinwiddie
I now feel like ending the matter, if it is possible to do so, before going
back. I do not want you, therefore, to cut loose and go after the enemy's
roads at present. In the morning, push round the enemy if you can, and
get on to his right rear. The movements of the enemy's cavalry may, of
course, modify your action. We will all act together as one army here, until
it is seen what can be done with the enemy. U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant-General.
Major-General P. H. Sheridan.
THE BATTLE OF FIVE FORKS
On the 30th, Sheridan pushed forward and fought
the Battle of Five Forks, striking the rear of the
enemy and inflicting much loss upon him. Other
successes followed. Lee's lines were forced at sev
eral points, and at last the grand Army of North
ern Virginia was pushed from its entrenchments,
and went streaming westward in great confusion
along the main road by the Appomattox. The
Federal troops pursued sharply, dealing heavy
blows at every opportunity.
r3

212 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
TERROR IN RICHMOND.
The night of the 2d of April was one of great
terror and consternation in Richmond. The dis
aster to General Lee could no longer be concealed,
and the proud Rebel capital was known to be de
fenceless. On Sunday, the 2d, it was evacuated,
and on the following morning our victorious troops
entered. Lee, with the remnant of his army hastened
along the Danville road, hoping to reach Johnston
in North Carolina. Sheridan made a forced march
and planted himself directly across the line Lee
was following, while the main army was pressing
him closely on the other side. Unable to cope
with either antagonist, nothing was left the Rebel
army but to drift hopelessly westward and put off
for a few hours the evil day.
THE SURRENDER.
From the 4th to the 7th of April, the dissolving
Rebel army struggled against its inevitable fate.
Believing that the end had at last come, General
Grant sent the following letter to General Lee:
April 7, 1865.
General : — The result of the last week must convince you of the hope
lessness of further resistance, on the part of the army of Northern Virginia,
in this struggle. I feel that it is so, and regard it as my duty to shift from
myself the responsibility of any further effusion of blood, by asking of you
the surrender of that portion of the Confederate States army known as the
Army of Northern Virginia. U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant-GeneraL
General R. E. Lee.

GRANTS MILITARY CAREER. 213
Early on the morning of the 8th, before leaving,
Grant received at Farmville the following :
April 7, 1865.
General :—I have received your note of this date. Though not entertain
ing the opinion you express on the hopelessness of further resistance on the
part of the Army of Northern Virginia, I reciprocate your desire to avoid
- useless effusion of blood, and, therefore, before considering your proposition,
ask the terms you will offer on condition of its surrender. R. E. LEE, General.
Lieutenant-General U. S. Grant.
To this Grant immediately replied: April 8, 1865.
General : — Your note of last evening, in reply to mine of same date, ask
ing the condition on which I will accept the surrender of the Army of North
ern Virginia, is just received. In reply, I would say, that peace being my
great desire, there is but one condition I would insist upon — namely, that
the men and officers surrendered shall be disqualified for taking up arms
again against the Government of the United States until properly exchanged.
I will meet you, or will designate officers to meet any officers you may name
for the same purpose, at any point agreeable to you, for the purpose of arrang
ing definitely the terms upon which the surrender of the Army of Northern
Virginia will be received. U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant-General.
General R. E. Lee.
General Lee promptly replied as follows :
April 8, 1865.
General : — I received at a late hour your note of to-day in answer to mine
of yesterday.
I did not intend to propose the surrender of the Army of Northern Vir-
giania, but to ask the terms of your proposition. To be frank, I do not think
the emergency has arisen to call for the surrender. But as the restoration of
peace should be the sole object of all, I desire to know whether- your pro
posals would tend to that end.
I cannot, therefore, meet you with a view to surrender the Army of
Northern Virginia, but so far as your proposition may affect the Confederate
States forces under my command, and lead to the restoration of peace, I
should be pleased to meet you at 10 A. M., to-morrow, on the eld stage-road
to Richmond, between the picket lines of the two armies. R. E. LEE, General.
To Lieutenant-General Grant.

214 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
The following is Grant's rejoinder :
April 9, 1865.
General R. E. Lee, Commanding C. S. A. .
General : Your note of yesterday is received. As I have no authority
to treat on the subject of peace, the meeting proposed for 10 A. m., to-day,
could lead to no good. I will state, however, General, that I am equally
anxious for peace with yourself; and the whole North entertain the same
feeling. The terms upon which peace can be had are well understood. By
the South laying down their arms they will hasten that most desirable event,
save thousands of human lives, and hundreds of millions of property not yet
destroyed. Sincerely hoping that all our difficulties may be settled without the loss of
another life, I subscribe myself, U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant-General.
General Lee's response was as follows :
April 9, 1865.
General : I received your note of this morning on the picket line,
whither I had come to meet you and ascertain definitely what terms were em
braced in your proposition of yesterday with reference to the surrender of
this army.
I now request an interview in accordance with the offer contained in your
letter of yesterday for that purpose. R. E. LEE, General.
To Lieutenant-General Grant.
The following letter closed the correspondence
on the part of General Grant :
Appomattox Court-house, Va., April 9, 1865.
General : In accordance with the substance of my letter to you of the 8th
instant, I propose to receive the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia
on the following terms — to wit : Rolls of all the officers and men to be made
in duplicate, one copy to be giv<en to an officer to be designated by me, the
other to be retained by such officer or officers as you may designate. The
officers to give their individual paroles not to take up arms against the Gov
ernment of the United States until properly exchanged ; and each company
or regimental commander to sign a like parole for the men of their com
mands. The arms, artillery, and public property to be packed and stacked,
and turned over to the officers appointed by me to receive them. This will
not embrace the side-arms of the officers, nor their private horses or baggage.
This done, each officer and man will be allowed to return to his home, not
to be disturbed by United States authority so long as they observe their
paroles, and the laws in force where they may reside.
U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant-General.
General R. E. Lee..

GRANT'S MILITARY CAREER. 2 I 5
The rebel General's reply was as follows :
Headquarters Army Northern Virginia,
April 9, 1865.
General : — I have received your letter of this date, containing the terms of
surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia as proposed by you. As they are
substantially the same as those expressed in your letter of the 8th instant, they
are accepted. I will proceed to designate the proper officers to carry the
stipulations into effect. R. E. LEE, General.
Lieutenant-General U. S. Grant.
The terms of this correspondence were carried
out without delay. How desperately the war had
been carried on by the rebel leaders is shown by
the fact that, though the names of 150,000 men
were borne on Lee's muster-rolls a few weeks be
fore, there were but 27,000 found to surrender to
Grant. Desertion had told the story ; and this was
brought about only by failing supplies and a hope
less cause. Of arms and ammunition, however,
there was a rich supply, and these were turned
over to Grant, as trophies of his victory over the
ablest and best beloved general of the Confederacy,
and one but for whose staunchness and sagacity, the
victory would have been much more easily won.
grant's military genius.
We do not propose to enter here upon a minute
analysis of General Grant's military methods, or
discuss the question of his genius as a general.
This has been done in more technical works, as
Coppee's Life of Grant, Swinton's able work on
the battles of the late civil war, and various treat
ises by both American and European writers.
In Mr. Greeley's " American Conflict," second vol
ume, the reader will find a brief but vigorous de-

2l6 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
fence of Grant's plan of the Virginia Campaign, so
hastily sketched above ; and in hisjournal — the New
York Tribune — of July 2d, 1864, he paid the follow
ing glowing tribute to the man who " broke the
back of the Slaveholder's Rebellion:"
" We loathe man-worship, yet every day's experi
ence strengthens our faith in Lieutenant-General
Grant. The task devolved on him is arduous ; he
is confronted by an able general and a gallant vet
eran army who enjoy enormous advantages in their
defensive attitudes, the nature of the country and
their intimate knowledge of its topography ; yet
from the hour of his crossing the Rapidan, General
Grant has gone steadily, sturdily forward, repelling
impetuous attacks, assaulting (when necessary)
strongly fortified positions ; withdrawing unobserved
from the immediate front of his wary antagonist and
effecting the most daring and difficult flank move-/
ments, thereby achieving the fruits of victory with-.
out encountering the carnage which is the usual
cost of success — and all this with a stern quietude
that indicates reserved force and a consciousness?
of power adapted to any emergency. We are not
apt to be over sanguine ; we realize that victory is
often a happy accident and that occurrences purely
fortuitous often derange and defeat the ablest comT
binations ; but, having noted his bearing under
every phase of fortune, his quick improvement of
advantages and his skillful reparation of mischances,
we cannot doubt that he has true military genius,
and that he will do whatever one man can do to
break the back of the Slaveholder's Rebellion,"

CHAPTER XIII.
GRANT AS PRESIDENT.
Difficulties Encountered on his Induction to the Chair of State  General
Policy of the Administration — The Will of the People Supreme — Econo
my the Rule — Some Figures — Grant and the Civil Service — Important Re
forms — Grant and Amnesty — Policy toward the Colored Race — The Treaty
with England — History of the Negotiations — Grant's Indian Policy — The
Olive Branch Armed with a Switch.
Some of the peculiar difficulties with which
President Grant had to contend at the outset of
his administration were alluded to in a previous
chapter ; the two chief being reconstruction and
the unhappy state of the civil service. Each of
these was partly the natural growth of the war and
partly the legacy of Andrew Johnson's cross-grained
administration ; and the treatment of either of
them would have furnished a very good eight years'
job to a moderately active President. But General
Grant, though commencing his administration very
modestly, so far as all his public utterances went,
has undertaken not only these Herculean labors
which thrust themselves forward the most promi
nently, but numerous other beneficent works with
in the sphere of his duties as Executive. Many of
these he has happily accomplished ; others he has
advanced creditably, and seems sure to secure both
Congressional and popular co-operation in their
(219)

220 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
behalf within a year or two ; while a single one,
having met serious opposition in the legislative
branch, — which General Grant, unlike his predeces
sor, consents cheerfully to recognize as a co-ordi
nate branch of the Government, — has been quietly
dropped, in lieu of the persistent scolding to which
Congress became so accustomed during the incum
bency of Johnson. GRANT'S VIEW OF HIS DUTIES.
Grant's general policy, as mapped out by himself,
for himself, at his inauguration, has been made fa
miliar to all. " The office," he said, " has come to
me unsought. I commence its duties untrammeled.
I bring to it a conscientious desire and determin
ation to fill it to the best of my ability to the satis
faction of the people. On all leading questions
agitating the public mind I will always express my
views to Congress, and urge them according to my
judgment ; and when I think it advisable will exer
cise the constitutional privilege of interposing a
veto to defeat measures which I oppose. But all
laws will be faithfully executed, whether they meet
my approval or not. I shall on all subjects have a
policy to recommend, but none to enforce against
the will of the people. Laws are to govern all
alike, those opposed to as well as those who favor
them. I know no method to secure the repeal of
bad or obnoxious laws so effective as their string
ent execution."
In other words, he proposed to discharge the

GRANT AS PRESIDENT. 221
duties of an Executive without attempting to
trench upon those of the Legislature. He rightly
judged that as an Executive merely (with his slight
semi-legislative function added, of signing or veto
ing acts of Congress) he could find ample scope
for all his ability and energy, even though he were
the ablest and most energetic of statesmen.
ECONOMY IN ADMINISTRATION.
As is well known, one of the main tenets of the
Republican faith is Economy in administration. As
is also well known, the annual expenses of the
Government, at the installation of President Grant,
had become very large — partly through the inevit
able increase of business, especially of the Reve
nue Department incident to the long war, and
partly through the demoralization brought about
by Johnson. To reform this as far as possible, and
to reduce the annual outgo to the minimum, was
the early effort of President Grant.
During the year ending July i, 1866, the annual
revenues of the Government, raised from duties
and from excise taxes, reached the enormous sum
of $558,000,000. This sum has been so reduced
that, although we are still paying off $100,000,000
annually of the national debt and defraying all the
interest as it comes due, the Government only asks
about $240,000,000 per year from the people for all
purposes. Part of the reductions have been made
by Congress, to be sure ; but they could not have
been made if the collection of duties and of inter-

222 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
nal revenue had been carried on in the lax and dis
honest fashion of Johnson's time. To collect an
annual revenue of $46,000,000 from spirits and to
bacco in 1867-8, for instance, cost $1,200,000 more
under Johnson's administration than it did to col
lect $87,000,000 — nearly twice as much — in 18 70-1
under Grant's administration. (And it is the for
mer office-holders of Andy Johnson who are now
most active in forwarding Greeley's cause ; and
who are promised by the Chicago Tribune — the
great civil service reformer ! — that they shall not
be prevented from enjoying their " spoils " when
Greeley comes into the White House.)
The aggregate reduction of internal revenue
since 1866 has been as follows :
Act of July 13, 1806    $65,000,000
Act of March 2, 1867  40,000,000
Act of February 3, 1868.       23,000,000
Act of March 31, 1668, ) 45,000,000
Act of July 20, 1868, I 
Act of July 14, 1870    55,000,000
Total...     ^ $228,000,000
Adding to this the tariff reduction of July, "1870,
amounting to $30,000,000, and that of the measure
just passed, amounting to about $53,000,000, and
we have a grand total of $310,000,000, annual taxes
taken off, since July 1, 1869. This reduction has
been voted by a Republican Congress. What has
been voted since March 4, i860, has been done
with the consent of President Grant's Secretary of
the Treasury, and has been done because the effi
cient collection of the taxes, without unnecessary

GRANT AS PRESIDENT.

2 23

expense, has caused the same tax to yield much
better than it did in Democratic days.
Then, as to the cost of collection : Mr. Eugene
Hale, of Maine, in a recent speech in Congress, in
troduced the following statement made to him by
Revenue Commissioner Douglas :
"In reply to your verbal request, I have the honor to hand you the following
as the number of each grade of officers of this bureau whose services have
been dispensed with from March 4, 1869, to January 1, 1872 :
Collectors (consolidation of districts)    g
Assessors (consolidation of districts)   9
Assistant Assessors    1,355
Distillery Storekeepers  129
Distillery Surveyors  .'  209
Tobacco Inspectors  625
Total.      2,334
"From the best information in my possession I am of the opinion that the
saving to the Government by this reduction will equal, if it does not exceed,
$1,200,000 per annum."
Another exhibit :
Expenses of Government, year ending July 1, 1866  $520,809,416.99
1867..  357,542,675.16
1868  377,340,284.86
1869..  322,865,277.80
1870  309.653,560.75
1871.  295,177,188.25
(This includes interest on the public debt.)
It will be seen from this exhibit that in 1868,
when Andy Johnson fell fully into the arms of the
Democracy, the expenditures of his administration
were $20,000,000 larger than in 1867; while the
first year of President Grant's administration —
1869 — shows a decrease of $54,000,000. This was
followed, in 1870, by a decrease of $13,000,000, and
of $14,000,000 in 1 8 71.
Another : The subjoined figures show the ex-

224 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
penditures of the Government for carrying on the
civil administration during each tenth year :
Year. Population. Expenditures. Per Capita.
l8oo    5,305,925 $10,813,971 01 $2 03
1810  7,239.814 8,474,753 37 I 17
1820   9,638,131 18,285,534 89 I 89
1830  12,866,020 15,142,108 26 , 1 17
1840  17,069,453 24,314,518 19 1 42
1850    23,191,876 40,948,383 12 1 76
i860   31,443,321 58,489,037 16 1 86
1871  -  --38,555,983 57,H7,332 43 148
(The figures for i860 and 1871 are exclusive of permanent public improve
ments.) Thus it is seen that it cost the people about 26
per cent, more per capita to carry on the various
Departments of the Government when the Demo
crats were in power, and had been so eight- years,
than it did when the Republicans had the job.
This will do for illustrations of President Grant's
efforts in behalf of Economy. We have shown that
Grant's administration, while paying off $100,000,000
per year of the national debt and defraying
promptly the annual interest on the remainder, has
reduced the total annual expenses some $310,000,000,
and the expenses of special departments in a way
to show that the present Executive has made it a
constant and successful study to develop the great
est possible amount of revenue at the least possible
cost. MAINTAINING THE PUBLIC CREDIT.
Unquestionably it is to this economy of admin
istration, and to the steady policy of the Govern
ment in nursing tenderly the Public Credit, that

GRANT AS PRESIDENT. 225
the great material prosperity of the country during
the years of Grant's administration is due. His
selection of a Secretary of the Treasury proved to
be a most happy one, and Mr. Boutwell has by his
honesty, his firmness and his inventive genius done
much to straighten out our finances and relieve the
burdens of the people. One of the best achieve
ments of his administration has been the funding
scheme, whereby more than a thousand millions of
our debt will soon have been converted from 6 per
cents into 5 and 4^ per cents, thereby saving in
interest, say $12,000,000 per annum. This reduc
tion could never have been accomplished except
through a great strengthening of our national
credit in Europe, consequent upon the continued
ascendency of the Republican party, and the wise,
conservative administration of General Grant. In
deed, the very popularity of Grant has contributed.
to this strengthening of the public credit, since the
capitalists abroad perceived in that popularity a
guaranty that his administration was not likely to
be upset at next November's election, and the can
didate of the reckless, repudiating, Tammany-
fostering Democrats installed in the White House.
The clamor of the anti-Grant press and the re
cent temporary delay in the Alabama negoti
ations may serve to keep this foreign confidence
disturbed somewhat during the summer and
early fall; but after Grant's re-election, the fund
ing of the remainder of the debt will go on as
before.

226 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.

CIVIL SERVICE REFORM.
In his second annual message to Congress, Presi
dent Grant wrote thus :
" Always favoring practical reforms, 1 respectfully call your attention to one
abuse of long standing, which I would like to see remedied by this Congress.
It is a reform in the civil service of the country. I would have it go beyond
the mere fixing of the tenure of office of clerks and employees, who do not
require " the advice and consent of the Senate" to make their appointments
complete. I would have it govern, not the tenure, but the manner of making
all appointments. There is no duty which so much embarrasses the Execu
tive and Heads of Departments as that of appointments ; nor is there any
such arduous and thankless labor imposed on Senators and Representatives
as that of finding places for constituents. The present system does not se
cure the best men, and often not fit men, for public place. The elevation and
purification of the civil service of the Government will be hailed with ap
proval by the whole people of the United States.''
With particular reference to the heads of Bu
reaus and other officers of like grade, he called the
attention of Congress to the vastness of the inter
ests committed to them, and to the inadequacy of
their salaries to the responsibility imposed on them.
He asked for a change in this respect, and said to
Congress, " There has been no hesitation in chang
ing officials in order to secure an efficient execution
of the laws, sometimes, too, when in a mere party
view, undesirable political results were likely to fol
low ; nor any hesitation in sustaining efficient of
ficials against remonstrances wholly political."
Is not this the Civil Service Reform which the
anti-Grant men are now claiming as the corner
stone of their platform ?
In a later message, President Grant wrote:
" It has been the aim of the Administration to enforce honesty and effici
ency in all public offices. Every public servant who has violated the trust

GRANT AS PRESIDENT.

227

placed in him has been proceeded against with all the rigor of the law. If bad
men have secured places it has been the fault of the system established by law
and custom for making appointments, or the fault of those who recommend
for Government positions persons not sufficiently well known to them person
ally, or who give letters indorsing the characters of office-seekers without a
proper sense of the grave responsibility which such a course devolves upon
them A civil service reform which can correct this abuse is much desired.
In mercantile pursuit, the business-man who gives a letter of recommendation
to a friend, to enable him to obtain credit from a stranger, is regarded as
morally responsible for the integrity of his friend, and his ability to meet his
obligations. A reformatory law which would enforce this principle against
all indorsers of persons for public place would insure great caution in making
recommendations. A salutary lesson has been taught the careless and the
dishonest public servant in the great number of prosecutions and convictions
of the last two years."
When finally Congress, in the spring of 1871,
passed an act, or a fragment of an act, looking to
ward a definite reform of the methods of appoint
ing to civil office — which act authorized the Presi
dent to constitute a board or commission for the
careful investigation of the whole subject and the
drafting of a system of operations — General Grant
proceeded with alacrity to carry out the act accord
ing to its spirit. He selected for members of the
commission, Messrs. George William Curtis, Joseph
Medill, A. G. Cattell, E. B. Elliott and J. H. Black-
fan — the first two distinguished journalists of the
very highest character, whose journals had expressed
a decided interest in the proposed reform ; the
third an Ex-United States Senator, and a public
man of much experience ; and the last two old bu
reau officers, familiar with the workings of admin
istrative machinery. The commission sat and sifted
the subject very carefully and, at length, was able to
report a partial system, which, so far as it went, was
a great advance upon the old methods.

228 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
THE CIVIL SERVICE AS IT WAS.
As generally understood, the recognized rule of
past administrations, regulating appointments to
clerkships at Washington, or to more important
offices at local points throughout the country, has
been political pressure simply. If the political
pressure in behalf of A. was only strong enough,
B. had to be turned out of his clerkship to make
room for him, no matter if B. were much the bet
ter clerk. This pressure usually came from Sena
tors and Representatives in Congress, who de
manded such and such appointments from the Gov
ernment as their rightful property, wherewith to
pay off the debts incurred in getting themselves
elected to office. This practice was very demoral
izing, not only to the civil service, but to politics
generally — since it debased the considerations up
on which men were nominated to office, and often
resulted in the election of tricky, log-rolling, bar
gaining politicians, when the people would rather
vote for men of parts and character. It also em
barrassed the President with a great deal of patch
ing and peddling which belonged properly to the
members themselves — or, rather, to nobody at alL
THE NEW REGIME.
The President therefore entered with zeal, though
not with undue haste, or with overmuch flourish,
into the work of reforming the civil service by giv
ing employees of the Government a better tenure

GRANT AS PRESIDENT. 229
of their offices, and by fixing according to fitter and
more calculable rules, the method of their appoint
ment. The rules framed last winter by the Advis-
ary Board of the Civil Service for the classification,
qualifications, etc., of clerks and other employees
and officers of the Federal departments at Washing
ton, have been in operation there some months ;
and a set of rules, founded on them, had a short
time before putting this book to press, been adopted
for the New York Custom House service. Here
after all applicants for office in the Government
service in New York must make application in
writing, giving name, age, occupation past and
present, accompanied by certificate of character from
two responsible persons, and a physician's certificate
of health and fitness for clerical labor. The man
ner in which these applications are drawn up will
go far to decide the fitness of the applicant for ap
pointment. Every application which does not con
form with the requirements of the rules, or which
shows manifest lack of qualification, will be sum
marily rejected by the examining boards. The
names of those whose applications are satisfactory
will be placed on what is termed the " eligible list."
The persons whose names are on this list will be
notified to appear for examination whenever a va
cancy is to be filled, unless it should be impracti
cable to examine all of them, in which case a prac
ticable number of those apparently best qualified
will be selected and summoned for examination.
In making up the eligible list and in selecting the

23O THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
practicable number, the board will be guided en
tirely by the merits of the applications, without re
gard to political considerations. The names of the
three persons standing highest on the list will be
certified to by the board for the vacancy, and from
the names thus certified the appointment must be
made. The regulations of the advisory board, applying
to all departments of government service, further
required that such appointments, excepting persons
appointed by the President, with the advice and
consent of the Senate, postmasters and persons ap
pointed to any position in a foreign country, shall be
made for a probationary term of six months, during
which the conduct and capacity of such persons
shall be tested ; and if, at the end of such probation
ary term, satisfactory proof of their fitness shall
have been furnished, they shall be re-appointed.
The regulations are stringent, as it was the purpose
of the advisory board and of the President, who
was from the beginning in entire accord with them,
to make the experiment with perfect sincerity and
good faith. The object is to get the best service
possible ; and this method is the result of the best
reflection and experience which could be brought to
bear upon it. In the service of the Treasury de
partment alone the number of appointments to
which the rules will be applicable when vacancies
arise, is stated at fourteen thousand. The morale
of this branch of the service was never so high as
it is now. The excellence of its organization and

GRANT AS PRESIDENT.

231

the business-like character and efficiency which per
vaded it was recognized even by the opposition
until its organs had political reasons for blacken
ing it.
The object of these rules is not merely to fur
nish a series of tests by which the maximum
amount of ability and other qualifications can be
secured in the employee appointed to a place under
the Government. If this were so, it would be ex
ceedingly problematical whether the competitive
examination system were worth, in benefits derived
from it, the pains and expense bestowed upon it.
But the system has another and far higher use, in
that it furnishes (together with the system of pro
motions in line) a fixed and definite process by
which places under the Government are filled with
out the interference of political favoritism; and it
must always be recollected that the gravest of
the evils to be got rid of is not inefficiency of the
service as it exists, but the demoralization of gene
ral politics by the introduction of the spoils doc
trine. There are other methods of curing this
evil — such as a law of Congress protecting all
office-holders in their places during a certain fixed
term of (say) four years, subject to removal for
bad behavior only ; the election of postmasters by
the people, and the abolition of internal revenue
collectors and assessors altogether, and the selling
of all the necessary stamps by postmasters (some
thing which the President has favored); and it is
likely that some or all of these additional measures

232 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
will have to be resorted to before the serpent is
scotched altogether. There is no doubt that the
President is in earnest in his devotion to this re
form ; and doubtless the reason why he has moved
with moderate pace in it is because he has seen
that the people, and especially Congress, had not
yet fairly waked up to it until quite recently.
SKEPTICS AND REACTIONISTS.
There are still some public men of both parties,
who affect to distrust the possibility of any valuable
reform of the service through the means indicated
in the foregoing paragraphs. The Advisory Board
they characterize as "schoolmasters" and the regu
lations for examination and probation are, they
charge, but so many devices for preferring a few
dry-veined bookworms before men of practical
acumen, in the assignment of candidates to places.
They have also some cant to utter about these reg
ulations being an insult to the intelligence of the
American people ; but just where the "insult" comes
in, when, in truth, the whole system is intended to
protect the interests of the people against the ra
pacity of the politicians, would, perhaps, puzzle
the reactionists to point out. The Republican
party has now, through its legally constituted dele
gates in national convention, approved of the re
form, and no good Republican Congressman can
rightfully refuse to give his co-operation. The
people should see to it in the pending campaign,
that the genius of real civil service reform prevails,

GRANT AS PRESIDENT.

233

both at the primaries and at the polls ; that the
management of the former is not relegated to men
who work for pay promised them by candidates, in
the shape of postoffices and assessorships ; and
that all candidates who attempt to forward their
own chances in such a way are left at home, and
not sent to Washington to corrupt our legislation.
THE PRESIDENT'S POLICY TOWARD THE SOUTH.
General Grant's policy toward the reconstructed
States has been a liberal and a careful one. Real
izing that pacification and reconciliation were the
great requisites of those communities, he has en
deavored to stimulate loyalty among the lately dis
loyal, and industry and development among the
great mass of blacks lately endowed with the pow
ers of citizenship. And it has also been the aim of
the administration to protect both of these classes,
so far as they would allow it, from the effects of
their own extremism, as shown in the surrender of
most of the State governments to adroit, but un
principled "carpet-baggers." President Grant has
watched with' favorable interest all measures for the
education of the negro race, and was, in fact, the
original proposer of the plan embodied in the bill
of Congressman Hoar, passed by the House of
Representatives last session, and intended especially
for the benefit of the South. This bill proposed
to divide in proportion to the illiteracy of the re
spective States the proceeds of all public lands
sold hereafter.

234 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
AMNESTY.
The magnanimity which Grant as a conquering
general showed to Lee and his troops at Appomat
tox, has distinguished his demeanor toward them
and their sympathizers since. He has, from time
to time, proposed measures of amnesty to the Reb
els still left more or less under the political ban
(none are absolutely disfranchised) ; and last De
cember he sent this recommendation to Congress:
"More than six years having elapsed since the last hostile gun was fired
between the armies then arrayed against each other, — one for the perpetua
tion, the other for the destruction, of the Union, — it may well be considered
whether it is not now time that the diiabilities imposed by the fourteenth
amendment should be removed. That amendment does not exclude the
ballot, but only imposes the disability to hold office upon certain classes.
When the purity of the ballot is secure, majorities are sure to elect officers
reflecting the views of the majority. I do not see the advantage or propri
ety of excluding men from office merely because they were, before the rebel
lion, of standing and character sufficient to be elected to positions requiring
them to take oaths to support the Constitution, and admitting to eligibility
those entertaining precisely the same views, but of less standing in their com
munities. It may be said that the former violated an oath, while the latter
did not. The latter did not have it in their power to do so. If they had
taken this oath, it cannot be doubted they would have broken it, as did the
former class. If there are any great criminals, distinguished above all others
for the part they took in opposition to the Government, they might, in the
judgment of Congress, be excluded from such an amnesty. This subject is
submitted for your careful consideration.
"The condition of the Southern States is, unhappily, not such as all true,
patriotic citizens would like to see. Social ostracism for opinion's sake, per
sonal violence or threats towards persons entertaining political views opposed
to those entertained by the majority of the old citizens, prevent immigration
and the flow of much needed capital into the States lately in rebellion. It will
be a happy condition of the country when the old citizens of these States
will take an interest in public affairs, promulgate ideas honestly entertained,
vote for men representing their views, and tolerate the same freedom of ex
pression and ballot in those entertaining different political convictions."
This is plain language, and as liberal in sentiment

GRANT AS PRESIDENT.

235

as the most advanced of the so-called liberals can
boast, and yet the loyal men of the country will
feel far safer in seeing such precepts carried out
under the administration of one who has displayed
always a nice appreciation of the rights of both
races of the South, than under one who proposes
to sail into the White House upon a breeze which
blows only in behalf of the old Rebel element at
the South, and a popularity which results from his
favoring Secession and bailing Jeff. Davis.
Congress heeded the recommendation of Presi
dent Grant, and passed several amnesty bills, in a
single one of which about 25,000 Rebels were re
admitted to all the privileges of citizenship, includ
ing office-holding.
Grant's record on Amnesty is such, in short, as
to make him much stronger in the South than his
principal adversary in this contest ; though not, per
haps with the old political class of Rebels, who
seem fully as blind now as they did in i860 and
1 86 1. With the Confederate soldiers, who fought
nobly for what they were taught to believe was
their country, it will doubtless be otherwise ; and
as for the Blacks, who constitute a majority in the
South, not one in ten of them is going to be be
guiled into voting for the candidate of the Demo
cracy, especially if it be Greeley. They regard
Grant as next to Lincoln, their deliver ; and of
Greeley they say, " If he had had his say in '60 and
'61, and you'd let de Southern States, depart in
peace,' den we'd done been slaves to-day, shuh,

236 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
No, we can't go for Mr. Greeley." And their logic
has common sense in it, as negro logic usually has.
THE TREATY WITH ENGLAND.
The foreign policy of President Grant has been
one of peace. In one of his messages, he says,
"As the United States is the freest of all nations,
so, too, the people sympathize with all peoples
struggling for liberty and self-government. But
while so sympathizing," he adds, " it is due to our
honor that we should abstain from enforcing our
views upon unwilling nations and taking an inter
ested part without invitation in the quarrels be
tween different nations, or between governments
and their subjects." This principle — an old maxim
with the American government — is the President's
answer to those feverish, fretful newspaper organs
in New York, which have always (apparently in the
interest of some speculators in Cuban Republic
bonds) been teasing the Government to interfere
with Cuban affairs, and bring on a war with Spain.
It is also a sufficient reason for the President's
prompt interference to check the irruption of Feni
ans from our borders upon British soil in 1869.
The President himself came near forgetting it in
the case of Baez, Cabral and the Haytien govern
ment, where the cause of the first-named chieftain
promised soon to become our own cause, through
annexation ; but he recollected himself in time to
save his record in this respect.
The principal matter of foreign policy with which

T4nNCHARLES S UMlVER
IT O N • senator for Massachusetts "^^

HI  JSs

GRANT AS PRESIDENT.

239

General Grant's administration has had to do, how
ever, is the negotiation of the much-talked-about
treaty with England, intended to bring about a
settlement, without bloodshed, of four questions
which had long vexed the diplomacy of the two
nations. These were :
1. The claims alleged against Great Britain, by
reason of the Rebel privateers fitted out in British
ports, and known as the "Alabama Claims."
2. The question of Fishermen's rights along the
Banks of New Foundland, there being an old dis
pute as to how near to the Canadian shore Ameri
can fishermen were, by former treaties, entitled to
approach. 3. The navigation of the Great Lakes and other
navigable waters lying within either government's
territory, by the navy and merchant marine of the
other. 4. The location of the San Juan boundary (be
tween Washington Territory and British Colum
bia.) To arrange for the settlement of these questions
a Joint High Commission was appointed by the
two governments and assembled at Washington in
February, 1871, completing its labors on the 8th
of May, when the treaty of Washington was signed
by the members of the Commission. The treaty
was ratified June 17th, 1871. (An abstract of all
its important provisions, together with some inter
esting papers bearing upon the question before the

24O THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
Geneva Tribunal of Arbitration, is given in the ap
pendix to this volume.)
The third of the questions referred to above was
settled by the treaty itself and confirmed by the
action of the Canadian Parliament. The first was
made the subject of a special commission, which has
not yet concluded its labors. The fourth was re
ferred to the Emperor of Germany as arbitrator,
and his decision was, at the writing of this, about to be
promulgated. The first question is the only one about
which there has been any national soreness, and
this chiefly on the part of Great Britain, the peo
ple of which country seem less able than their liberal
statesmen to "put themselves in our place," in con
sidering such a question. On the first session of
the Tribunal of Geneva, in December, 1871, it was
found that the counsel on our part, J. C. Bancroft
Davis, Esq., had filed claims for indirect damages
growing out of the maintenance of the Confeder
ate cruisers on the high seas after the last aggres
sive movements of the Rebel land forces at Gettys
burg; "indirect damages" meaning the general ex
pense of prolonging the war, the loss to individu
als by enhanced insurance, the loss to the nation
by the transfer of her shipping to foreign flags, etc.
This order of claims was so stoutly resisted by
Great Britain (she claiming that they were ruled
out by the treaty and protocol), that the proceed
ings of the Tribunal were interrupted, and a long
correspondence commenced between Earl Gran
ville, the British Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and

GRANT AS PRESIDENT. 24I
Secretary of State, Fish, on behalf of our Govern
ment, relative to the adoption of an understanding
on which we could proceed with the arbitration.
This correspondence, commencing February 3d,
1872, with a letter of remonstrance from Earl Gran
ville to Mr. Fish, is very voluminous, and in it ev
ery position is contested, as it were, inch by inch,
by the two diplomats ; but the tone is remarkably
deferential throughout, indicating a determination
on the part of both governments not to sacrifice
the opportunity of settling the misunderstanding
by peaceful arbitration.
On the 25th of April, it was apparent from
General Schenck's telegram to Secretary Fish that
the British Government had determined to repudi
ate the Treaty. On the 27th, however, Secretary
Fish had received from Sir Edward Thornton,
British Minister at Washington, a hint that the
British Government would be glad to consent to a
supplemental article disposing of the claims upon
neutrals for Consequential Damages by excluding
them forever from consideration between the two
nations, and of course directing their withdrawal in
this present case. This was agreeable to our Gov
ernment, since the United States is usually a neu
tral power, and hence the one most likely to suffer
from a liability to such enornfous claims.
In accordance with the proposition which was
further elaborated and discussed in a score of com
munications by cable which passed between the 25th
of April and the 10th of May, 1871, such a sup-

242 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
plemental article was presented to the American
Senate, and approved by that body.
Concerning the wording of the supplemental
article proposed by Great Britain and assented to
by the United States, with certain slight verbal al
terations, there was again a vast amount of corres
pondence and discussion. The British Parliament,
especially, became greatly agitated over the subject,
and the British Government began to display much
more deference to the clamor of the Tories than it
had done heretofore. As a consequence, the
Treaty would soon have failed, through the with
drawal of Great Britain from the negotiations (our
Government having refused to higgle any longer
over mere sentimentalities) had not the Tribunal,
at its session in the latter part of June, announced
its decision adversely to any claims for indirect
damages, and thereby at once relieved the fearful
forebodings of John Bull and done away with the
supplemental article which had been the bone of
contention for the past two months. It is now be
lieved that the upshot of the proceedings will be
to award the United States justice in the matter
of the Alabama Claims ; and at the same time very
beneficial results will be obtained from the enforce
ment of other provisions of the Treaty, and a la
mentable war with Great Britain, which seemed to
have been long culminating and threatening, be
avoided. If so, this negotiation of the Treaty of
Washington, with its advantages, if any, on our
side, as everybody says, especially in Europe, will

GRANT AS PRESIDENT. 243
be among the greenest laurels of President Grant's
administration. GRANT'S INDIAN POLICY.
President Grant is generally credited, and justly,
with having inaugurated a very successful and
beneficent policy toward our Indian wards, in the
plains and mountains of the West. When Grant
came into office, the Indian Bureau was still, what
it had long been, a slough of political mire, breed
ing, pecuniary corruption. It was the home of job
bery and peculation, and lo ! the poor Indian had to
stand the victim of it all. Cheated by one agent
and pampered by another, his natural vindictive-
ness, quarrelsomeness and recklessness were in
flamed still more by his treatment, and hence we
heard of massacres upon the border, and of fre
quent ruptures of our relations with these savage
tribes, which it was the custom of the Government
to treat as distinct nations. At the same time we
were failing utterly to reclaim the unfortunate sav
ages from the low condition of their birth.
General Grant undertook to reform some of
these things. His idea was that some of the Red
Men, nearly civilized, and others favorably disposed
that way, could, by careful teaching and exclusion
from bad influences, be hastened on the road to
enlightenment and Christianization ; that others,
like the Apaches and Piegans, too debased in the
scale of being to be wrought upon in this way,
could best be held in their places by a firm hand,

244 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
wielded by the War Department; while others,
like the Sioux, intelligent, but warlike and
intractable must be handled with gentle firmness —
treated with through a peace commission backed
up by a division of cavalry ; and all were alike sus
ceptible to the influence of honest dealing and uni
form treatment. General Grant, having had con
siderable experience with the Indians himself, and
having noticed the success of the missionaries of
the Society of Friends, in dealing with the Red
Men, appointed several members of that society to be
superintendents and agents at the Indian posts. At
the same time he invited the other religious denom
inations to name candidates for whose character as
humane and honest men they could vouch ; and
these recommendations were also heeded in the
appointment of Indian officers. A general Peace
Commission was also appointed shortly after the
accession of Grant to the Presidency, consisting of
George H. Stuart, Felix R. Brunot, Wm. Welsh,
Wm. E. Dodge, E. S. Tobey, John V. Farwell, Rob
ert Campbell, Henry S. Lane, and Nathan Bishop.
(John DeLang and Vincent Collyer have since
been substituted for Messrs. Welsh and Lane.) It
has been the duty of this commission to visit tur
bulent tribes, ascertain what is their grievance, and,
if possible, remedy it. The members, who are all
eminent Christians and philanthropists, labor gra
tuitously for the sake of humanity ; and their
efforts have been crowned with so great success
that the Government has had, comparatively, no

GRANT AS PRESIDENT. 245
tiouble with the intelligent tribes, while the Indi
ans themselves have suffered far less from bad man
agement than heretofore. Their latest report (for
the year 1871) bears this testimony to the success
of the peace policy :
THE PEACE POLICY  ITS ADVANTAGES.
" Increased experience in dealing with the Indians
only tends to confirm the board more and more in
the wisdom of the policy of peace so uniformly ad
vocated by the President, and supported by the
liberality of Congress and the humane sympathies
of the people ; and the board confidently look for
ward to the day when the bitterness which now as
sails this policy in some parts of the United States,
where it is least understood, will fill a page in his
tory as unnatural and curious as that which records
the old hatred against freedom and the friends of
the slave."
The policy of confining the tribes strictly to their
own reservations, and protecting them in the undis
turbed possession of those reservations, is also a
characteristic of the present Administration ; and
it is unquestionably an indispensable prerequisite
of peace. Another innovation upon past practices,
and one calculated to render the Indians more do
mestic and industrious, is the plan of subdividing
their reservations into individual " eighties" — some
heads of families thus getting several quarter-sections
of land. This is done in the case of those (like the
Creeks, Choctaws, etc.) manifesting any disposition
favorable to husbandry.

246 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
But while holding out the olive-branch of peace
to the red men, as our humane instincts tell us
should be done, we all know that olive-branches
will not do the business with all Indians and on all
occasions. When the sword has been found to be
necessary, General Grant has applied it vigorously.
The very silly efforts made in behalf of certain
treacherous and bloody Apaches by Vincent Colyer,
an over-sentimental member of the Peace Com
mission, have apparently ceased to have any weight
at Washington, and orders have now been issued
to General Crook, who commands our troops in
Arizona, and who understands the weaknesses of
the Apache creatures, to proceed with them thor
oughly and teach them a good lesson. The Sioux
tribes, to the north of the Union Pacific Railway,
inhabiting the valley of the Yellowstone, have also
threatened to become belligerent, on account of
the projection of the Northern Pacific road across
the Northern limits of their allotted domain. To
these went recently General B. R. Cowen, Assist
ant Secretary of the Interior, and other able men,
composing a Commission ; and it is certain that if
the Sioux malcontents refuse to listen to the argu
ments and remonstrances of these men, they will
smell powder promptly. The administration evi
dently realizes that ; while you may well give the
Indian to understand that you love him and care
for him, it will not on any account do to have him
understand that you fear him, or will yield to him
when he makes a threat of force.

CHAPTER XIV.
GRANT AS PRESIDENT.
(CONTINUED.)
Grant and the Workingraen — Grant and Education — The Postal Telegraph
System — Grant and the Colored Race — Down with Polygamy — Grant the
Immigrant's Friend — Messages in their Behalf — Rights of Naturalized
Citizens — The Houard Hubbub— Grant and San Domingo — How would
Greeley have Worked it ? — Grant and the Veto Power — Legislative Job
bery — Sumner's Vile Insinuations — Is the White House a Military Head
quarters ? — Sumner Put Down with a Plain Tale — Greeley's Tributes to
Grant.
GRANT AND THE WORKINGMEN.
President Grant has not the special reputation
as the workingman's friend which is enjoyed by
his companion upon the National Republican tick
et. He is evidently a friend of the laborer, but
does not " howl about it," like some public men so
licitous of votes. It is very cheap to declaim a lit
tle in behalf of the workingman, and then to go
off and let him get his rights the best way he can.
Grant talks but little in any behalf, yet he never
has written a message without finding space for a
word in behalf of labor. Here are extracts which
show either that Grant is a statesman of compre
hensive glance, Or else that he has not forgotten
the days when he was a working, studying tanner :
iS (247)

248 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
"By the late war, the industry of one-half of the country had been taken
from the control of the capitalists and placed where all labor rightfully be
longs — in the keeping of the laborer."
"The opinion that the public lands should be regarded chiefly as a source
of revenue is no longer maintained. The rapid settlement and successful
cultivation of them are now justly considered of more importance to our
well-being than is the fund which the sale of them would produce. The re
markable growth and prosperity of our new States and Territories attest the
wisdom of the legislation which invites the tiller of the soil to secure a per
manent home on terms within the reach of all. The pioneer who incurs the
dangers and privations of a frontier life, and thus aids in laying the founda
tion of new commonwealths, renders a signal service to his country, and is
entitled to its special favor and protection. These laws secure that object,
and largely promote the general welfare. They should, therefore, be cher
ished as a permanent feature of our land system."
"I renew my recommendation that the public lands be regarded as a her
itage to our children, to be disposed of only as required for occupation and
to actual settlers."
"The true prosperity and greatness of a nation is to be found in the eleva
tion and education of its laborers.''
Nor does Grant stop with saying to the work-
ingmen, " Be ye warmed and filled." A few weeks
ago a deputation of carpenters from New York —
employed there upon the Government buildings —
waited upon him at the White House. He listened
to their requests, which were for a shortening of
the hours of their labor. An act of Congress. pro
vided for this, and the President lost no time in
seeing that the workingmen were endowed with all
the rights to which they were entitled under it. It
is, doubtless, his fidelity to their interests in several
instances like this, as also his steady hand at the
helm, which keeps the ship of State well righted
and all her crew safe and comfortable, which makes
the workingmen of the country so zealous and unan
imous for Grant and Wilson — a ticket put in nom
ination by their organization at New York.

GRANT AS PRESIDENT. 249

EDUCATION.
Popular education and the elevation of labor go
hand in hand — a truism which the President has
referred to in some of the extracts already quoted.
But he has not stopped with "offering a few re
marks" concerning the importance of education.
He has proposed a definite measure of practical
utility, in extending the blessings of learning — the
plan of dividing the proceeds of the sales of pub
lic lands, already referred to in the paragraph refer
ring to the policy toward the South.
POSTAL TELEGRAPH.
Allied to this subject in interest is the postal
telegraph scheme, which is rather likely to come
into operation on some scale or other, and under
government patronage, before another year elapses.
The privilege of rapid communication without
the burden of an enormous tax for the nourish
ment of giant monopolies, is one of the essential
concomitants of our civilization. It is enjoyed by
nearly every prosperous European people, and
must not be much longer withheld from the people
of the United States. The adoption of postal tel
egraphy by our Government has for some time en
listed the sympathy and the effort of President
Grant ; and it should now, if he be at all interested
in self, engage him all the more, since one of the
earliest effects of a nearly free government tele
graph would be to break down a monopoly in tele-

25O THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
graph news which has enabled four or five bloated
newspaper corporations to control certain strata
of public opinion as despotically as the Khan of
Tartary controls his subjects, and to use such con
trol for the one grand purpose of disparaging Grant
and the Republican party. Fortified in the strength
which their monopoly of news gives them, these
four or five corporations command the public ear-
not win it by fair competition — and being respon
sible to nobody, use their power solely for their
own private ends. They are the least democratic
institution in the country; and a popularization of
the telegraph, through the Government's efforts, is
therefore needed in the interest of pure Republi
canism. GRANT AND THE NEGROES.
There has been a feeble effort on the part of the
dectractors of President Grant, especially since they
set up a candidate of their own for whom they
hoped to attract some of the colored vote, to be
little Grant's work for the colored race. This ef
fort has already failed, and the shafts of detraction
have fallen harmless ; for it has been shown by the
record that Grant has been a true friend of the
colored race; that he was active in their behalf
long before the Emancipation Proclamation of Lin
coln was issued ; and that his course toward that
people has been one of uniform and intelligent
friendship. It will be referred to more in detail in
a subsequent chapter.

GRANT AS PRESIDENT. 25 1

PURSUING POLYGAMY.

The remaining one of those " twin relics of bar
barism," slavery and polygamy, still curses a single
territory of the Union. But its days are num
bered ; and General Grant, who evidently feels
deeply the scandal and reproach upon our insti
tutions, can comfort himself with a record on his
own part, which has exhausted all the legitimate
powers of the Executive office in the effort to root
out the evil. His appointees to federal office in
Utah have, unlike the most of their predecessors,
been staunch opponents of polygamy, refusing to
yield to the blandishments which have been thrown
around them by the wily monarch of Mormondom.
His judicial officers — one of them at least — may be
charged with going a step beyond the bounds of
judicial propriety in his attempt to throttle the
monster of Polygamy. The attempt was worthy,
so far as the motive was concerned ; but the method
formed a dangerous precedent, and when the Presi
dent was asked to back it up by the interference of
the strong Executive arm, he declined. It is a
curious fact, however, that the Chicago Tribune —
one of the journals which howls loudest about fed
eral usurpation and arbitrary government — was
continually urging on the Administration at
Washington, and Judge McKeon at Salt Lake, to
acts unquestionably despotic, arbitrary and uncon
stitutional. It is tolerably certain, however, that
without such acts, and the demoralizing effects sure

252 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
to follow them, the extermination of the vice of
Polygamy will be accomplished within General
Grant's second term. If so, it will be due to the
Pacific Railroad — a Republican measure ; the gene
ral statute against Polygamy — another Republican
measure ; and the staunch anti-barbarism and in
corruptibility of President Grant's appointees to
the Territorial offices.
GRANT AND THE IMMIGRANTS.
President Grant has interested himself, ever since
entering upon the duties of the Presidency, in the
amelioration of the condition of immigrants to our
shores. The abuses which have been practiced upon
these people have been manifold, whether on ship
board or at Castle Garden, where they are landed
and forwarded to their destinations. The Presi
dent has been prevented from doing much in their
behalf, however, for these reasons; that for the
abuses on ship-board, co-operation with foreign na
tions is necessary; while the Castle Garden dis
tributing establishment is within the jurisdiction of
the sovereign State of New York. The President
has been active in his endeavors to make practical
some reform. He gave Congress, in his first an
nual message, the following account of what had
been done by himself in co-operation with the heads
of other governments, from whose points the imi-
grant vessels principally sail :
" On the accession of the present Administration, it was found that the
minister for North Germany had made propositions for the negotiation of a

GRANT AS PRESIDENT. 253
convention for the protection of emigrant passengers, to which no response
had been given. It was concluded that, to be effectual, all the maritime
Powers engaged in the trade should join in such a measure. Invitations have
been extended to the cabinets of London, Paris, Florence, Berlin, Brussels,
The Hague, Copenhagen, and Stockholm, to empower their representatives
at Washington to simultaneously enter into negotiations, and to conclude
with the United States, conventions identical in form, making uniform regu-
a tions as to the construction of the parts of vessels to be devoted to the use
of emigrant passengers, as to the quality and quantity of food, as to' the
medical treatment of the sick, and as to the rules to be observed during the
voyage, in order to secure ventilation, to promote health, to prevent intrusion,
and to protect the females, and providing for the establishment of tribunals
in the several countries, for enforcing such regulations by summary process."
In his message to the Forty-Second Congress at
its last session, he continued to agitate this subject,
the following paragraph :
" The number of immigrants ignorant of our laws, habits, etc., coming into
our country annually has become so great, and the impositions practiced upon
them so numerous and flagrant, that I suggest Congressional action for their
protection. It seems to me a fair subject of legislation by Congress. I can
not now state as fully as I desire the nature of the complaints made by im
migrants of the treatment they receive, but will endeavor to do so during
the session of Congress, particularly if the subject should receive your
attention."
And this was followed up on May 14 by a special
message, in which the President wrote these earnest,
philanthropic words :
"In my message to Congress, at the beginning of the present session, allu
sion was made to the hardships and privations inflicted on poor emigrants on
board ship and upon their arrival on our shores, and a suggestion was made
favoring national legislation for the purpose of effecting a radical cure of the
evil. Promise was made that a special message on this subject would be
presented during the present session, should information be received which
would warrant it. I now transmit to the two Houses of Congress all that
has been officially received since that time bearing on the subject, and rec
ommend that such legislation be had as will secure —
"First, Such room and accommodation on shipboard as as is necessary for
health and comfort, and such privacy as will not compel immigrants to be
unwilling witnesses to so much vice and misery ; and, Second, Legislation to

254 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
protect them on their arrival at our seaports from knaves who are ever ready
to dispoil them of the little they are able to bring with them.
"Such legislation will be in the interest of humanity, and seems to be fully
justifiable. An immigrant is not a citizen of any State or Territory on his
arrival, but comes here to become a citizen of our great republic, free to
change his residence at will, to enjoy the blessings of a protecting govern
ment, where all are equal before the law, and to add to the national wealth
by his industry. On his arrival he does not know States or corporations,
but confides implicitly in the protecting arm of the great free country of
which he has heard so much before leaving his native land.
"It is a source of serious disappointment and discouragement to those who
start with means insufficient to support them comfortably until they can
choose a residence and begin employment for a comfortable support, to find
themselves subject to ill treatment and every discomfort on their passage
here, and at the end of their journey seized on by professed friends, claiming
the legal right to take charge of them for their protection, who do not leave
them until all their resources are exhausted, when they are abandoned in a
strange land, surrounded by strangers, without employment, and ignorant of
the means of securing it. Under the present system this is the fate of thou
sands annually. The exposures on shipboard and the treatment on landing
is driving thousands to lives of vice and shame who, with proper humane
treatment, might become useful and respectable members of society.
"I do not advise national legislation in affairs that should be regulated by
the States, but- 1 see no subject more national in its character than provision
for the safety and welfare of thousands who leave foreign lands to become
citizens of this republic. When their residence is chosen they may then look
to the laws of their locality for protection and guidance. The mass of im
migrants arriving on our shores, coming as they do on vessels under foreign
flags, make treaties with the nations furnishing these immigrants, necessary
for their complete protection. For more than two years efforts have been
made on our part to secure such treaties, and there is now reasonable ground
to hope for success.
[Signed] U. S. GRANT."
POLICY TOWARD NATURALIZED CITIZENS.
Coupled with this interest in behalf of immi
grants is a wise policy toward naturalized citizens,
whose rights, as American citizens, the President
stands ready at all times to vindicate. But he goes
further than some of his predecessors have done,

GRANT AS PRESIDENT. 255
and declares that he will not hazard the rights of
genuine American citizens, by interfering in behalf
of those bogus American citizens who come to
America and take out naturalization papers merely
for the purpose of availing themselves of our gov
ernment's jealous protection, while they return to
their native country, "make believe" as loyal sub
jects of their renounced sovereign, and, all at once,
when called upon for some service, or taken to
task for violation of the laws of those lands, pro
duce an American passport as their charter of free-
bootery. Of this class is (probably) the Doctor
Houard, who has recently attracted some attention
as an alleged American citizen deprived of his
liberty by the Spanish Government. He has been
operating almost exclusively, of late years, as
a Cuban citizen (which means a Spanish subject),
conspiring against the government under which he
lived; and it is in his behalf that President Grant
has been asked to call out the American Navy
(which happens to be considerably weaker than
the Spanish), and with it batter down the walls of
Castle Moro, of Cadiz, and all other Spanish strong
holds. It is more than probable that Houard is
one of that class of whom Grant says, " While I
have a voice in the direction of affairs, I shall not
consent to imperil this sacred right [of citizen
ship] by conferring it upon fictitious or fraudulent
claimants." SAN DOMINGO.
The President's early enunciation of his purpose

256 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
as Chief Magistrate — "I shall on all subjects have
a policy to recommend, but none to enforce against
the will of the people" — received a marked illus
tration in his course concerning San Domingo.
He saw, as he believed, a favorable opportunity
for acquiring dominion over the western portion
of that island. The necessity of a foothold in the
West Indies, especially as a rendezvous and coal
ing station for our vessels of war, in case of hostil
ities along the Southern coast, or against any nation
having such advantages, had been painfully mani
fest to all the officers concerned in the conduct of
the government during the late war against the
Rebels. The richness of the soil of San Domingo
and the eagerness of the people to join our Repub
lic, were also known to Grant; and upon the strength
of these facts, he took .the preliminary step toward
the framing of a treaty with the President of the
West Indian Republic — subject, of course, to rati
fication by the Senate of the United States and by
•a. plebiscite of the Dominican people. Very warm
opposition to the treaty was developed, however,
in this country, especially in the Senate, where
Charles Sumner made several of his famous phil
ippics, accusing the President of all manner of
high crimes and misdemeanors; and although a
commission of honorable citizens, whom Congress
sent thither to investigate the subject, pronounced
unqualifiedly in favor of annexation, the President
declined to push his project. Of course, he* did
not hesitate on account of Sumner's clamor ; but

GRANT AS PRESIDENT. 259
he had apparently become satisfied that the people
were not yet ready for the annexation of any West
Indian territory, and hence, he could not consist
ently insist upon his policy of annexation. Mr.
Greeley would have done otherwise, if any of his
agricultural or social crotchets had impelled him to
undertake a similar enterprise ; for he has often
boasted his courage in " flying in the teeth of pre
judice." INTERFERENCE WITH LEGISLATION.
The veto power which the Constitution, for wise
reasons vested in the President, has been used by
Grant in only a few instances, and then never in the
way of " enforcing a policy of his own" against the
manifest sentiment of the country, or of its legis
lative representatives. Only a few weeks before
the adjournment of the recent session of Congress,
President Grant returned several bills without his
approval. They were of the sort known as jobs —
chiefly in behalf of certain claimants of damages
growing out of the late war. There were a large
number of these before Congress at its late session,
and it looks as if in future sessions their number will
be legion, unless the flood is checked by firm and hon
est action on the part of Congress, the Executive,
or both. Everybody at the South whose property
was injured by the war, is now proposing to file
claims for damages. The aggregate would be many
hundred millions — a doubling up of the national
debt, may be. The Court of Claims^ill not allow

260 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
them, and the claimants besiege Congress, relying
on the practice of " log-rolling" to push through
their bills and get them allowed. That is, every
Southern member is obliged to vote for all the
bills presented by every other Southern member,
because each has a set of bills of a similar nature,
of his own, none of which could go through on their
merits, and hence all must join interests, or " log
roll" together, in order to secure the necessary vote.
Nor will this be sufficient unless the Southerners
combine with such Northern and Western mem
bers as have local jobs to push through — harbor
improvements, post-office buildings, railroad land
grants, etc., and who, by " hitching horses" with the
Southern members, fasten still another lot of dis
reputable jobs upon the national treasury. The
better sense of every honest Congressman is
against this, yet it takes a very large measure of
personal and official honor to resist the temptation
to log-roll, when the local interests which the Con
gressman is supposed mainly to represent depend
so directly upon such combinations. It is thus that
jobs get through Congress in spite of the honest
judgment of that body; and until some effective
legal prohibition for log-rolling is devised (and this
is one of the duties with which the Republican
party must charge itself) the country must depend
upon the Executive for occasional timely interfer
ences, through the exercise of the veto power. We
have already pretty nearly scotched out the Land
Grant iniqujty (to which Horace Greeley, and

GRANT AS PRESIDENT. 26 1
against which the Republican Party, is committed)
and the most threatening development of the log
rolling evil now manifesting itself is the Southern
War Claims. But for the timely intervention of
the veto by President Grant during the latest days
of the last session of Congress, several grossly im
proper claims would have been legalized by Con
gress, and dangerous precedents established, which
might have swept millions out of the Treasury.
GRANT'S " MILITARY RING."
Probably the loudest of all the clamor made by
the jealous Senators and their newspaper claqueurs
against President Grant is that which refers to his
employment of three detailed military officers to
help do the office work of the White House. It
must be understood, in the first place, that Grant
has made the effort, as a rule, to fill his cabinet
places, and also such minor offices as came directly
within his purview, with men whom he knew to be
personally trustworthy, instead of men who were
recommended by the politicians as "persons to be
provided for." This is the very essence of the
much-sighed-for civil service reform ; and yet it is
the very thing in President Grant's management
about which the sot disant reformers have howled
the most savagely. In the next place, it should be
remembered that the clerical work of the Execu
tive office has increased enormously since the war
brought into existence an army of 60,000 offi
cials throughout the country ; and that the growth

262 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
of the country itself, and the increase of traveling
facilities, rendering it convenient for a hundred
men to visit the national capitol where one visited
it twenty years ago, have also contributed to mul
tiply the duties of those who keep the office of the
country's Chief Magistrate. At the same time, the
law has made no provision for a corresponding in
crease of the per so nnel of the White House. This
difficulty has had to be got over by General Grant
and his immediate predecessors as best it could.
So much being premised, we will quote a para
graph from the famous philippic of Charles Sum
ner, in the United States Senate, on the 30th of
May, 1872 — a speech which may be fitly pronounced
the most scurrilous and venomous — the greatest
elaboration of eloquence upon the smallest basis
of facts — ever perpetrated in that chamber. Said
Sumner, attempting to epitomize in a paragraph
for campaign use, the principal allegation against
President Grant :
"The military spirit which failed in the effort to set aside a fundamental
law as if it were a transient order, was more successful at the Executive Man
sion, which at once assumed the character of military headquarters. To the
dishonor of the civil service, and in total disregard of precedent, the Presi
dent surrounded himself with officers of the army, and substituted military
forms for those of civil life, detailing for this service members of his late
staff." To which Senator Carpenter replied, as soon as
he could obtain a copy of Mr. Sumner's tirade— held
back from the Senate, though printed and circula
ted amongst the anti-Republican press many days
before :
"I propose to consider several of the articles of impeachment which are

GRANT AS PRESIDENT. 263
set in array by the Senator's speech against the President. And first let me
consider the charge that the President has turned the Executive Mansion
into a military headquarders. What are the facts ? Three officers of the
army may be found in the White House. Babcock, a major of engineers,
detailed in pursuance of an act of Congress to act, as commissioner of public
buildings and grounds ; and Dent and Porter, officers belonging to the staff
of General Sherman. Three more modest and courteous gentlemen cannot
be found in the United States. They were members of General Grant's mil
itary family during the war, and they love him, as do all those who have ever
served with him. In so far as they can assist the President, it is
with them a labor of love to do so, and only a labor of love, for
neither one of them receives one cent of compensation for such
service. If they were all dismissed from the White House to-day, Bab
cock would have an office in some other public building, and receive the
same salary as at present. Dent and Porter would be occupying rooms in
the War Department, dividing with other assistants of General Sherman labor
not very severe in these piping times of peace, and which would be lighter
still when still further divided. It has been attempted by the Senator to
exalt these gentlemen into some official importance ; but they are merely
clerks at the White House, assisting the President, with the permission of
General Sherman, their official chief ; and here let me repeat that neither of
them receives a cent for such assistance beyond his pay as an officer of the
army. "Now for the precedents. General Washington appointed General Knox,
his old comrade in arms, Secretary of War ; General Jackson was assisted by
Major Donalson ; General Taylor by his son-in-law, Colonel Bliss, and Pres
ident Johnson by four officers of the army, detailed for service at the White
House."
THE FACT ABOUT GRANT.
The fact is, President Grant is much simpler and
less military in his habits as President than An
drew Johnson was, notwithstanding the demagog-
uery of the latter led him to affect a great many
extreme democratic notions. Senator Carpenter is
authority for the following statement illustrative
of this fact:
"When General Grant took possession of the White House it was patrolled
by sentinels day and night ; so was the War Department ; so was the resi
dence of Mr. Seward. The first night General Grant slept at the President's

264 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
House, after retiring, he heard the tramp of soldiers in the hall below, and
presently the command, 'Halt ; order arms,' and the crash of muskets en the
floor. The General, not knowing what it meant, ran down stairs to ascer
tain. There he found an officer in command of a squad of soldiers ; and
on asking an explanation, the General was informed that it was the night
guard of the Executive Mansion, which for a long time had been stationed
there every night. But General Grant informed the officer that he could
take care of himself, and ordered him to take his soldiers to their quarters.
He waited till his armed friends had left, then locked the door and went to
bed. The- next day the whole business of sentinal service was discontinued,
and not a soldier has been on duty at the White House since. General
Grant also ordered away from Washington all the companies of soldiers
which were on duty here when he was inaugurated ; and not a company of
troops can now be found in or around Washington city."
In the light of these facts, the eloquent Senator,
quoting the language of Sumner, which we have
transcribed above, continues :
" Allow me to call attention again to the precise language ; and here let
me repeat that this speech of the Senator from Massachusetts is not to be
estimated as you would estimate a speech thrown off in the heat of an ex
tempore debate. This wrath was carefully distilled ; this speech was pre
pared with great and protracted labor.
" Here is a deliberate arraignment, and what is here is either deliberate
truth or deliberate falsehood ; one or the other. When he alleges, as he does
here, that " to the dishonor of the civil service and in total disregard of pre
cedent, the President surrounded himself with officers of the Army, and sub
stituted military forms for those of civil life, detailing for this service members
of his late staff," the Senator from Massachusetts penned, revised, corrected,
printed, published, sent to the world a deliberate truth or a deliberate false
hood. Which was it ? Was there no precedent for his being served by a
few clerks who were willing to aid him without pay, from mere personal af
fection ? Did not Andrew Johnson have four Army officers detailed for ser
vice in the White House ? Had not Andrew Johnson been surrounded with
sentinels and the White House guarded like a military fortress ; and in all
the complaints that were made against Andrew Johnson, did any man charge
him with violating the law in having his house protected at night by senti
nels ? Was any complaint made upon the ground that three or four Army
officers were serving him in the capacity of clerks in the White House ? If
there was, I never heard of it, and yet we know that in that heated and
angry time those who opposed Andrew Johnson were not over-scrupulous
about the charges they brought against him, and still such a thing was never

GRANT AS PRESIDENT. 265
laid to his charge, although, as I have shown, instead of what has been done,
and is being done now, being without a precedent, it is less in every respect
than was done during the entire administration of Mr. Johnson without
criticism from anybody whatever.
" But again, this is a charge not only that the Executive Mansion has as
sumed the character of military headquarters, but that he has substituted
military forms for those of civil life. I take it to be the duty of this Senate,
I take it to be the duty of the members of the other House, I take it to be
the duty of all lovers of truth and justice, who reside for a portion of the
year in Washington, and know the facts, to bear testimony to the American
people whether this arraignment of President Grant is a truth or a falsehood.
Senators, how has the White House been made to assume the character of
military headquarters ? Do you encounter any sentinel at the door ? Do you
see any orderly on the stairs ? Do you see a gun or a musket or a shoulder-
strap in the White House from top to bottom ? Not one. The whole charge
is baseless as a dream."

GRANT AT THE HEAD OF HIS CABINET.
None have the temerity to accuse Grant of being
a demagogue ; yet it is quite common to hear him
blamed with being in the hands of political trick
sters, who shape his administration for party ends.
Hear the testimony, upon this point of the Hon. E.
Rockwood Hoar, who was Attorney General under
Grant, and whose word is authority absolute. Said
Judge Hoar, in a recent speech in Faneuil Hall :
" I presume I am in part indebted for the honor of the invitation to come
here to the fact, that for one year and part of another, I had the honor of be
ing a participator in the councils of his Administration, and I desire to testify,
and I believe that what I say in Massachusetts will be accepted as fact, that
during the whole period in which I was in the Cabinet councils I never heard
any measure of the Administration discussed or considered except with a
single reference to the public interest. I never heard a personal suggestion
in regard to his influence upon one man or another man, but the consider
ation simply was what would be best for the country. And when I remember
the simple, clear-headed, practical, modest man, who sat at the head of the
table there, and then hear him talked of by Mr. Sumner, I think Mr. Sumner
must be referring to somebody else."
16

266 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
Perhaps we cannot better close this chapter than
by incorporating in it some of the many tributes
paid to Grant's success as Chief Magistrate, by his
present opponent in the presidential contest — the
first of them from a speech delivered after General
Grant had made up his record as President; the
second printed in the New York Tribune in Feb
ruary, 1871; and the last contained in Mr. Gree
ley's speech m New York, January 5th, 1871, and
before he took that famous Southern trip which
stirred up the Presidential bee in his own bonnet.
Said Horace Greeley :
" Upon General Grant's accession to the presi
dency, a great number of those who had supported
his election, with some who had not, sought office
at his hands, or expected him to bestow it unasked.
He was unable to gratify their aspirations. Their
lamentations, mingled with the howls of the disap
pointed, made up a very doleful dissonance, where
of the only meaning deducible runs thus : ' General
Grant is found wanting — his administration is a
failure.' 'Failure?' how? in what? Have we not
peace and plenty in the land? Is not our flag dis
played and respected on every sea? What foreign
foe molests or threatens us? Who fears insurrec
tion at home or invasion from abroad ? Yes ; Gen
eral Grant has failed to gratify some eager aspira
tions, and has thereby incurred some intense ha
treds. These do not and will not fail ; and his ad
ministration will prove at least equally vital. We
shall hear lamentation after lamentation over his

GRANT AS PRESIDENT. 267
failures from those whose wish is father to the
thought ; but the American people let them pass
unheeded. Their strong arm bore him triumph
antly through the war and into the White House,
and they still uphold and sustain him."
Said Horace Greeley again :
"We like General Grant ; but we care far more
for Republican ascendency than for any man's per
sonal fortunes. It is, in our view, of great import
ance that the opposition shall be kept out of pow
er, while it is of comparatively small moment that
A or B should tenant the White House: for a
Democratic national triumph means a restoration
to power of those who deserted their seats in Con
gress and their places under the last Democratic
President to plunge the country into the Red Sea
of secession and rebellion. Though you paint an
inch thick, to this complexion you must come at
last. The brain, the heart, the soul, of the present
Democratic party is the Rebel element of the
South, with its Northern allies and sympathizers."
Said Horace Greeley, further :
"As to the administration of General Grant, I
recognize no one as a Republican who is not grate
ful for its judicious, energetic and successful efforts
to procure the ratification of the Fifteenth Amend
ment, that keystone of our political arch, whereby
the fruits of our great triumph over rebellion and
slavery are assured and perpetuated.
"That the President has made some mistakes in
appointments is obvious — it would be strange, in-

268 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
deed, if one so inexperienced in the conduct of
political affairs had wholly escaped them. What
ever blame may justly attach to this, falls rightfully
on us, who took him from the head of the army
and made him our civil chief magistrate, fully
aware that he had never voted a Republican ticket,
if, indeed, he had voted at all. While asserting
the right of every Republican to his untrammeled
choice of a candidate for next President until a
nomination is made, I venture to suggest that Gen
eral Grant will be far better qualified for that mo
mentous trust in 1872 than he was in 1868. Such,
gentlemen, are the ideas and convictions which
have compelled me to take my place among you,
and accept the responsibility you have imposed
upon me [Chairman of a Republican Central Com
mittee.]. Let us take care to act with substantial
unanimity, and with such evident moderation and
fairness that our friends throughout the State and
the Union shall see and feel that we are doing our
utmost to unite and strengthen the Republican
party, and animate it with well-grounded and san
guine hopes of future triumphs."

CHAPTER XV.
GRANT AS A MAN.
Some Personal Traits — A Glance at the White House — The President's
Daily Programme — Grant's Personal Appearance — His Habits — His Con
versation — A Little Story — His Mental and Moral Qualities — A Friendly
Portrait — How the Painter Came Afterward to be Unfriendly — Grant and
Sumner Contrasted.
This chapter will be devoted mainly to the per
sonal traits of President Grant, though some por
tions of it will necessarily have a close connection
with the matter of the two previous chapters, inas
much as it will be a running sketch, from obser
vation, of how he carries himself in the White
House, which is at once his office and his home.
THE WHITE HOUSE.
The reader will suppose himself to be on a visit
to that great cynosure of American eyes, and goal
of American ambitions, the White House, and to
be armed with such letters, or escort, or personal
fame, as shall secure his introduction to the Chief
Magistrate. Not much is required in this way —
merely enough to keep downright idlers and ad
venturers from occupying the President's time to
the exclusion of those who have some business
with him. You seek out the Executive Mansion,
(269)

270 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
located on Pennsylvania Avenue, just west of the
magnificent Treasury Building, and opposite the
luxuriantly growing Lafayette Park. A broad,
semi-circular walk admits you through the grounds
of the Mansion, which is found to be a fine, spaci
ous edifice, with over a hundred feet of front, built
of freestone painted white, and adorned with plain,
heavy, round columns, enclosing a roomy portico,
with driveway and landing for carriages. Inside,
the impression is not remarkably pleasant. The
halls are vast and reachy, and the main reception
room, directly at the left of the front entrance, is
usually quite deserted, except by occasional strag
glers. Here, however, on certain days of the week, "
the promiscuous public is received by the President
and his lady. This room is richly furnished, and
its eight immense pier glass mirrors are interspersed
with as many portraits of former hosts of the White
House, all of them smartly framed, but not all
well painted. At the foot of the broad staircase,
you encounter one or more ushers, apparently of
the Celtic race, and quite affable, though not other
wise prepossessing. They are utterly devoid of
everything which could be construed into "style"
or "pomp" — no livery, no ceremony, no look, even,
of the trained house servant. Indeed, these fel
lows appear as if they were but recently broken
into this duty, and that their latest calling had been
farming, or teaming, perhaps.
Upstairs — whither any one goes who assumes the
right to go — another reception room is reached,

GRANT AS A MAN. 271
wherein are usually found throughout the forenoon
and until two or three o'clock, an average of half a
dozen gentlemen, awaiting their turn for an audience
with the President. You seat yourself among them
and hand your card, or your letters, to General
Frederic Dent, one of those shameful brothers-in-
law of whom we hear so much, who acts as chamber
lain, or usher-in-chief. Dent is genial and withal a
trifle loquacious, so that few visitors fail to be en
tertained in some way. Your card is taken in to
the President, who sits in the Cabinet chamber, and
you await the result, as the rest are doing.
" IMPERIALISM" ILLUSTRATED.
The waiting room you discover to be also an of
fice for two or three clerks. To the rear of it is a
hall or ante-room, in which are two more servants.
These are colored, fat, ungainly and illy-dressed ;
and the visitor begins to inquire in his own mind
where is that imperial pomp — that military parade
— which Mr. Sumner's speeches had led him to ex
pect. Not here, certainly. We will wait and get
a glimpse of it as we approach the Executive pres
ence itself. If we are a Cabinet Minister, a Sen
ator, a Congressman ' or a high bureau officer, we
go into the Cabinet Chamber without much cere
mony — perhaps through the office of Gens. Porter
and Babcock, which flanks the Cabinet Chamber
and communicates with it. The forenoon hours are
ostensibly devoted to the privileged characters
named, all of whom have legitimately much business

272 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
with the Executive; but Grant manages to sand
wich in a considerable number of lay visitors be
tween the official callers.
IN THE CABINET CHAMBER.
Supposing such to be your opportunity. You
pass into the chamber, hallowed by hundreds of
state meetings of gravest moment, like that when
Lincoln presented a draft of his immortal Pro
clamation for the consideration of his Cabinet ;
and you feel, most likely, an awe begotten of such
associations. Nor is this lessened by the thought
that you was now in the presence of the Chief
Magistrate of a great nation, and the most succes-
ful of modern generals. That is he, at the further
end of the long table. Perhaps his face disap
points you ; for it is thicker and a shade older than
the prints show him, or than you recollect him, in
the hand-shaking days, just after the war, or per
haps it is his stature, which is a trifle below the
medium height. His face is ruddy, his beard close-
cropped, as usual, and his straight brown hair is
combed back with scrupulous care, but no grace.
He throws a glance at you with his quick, clear,
deep eyes — they are blue and liquid, but capable
of piercing like a poniard — and seems to be satis
fied with your measure at once.
GRANT IN CONVERSATION.
You are asked to sit, and conversation commen
ces at once. Here you make another discovery,

GRANT AS A MAN. 273
viz: that Grant is not the sphinx which Mr. Sum
ner and other detractors have painted him. He
manifests an intelligent interest in his visitor's af
fairs, or, if the talk take a public turn, expresses
himself freely on the questions of public moment.
The writer cannot forbear an illustration of this
from his own experience, which also shows that
Grant is not destitute of the story-telling faculty
which distinguished Abraham Lincoln, even while
occupying the same chair.
The conversation had drifted into politics and
the question was propounded of Greeley's ability
to win over the Democratic party to his support.
The President did not answer this categorically ;
but he was reminded of "a little story," which
served the same purpose.
"Shortly after the close of the war," he said (and
we quote Grant's language, as nearly as possible,
from memory) "and before much had been learned
about the way Southern society was going to settle
down, I sent these two young men, Generals Por
ter and Babcock, down through the Gulf States
on a tour of observation. In some places, the
planters, anxious to produce a good impression, got
up meetings of the eolored folks and had speeches
made, by way of inaugurating an 'era of good feel
ing,' or showing that one had already commenced.
At one of these meetings, the principal planter in
the place harangued the boys (with one word for
them and two for Porter and Babcock), telling
hew the war had changed the relations between

274 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
the masters and the slaves : but that they (the mas
ters) were still the natural guardians of the negro
people, etc. 'We accept the situation,' he said ; 'the
South is whipped and the slaves are free. But
they are going to stick to their old friends. Ain't
they, Tom ?' said he, speaking to an old colored
man who, he thought, was on his side.
"But Tom didn't see it in the same light as the
master, exactly. And so Tom addressed the meet
ing. He said 'he'd been to a great many meetin's
afore, and seed a great many folks get converted;
but he noticed that when they did that, they always
jined de church, and didn't ask de church to jine
them.' "
The inference was that if Greeley had been con
verted to Democracy, the natural course, as it
would appear to the members of that flock, would
be for him to join the Democratic church, and not
ask the church to join him.
GRANT NO IMITATOR.
Grant will not probably, however, establish a
reputation as a story-teller, if for no other reason
than because he would dislike to seem to be an
imitator, even of Lincoln. A high officer of the
national government, whose station brought him
near to the Presidents (and from whom we have the
incident directly), took occasion, during the early
months of his administration, to drop hints of how
Lincoln used to do this and how he did not do
that. Grant bore this a little while, but finally

GRANT AS A MAN.

27S

stopped it with " Well, now, you know, Mr.  ,
that I can't be Lincoln if I try ever so hard. I
think I had better be myself, and do the best I can."
This shows — not that Grant did not hold Lincoln
high in esteem as a model — for he is a great ad
mirer of that statesman — but that he recognized
the truth of the maxim that " no man is ever great
by imitation." PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND HABITS.
General Grant again disappoints his visitor (at
first) in his voice, which is low and almost croak
ing — not the bluff, hearty voice which one expects
to find in a soldier. Nevertheless it is the voice
for a President to have — that is, which goes with
the qualities necessary in a good Executive. It
indicates — and correctly — a man not obtrusive with
his thoughts or opinions until he has got all he
needs of the thoughts and opinions of others. It
indicates the man who husbands his energies, as he
must do who plods through the enormous amount
of work now incumbent on a faithful American
President, and yet seem to have plenty of leisure.
It indicates the studious man, who goes to the
bottom of every question presented to him, nor
shrinks from puzzling long, if necessary, over any
knotty question of fact or law. The peculiar qual
ity of Grant's voice soon ceases to attract his visit
or's notice, which is absorbed in the matter of his
speech. Before leaving President Grant's physical and

276 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
superficial characteristics, we may mention a fact
or two concerning his daily habits. These are not
noticeable, except for their simplicity and their very
lack of noticeable features. Rising at about the
average hour of his fellow citizens of the sedentary
or professional class, President Grant breakfasts sim
ply and is ready for business as soon as the public or
the officials having transactions with him, can arrive
for the purpose. He sits in the Cabinet Chamber un
til well into the afternoon, after which, having lunched
lightly, he usually drives — oftener single than other
wise — in a modest little buggy and behind a young
bay mare, which General Dent extols, but which an
Iowa horse fancier, who has lately inspected the
President's stud, pronounces not much above the
ordinary. We will, however, pay enough deference
to Grant's judgment of horseflesh to place the colt
on record as one of the best of her race.
After this drive, which occupies, perhaps, two
hours, the President occupies himself miscellane
ously until dinner time. This meal is often shared
with guests, usually at the White House inform
ally. The President's dinners are good, but not
elaborately bountiful. For company there are usu
ally two courses of wine, in which the President
indulges, if at all, very abstemiously — merely tast
ing his glass for sociality's sake. After dinner, in
summer, comes a walk, oftener solitary than other
wise ; though, of course, so conspicuous a man is
constantly receiving greetings from those whom he
does or does not know. His evenings, in time of

SHAKESPEARE ON THE DEMOCRATIC SITUATION
Antonio. G  y.— Well, Shylock, shall I be beholden to you ?
¦Shylock. B  t.— Signor Horatio, many a time, arid oft
In your pet Tribuv >' t'--'W -ntert us
About our " ">"-¦ "-_ * crew ;
Still, we
For suffe

You call us liars, villains, cut-throat dogs,—
Well, then, it now appears you need our help.
What should I say to you? Should I not Say
"Hath a dog votes, sir? Is It possible - ...
A cur can lend three million ballots.,?"
{Merchant of Venice, Actil;, 8c. ;8V

GRANT AS A MAN. 279
Congress, are devoted to hard work upon bills, let
ters, and other dry and laborious details, which oft
en keep the President employed far into the night.
He is represented as a most assiduous worker,
never affixing his name to a paper whose contents
he has not carefully investigated. With such hab
its, it is not to be wondered at that the man suffers
occasionally from neuralgia ; but this ailment has
not increased since his undertaking the duties of
Executive. His much smoking, which is often al
luded to, seems to be, as in many cases it undoubt
edly is, a necessity, or, at least, no bane, of his
physical system ; just as, in other cases, it is a rank
poison. GRANT AT CHURCH.
Grant is a regular attendant at church, to which
he walks, when accompanied by his family, through
the church — the Metropolitan Methodist — is about
a mile distant from the White House. His dress
has nothing noticeable about it ; his aim being evi
dently to follow the style of his fellow citizens, just
as that of his rival in the present political campaign
has been to be unlike the rest of mankind in af
fecting a long white coat and a general studied
negligence of attire. Grant is by no means a showy
person in a crowd — his short, stooping form and
downcast look and the general commonness of his
mien failing to seize the eye of the passer-by.
grant's intellect and temperament.
When we mnsider U. S. Grant's mental and

280 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
moral characteristics, we discover more which per
tains to the great general and succesful President.
And even of these it is probably the perfect bal
ance of all, rather than the special development of
any one, which has brought their possessor such
uniform success. Grant's temperament is a com
bination of the various orders, though perhaps the
phlegmatic predominates ; and his intellectual
qualities seem constructed, like his physical, for en
during great and long-continued pressure. Those
who have been much with him have almost incred
ible accounts to give of his capacity for carrying on
several mental operations at the same time ; as of
hearing a report from an officer, and writing simul
taneously an important order on a totally differ
ent subject ; and of retaining in his mind all the
details pertaining to a great battle, without a past
event misplaced, or a singular particular of his plans
crowded out or jostled in the least. His mathe
matical mind seems never to become confused, and
his impulses are so balanced by judgment as never
to step in and upset the plans which his calculation
had arranged. A TRIBUTE FROM AN ENEMY.
Some of the points of General Grant's charac
ter are thus sketched, apparently from life, after
careful study, and we reproduce them here with
especial relish, since they were endorsed, (if not
written), by Mr. Charles A. Dana, of the New
York Sun, who has since, for reasons which the

GRANT AS A MAN. 28 1
public understand pretty well, become one of the
most unscrupulous of Grant's traducers :
"There is no noise or clash or clamor in the man ; his voice is as quiet and
orderly as a woman's, and his language judiciously chosen. He was never
heard to give utterance to a rude word or vulgar jest ; no oath or fierce, fiery
imprecation has ever escaped his lips. No thundering order, no unfeeling or
undignified speech; and no thoughtless or ill-natured criticism ever fell from
him. When angry, which is rarely the case, or, at least, he rarely shows his an
ger, he speaks with well-ordered but sbudued vehemence, displaying his pas
sion by compressed lips and an earnest flash of the eye. But it must be said
of him that of all men he is the slowest to anger. He has been heard to
say that under the severest insult he never became indignant till a week after
the offence had been given, and then only at himself for not having sooner
discovered that he had been insulted or misused. This arises rather from an
unconscious self-abnegation than from any incapacity for choler.
"It is precisely this quality which has made him so successful in the per
sonal questions which have arisen between him and his subordinates. They
have usually mistaken his slowness for dullness or a lack of spirit, and have
discovered their mistake only after having become rash and committing a
fatal error. Grant is unsuspicious and pure-hearted as a child, and as free
from harmful intention ; but he is stirred to the very depths of his nature by
an act of inhumanity or brutality of any sort ; while meanness, or ingrati
tude, or uncharitableness, excites him to the display of the liveliest indigna
tion. He is not slow in his exhibition of disgust for whatever is unmanly or
unbecoming." — Dana's Life of Giant.
The same writer goes on to dilate upon Grant's
habits, tastes, and mental characteristics ; and
though the picture is apparently tinted with warm
personal admiration, it cannot be said, by those
who know the subject, that it is over-drawn.
" Grant's personal habits and tastes are exceedingly simple ; he despises
the pomp and show of empty parade, and in his severe simplicity and manly
pride he scorns all adventitious aids to popularity. He lives plainly himself,
and cannot tolerate ostentation or extravagance in those about him. His
mess was never luxuriously, though always bountifully furnished with army
rations, and such supplies as could be transported readily and easily in the
limited number of wagons that he permitted to follow his headquarters. His
appetites are all under perfect control. He is very abstemious, and during
his entire Western campaign the officers of his staff were forbidden to bring
•wines or liquors into camp. He has been represented as one of the most

282 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
taciturn of men, and in one respect he is such. He never divulges his
thoughts till they are matured, and never aspires to speech-making ; and
even in private conversation he falls into silence if he suspects that he is
likely to be reported. He is the most modest of men, and nothing more
annoys him than a loud parade of personal opinion or personal vanity ; but
with his intimate friends, either at home or around the camp fire, he talks
upon all subjects, not only fluently but copiously, but in the most charming
and good natured manner. His life has been too busy to read history or
technical works, but he has always been a close and careful reader of the
newspapers. He has a retentive memory, and is deeply interested in all
matters which concern the interests of humanity, and particularly his own
country. Upon all such subjects, in fact, upon all the vital questions of the
day, he thinks carefully and profoundly, and expresses himself with great ease
and good sense. His understanding is that of incisive character that soon
probes a question to the bottom, no matter how much the politicians or
newspapers may labor to confuse it, while his judgment is so deliberate, hon
est, and truthful in its operations, that it may be implicitly relied upon to ar
rive at a fair and unbiased conclusion."
THE MILK IN SOME COCOA NUTS ACCOUNTED FOR
It may be timely to remark that this panegyric
was not succeeded by denunciation from the same
source until its author had personal reasons, not
entirely unconnected with a rejected application for
a federal appointment, for maligning the man whom
he had so unqualifiedly praised. And here another
quotation from Grant's colloquial talk is in order.
During the same interview at which the story about
the Southern planter and his negroes was told, a
Virginia gentleman came in for the purpose of re
porting to the President the state of politics in the
Old Dominion. The defection of Ex-Governor
Pierrepont, in West Virginia, was referred. To the
President interrupted with a remark which seemed
more tempered with the pleasure of having dis
covered a rule or a fact in human nature than with

GRANT AS A MAN. 283
any feeling of personal resentment. " It is a curious
fact," he observed, "that in nearly every one of
these cases of disaffection among Republicans, the
man's action can be traced directly to some motive
entirely personal to himself— usually the refusal of
office to himself or some of his particular friends" ;
and he proceeded to mention other cases besides
that of the West Virginia Ex-Governor. It is a
fact that the names of seven out of every nine of
the members of the Cincinnati Convention appear
upon the books at the White House as applicants
for office. grant's learning.
It cannot be claimed in behalf of General Grant
that he is deeply read in abstruse sciences, even
in those which Mr. Sumner would consider indis
pensable to statesmanship ; but it is true that he is
no ignoramus in such matters, and that what tech
nical knowledge he does possess is not so much a
damage to him, as that possessed by some of his
enemies and rivals is to them. A President should
not be a theorist or a book- worm. His lore should
not be gulped down from musty books, where it
was distilled full-flavored — and, perhaps, poisoned
in the flavoring — years, perhaps ages, before. It
should be gathered, as the bee gathers its honey,
in actual contact with men. Thus acquired, it is
assimilated with the judgment and becomes a facul
ty of instantaneous perception — an instinct, almost.
The difference between Grant's life and that of
17

284 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
such a man as Charles Sumner, is expressed in
these opposite sets of circumstances. While Sum
ner, born to plenty and reared in an atmosphere of
scholarship and semi-aristocratic ease, became at
once a book-worm, and learned nothing of men, be
cause he never came in contact with but a single
point of their natures, Grant was thrown from the
first among practical affairs, and passed through an
almost unintermitting school of human life and ex
perience, calculated to develop those practical qual
ities essential to a good Executive. While Sumner
was immersed in books, books, books, Grant was
everywhere encountering men, men, men ; studying
their strong and -their weak points, and learning
lessons from both. That he improved his oppor
tunities is shown from the quickly, keenly pene
trating "common sense" which he, as President, has
brought to bear, almost unerringly, upon the ques
tions of state which have presented themselves for
his solution. A man of practical common sense,
and of well-balanced impulses is better in the Pres
ident's chair than a man who has Vattel at his
tongue's end and Grotius dog's-eared in his library.

CHAPTER XVI.
GRANT AND THE COLORED RACE.
The Real Question for the Colored Man's Consideration — Grant's Record as
to Treatment of Negroes — Early Orders, Letters, Etc. — He Shuts Down
at Donelson upon Fugitive Slave Hunters — Issues Practical Military Or
ders in Behalf of Freedmen in Advance of the Government — Organizes
the First Freedmen's Bureau — Encourages the Formation of Negro Regi
ments — Favors a Negroes' Paradise at Milliken's Bend — His Expressions
as President — Appointments of Colored Men to Office, Etc.
Considerable effort has been made by the parti
sans of Mr. Greeley to excite among the colored
voters some jealousy of Grant, and thereby make
votes for Greeley, whom they propose to foist upon
the negroes by means of his old anti-slavery rec
ord. The argument which these sophists use
against General Grant is, that he was not known
as an Abolitionist before the war. They also make
an assertion, founded upon no trustworthy author
ity which can be discovered, that Grant expressed
himself, early in the war, in decided opposition to
emancipation as an object of the war. But even
if this apocryphal assertion should be proven, it
will not go very far, since Abraham Lincoln, whom
the negroes justly regard as the particular benefac
tor of their race, expressed himself, less than a
month before issuing his preliminary Emancipation
(285)

286 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
Proclamation, as in great doubt of the correctness
of that policy. THE REAL QUESTION.
But be these things as they may, it will be gen
erally admitted that the main question for colored
voters now is, who has actually shown in his acts
the most friendship for our race ? Who is now
with our friends, and who with our enemies? If
Grant is the representative of the party which
emancipated the colored race from slavery, and
which now favors their elevation to the highest
functions of citizenship, he is the colored man's
candidate par excellence. If Horace Greeley, no
matter what his past record may be, is now acting
with the party of the slave-holder, the party of the
Ku-Klux, and the party of Rebel rights as against
national power and loyalty, then Mr. Greeley is the
man for the colo red voter to help defeat as effectu
ally as Mc Clellan was defeated in 1864, or Seymour
in 1868.
Nevertheless, it is worth while to look over Gen
eral Grant's record as to the colored race, since it
is found not merely to corroborate his present fav
orable attitude toward the race, but also shows that
Grant was one of the negro's earliest, staunchest,
most practicably valuable friends. And in doing
so, we shall use, in the main, the language of a col
ored citizen of Washington, who has made the mat
ter the subject of careful investigation. Writing
in reply to an article in the personal organ of Gov-

GRANT AND THE COLORED RACE. 287
ernor Warmoth, of Louisiana, obviously written
for the purpose of misleading the minds of the
black population on this subject, he brings up the
following facts :
THE PROCLAMATION OF LINCOLN-GRANT'S EARLY
ACTION.
Mr. Lincoln, in his proclamation, warned the
Rebels that he would, on the first day of January
following, proclaim emancipation in those States
where the people shall be in rebellion against the
United States. That glorious proclamation he ac
cordingly issued; but Kentucky, Tennessee and
portions of Louisiana and Virginia were not in
cluded in it.
General Grant commanded the armies which
were moving southward from Cairo and operating
in Territory affected and unaffected by the pro
clamation. I find by consultation with an ex-
officer in that army, who knew all the orders issued,
that General Grant was always up with or in ad
vance of authority furnished from Washington, in
regard to the treatment of persons of color, then
slaves* Thus a large number of the Blacks, through
*The following order, issued at Fort Donelson as early as February, 1862,
is an evample: " Headquarters District of West Tennessee,
" Fort Donelson, Feb. 26, 1862.
" General Orders, No. 14.
" I. General Order No. 3, series 1861, from headquarters department of
the Missouri, is still in force and must be observed. The necessity of its
strict enforcement is made apparent by the numerous applications from citi-

288 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
his orders, were furnished employment within his
lines, or transportation to homes and places of
comfort for themselves and families, and education
for their children, in the North. And when he
reached northern Mississippi, or the region where
the people of color were more numerous, I find
that he issued, November n, 1862,— before the
emancipation proclamation, and before authority
was furnished from Washington, and solely on his
own conviction of the military necessity and right, —
an order caring for the " contrabands."
THE FIRST FREEDMEN'S BUREAU.
Those of the negroes fleeing from slavery had
been not inaptly designated contrabands of war
by General Butler. Those of us who participated
in or witnessed these scenes can recall with suffi
cient vividness the exodus from slavery to liberty
through the Federal lines wherever the soldiers in
blue appeared. General Grant saw the demoralizing
effect upon the army of thousands of men, women and
zens for permission to pass through the camps to look for fugitive slaves.
In no case whatever will permission be granted to citizens for this purpose.
" II. All slaves at Fort Donelson at the time of its capture, and all slaves
within the line of military occupation that have been used by the enemy in
building fortifications, or in any manner hostile to the Government, will be
employed by the quartermaster's department for the benefit of the Govern
ment, and will under no circumstances be permitted to return to their
masters. " III. It is made the duty of all officers of this command to see that all
slaves above indicated are promptly delivered to the chief quartermaster of
the district. "BY ORDER OF BRIG. GENERAL U. S. GRANT.
" JOHN A. RAWLINS. A. A. G."

GRANT AND THE COLORED RACE. 289
children pouring through the camps. He recognized,
too, the humane considerations which would not allow
even in those disturbed and fearful scenes, the star
vation of those negroes, in regard to whom, as
slaves, the Government had not yet fixed its policy
Selecting an officer for the purpose, in special or
ders No. 1 5, dated Headquarters 13th Army Corps,
Department of the Tennessee, Lagrange, Tenn.,
Nov. nth, 1862, he directed this officer to "take
charge of the contrabands who came into the camp,
organize them into suitable companies for work,
see that they were properly cared for, and set them
to work." He ordered suitable guards detailed for
their protection, and the officer to report to him in
person. He followed this with ample orders to the
Commissary General and Quartermaster General
for the issue of rations, clothing for men, women
and children, and implements necessary for use in
their labor.
In General Orders No. 13, dated Headquarters
13th Army Corps, Department of the Tennessee,
Oxford, Miss., 17th Dec, 1862 — still a month be
fore the Emancipation Proclamation — he made the
same officer, Colonel John Eaton, Jr., General Su
perintendent of these affairs for the Department,
with authority to designate assistants — and, in a
word, increasing his authority, specifying more fully
the details of his duties, the kind of labor in which
the contrabands were to be employed, and enforc
ing their compensation. They were to fill every
position occupied by the soldier, save what depend-

29O THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
ed upon his enlistment. Their wives and children
were to be cared for and given employment also as
far as possible.
Indeed, looking over a report of the General
Superintendent, which was printed in the winter of
1865, and favorably received by the North Ameri
can Review, I find that each military post came to
have an office, and that office had one officer to
care for supplies furnished them, another for the
enforcement of justice in their behalf, another for
their medical attendance, another for their educa
tion. All abandoned property was ordered to be
used for them. In all these benefits, it is to be no
ticed, white refugees shared also.
Here was the full germ of the Freedmen's Bu
reau apparent in the orders of General Grant be
fore the Emancipation Proclamation, not as a the
ory, but as a practical solution of the relation of
slaves in the South to the suppression of the re
bellion, and in the interest of the welfare of all
concerned. Here, in the midst of the terrible
scenes of war, still slaves so far as law and the ac
tion of Government are concerned, the poor fugi
tives were, as far as possible, protected in their
families and lives, sheltered and clothed, their sick
furnished medicines, and the well furnished with
employment, that they might learn self-support.
ORGANIZING NEGRO REGIMENTS.
After slavery was declared abolished, as spring
approached, the Government determined to employ

GRANT AND THE COLORED RACE. 29 1
the contrabands as soldiers, and Adjutant General
Thomas was sent out with proper authority to or
ganize regiments in the Mississippi Valley. Al
ready one company of colored troops had been or
ganized, furnished with arms and put on duty.
General Grant was at Milliken's Bend, La. His
General Order, No. 25, in relation to these black
soldiers, says :
" Commissaries will issue supplies, and quarter
masters will furnish stores on the same requisitions
and returns as are required from the troops. It is
expected that all commanders will especially exert
themselves in carrying out the policy of the admin
istration, not only in organizing colored regiments
and rendering them efficient, but also in removing
prejudice against them." Was this opposing the
organization of troops?
General Grant, in his letter to General Lee, Oct.
19, 1864, although declining to discuss the slavery
question, declares, " I shall always regret the neces
sity of retaliating for wrongs done our soldiers, but
regard it my duty to protect all persons received into
the army of the United States, regardless of color
or nationality /"
I learn from an ex-officer, who was thoroughly
cognizant of the facts, that in the midst of the fear
ful labors around Vicksburg, General Grant always
found time to attend to the calls necessary to make
upon him in regard to the colored people or colored
troops ; that he gave every aid to the development
of their industry and the means of their improve-

292 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
ment* He favored no Utopian schemes, and sought
apractical solution of every difficulty, in the way of
the welfare of the colored people. It will not be
forgotten by them that, when before Vicksburg he
and his associates in the chief command of the
troops who night and day were pressing the siege,
found time to listen to an extended report of the
officer he had placed in charge of our people in the
November previous. GRANT TO LINCOLN.
This report he afterwards forwarded to President
Lincoln with a private letter, dated June n, 1863,
in which he says : " Finding that negroes were com
ing into our lines in great numbers, and receiving
kind or abusive treatment, according to the peculiar
views of the troops they first came in contact with,
and not being able to give that personal attention
to their care, and use the matter demanded, I de
termined to appoint a General Superintendent over
* " A NEGRO PARADISE."
" One evening in the midst of the siege of Vicksburg, General Grant was
sitting by the trunk of a great tree near his tent, talking to his Superintend
ent of Freedmen of their affairs, telling him in detail of a Great Bend in the
Mississippi, 25 miles below the town, indicating how easily it could be pro
tected, saying considerable portions of the land then deserted was owned by
Jeff. Davis and his brother, Joe, whose plantation was often visited as a model
by foreigners, suggested that his Bend should be occupied by the freedmen,
and be made a " negro paradise." So it was. Soon it was divided into
small farms for their cultivation, houses built, schools opened, the adminis
tration of order left chiefly to the colored people, and the whole protected
against guerrillas by colored troops. Now, Joe Davis's former slave and
foreman, one of these free cultivators of the Bend, owns and successfully
carries on the Davis plantation, having purchased it from his former master."

GRANT AND THE COLORED RACE. 293
the whole subject, and give him such assistants as
the duties assigned him might require. I have
given him such aid as was in my power, by the pub
lication from time to time of such orders as seemed
to be required, and generally at the suggestion of
the Superintendent."
He speaks of the results up to that date as of
great service to the blacks in having them provided
for, when otherwise they would have been neglected,
and to the Government in finding employment for
the negro whereby he might earn what he was
receiving, and, in closing, directs special attention
to the portion of the report which would suggest
orders regulating the subject which a Department
Commander is not competent to issue.
The officer who delivered this letter and report
to Mr. Lincoln, states that Mr. Lincoln received
them with the greatest satisfaction, asking many
questions about General Grant's views upon the
whole subject of the treatment of the colored peo
ple, and on thus learning something in detail of
the success of General: Grant's plans and the use
fulness, in his judgment, of colored soldiers, he re
peated the expressions of his gratification that a
General who was winning such military successes
over the Rebels was able, from a military stand
point, to give him so many practical illustrations
of the benefits of the emancipation policy.
WHAT WAS DONE WITH THE CONTRABANDS.
I find it stated in a printed copy of a letter to

294 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
Mr. Levi Coffin, then in England, written by the
General Superintendent, and dated at Vicksburg,
only a year after its fall, that this supervision, em
bracing the territory within the lines of our army,
from Cairo, down the Mississippi to Red River, to
gether with the State of Arkansas, — numbered in
its care, during the past year, 1 1 3,650 freedmen.
"These are now disposed as follows : In military service, as soldiers, laun
dresses, cooks, officers, servants and laborers in the various staff departments,
41,150 ; in cities, on plantations, and in freedmen's villages and cared for,
72,500. Of these, 62,300 are entirely self-supporting — the same as any in
dustrial class anywhere — as planters, mechanics, barbers, hackmen, draymen,
etc., conducting enterprises on their own responsibility, or as hired laborers.
The remaining 10,200 receive subsistence from the Government. 3,000 of
them are members of families whose heads are carrying on plantations, and
have under cultivation 4,000 acres of cotton, and are to pay the Government
for their subsistence from the first income of the crop. The other 7,200 in
cludes the paupers (those over and under the self-supporting age, the crippled
and sick in hospital) of the 113,650, and those engaged in their care ; and,
instead of being unproductive, have now under cultivation 500 acres of corn,
750 acres of vegetables, and 1,500 acres of cotton — besides the work done at
wood-chopping, etc."
" There are reported in the aggregate some over 100,000 acres of cotton
under cultivation. Of this, about 7,000 acres are leased and cultivated by
blacks. Some of these are managing as high as 300 or 400 acres. It is im
possible to give, at the present date, any definite statement of many of the
forms of industry ; 59,000 cords of wood are reported to me by Colonel
Thomas, Superintendent and Provost Marshal of Freedmen, as cut within
the lines of no miles on the river banks above and below this place. It
would be only a guess to state the entire amount cut by the people under
this supervision ; it must be enormous. The people have been paid from 50
cents to $2.50 per cord for cutting. This wood has been essential to the
commercial and military operations on the river.
"Of the 113,650 blacks, here mentioned, 13,320 have been under instruc
tion in letters ; about 4,000 have learned to read quite fairly, and about
2,000 to write. So our people were helped by General Grant's policy
through this terrible transition."
August 16, 1864, General Grant wrote Mr. Wash
burne the celebrated letter so widely quoted, in

GRANT AND THE COLORED RACE. 295
which he affirms that the Confederate leaders had
robbed the cradle and the grave to carry on the
war, urging that our friends in the North could
have no hope for peace from separation ; and
among the special reasons in reply to "peace on any
terms" he affirms that the South would demand the
restoration of their slaves already free ; they would
demand indemnity for losses sustained ; they would
demand a treaty which would make the North slave
hunters for the South ; they would demand pay for
every slave that escaped to the North.
In his last and noted order to the great army,
dated June 2, 1865, General Grant distinctly recog
nizes the good results they had accomplished ; af
firms that they had '' overthrown all armed oppos
ition to the enforcement of the laws, and the pro
clamation forever abolishing slavery — the cause and
pretext of the rebellion."
May we not justly say, will it not be the un
questioned sentiment of history that the liberty
which Mr. Lincoln declared with his pen General
Grant made effectual with his sword — by his skill
in leading the Union Armies to final victory?
GRANT'S EARLY EXPRESSIONS CONCERNING SLAVERY.
But I prefer that General Grant shall speak for
himself, by here quoting from his private letter to
Mr. Washburne, and published without the Gener
al's knowledge or permission, dated August 30,
1863, in which he said : " The people of the North
need not quarrel over the institution of slavery.

296 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
What Vice President Stephens acknowledges, as
the corner-stone of the Confederacy, is already
knocked out. Slavery is already dead, and cannot
be resurrected. It would take a standing army to
maintain slavery in the South, if we were to make
peace to-day guaranteeing to the South all their
former constitutional privileges.
" I never was an abolitionist^not even what
could be called anti-slavery — but I try to judge
fairly and honestly, and because patent to my mind,
early in the rebellion, that the North and South
could never live in peace with each other except
as one nation. As anxious as I am to see peace
and that without slavery, re-established, I would not
therefore be willing to see any settlement until this
question is forever settled?
In a letter written by Mr. Lincoln to General
Grant, April 30, 1864, is this emphatic sentence:
'' I wish to express in this way my entire satisfac
tion with what you have done up to this time."
GRANT'S POLICY AS PRESIDENT TOWARD THE NEGROES.
But since he became President how faithfully
has he carried out his pledges in which the colored
race are most directly interested?
In his Inaugural, March 4, 1867, we find these
wise words, in regard to suffrage and the 15th
Amendment :
"The question of suffrage is one which is likely
to agitate the public so long as a portion of the-
citizens of the nation are excluded from its privi-

GRANT AND THE COLORED RACE. 299
leges in any State. It seems to me very desirable
that this question should be settled now, and I en
tertain the hope and express the desire, that it
may be by the ratification of the 15th article* of
amendment to the Constitution."
Indeed, his language often points to his clear
apprehension of the fact, that peace could only be
fully restored by removing the cause of disturb
ance. In his message in regard to Mississippi and
Virginia, April 7th, 1869, while he urges the restor
ation of the States to their proper relations to the
Government as speedily as possible, he clearly
states that it must be conditioned that the people
of those States shall "be willing to become peace
ful and orderly communities, and to adopt and
maintain such constitutions and laws as will effec
tually secure the civil and political rights of all
persons within their borders."
True to all his instincts, all his declarations and
acts, in his first annual message, he has for the
Blacks, as freedmen, a kind word, and declares, "the
freedmen, under the protection they have received,
are making rapid progress in learning, and no com
plaints are heard of lack of -industry on their part
where they receive fair remuneration for their labor;"
and among the reasons which he finds for gratitude
to the Giver of all good, is a country "with a pop
ulation of forty millions of free people, all speaking
one language ; with facilities for every mortal
to acquire an education ; with institutions closing
* For which, it will be remembered, Mr. Sumner did not vote.

3OO . THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
to none the avenues to fame or any blessing of for
tune that may be coveted ; with freedom of the
pulpit, the press and the school." Again, he de
clares that the "second great object of the Gov
ernment is to secure protection to the person and
property of the citizen of the United States in
each and every portion of our common country,
wherever he may choose to move, without reference
to original nationality, religion, color, or politics,
demanding of him only obedience to the laws, and
proper respect for the rights of others."
Though, as he said, it is unusual to notify the
two houses by message of the promulgation of the
ratification of an amendment to the Constitution,
yet he sent one in regard to the ratification of the
15th Amendment, in which he said, "Institutions
like ours, in which all power is derived directly from
the people, must depend mainly upon sheir intelli
gence, patriotism and industry. I call the atten
tion, therefore, of the newly-enfranchised race to
the importance of their striving in every honorable
manner to make themselves worthy of their new
privilege. To the race more favored heretofore
by our laws, I would say, withhold no legal privi
lege of advancement to the new citizen. The
framers of our Constitution firmly believed that a
Republican Government could not endure without
intelligence and education generally diffused among
the people. 'The Father of his Country,' in his
farewell address, uses this language : ' Promote,
then, as a matter of primary importance, institu-

GRANT AND THE COLORED RACE. 30I
tions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In
proportion as the structure of the Government
gives force to public opinion, it is essential that
public opinion should be enlightened.' In his first
annual message to Congress, the same views are
forcibly presented, and are again urged in his eighth
message. "I repeat that the adoption of the 15th Amend
ment to the Constitution completes the greatest
civil change and constitutes the most important
event that has occurred since the nation came into
life. The change will be beneficial in proportion
to the heed that is given to the urgent recommen
dations of Washington. If these recommenda
tions were important then, with a population of
but a few millions, how much more important now,
with a population of forty millions, and increasing
in a rapid ratio.
"I would, therefore, call upon Congress to take
all means within their constitutional powers to pro
mote and encourage popular education throughout
the country ; and upon the people everywhere to
see to it that all who possess and exercise political
rights shall have the opportunity to acquire the
knowledge which will make their share in the gov
ernment a blessing and not a danger."
GRANT'S APPOINTMENTS OF COLORED MEN TO OFFICE.
An inquiry into the appointments of colored men
to office under General Grant, gives results more
satisfactory than I anticipated. No records, so far
18

302 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
as I learn, appear to be kept of the color of the
appointees. I can only ascertain facts by my own personal
knowledge, and from the personal knowledge of
others acquainted with the appointees. It is im
possible for me to fix the exact number, but I find
them in all Departments of the Civil Service. Two
have been appointed foreign ministers ; several col
lectors of customs ; some assessors of Internal
Revenue ; and so on down through all the various
grades of the service — as route agents, post-mast
ers, clerks, messengers, etc., according to the intel
ligence of the applicants.
I should have been glad to have obtained the ex
act number of colored appointees. In one Depart
ment at Washington, I found 249, and many more
holding important positions in its service in differ
ent parts of the country. In other Departments,
the facts ascertained were correspondingly gratify
ing, as I pursued the inquiry (continues the
writer), meeting some new man at every
step, and left it satisfied, as I think any
colored man would be, that there has been a
hearty disposition to disregard all past prejudices,
and treat us in the matter of appointments accord
ing to our merits. The appointments to West
Point, as overcoming the army prejudices, are well
known, and too significant to be overlooked. In
deed, I closed the inquiry thoroughly satisfied, and
believe that any man of my race could be with the
same facts before him, that, with General Grant at

GRANT AND THE COLORED RACE. 303
the head of the Administration of the country, we
are assured in due time, not only of all our rights,
but of all our privileges.
GRANT TO THE CIVIL RIGHTS CONVENTION.
In view of the foregoing facts, the following ex
cellent letter should be added :
Executive Mansion,
Washington, D. C, May 9, 1872.
Gentlemen : I am in receipt of your invitation extended to me to attend a
mass meeting to be held for the purpose of aiding in securing civil rights for
the colored citizens of our country. I regret that _ previous engagement
will detain me at the Executive Mansion, and that I shall not be able to par
ticipate with you in person in your efforts to further the cause in which you
are laboring. I beg to assure you, however, that I sympathize most cordially
in any effort to secure for all our people of whatever race, nativity, or color,
the exercise of those rights to which every citizen should be entitled.
I am, very respectfully,
U. S. GRANT.
Here the communication of the colored citizen
ends. It is by no means exhaustive of the facts
showing the absence from General Grant's mind of
any sentiment except a kindly one for the negro
race. His interference in behalf of the colored
troops during the campaign before Richmond, for
instance, had the effect to save thousands of them
from being put to work by the Rebels like galley
slaves upon the fortifications. Learning that col
ored soldiers were being used in this manner when
ever captured by the Rebels, General Grant im
mediately issued orders for the employment of an
equal number of Confederate prisoners upon the
Dutch Gap canal. He of course notified General
Lee of this retaliatory measure, and the notification

304 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
had the desired effect. It brought an order for the
relief of the colored Union prisoners, and an ex
planatory letter from Lee to Grant, to which the
following is Grant's reply : "
" Headquarters Armies of the United States,
"October 29, 1864.
" General R. E. Lee, C. S. A.,
" Commanding Army Northern Virginia.
"General: Understanding from your letter of the 19th, that the colored
prisoners, who are employed at work in the trenches near Fort Gilmer, have
been withdrawn, I have directed the withdrawal of the Confederate prisoners
employed in the Dutch Gap canal.
" I shall always regret the necessity of retaliating for wrongs done our
soldiers ; but regard.it my duty to protect all persons received into the army
of the United States, regardless of color or nationality. When acknowledged
soldiers of the Government are captured they must be treated as prisoners of
war, or such treatment as they receive will be inflicted upon an equal number
of prisoners held by us.
" I have nothing to do with the discussion of the slavery question ; there
fore decline answering the arguments adduced to show the right to return to
former owners such negroes as are captured from our army.
" In answer to the question at the conclusion of your letter, I have to state
that all prisoners of war falling into ,my hands shall receive the kindest
treatment possible, consistent with securing them, unless I have good author
ity for believing any number of our men are being treated otherwise. Then,
painful as it may be to me, I shall inflict like treatment on an equal number
of Confederate prisoners.
" Hoping that it may never become my duty to order retaliation upon any
man held as a prisoner of war, I have the honer to be, very respectfully, your
obedient servant, " U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant General."

CHAPTER XVII.
THE SO-CALLED LIBERAL MOVEMENT
How and When it Originated — The Grand Hobby — Attempt to Split the
Republican Party in 1868 — Trumbull's Backbone Stiffened — A Regular
Siege — Approaching the Citadel by Parallels — Sumner's Grievance — His
Ejection from the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee — A General Misun
derstanding — How it Happened — The Civil Service Purists — The Bee in
Trumbull's Bonnet — The Newspaper Ring — "We Four and No More."
It is a great mistake to suppose that the schism
created and engineered by a dozen individuals, and
dignified by the name of the "Great Liberal Move
ment," originated in any disaffection growing out
of the administration of the government by Presi
dent Grant. The movement had its origin before
ever Grant was nominated for President by the
Chicago Convention of 1868. Its germ was the
theory of Free Trade, which so disturbed some of
its more ardent advocates in the early Spring of
1868, that they would then have been very glad to
disrupt the Republican party and scatter to the
four winds the glorious record of that patriotic
(3°5)

306 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
organization, with all the beneficent measures then
in the womb of that party's future, for the sake of
an opportunity to air themselves upon their favor
ite hobby of Free Trade, or, as they had then just
begun to call it, Revenue Reform. This was the
way it was done :
THE GAME IN 1 868.
Early in 1868, the impeachment of Andrew
Johnson came on. The American Free Trade
League, comprising among its members the editors
of the Chicago Tribune, New York Evening Post
and Chicago Evening Post, as well as all the promi
nent Democratic journals, and numbering the papers
specified among the most valued and industrious
of its organs, was then just fairly launched in its
active campaign work, and, under the leadership of
Mahlon Sands and the editors above named, was
beginning a vigorous warfare in behalf of its vital
theory. It was soon perceived that the conviction and
removal of Andrew Johnson would leave in the
Presidential Chair, for the remaining ten months of
Johnson's term, the Hon. Benjamin F. Wade, then
President pro tern of the Senate. Now, Wade was
a staunch Protectionist, as indicated by his votes in
the Senate, and the' Free Traders immediately saw
that it would never do to have him occupying the
Presidential Chair, with an almost certainty of be
ing made the Republican candidate for Vice-Pres
ident at Chicago, in May. Accordingly, we saw

THE SO-CALLED LIBERAL MOVEMENT. 307
the Chicago Tribune and Evening Post suddenly
veer about, a few days after the Senate took the
trial of Johnson in hand, and enjoin moderation
upon the Senate as earnestly as they had demanded
a red-hot prosecution from the House a fortnight or
so before. Fortunately for their cause, there were
really some very weak points in the impeachment
of Johnson, which presented a good excuse for such
Senators as chose, from one motive or another,
to vote for acquittal. One of these was Lyman
Trumbull, of Illinois, who had, we have no doubt,
honest scruples about the propriety of removing
Johnson by force. Nevertheless, Trumbull lacked
backbone, and there is no telling what he would
have done, but for the stiffening up which he re
ceived from home. Letters from Horace White,
and from one other newspaper knight (since de
ceased) whose support was important, assured
Trumbull that he would be sustained by the (then)
most influential of the home newspapers of Re
publican name. Sustained by such assurances,
Trumbull, to the surprise of the country, voted
"nay" on the question of Johnson's conviction. Of
the Republican Senators, Grimes, Fessenden^Ross,
Henderson, Van Winkle and Fowler voted with
him — part of them certainly from conscientious mo
tives. By their votes Johnson was acquitted, and
Ben Wade was kept out of the Presidential Chair.
AT THE CHICAGO CONVENTION.
Now for the next act in the drama. The reve-

308 THE STRUGGLE OF '/2.
nue " Reformers," though they had exorcised their
bete noir from the place of authority, still were not
happy. There was still a high tariff majority in
Congress, and was likely to be, at least in the Sen
ate, for many years — perhaps until the anxious
" Reformers" had, to quote the thought of Sidney
Smith, wrapped their taxed shrouds about them,
and lain down in taxed coffins to their final rest.
There seemed little prospect of bringing about the
Free Trade millenium so long as the Republican
party continue to sit, like Mordecai, at the king's
gate. The Democratic party was better material,
as Free Trade had been one of the vital dogmas of
the Democrats, in their virtuous days. But the
Democrats had a war record which would damn
them to all eternity, if they should have the temer
ity to keep fighting under their old colors. To
cleave a slice off from the Republican party and
work it over into a grand hash along with the cold
meats of the Democracy, was the problem of
Messrs. Sands, White, et al.
The National Republican Convention of 1868
assembled. It was the hope of the agitators that
a split might be brought about through a bolt,
organized on one of three pretexts, viz :
1. The nomination of Wade for Vice President.
2. The adoption by the Convention of a reso
lution sharply censuring the seven Republican
Senators who voted against convicting Johnson.
3. The refusal of the Convention to adopt a
resolution, presented by Carl Schurz, in favor of
the speedy enfranchisement of the Rebels.

THE SO-CALLED LIBERAL MOVEMENT. 309
None of these delicately edged wedges, however,
could be made to enter the glorious old trunk. It
resisted them all. Wade was not nominated, the
resolution of censure was not passed, and Schurz 's
resolution, far from being rejected, or quarreled
over, was readily adopted, notwithstanding it was
irregularly presented.
In short, the gentlemen who were waiting for a
rupture found the party disgustingly unanimous and
enthusiastic ; so much so as to render hopeless the
prospects of a successful schism that year. The
idea was accordingly abandoned, or rather, held in
abeyance, while the schemers sought new instru
mentalities and new opportunities. They made a
sort of mock fight during the campaign of 1868, and,
after Grant was swept into the White House on a
flood of popular enthusiasm, the like of which had
rarely been seen, they immediately proceeded to
right their foundered craft, and take advantage of
the reflex wave to get back off the shoals on which
the election had landed them.
THE NEWSPAPER SYNDICATE.
It was not long' before that newspaper "quadri
lateral," which has since become famous — chiefly
through blowings its own trumpet — began to take
form. This powerful concern has varied in form
and magnitude somewhat since commencing its op
erations for the destruction of the Republican
party. As first organized, it consisted of, first, the
Springfield (Mass.) Reptiblican; second, the New

3IO THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
York Evening Post; third, the Cincinnati Commer
cial, and, fourth, the Chicago Tribune, — the editors
of which, and of the few other journals which have
co-operated with them from time to time, were ac
tuated by various motives. With White and
Nordhoff (representing the second and fourth of
the dailies named) the grand object was Free
Trade and the disruption of the Republican party.
With Bowles and Halstead, representing the two
others, it was less a theory of politics than a theory
of journalism which constituted the motive power.
They believed in being independent — in driving a
free lance — and they enjoyed the prospect which
the proposed free criticism of the administration
afforded them for making their journals spicy and
readable. Halstead is much more wanton than
Bowles, and of the last it is but justice to say that
his standard of journalism is exceptionally high,
though his views of what is practicable, as well as
of what is patriotic, may be erroneous. He aims
to be frank and fair in all things, and, accordingly,
he has not attempted in his paper, since the mach
inations of the ring resulted in the nomination of
Greeley, to conceal his disgust with that nomina
tion. LOVE FEASTS.
This newspaper ring, or syndicate, soon began to
hold occasional meetings and compact themselves
into a tolerably well organized mutual admiration
society. Their proceedings were nominally in be-

THE SO-CALLED LIBERAL MOVEMENT. 31I
half of Revenue Reform, though afterwards some
other elements, deemed available for a Presidential
canvass, were worked into the cake, as a leavening
or flavoring ingredient. Speaking of cakes reminds
us of the banquets which these phenomenally ele
vated statesmen-journalists used to hold at Del-
monico's or Wormley's, and at which they prac
ticed bravely at the (to them) untried art of ora
tory. To these conferences Democratic editors
and politicians, like Manton Marble, were admitted ;
and it was in cultivating the good graces of this
"syndicate" that Charles Sumner — always lusting
after newspaper puffs — first nerved himself to at
tack Grant in those bitter speeches and " inter
views" with newspaper folk, which began to appear
in the fall of 1870.
BATTERIES OF SLANDER.
Thus the "syndicate" went on pecking away at the
foundations of the Republican organization, and
doing their best endeavors, by blows repeated seven
days in the week and fifty-two weeks in the year,
to so weaken the grand old columns that new ones
would have to be put in their place, and an oppor
tunity be thus afforded for the introduction of some
thing from the "syndicate's" famous quarries for new
foundation stones. They never went to press with
out a cutting criticism or a sly inuendo in the edi
torial columns, or a whole volley of loosely con
structed slanders from their special correspondents,
aimed at the Administration of President Grant

312 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
In the fall of 1870, a very loud hue-and-cry was
raised about Grant's San Domingo scheme, and it
was freely charged in the papers of the syndicate
that General Babcock, one of Grant's quasi secre
taries, who had the most active part in managing
the details of the preliminaries to annexation, was
corruptly interested in certain (or rather some very
uncertain, vaguely imagined and never specified)
financial speculations, dependent on the annexation
of the Island. Charles Sumner, who traversed his
record as a negrophilist in order to make a point
against the Administration which had failed to ac
cept his dictation concerning a certain federal ap
pointment, made a lecturing tour Westward in Oc
tober and November, 1870, during which he dis
seminated among his admirers, in private conver
sations, the insinuation that Grant himself had been
speculating in lots in the Bay of Samara. This
was a lie ; and to take the curse off it, when it was
brought home to him in the Senate, he perpetrated
another, wherein he denied the paternity of the first.
The San Domingo matter was the most meaty
bone of contention that the "syndicate" got hold of
in the whole weary three years of waiting for such;
but they did not scorn to accept less promising tri
fles. They criticised the financial policy of Bout-
well ; they criticised the President's appointment
of relations to office ; they criticised the New York
Custom House through and through — criticised
Grant because he did not change collectors, and
criticised him all the worse when he did change

THE SO-CALLED LIBERAL MOVEMENT. 313
them; they criticised indiscriminately the legisla
tion of Congress, laid it all to Grant and named it
"Grantism," knowing that Grant was the hardest
Republican candidate for them to beat, and feeling
that if they could force him out of the field their
chance was good, with Democratic co-operation,
to win. In short, it is not too much to say that the
" syndicate " allowed no act, either of Congress
or of the administration, to pass by without pick
ing some flaw in it and presenting its worst aspect
to the public. CONFUSING LOCAL ELECTIONS.
Another method was resorted to in addition to
this wholesale and indiscriminate misrepresenta
tion. This was to confuse the issue in as many
State and local elections as possible, by organizing
a bolt from the regular Republican nominations, and
a coalition with the Democrats on what the bolters
humorously termed a "Reform" ticket. With the
help of the sore-heads, added to that of the syndi
cate and the Democrats (never greatly in the mi
nority in large towns), the conspirators were able
sometimes to carry their ticket (though no reforms
were ever heard of) ; but they oftener failed, except
as the mere effort was a success in itself, since it
confused the questions before the public and helped
a little toward obliterating the party lines which
the people had learned during the war to recognize
so well as identical with the lines between loyalty
and disloyalty. These efforts were, in fact, the se-

314 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
ries of parallels by which the besiegers of the Re
publican fortress proposed to approach, slowly and
gradually, until they could mine our works and
blow our fortifications and their defenders into a
thousand fragments. r)And so, perhaps, they might
have done, but for the premature explosion of their
magazine at Cincinnati. ^
ALLIES IN THE SENATE.
The syndicate captured, during the fall and win
ter of 1870, four Senators, of whom, as might be
expected, from what has preceded, Sumner and
Trumbull were two. The others were Carl Schurz,
whose first disaffection came about more honestly
and legitimately than that of any of the rest, and
who is still by far the least selfish and most ingen
uous of the quartette ; and one Tipton, a Nebraska
nobody, who abandoned a backwoods pulpit to
make a clown of himself in the more conspicuous
arena of the United States Senate.
Bombardment commenced in earnest in the Sen
ate during the last session of the Forty-first Con
gress, in the winter of 1870-71. Sumner got out
his heavy siege gun and, loading it with San Do
mingo ammunition, fired some shots at the White
House which were certainly intended to demolish
that edifice with all its occupants. Schurz threw a
few shell, also, and Tipton brought his penny pop
gun to bear, with such effect as might have been
expected. Sumner displayed great vindictiveness
in his speeches, and great arrogance and contempt

THE SO-CALLED LIBERAL MOVEMENT. 315
for his fellow Senators in his method of proceed
ing — dodging the rules of the body, dictating and
overbearing his colleagues, and displaying all
the airs of a demi-god, along with the tricks and
habits of a narrow, tricky partisan.
SUMNER'S "MARTYRDOM."
It was this arrogant and unpleasant manner of
the Massachusetts Senator — something which the
Senate had long felt, but which was, of course, but
little alluded to in that body — which, as much as
aught else, earned for Sumner his omission from
the Committee on Foreign Relations, of which he
had been chairman for several terms. Neverthe
less, the cause assigned by the caucus committee
charged with the making up of the standing com
mittees was, not Mr. Sumner's general factiousness,
arrogance, impetuousness and personal vindictive-
ness, but this : that he was in notorious opposition
to a prominent measure of the Administration, and
that to make him chairman of the committee which
was to have this measure under consideration, and
be, in fact the Senate's agent therein, would be a
severe and unnecessary censure of the Administra
tion. Another reason was also alleged, which was
taken up with considerable effect by the Sumner-
ites, viz., that Sumner was not on speaking terms
with the Secretary of State, who, necessarily, has
much to do with the Chairman of the Senate Com
mittee on Foreign Relations, and should, to make
the Government efficient and harmonious in its

316 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
action on foreign questions, be able to work side
by side with that official. v
In spite of all these reasons, any of which ought
to be sufficient for the Senate's electing another
man than Sumner to the place if it chose, the per
sonal and faction friends of that Senator succeeded
in creating an impression in the minds of many,
even of those who did not sympathize with Sum
ner's factious opposition to the Administration, that
that Senator had been "struck down" by a caucus
committee in very much such an outrageous man
ner as he had been struck down by the ruffian
Brooks in old chivalry days. Among those who
spoke in his behalf was Senator Wilson, his col
league, a staunch Administration man, whose gen
erous heart prompted him to resent what was really
a severe blow to his colleague's personal ambition,
without, apparently, considering that it was a re
buke which Sumner's unreasonable conduct had
brought upon himself, and which his unwholesome
purposes had made absolutely necessary to the
proper conduct of the Senate's business. If Sum
ner had been a sympathetic, a magnanimous, or a
chivalrous man, the answering qualities in his fellow
Senators would have gained him respite from this
deserved rebuke. He was not such a man, and he
therefore failed. THE PRESS ON THE AFFAIR.
The act which deposed him from his pet Com
mittee (though it was not a deposing, but simply

THE SO-CALLED LIBERAL MOVEMENT. 317
a failure to re-elect to an additional term) was
trumpeted to the country by the newspaper syndi
cate as an act of outrageous tyranny and^.f Presi
dential vindictiveness. It so happened thaWhr^ugh
the peculiar predilections of the press, the country
obtained, generally, an erroneous impres&ifcn of the
motives involved in this act. Tffe Democratic
press and the syndicate had an obvious interest in
representing the act as a heinous one, in order that
it might tell against Grant and the Republican
leaders in the Senate ; and at the same time a ma
jority of the Republican press were misled by their
old-time admiration of Sumner as an anti-slavery
orator, into sympathizing with him as they would
not have done if they had known the many facts
which Senatorial courtesy prevented from appear
ing in the debates. The consequence was that Sum
ner won out of the affair no little reputation as a
martyr — a character in which he successfully
figured until his morbid, malignant, mis-aimed
speech in the Senate, on the 30th of May, 1872, ex
posed the true character and motives of the man.
THE SIEGE CONTINUES.
The disorganizes continued to construct their
parallels of approach to the Republican citadel.
Having seized a commanding position in the Senate,
they operated there the most energetically. During
the last session of Congress, no less than fifteen in
vestigations into the conduct of the government,
were under way at Washington or elsewhere, by
*9

318 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
direction of Congress. These have been already
alluded to in Chapter V. It is also explained there
how they resulted in the vindication of the Admin
istration from any serious blame. The most ma
lignant of these investigations were ordered on the
motion of the renegade Republicans of the Senate.
During the Spring session of 1871, Mr.- Sumner had
made, in the Senate, no less than eleven speeches
on the subject of San Domingo — not counting
those which he was continually seeking to smuggle
into the proceedings in the shape of preambles to
resolutions — a trick in which he was usually suc
cessful, through the forbearance of the Senate, he
being a " martyr." These were reinforced by others
from Schurz, all of which were faithfully echoed by
the syndicate.
What San Domingo was to the disorganizers
during the session of '71, the French arms sale was
during that of '72 ; the hope, on the part of the
" Liberals," being that they might find material, in
the sale of damaged or superannuated ordnance to
the French, to excite the enmity of the German
voters of this country against the Administration.
TRUMBULL.
Senator Trumbull did not fail to put in an ap
pearance, when occasion offered, as alight skirmisher
upon the flanks of the Republican army. The
hobby upon which Trumbull rode oftenest was
State Rights. Mounted upon this, or upon the
chair of the Judiciary Committee, he was able to

THE SO-CALLED LIBERAL MOVEMENT. 319
discern quibbles of "unconstitutionality" and
masked batteries of Federal usurpation where two
or three years before, he would have sworn the
field was as clear as a June morning. Trumbull's
status in July, 1871, is to be learned from an "in
terview" published in the Chicago Tribune, his
special organ, and hence assumed to be authentic
In that interview, he seems to forget the State
Rights trouble, which had attracted so much of his
solicitude in the Senate, and which has since come
to form the only distinctive plank in the platform
of the new party. He is reported thus :
Trumbull — " I think the great question of the Presidential campaign will
be the finances, taxation, and civil service reform. These subjects are upper
most in the minds of the people."
" Is Secretary Boutwell's policy popular here in the West ?"
Trumbull — " Yes, to some extent it is. I don't altogether believe in it
myself, but still there are a great many people who feel proud of the manner
in which Boutwell is paying off the debt. I think it a mistake to keep so
much gold in the Treasury and to use it in buying our indebtedness. It is a
wonder somebody has not assailed the policy of the Secretary going into the
market and buying the government indebtedness at a discount."
" The last government loan seems to be a failure."
Trumbull — " Yes, I expected as much. You see the trouble is men won't
give up a 6 per cent, bond for as or a 41 not if they can help it. Besides,
our government should first improve its credit at home before it goes abroad
to borrow money. We have a currency consisting of promises to pay, and
no provision made to pay them. We should first of all bring these up to the
gold standard. That would improve our credit. On the whole, however,
Boutwell's management of the Treasury gives very general satisfaction. It
will be the trump card of the administration when it comes before the people
for a verdict. There is a general conviction that the revenue is more faith
fully collected than ever before, and, as I said, the people feel a good deal of
pride in this matter of paying off the debt."
He then points out to his amanuensis, the faith
ful reporter, the evils of the civil service. He is
then questioned about the Presidency, and replies

32O THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
that it looks as if the Republicans had settled
down upon Grant for renomination ; " but," he
adds — and here the Trumbullian eye must have
twinkled with anticipation of what came so near
happening at Cincinnati — "you can't tell what may
happen in a year." And he presently adds, after
an intervening interrogatory or two, "It is too early
in my judgment, to predict who will be the nominee
of the Republican party." From this, it is obvious
that Trumbull then felt confident that some con
servative statesman, whose initials were L. T., could
be forced upon the Republican Convention of 1872
by bringing the parallels nearer and nearer, and
making the fire of bombardment hotter and hotter
through the next session of Congress.

CHAPTER XVIII.
THE SO-CALLED LIBERAL MOVEMENT.
(CONTINUED.)
The Ring Reinforced — Greeley gets a Bee in his Bonnet, too — The Possum
Policy of the Democrats — The Blair Family Smell the Battle Afar Off—
The Movement Begins in Missouri — Some of the Pioneers — Sore-heads —
The Cincinnati Convention Called — The Response — The Spring Elec
tions — The Democracy Weakens Perceptibly — Greeley Smiles upon the
Movement. By this time the newspaper syndicate had been
reinforced by several valuable allies. Horace Gree
ley himself had joined them for one. The way in
which he became converted to their cause, through
his own ambition to be President, will be told in
that portion of this book which we have devoted
to the personal history of Mr. Greeley. The fact
must be mentioned here, however, that since the
summer of 1871, when Greeley returned from the
South, imbued with the idea that he was personally
stronger there than any other public man, his Trib
une had nothing favorable to say of Grant's Ad
ministration ; and the vials of wrath which it had
so carefully husbanded when Tammany needed de
nunciation, were emptied out upon the New York
Custom House and upon the National Administra-
(32O

322 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
tion, as the responsible guardian thereof. One or
two journals, hitherto Democratic, also whispered
that they could be counted upon, in whatever hazard,
as partners in the formation of a new party under
a name other than that which the ancient Democ
racy has so long abused. These journals were the
Missouri Republican and the Louisville Courier-
Journal, the former of which, at any rate, had a
record unquestionably and unvaryingly Demo
cratic. THE DEMOCRATS PASSIVE.
This promise of passivism on the part of the
Democrats was soon acquiesced in by nearly all
the influential papers of that party, including the
World, of New York, and the Times, of Chicago;
by several prominent politicians, also, though the
Simon-pure old hunkers — wheelhorses of the party
coach — were slow to give in their adherence. John
Quincy Adams, Jr., who had served the Democrats
once or twice by lending them the name of the
Adams family (very much as the profligate Charles
Surface proposed to serve a boon companion by
selling his ancestors' pictures), wrote an able letter,
which was published in the Missouri Republican
of the 29th of November, 1871, favoring what had
then come to be known as the "Missouri Policy."
It was otherwise designated as the Passive Policy,
or "Possum Policy" — the latter phrase referring
aptly to the habit of the opossum to play dead, as a
strategem to escape punishment for his depreda-

THE SO-CALLED LIBERAL MOVEMENT. 323
tions. Montgomery Blair, who, ever since being
turned out of Lincoln's cabinet, had yearned for
an opportunity to crush the Republican party be
tween his thumb and finger and the thumbs and
fingers of the rest of the Blair family, also wrote
a letter which was published in the World of De
cember 8th, advocating a passive policy on the part
of the Democrats. THE TOCSIN SOUNDS.
The first note of the " Liberal" campaign of 1872
was sounded in December, 1871. This was the call
of William M. Grosvenor and other members of
the Missouri Liberal Republican party, so-called,
for a convention of that party, to be held at Jef
ferson City on the 24th day of January for purposes
of organization, etc. The idea of a Liberal party
had its origin in the disappointment of Gratz Brown
and others who were defeated as candidates before
the regular State Republican convention of 1870,
and who therefore formed a coalition with the
Democrats and lately enfranchised Rebels, with
Brown as their candidate for Governor. This co
alition was merely temporary in its nature and pur
pose; but it worked so well, and its Republican
members were so likely to be ostracised by their
party henceforth, that a portion of the members of
the central committee, and nearly all the State of
ficers whom the coalition had elected, determined to
perpetuate the arrangement, if possible. Grosvenor,
who headed the call above referred to, was an earn-

324 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
est Revenue Reformer and a politician of the dil-
letante order, who had been discharged from the
editorship of the St. Louis Democrat, and who had
become very bitter against the Republican organ
ization. He afterwards, from lack of other occu
pation, became the principal working manager of
the " Liberal" schism, with his headquarters at
Washington. The call for the Missouri convention of January
24th was signed by fifteen members of the State
Liberal Committee (the other members claiming
that their authority as a committee had terminated
with the campaign of 1870) and by B. Gratz Brown
and twenty-five other members of the State Gov
ernment or the Legislature. It was an eloquent
document ; its signers lashed themselves into patri
otic fury with such invocations as these :
" It is our proud duty not to retreat from the field of our triumph, but to
beckon forward the hosts of liberalism in other States to the overthrow of
that Radical domination which, in the nation even more than in the State,
wars against vital principals of true republicanism,
" The honest men of all parties may unite in a victorious assault upon the
greatest combination of all, that which sits enthroned at Washington with a
sceptre ready for its grasp, enriching favorites by monopolies and grants,
wielding government patronage, and dictating to States in elections and con
ventions. " The time seems to us ripe for an uprising of the people, in kind not un
like that which swept this State in 1870. Look where you will, from county
to county, and from State to State, the men who have been prominent in
shaping policies and moulding public opinion are waiting for some movement
that shall give promise of a brighter future, etc., etc., etc."
The Convention was held; was a respectable
gathering ; and resulted in the call for the Cincin
nati Convention, to meet on the 1st of May, a little
over a month before the time fixed for the as-

THE SO-CALLED LIBERAL MOVEMENT. 325
sembling of the Republican Convention at Phila
delphia. THE MALCONTENTS OF 1 872 AND 1 864.
This Cincinnati Convention has been compared
with that of Cleveland, in 1864, at which John C.
Fremont was nominated for the Presidency. The
circumstances of the two have, indeed, many points
of similarity. The ostensible design of this one
was to prevent the renomination of Grant by the
Republicans. The design of that was to head off
the renomination of Lincoln by the same party.
Each was called, therefore, a short time in advance
of the convention whose action it was sought to
influence. The callers of the Cleveland gathering
were loud in their denunciation of the " imbecile
and vacillating policy" of Lincoln's Administration
and demanded prompt measures to "rescue the im
periled nationality, and the cause of impartial, uni
versal freedom, threatened with betrayal and over
throw." Similarly, the Cincinnati callers lashed
themselves into fury over the usurpation, the cor
ruption, and manifold other alleged sins of the ex
isting Administration. And the personnel of the
two enterprises was largely the same. Gratz Brown
was a prominent figure in each ; so was John Coch
rane, of New York, the crazy secessionist Demo
crat of 1 86 1, the equally crazy Radical of 1864,
and the still more crazy Conservative of 1872 ; and,
it may be added, the favorite fugleman of Greeley
on nearly all occasions, and the trustworthy patriot

326 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
on none. Another name on the Cleveland call was
that of Cluseret, the French Communist, whose
cowardice alone saved his neck from the halter.
Again, Horace Greeley took an exceedingly favor
able interest in each of these malcontent gather
ings ; but it is hardly necessary to mention this, as
Mr. Greeley is understood to favor all bolts by
" natural selection," as Darwin would say.
The Cleveland Convention proved a most la
mentable farce. Fremont was nominated for Pres
ident, and resigned his commission as Major-Gen
eral in the army; and the rattlehead, Cochrane,
was set up for Vice-President, as the rattlehead,
Brown, has since been set up. The result upon
the Baltimore Convention of 1864 was indicated
by the unanimous renomination of Abraham Lin
coln, save for the dissenting vote of Missouri. It
became evident that Fremont could not muster a
single electoral vote. Then Greeley, with infinite
effrontery, wrote to the Republican Governors of
States, proposing the withdrawal of Fremont if the
Republicans would consent to the withdrawal of
Lincoln, who (Greeley was sure) could never be
re-elected ! Fremont himself soon saw the ridicu
lousness of his situation and took himself out of
the way.
The parallel referred to between the Cleveland
and Cincinnati Convention, does not continue
throughout, since the latter had a much better re
course to a combination with the enemy, which
course, indeed, the leaders of the movement greatly
preferred for reasons already -hinted at.

THE SO-CALLED LIBERAL MOVEMENT. 327
THE DEMOCRACY AGAIN.
Nor was the Democracy at all loath to avail itself
of the advantage of a coalition. The Spring elec
tions in New Hampshire and Connecticut did not
serve to strengthen their faith in their ability to
combat the Republicans successfully. Up to April
the most of the party organs had apparently main
tained the idea that, with the help of the persistent
criticism and slanders which the Disorganizers had
been heaping upon the Administration of President
Grant, the Democrats might still hope to beat the
old enemy against whom they had contended so
long and so pluckily in vain ; but with the decision
of the New Hampshire election, this hope utterly
vanished. Of the four principal organs of the
Democracy in the country — The New York World,
the Chicago Times, the Cincinnati Enquirer, and
the Missouri Republican— the last named had for
months been favoring the Passive policy ; the oth
ers responded to New Hampshire in these words :
The World:
"The Democratic party is satisfied with this result. It confirms the cer
tainty of Grant's renomination, precludes the taking up of any other candi
date who might reunite the Republican party, and though last not least, it
removes the last vestige of danger that any portion of the Democratic party
will protest against the complete abandonment of dead issues."
The Times:
"It is a circumstance tending to convince even the most irrational and
pig-headed of Democrats that the political organization called the Dem
ocratic party is utterly and irredeemably powerless to achieve a change in
the Federal Administration. It is a fact proving, to the full extent that it
proves anything, that however much a considerable body of liberal-minded
Republicans may dislike the military President and his military regime, they

328 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
dislike the Democratic party more. It is needless for any Democratic ab
stractionist to say that they are influenced by unreasonable prejudices. What
is to be considered is the fact; not whether the causes of the fact are rational
or irrational." The Enquirer was at first disposed still to hold
out, and urged :
"It is not in this little and remote New England State that the great bat
tle of 1872 is to be fought, but is in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois,
Indiana, and Missouri that the contest will be decided. It is in those States,
with a different population from New England, that we shall win."
But this journal soon after wheeled into the
Passive line, and put on so docile a demeanor, that
it was e'en willing, or at least ready, to take up
Greeley himself, as the bearer of the coalition
standard. Mr. Greeley received the call of the Missouri
malcontents with a mixture of real smiles and sinv-
ulated frowns. In his paper of the 29th of Janu
ary, he said :
" The Tribune is likely to be against the Bolters, since they are almost
certain to make hostility to Protection one of the planks of their platform,
and that the Tribune can never abide, no matter who may be the riv-al candi
dates for President. Now that Emancipation is a fixed fact, Impartial Suf
frage nearly so, and Universal Amnesty inevitable, there is no remaining
National issue which is half so important in the view of the Tribune as that
of Protection vs. Free Trade. We have no shadow of doubt that the over
throw of Protection would be speedily followed (as in 1816-20, and again in
1833-7) by a sweeping industrial collapse and commercial bankruptcy, which
would carry hunger and distress into the homes of millions of our country
men. To such a calamity the Tribune cannot contribute, even passively, for
anyconceivable consideration."
This does not seem very favorable to the Dis
organize^, of whose platform Free Trade was cer
tainly the corner-stone ; but the sting was taken out
of his rebuke of this feature by the paragraphs
which followed, and in which Mr. Greeley handled

THE SO-CALLED LIBERAL MOVEMENT. 329
very roughly the conduct of the Administration
and the policy of Congress, adding, in his excla
matory style, " Men and brethren ! a new leaf must
be turned over, or there are breakers ahead. The
proposed Cincinnati Convention may prove a
fiasco, or it may name the next President" ; and
hinting that if " Roscoe Conkling & Co." are al
lowed to run the " Grant machine" a few months
longer, it will be all up with the Republican party,
and that Cincinnati will surely win. Altogether,
this editorial of Greeley's forms a congeries of in
consistencies, like his political record in the large.
Under such auspices the Cincinnati Convention
assembled. Its proceedings will form the subject
of the next two chapters.

CHAPTER XIX.
THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION.
The Place — Gathering of the Clans — No Concert of Action — The Tariff
Question — The Rival Candidates — Greeley's Name Received with Laugh
ter — The Davis Hordes — Caucuses of the Syndicate — Opening of the
Convention — A Side Show — Row in the New York Delegation — How
Greeley's Strikers Captured that Body — Flank Movements — A Woman in
the Case — Trouble, of Course — A Turbulent Session — Permanent Organ
ization — Carl Schurz's Speech — Good Advice which was Not Followed.
The selection of Cincinnati as the place of hold
ing the soi disant liberal convention was most
agreeable to the people of that city. For this,
there were various reasons, some of propriety, oth
ers of interest. The "new departure" had taken
place from this point not so many months before
that it had slipped the memories of observant pol
iticians. This city and vicinity was a hot-bed of
discontent with the present Administration. The
region abounded with the flash element in politics.
There were lawyers of repute, ambitious of na
tional distinction, like ex-Judges Hoadley, Stello,
and Matthews, in neither of whom inhered persist
ency of purpose, or qualities that command per
manent success. Their sworn allegiance to any
(33°)

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 33 1
cause was the sure precurser 01 its speedy down
fall and decay. Judge Stallo, representing the ex
treme phases of German freedom of thought, has
never been trammeled by church or party. To
these effervescent orators was added Judge Cox,
an excellent gentleman and average lawyer, but not
above revenge for offended vanity, and willing to
accept any honorable means to compass the defeat
of Grant. THE LOCAL PRESS.
The newspapers of the Queen City were leav
ened with discontent. The Enquirer being a Dem
ocratic journal, was the hereditary enemy of the
incumbent of the Presidential office. The Com
mercial, a fierce iconoclast, was eager for any
thing that seemed to promise the loss of others
and its own gain. Even the Gazette was known
to desire a change of national standard-bearers,
although hoping it would be effected within the old
organization. The Germans of Northern Ohio,
like all their countrymen in the United States, for
obvious reasons, are directly influenced and con
trolled by the journals published in their language.
Whatever sparks of discontent were latent among
them had been assiduously fanned into flame by
the Volksblatt, Courier, and Volksfreund, the
three daily German newspapers of the city. Fred
Hassaurek, editor of the first, is an ex-office-holder
of long standing, and has had ever an eye for
spoils. The Courier, an infant newspaper, just

332 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
beginning to walk the devious paths of journalism,
had its own reasons for desiring a change in the
national management. The Volksfreund was Dem
ocratic, and an old and bitter enemy of the party
in power. LOCAL FUSION OF PARTIES.
Nowhere else in the country were the two great
national parties so ready for fusion. One State
Democratic Convention had adopted a platform
expressing desire for conciliation and compromise,
and the party had once suffered defeat on the issues
of the new departure in a gubernatorial canvass.
To offset this reverse, there had been a local victory
upon a united ticket of rather pronounced char
acter. The convention was therefore sure of a cer
tain amount of local support and sympathy in case
its action was sound and sensible. If a body of
men which was to give voice to the opposition to
Grant, and place a candidate in the field to defeat
him, could not find moral encouragement and as
sistance, and accomplish its results with eclat in
Cincinnati, the weakness of the cause which it
espoused would be at once apparent, and its fall
assured. WANT OF CONCERTED ACTION.
The circumstances under which the convention
assembled were anomalous. When such bodies
gather in the ordinary course of events, their pol
icy is generally foreshadowed. If the delegations

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 333
from the various States are not definitely and
openly instructed, their predelictions become known
through some of the many channels by which pri
vate political sentiment reaches the public and be
comes its property. In the present instance all
was different. The feeling of opposition to the Ad
ministration was merely inchoate and unformed. The
antipathy of the press was sporadic, although per
sonally virulent wherever developed. A political
change was hoped for, and in that change many
hoped to come to the surface. How strong the
opposition to Grant might be in special localities, —
what private ambitions would be developed — to
ward what candidates for office the majority would
incline, — who would be strongest with Ae masses, — -
were questions that must be asked aira answered,,
without any existing data for sound reasoning.
The opponents of the Administration had not even
settled upon their grievances.
What was to be done was to find a common basis "
of action, and" feasible means of carrying out their
designs. Those who had special measures to the
support of which they desired to win the new party,
as personal interests to aggrandize, came upon the
ground early. Rooms were engaged at the hotels
two or three weeks in advance by representatives
of various States, and they were soon filled. With
praiseworthy hospitality the citizens of Cincinnati
opened the doors of private houses to receive
strangers. Quarters for the ample accommodation
of several thousand guests were soon placed at the
20

334 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
disposal of the committee having the matter in
charge. MISSOURI DELEGATION.
The Missouri delegation, headed by Grosvenor,
were the first active partisans in the city. They
came in the interest of Gratz Brown, whom they
hoped to put upon the ticket as a candidate for
president. They took rooms at the St. James,
where they kept their camp fires burning from dawn
until after midnight. Among the early arrivals with
Colonel Grosvenor were Mr. Enos Clark, one of the
earliest movers in the emancipation cause in Mis
souri, Joe Pulitzer, editor of the Westliehe Post, of
St. Louis, and General John McNeil, whose connec
tion with the shooting of certain guerrillas at Pal
myra, Missouri, early in the rebellion, has made his
name historical. Considering themselves the pa
rents of the Liberal movement, the delegation for
awhile labored under the delusion that their points
could be easily carried. Logic that militated against
their favorite candidate was most distasteful.
They arrived about the 26th of April, and as
delegates, were thus limited in number, received for
several days the almost exclusive attentions of the
reporters of the city press. What Grosvenor
thought, and said, and prognosticated, was supposed
to have more than the reliability of ancient pro
phecy, and to be pregnant with the fate of the nation.
It formed for many days, while opinions, and pro
jects were crystallizing, the stock-in-trade of the

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 335
local papers, and of the correspondents of the press
of other cities, whom a keen desire for news had
brought thus early to the front of battle. Brown
never had any chances for the nomination, but his
friends did not perceive it until his name was fairly
fetid in the nostrils of the convention.
FREE TRADE ARRIVALS.
The parlors of the Missouri delegation at the
St. James were made glad by the cheerful presence
of several free-traders from the East, who came
thither because of the declared proclivities of the
former in the same direction. The first arrivals of
this kind were Mahlon Sands, Secretary of the
National Free Trade League, and Henry D.Lloyd,
a fair-faced, juvenile attache of the same organiza
tion. Prime, of the Illinois branch of the same
association, came soon afterwards. Atkinson, Bird
and Davis, of Massachusetts, of similar sympathies,
and with faces of characteristic Boston thinness,
came on Saturday evening, the same train bringing
David A. Wells, an almost maternal fondness for
foreign pig-iron being the ruling passion in his
breast. Other prominent free-traders came from
Missouri, New York, Massachusetts and Chicago
on the last day of the week, making it apparent
that whatever occurred, those who favored revenue
reform did not intend that their case should go by
default. They seemed determined that this their
great and perhaps only opportunity should not be
missed.

336 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.

ILLINOIS DELEGATION.
The Illinois delegation, bearing the banner of
Judge David Davis with much clamor, was the sec
ond to appear upon the scene. Their forces were
the best organized upon the ground, their leaders
being politicians, tried in the furnace of the Chica
go fire, and some of them annealed in the opera
tions of the Relief Society. They established their
bureau in an upper parlor of the Burnet House,
looking out upon the bowlders of Third street.
From this center the busy workers in the Davis
interest laid their pipes and extended their wires to
other delegations supposed to be at all infected with
the Davis interest. Here the solemn old pump,
Long John Wentworth, went and came, and swayed
to and fro, like a double-jointed lighthouse.
Here the vapid Fairbanks displayed his elegant
shape and aired his attenuated rhetoric. Here a
representative of the Chicago Times, labored in
the cause of the Associate Justice with earnest
ness and not a little asperity. The bald poll of
Wirt Dexter, like an iceberg just floated from
northern seas, flashed in the southern sunlight.
Leonard Swett, the organizer of defeat, was seen
flitting uneasily about, as he injected a subtle word
here, a pertinent suggestion there, into the daily
informal deliberations of the junto. The adher
ents of Davis continued strong in their confidence
of his nomination until the very eve of the con
vention.

THE TWO HORACES.

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 339
JOURNALISTS AND POLITICIANS.
On the Saturday preceding the first of May
everything was in a state of bewildering uncer
tainty. The Davis delegates were sincerely con
fident of success, and the Brown delegates professed
equal serenity of faith. But the ordinary observer
was simply bewildered by the scarcity of facts, and
the abundance of possibilities. Only fragments of
delegations about whom hung shreds of politicians
were in the city. There were rumors of the ex
pected presence of many persons of distinction.
It was expected that the inherent modesty of
Democratic politicians would keep them at a dis
tance from a meeting in which they had not been
invited to participate. Force of habit was too
strong with a few. Belmont, eager in the support
of Adams, like a tethered horse, moved about Cin
cinnati as a pivot. One day report had him snip-
shooting in southern Indiana, and the next trans
ferred him to the Blue Grass region of Kentucky,
where he gave himself up to the purchase of
blooded horses with such a degree of absorption,
that it seemed impossible he would ever condescend
to politics again. About the time of the assembling
of the convention, he went back to New York, and
ceased temporarily to be a theme of newspaper
comment. Anna Dickinson was said to have engaged rooms
at the Carlyle House, but she failed to make an
appearance. Horace White, of the Chicago

340 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
Tribune, reached Cincinnati on Saturday morning,
making a strong accession to the Free Trade
element already present. The Saturday night trains
added large numbers to the floating population, and
on Sunday things began to gather shape; the chaos
commenced slowly rounding into form.
THE TARIFF QUESTION.
The leaders in the liberal movement had from
the first recognized that the real rock in their path,
on which their bark was in danger of shipwreck,
was the tariff question. They therefore approached
it warily, and with an attempt at skillful pilotage.
The free-trade men, being first upon the ground in
force, had the preliminary shaping of the business.
The first meeting to consider the question was held
in the ladies' parlor of the St. James Hotel, at
eleven o'clock on Sunday morning, April 28th. Not
an avowed Protectionist was in the room. There
were present Mahlon Sands, Henry D. Lloyd and
Illinois Prime, all paid employees of the National
Free Trade League, and all pledged, of course, to
every possible effort to get the free trade question
in some desirable shape into the platform. Atkin
son and Bird, of Boston, were there, quiet, well-bred,
earnest. Judge Hoadley formed a segment of the
circle into which the party was formed — restless in
manner, and looked at askance by the others, as a
sort of political bull in the liberal china shop.
The bland face of David A. Wells, almost as
placid and moonlike as the visage of his great op-

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 34 1
ponent in the matter of revenue from customs,
Horace Greeley, illumined the ring, and near it
the pale, distressed features of | Horace White
attracted general attention. Carl Schurz, who had
arrived during the previous night, was in the little
assembly, quietly observant, and plainly studying
how not to say it. General J. D. Cox occupied the
chair. There were present, besides, at the services
of this holy Sabbath occasion, Mr. Dorsheimer, of
Buffalo, General Brinkerhoff, General Burnett and
Colonel George Ward Nichols, of Cincinnati, and
one or two others even less noteworthy than these
last. The discussion was informal, and only indicated
the preferences and predilections of each in regard
to the points in debate. Judge Hoadley was pro
nounced in favor of a vigorous free trade plank in
the platform, and had drafted a resolution looking
to that end, which he presented to the meeting.
He was supported by General Burnett. Horace
White preferred that free trade shouicTnot be made
needlessly prominent in the platform ; free trade
was only a matter of degree ; as for absolute free
trade, it was not a question of the present, but an
issue of the future.
Schurz favored some negative declaration in re
gard to it. The sentiments of the meeting were
divided, and those in attendance separated with
expressed wishes for conciliation and harmony, to
meet again the next day at the same hour and in
the same apartment. But the apple of discord had

342 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
been thrown among them. High Protectionists
appeared at subsequent meetings, and the question
came near proving what the best advised feared,
the cause of actual disruption and fatal disaster.
MATTERS CRYSTALLIZING.
On Monday the town was filled with delegates,
their satellites and manipulators. Diligent re
porters and correspondents began with some suc
cess the process of winnowing the grains of fact
from the chaff of imagination and falsehood. Mis
souri was still true to Brown, and Grosvenor
claimed that he had the promise of votes in other
delegations. The Davis men had not yet begun to
have the premonitions of defeat. The friends of
Trumbull had secured rooms at the Burnett House,
opening from one of the main corridors convenient
for the button-holing and entanglement of unwary
and plastic delegates. They had assurances of
help from various quarters, and were not without
reasonable hope of advantage. The son of the
Senator from Illinois was ubiquitous, and sanguine,
claiming that he had had repeated assurances of
cordial support from Schurz.
The friends of Greeley, warmly sympathetic, but
scarcely hoping to win, had begun to enumerate
their adherents upon their fingers. Cox was talked
of as a compromise candidate in case of failure to
agree upon those whose chances seemed best at the
outset. A few persons, the chief fuglemen being
Alexander Long, a Democratic lawyer of Cincin-

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 343
nati, with a record of treachery in war times, at
tempted to evoke the ghost of Chase from the
political grave to which that gentleman had been
long consigned.
Wm. S. Groesbeck, of Cincinnati, a polished orator
and finished gentleman of the antique school, was
faintly hinted as one who would becomingly fill the
office of president. Mr. Groesbeck put the crown
from him with quite as much grace, and with al
most as much sincerity.as did Csesar in the Capitol,
but he was seen talking often to delegates in his
stately fashion, and was presumed to have at least
a fleeting interest in what was transpiring. . Of all
the candidates named, it was understood that none
of them was willing to take the second place on the
ticket' except Brown, and perhaps Greeley. Any
two of the names would have made it strong, but
their unyielding ambition had made such a colloca
tion impossible. LOCAL STRENGTH OF ADAMS.
The local influence was all thrown in favor of
Adams. Scarcely any other name was mentioned
by the Cincinnati press in connection with the
Presidential nomination. The Commercial sup
ported him with energy, returning to the charge
with renewed vigor each morning, and writing up
his life laboriously. The Enquirer pursued a simi
lar course, but its style and manner were less pro
nounced. Adams was a favorite of the German news
papers, which declared their preferences mildly.

344 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
The publication of his letter to D. A. Wells, pro
duced a momentary shock, but did not seem, after
the first day of its appearance, to affect its chances.
The name of Greeley was received with mildly-sup
pressed laughter whenever mentioned. Outside
of his own friendly circle Brown was not thought to
have a shadow of a chance. The Davis and Ad
ams men sneered at the chances of Trumbull.
On Monday, nearly all the delegates were in the
city, comfortably disposed of and conferring with
one another in regard to the course that should be
pursued. Fenton was on hand, secretly working
for Greeley. His headquarters were in a room at
the Burnet House, but he boarded with his private
secretary at a house in Broadway. He spent his
time in quietly but vigorously counteracting the
effects of the aggressive Western delegates in the
direction of tariff reform. George W. Julian was
prominent among the Indiana delegates, but was
not understood to be working in the interest of
any particular candidate, The difference in the
Illinois men became an absolute rupture. The
money spent in the interest of Davis, and the
shameless effort to pack the convention in his favor
rent the delegation with dissention and caused
great scandal outside of it. It was the only case
in which money was known to have been openly
used to further the cause of a candidate. The re
gion of Bloomington was said to be almost depop
ulated of its inhabitants, who had come to Cincin
nati to shout for Davis. At a meeting of the del-

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 345
egation from this State, on Tuesday, a compromise
was effected by which Davis should have in the
convention twenty-one of the delegates, Trumbull,
ten and a half, and Palmer ten and a half. As Pal
mer's chances for the nomination had entirely evan
esced, this gave half of the voting delegates to
Trumbull, and was considered a great concession
on the part of the friends of Davis, who were suf
ficiently numerous to have everything in accord
with their own wishes.
THE SITUATION ON TUESDAY.
The Illinois delegation was not peculiar as re
garded internal discord. The quiet manipulation
of Greeley by his New York friends was distasteful
to the Free Trade portion of the delegates from
the State. The animus of the former was very de
cided, and finally ended in excluding these oppo
nents entirely from the convention. This was the
situation on the eve of Wednesday, the day of the
convention :
Adams strong in Ohio, Massachusetts, Connecti
cut, Kentucky, Michigan, Tennessee, Wisconsin,
Maine, and having portions of their delegations,
Davis having half of Illinois, a part of Indiana,
North and South Carolina, and a few other votes,
Trumbull having half of Illinois, nearly all of In
diana, Kansas, and some scattering ballots, Greeley,
New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, and unde
fined strength among his southern delegates, Brown
had his own State, with Georgia and Arkansas, and

346 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
Curtin, Pennsylvania, with rumors of supporting
Greeley and Davis as its second choice. The tariff
question was undecided, but was understood to be
still in abeyance, with a growing preponderance of
Eastern influence against the out-and-out revenue
reformers. The power of New York and Pennsyl
vania had already made itself profoundly felt.
None of the prospective candidates were present,
delicacy forbidding. PERSONAL REBUFFS.
A little incident which occurred to Richard Smith,
editor of the Cincinnati Gazette, caused consider
able gossip. That gentleman applied for admission
to one of the meetings which daily assembled at
the St. James to crystallize opinion on the tariff,
and other important questions, but was refused.
He sent back word by the messenger that in the
course of a long political experience he had never
been excluded from a reputed Republican meeting
before, and he advised the gentlemen in council to
question their own hearts and see if there was not
something wrong.
FIRST DAY OF THE CONVENTION.
The spacious Industrial Hall — the place ap
pointed as the session of the Convention — was
moderately filled on the first day of the convention.
The scene was one of considerable animation. The
delegates occupied about half the floor, and were
separated from vulgar outsiders by a rude railing.

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 347
A large concourse of spectators, among whom there
were a few ladies, was in the galleries.
The hall was tastefully docorated, and to add to
the general enjoyment of the occasion, a brass band
was stationed behind the platform, screened from
public view by the wealth of flowers and greenery,
and the voluptuous swell of the melodies of many
lands floated from their retreat during the progress
of liberal business. A thick coating of sawdust
and tan-bark upon the floor, laid to deaden the ora
torical reverberations, gave to the place the air of
a decorous beer-garden.
On all sides were to be noted the most studied
affectation of courtesy. All ill-feeling, seemed for
the time allayed, and all heart-burning temporarily
smothered. TEMPORARY ORGANIZATION.
It was a few minutes past twelve o'clock when
W. M. Grosvenor, Chairman of the Liberal Re
publican Executive Committee of Missouri, arose
and called the convention to order. The order de
manded did not become intensified into silence,
and it was difficult to hear his shrill tones in remote
parts of the hall. The applause which his appear
ance elicited was not enthusiastic. The speaker
made a brief, vigorous appeal for harmony, of which,
acquainted with the hidden mainsprings of the
movement, and the hidden elements of discord, he
knew well the need.
Having nominated Hon. Stanley Matthews as

348 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
temporary chairman of the convention, the owner
of the primal voice in its deliberations withdrew
his tangled black locks and his oriental visage
from the view of the audience.
OPENING SPEECH OF STANLEY MATTHEWS.
The Hon. Stanley Matthews, a wayward son of
Southern Ohio, and constitutionally unfitted for
party leadership, was well received and heartily
elected to fill the position for which he was named.
He made a fifteen minute speech, in which he pro
ceeded, first, to deprecate the possibility of his being
looked on as a prophet, and secondly, to apologise
for ever having affiliated with the Republican
party, in which connection he said " it was Sir Wal
ter Raleigh, I believe, who, in reference to the pride
of ancestry, said that those who boast the most of
their progenitors were like a plant which he had
discovered in America — the best part was under
ground." [Applause.]
The remainder of the speech was without pith
or point, dealing only in shabby generalities, and
resembling the aimless political experience of its
author. The speech finished and decorously applauded,
Mr. Matthews addressed himself industriously to
the duties of the gavel. Colonel Grosvenor an
nounced the following temporary Secretaries : Geo.
Ward Nichols, of Ohio ; George W. Palmer, of
New York; and Joseph Pulitzer, of Missouri.
The audience seemed restless, much frayed at

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 349
the edges, and plainly anxious to emerge once more
into the open air.
THE CONVENTION AFRAID OF ITSELF.
The proceedings thus far were too tame to win
prolonged attention. The kernel of the nut was
not yet reached. The convention was evidently
afraid of itself, and desirous of keeping all inflam
mable matter from the explosives which every one
knew to be lying just beneath the surface. Time,
time was what was wanted to work up the latent
strength of candidates, to fix upon a suitable per
son for permanent president, and most important
of all, to mature a platform. The irrepressible
Grosvenor offered a resolution that when the con
vention adjourn it adjourn to meet at 10 o'clock
the next morning, and that in the meantime the
several State delegations elect from among their
number delegates double the number of votes to be
cast by their respective States in the Electoral Col
lege ; and that when this convention meet again the
names of the delegates so selected be reported to
the temporary Chairman. The resolution was
adopted. Carl Schurz was loudly called for, but
speech-making at this stage of the proceedings was
not in his thoughts. He came to the front, said a
few words, and vanished from the gaze of his
auditory. Without taking a vote upon the question, the
chairman declared the convention adjourned until
ten o'clock on Thursday morning.

350 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.

RENEWAL OF CAUCASSING.

The Burnett House was the Scene of the great
est animation. Its extensive corridors and hand
some parlors were filled with excited crowds of in
dividuals, surging out and in, and flowing hither
and thither in torrents all the long spring after
noon, and far on into the noisy night, A few of
the States had held final caucuses and had nothing
more to say. But most of the delegations re-as
sembled to settle some vexed point hitherto left
undecided. In the Ohio delegation an informal ballot was
taken, which resulted : Adams, 43 ; Greeley, 1. In
diana instructed her delegation to cast their first
Vice-Presidential ballot for Julian. The Missouri
delegates still adhered to the fortunes of Gratz
Brown against hope. Kentucky, whose preference
was for Adams, decided to urge Cassius M. Clay
for permanent President of the convention. Mich
igan declared her preference for Adams. Hon. J.
B. Grinnell, Chairman of the Iowa Delegation, had
long been anxious for the nomination of Greeley,
and very conspicuous during the Chappaqua phi
losopher's progress through the rural districts of
the West, in the summer of 1871.
A majority of the delegates, however, at their
last ca-ucus, decided to vote first for Trumbull, re
verting to Greeley as their second choice. Minne
sota decided to vote for Trumbull. Warmoth
told the reporters that Louisiana was for Greeley.

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 35 I
The smaller delegations reaffirmed their decisions
already given as the result of Wednesday's caucus
ing. TROUBLE IN THE NEW YORK DELEGATION.
The meeting of the New York delegation was
especially interesting. Pursuant to a call of the
Chairman, it met at headquarters at two o'clock in
the afternoon. The free-traders had some time ere
this been silenced. General Cochrane offered the
following :
"Resolved, That we, delegates of New York, cast the entire vote for Hon.
Horace Greeley for President, and until such times as we, members of the
delegation, prefer to the Chairman a request that we delegates retire for con
sultation, after which the other votes of the delegates shall be cast for Hor
ace Greeley, according to the direction of the majority."
In the discussion that followed, the great strength
of Greeley in the delegation was apparent. Mr.
Dorsheimer advised that the delegation vote as a
unit for him. Mahlon Sands declined to go into
convention with a padlock, that inconvenient sym
bol of tyranny, upon his lips. Mr. Goodrich, of
King's county, expressed the opinion that the will
of the majority should decide the vote of the en
tire delegation. General Cochrane, with sonorous
voice, and in a decided manner, declared that Gree
ley and the delegation were identical.
Judge Henry R. Selden, of Rochester, unused
to the turmoil of politics, and the devious ways of
the caucus, dissented from the views of the major
ity. He thought that the minority should not be
tabooed, although he was himself willing to abide
21

352 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
the wish of the majority. Mr. Henry D. Lloyd,
the young man who, with Mahlon Sands, represent
ed the Free Trade League, spoke violently against
Greeley, whom he deemed unfit to occupy the
Presidential chair. He objected further to the
majority rule, but was cut off in the midst of his
eloquence by the strategic move of some rigid par
liamentarian. Another caucus was held at early candle-light,
and another later in the night. At the first, Gen
eral Cochrane presided ; Judge Selden at the sec
ond. At the first the names of the voting dele
gates were presented by a committee and endorsed
duly. It was ascertained through a member of the
delegation that the Greeley men numbered about
one hundred and forty, and the Adams men about
forty. The delegates were nominated by a committee
(composed of Greeley men) appointed by the
Chair (a Greeley man), under instructions that in
those Congressional Districts from which there
were representatives present the committee should
appoint the delegates according to the instructions
of such representatives. When the committee
reported, the name of Mr. Lloyd, who had been
chosen by a two-thirds majority of the members
from his district, appeared among the number of
delegates. Mr. Sinclair Toucey, of New York, then
arose and inquired of Mr. Lloyd whether he would
vote for Mr. Greeley. Mr. Theodore Tilton then
arose and said if he were asked such a question

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 353
he would remain silent till doomsday. Some fur
ther discussion then took place, and Mr. Lloyd not
answering, Mr. Toucey moved that Mr. Lloyd's
name be stricken from the list of delegates. The
question was put, and, on a division of the house,
was lost.
A flank movement on John N. Pomeroy, another
delegate who refused to bow the knee to the white-
coated Baal, was more successful. His name was
expunged from the record.
VARIOUS PERSONAL MATTERS.
On Thursday it transpired that Fenton had left
silently but suddenly for New York on the previ
ous day. Exactly what he had been doing, except
that he had been working for Greeley under cover,
like a mole, precisely why he had left the city, was not
plain to the common understanding. On Thursday
Matteson, of the Chicago Times, received a letter
from Wilbur F. Storey, in which it was declared
that the Democracy of Illinois would support no
other candidate but Davis. The German Demo
crats seemed more pronounced for Adams as the
time of the nomination approached.
In attendance upon the convention, and hoping
to be recognized in its deliberations, were Miss
Susan B. Anthony, conspicuous for her gold spec
tacles and her faded loveliness, and Mrs. Laura De
Force Gordon, of San Joaquin, California. A hum,
a bustle, and a rush, occurred wherever they went,
Mrs. Gordon was a champion of her own sex on

354 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
general principles, a declared Internationalist, and
had been a candidate for the State Senate in Cali
fornia, for which office she had received two hundred
votes. The two ladies, being in the parlors of the
Burnett House on the evening of May 2d, were
invited to address the eager crowd that pressed
around them. Before, however, they had had time
to clinch a single point with their feminine logic,
their auditory was ruthlessly swept from the ele
gant drawing-room by a squad of police, whose aid
for the purpose had been invoked by the pro
prietors. The close of the first day of the convention's ses
sions showed no particular change in respect of
candidates to the casual observer. The lines of the
various factions were, however, more tightly drawn,
and personal bitternesses were greatly intensified.
Partisans were preparing, in case of disaster, to
throw the responsibility upon those who refused to
support their candidate. During all the day, and a
large part of the night, discussion, not entirely free
from bitterness, was going on over certain portions
of the platform. SECOND DAY OF THE CONVENTION.
The weather was pleasant on the second day of
the convention. The committee of arrangements
having decided to admit to the floor, outside the
hall, persons of all classes without tickets, the
standing room in the lower part of the building was
all occupied. The galleries were well filled, ladies

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION.
handsomely dressed, and armed with lorgnett,
forming a prominent feature. Not less tnan eignt
thousand people were present, v Before the as
sembly was. called to order, Theodore Tilton, bow
ing gracefully, his head covered with ambrosial
curls, escorted Miss Anthony and Mrs. Gordon to
the platform. The appearance of the trio in con
junction called forth applause mingled with hisses.
Persons who had leisure looked around for people
of note. There were many such to be seen here
and there among the delegates. Warmoth, of
Louisiana, the Apollo of carpet-baggers, moved
easily about among the host, tall, handsome, non
chalant, dignified. General Cochrane, of New
York, was conspicuous in his place in the New
York delegation, of powerful physique, animated
look, bronzed complexion, and voice that enforced
attention whenever heard in the deliberations. All
were anxious to see Alexander McClure, of Penn
sylvania. His massive head and expansive brow
indicate and his blase air showed that he could give
the vote that might decide the welfare of the nation
with as much coolness as he ever cast a die. Mrs.
Gordon, dressed in gray, with a straw hat, gay with
superflous ribbons, that fluttered like defiant pen
nons when she walked, took occasion to be much
seen on the platform and in the aisles. If a bold
usher ventured an inquiring look she congealed him
with a stern stare, and an imperious nod.
Judge Matthews called the convention to order
at ten o'clock. The immense mass of surging hu
manity settled itself into comparative quiet.

356 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
General McNeil, of Missouri, moved that a com
mittee on permanent organization consisting of one
from each State, be appointed, each delegation to
designate its member.
A motion to amend, so as to allo^r delegates
from the Territories to be represented on the com
mittee, caused an excited discussion, in which Gen
eral Cochrane joined ponderously, and the crepit
ant tone sand incisive manner of Judge Hoadley,
grated harshly on the fine sensibilities of the con
vention. Mr. Samuel E. Brown, of Colorado, ended the
brief debates with some pertinent words, affirming
the rights of Territories, and the amendment was
adopted. The appointment of the other essential commit
tees was moved and carried.
MRS. GORDON.
The Chair produced by some unaccountable pro
cess of legerdemain, from some unperceived por
tion of his anatomy, a sheet of commercial note
paper, delicately inscribed, and read as follows :
To the Chairman of the National Liberal Republican Convention:
Dear Sir — The undersigned has the honor to submit for your considera
tion the following claims that entitle her to a seat in your convention. She
is a citizen of the United States, and a resident of San Joaquin County, Cal
ifornia, and fully sympathizes with the objects and aims of this convention.
Heretofore she has acted with the Republican party, but believing, in com
mon with the members of this convention, that there are grave errors to cor
rect, and many reforms needed in said party, she is desirous of uniting her
action with them for the purpose of accomplishing so desirable an object.
She represents further, that, according to opportionment, California is en
titled to ten delegates and ten votes in the convention ; but, besides herself

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 359
there are only four citizens of that State present to represent the people
thereof ; and, being desirous that California shall be as fully represented as
practicable, she applied to one or two of the members present at this conven
tion from that State for recognition as a delegate with themselves ; and, find
ing them indifferent to her claim, or doubtful of the convention accepting the
female citizens as members, she therefore appeals directly to the honorable
officers and members of the National Republican Convention, and respectfully
asks to be admitted as a member and delegate to the convention from the
State of California, and entitled, under the rules thereof, to all rights and
privileges as such.
With assurances of the most earnest sympathy in the purposes of the con
vention, I am most respectfully yours,
Laura De Force Gordon, of California.
Amid applause and acclamation, the delicate
document was referred, to the Committee on Cre
dentials. THE COMMITTEES.
The Committees on Credentials and Permanent
Organization, which were then announced, con
tained no men known outside of their states, un
less it were R. P. Spaulding, of Ohio.
The gentlemen whose names follow constituted
the Committee on Platform :
Alabama, Samuel F. Rice ; Arkansas, Edwin Bancroft ; California, Wm.
H. Russell ; Connecticut, D. A. Wells ; Florida, lames B. C. Drew ; Georgia,
James Johnson ; Illinois, Horace White ; Indiana, Thomas C. Whitesides ;
Iowa, J. B. Grinnell ; Kansas, E. G. Ross ; Kentucky, John Mason Brown ;
Louisiana, J. M. Dirheimer ; Maine, J. S. Lyford ; Maryland, A. W. Brad
ford ; Massachusetts, F. W. Bird ; Michigan, J. P. Thompson ; Minnesota,
Theodore Halscher ; Mississippi, W. I. Yesbitt ; Missouri, Wm. J. Grosve
nor ; Nebraska, W. P. Roberts ; Nevada, George D. Lyon ; New Hampshire,
Ed. D. Baker ; New lersey, James M. Scoville ; New York, Theodore Til-
ton ; North Carolina, Louis Haines ; Ohio, George Hoadley ; Oregon, J. W.
Johnson ; Pennsylvania, Hon. Wm. M. Ball ; Rhode Island, Ed. Harris ;
South Carolina, S. A. Pearce, Jr. ; Tennessee, G. P. Thruston ; Texas, A. J.
Hamilton ; Vermont, Chas. Clemens ; Virginia, W. W. Wood ; West Vir
ginia, W. P. Hubbard ; Wisconsin, G. M. Woodward ; District of Columbia,

360 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
John D. Defrees ; Colorado, S. E. Brown ; Dakota, George A. Pryor ; Mon
tana, F. C. Evarts ; Utah, A. W. Galvia.
THE NEW YORK ROW.
Judge Selden, of New York, obtained the floor,
and presented a paper which he said was a protest
of his friends of the minority of the delegation
from his State against the action of the majority,
and which he desired to be presented to the Com
mittee on Credentials. The paper recited the facts
already herein given, and stated besides, that —
" In the First Congressional District, Edward H. Seaman was nominated
by the delegation present from that district as one of the representative dele
gates, and after it was ascertained that Mr. Seaman was opposed to the
nomination of Horace Greeley, another person, known as " Rocky" Moore,
was substituted for him by the committee." Also " that the delegates pres
ent from the Eighth Congressional District met, as directed by the Chair,
and nominated, by a vote of eight out of thirteen delegates, then and there
present, James L. Bishop and Thomas Duffy as their representative dele
gates, and that this choice was duly reported to and disregarded by said com
mittee, and by the whole number of members in its election, and that the
representative delegates reported by the committee and elected by the whole
body from this district were never nominated at any meeting of the resident
delegates thereof, as required by the instructions of the convention and by a
resolution of our members."
It was further stated " that in the Twenty-seventh Congressional District,
the one delegate present recommended himself and Theodore Bacon as re
presentative delegates ; that upon ascertaining that Mr. Bacon was opposed
to the nomination of Mr. Greeley, the committee substituted, without con
sultation with any resident of the Twenty-seventh Congressional District, the
name of a person known to concur in the views of the majority ; and still
further, that no persons were present as members of the convention from several
congressional districts, and that, in the election of representative delegates to fill
these vacancies, all persons undct stood to be opposed to the nomination of Mr.
Greeley were studiously ignored''
The inconvenient document was duly referred as
requested by the inexperienced politician who pre
sented it. It was found to have been signed by

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 36 1
twenty-six gentlemen, including nearly all the re
spectable New Yorkers present.*
THE CONVENTION TURBULENT.
A scene of disorder ensued, which exceeded the
limited abilities of the chairman.
The committees, having been appointed, needed
time to prepare their reports, and there was really
no business before the convention. Various trivial
motions were made, but few of which were enter
tained; and finally, on motion of McClure, of Penn
sylvania, a recess was finally taken until three
o'clock, there being no other way of disposing of
the tumultuous assemblage.
AFTERNOON SESSION  SECOND DAY.
The convention reassembled at three P. M., and
was called to order by Judge Matthews.
The report of the Committee of Permanent
Organization was read by Judge Spaulding, of
Cleveland. It announced that the committee,
with entire unanimity, had fixed upon Carl
Schurz as permanent chairman.
The announcement was received with loud and
continuous cheering. Mr. Schurz was escorted to
*There is no doubt whatever that the New York delegation was secured
for Greeley, and his nomination' thus brought about, by simply packing the
delegation, or rather, making up the mob which came to Cincinnati from
New York, of the disreputable Fenton Republicans, chiefly from New York
city, who had fought with Greeley (and with Tammany) in previous campaigns.
These swamped with their numbers the Revenue Reformers and other pro
gressive men who were drawn to Cincinnati by principle, rather than spoils.

362 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
the stand by a gentleman, whose only badge of dis
tinction was the reeking stump of a cigar, tightly
pinched between his lips. Judge Matthews shook
hands with his successor, and presented him to the
convention with the briefest possible formula of
introduction. PRESIDENT SCHURZ AND HIS SPEECH.
Mr. Schurz then delivered his speech. Its open
ing sentences were pregnant with astonishment at
the size of the convention, and the thought that
such an assemblage was possible. The American
people had just emerged from a mighty struggle in
the full pride of their national strength, surrounded
by hidden dangers and insidious evils, of which the
masses were not aware. Corruption, fostered by
the war, had invaded the goverment, and public
opinion was woefully lenient in regard to it. The
government was disregarding the laws, and those
in authority were, through the public services, ty
rannically interfering with private affairs ; men in
high places were seeking selfish advantages, thus
corrupting our politics, and the cries of partisanship
were drowning the voice of criticism. Amnesty
was refused to the South, so much in need of
restoration, and party spirit justified the ungenerous
use of power. Would the American people longer
suffer themselves to be driven like a flock of sheep ?
The answer was, No ! Love of liberty was not dead,
nor did it intend to die. These questions, he said,
were answered in thundering tones by the conven-

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 363
tion there assembled. The volume of the response
had exceeded all expectations. The conscience of
the people that seemed dead had arisen to new life.
Nothing could withstand so genuine an uprising.
The breath of victory was in the very air. The
opportunity presented to crush corruption, and give
the country a pure government was grand. But all
selfishness must be cast backward. The occasion
was momentous, and the responsibility fearful.
"If [said the speaker] you disappoint the high expectations brought forth
by that spontaneous impulse, you have not only lost a great opportunity, but
you have struck a blow at the confidence the people have in themselves, and
for a long time popular reform movements will not rise again under the
weight of the discredit which you will have brought upon them. Is it pos
sible that such should be the result of our doings ? It is possible if we do
not rise to the full height of our duty. It is possible if, instead of following
the grand impulse of the popular heart, we attempt to control and use this
movement by the old tricks of the political trade, or fritter away our zeal in
small bickerings and mean, selfish aspirations.
* * * * * * * * *
" Reform must become a farce in the hands of those who either do not un
derstand it or do not care for it. If you mean reform, intrust the work to
none but those who understand and honestly do care, and care more for it
than their own personal ends. Pardon me if I express myself on this point
with freedom and frankness. I have not, I assure you, come here for the
purpose of urging the claims or advancing the interest of any one man
against all others. I have come here with sincere and ardent devotion to a
cause, and to use my best endeavors to have that cause put under the care of
men who are devoted to it with equal sincerity, and possess those qualities of
mind and heart which will make it safe in their keeping. I earnestly depre
cate the cry we have heard so frequently, 'Anybody to beat Grant.' There is
something more wanted than to beat Grant — not anybody who might, by
cheap popularity, or by astute bargains and combinations, or by all the tricks
of political wire-pulling, manage to scrape together votes enough to be elected
President. We do not merely want another, but we want a better, President
than we now have. We do not want a mere change of persons in the admin
istration of the Government : we want the overthrow of a pernicious system;
we want the eradication of flagrant abuses ; we want the infusion of a loftier
moral spirit into our political organism ; we want a Government which the
best people of this country will be proud of. Not anybody can accomplish

364 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
that, and therefore away with the cry, 'Anybody to beat Grant!'— a cry too
paltry, too unworthy of the great enterprise in which we are engaged."
We give in this sketch the words of this really
statesmanlike and patriotic speech, chiefly for the
sake of showing how completely the convention,
by its subsequent course, disobeyed its worthy pre
cepts. The following gentlemen officiated as the chief
secretaries: General W. E. McClane, of Indiana;
John X. Davidson, of Minnesota ; D. T. Wright,
of Maine; J. D. Rhodes, of Ohio ; and each State
was represented by a Vice-President.
The Committee on Credentials reported the
names of those entitled to seats, and adversely to
the contestants in the New York delegation Mrs.
Laura De Force Gordon was not recognized as a
delegate, but the committee recommended that she
be tendered the freedom of the hall. The contest
ants in the California delegation were declared not
entitled to seats as delegates, on the ground that
they simply hovered on the verge of California civili
zation. Shortly after, Mrs. Gordon, from a place on
the floor, attempted to protest against her exclusion.
After many times repeating the formula "Mr. Pres
ident," with the assistance of a kind German friend,
she gained the attention of the Chair, but only to
be courteously told that, the committee having ig
nored her plea, the Chair could not listen to her
address. She still persisted, but was ungallantly
hissed into silence.
After this amusing episode the report of the
committee was adopted without change.

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 365
The Committee on Rules reported that they had
organized by electing Theodore Tilton as their
chairman ; that the chairman of each delegation
should declare the vote of the delegation according
to the manner in which each member voted ; that a
majority of votes should be necessary to a choice,
and that the yeas and nays should not be called,
but if necessary there should be a division of the
convention by a call of the States.
OPPOSITION TO FORMAL NOMINATION.
At this point a vigorous effort was made to force
the nomination. Mr. H. J. Stansbery suggested
that the convention proceed to ballot for nominees ;
and that, as it was impossible to expect the concur
rence of all the delegates on the questions which
were now before the country, the nominees them
selves be considered the platform. The suggestion
was interpreted as a plea for Democratic assistance.
It was violently opposed by John Cochrane, and
favored by Mr. McClure, of Pennsylvania.
The chair stated that the committee had taken
a recess until five o'clock without perfecting a plat
form. Mr. Dembite, of Kentucky, thought that
they understood the matter . as well now as they
would at five o'clock ; he preferred that a nomina
tion should be made here, and not in the hotel
down town.
These efforts, being a sort of skirmish drill pre
liminary to the general battle, were finally ended
by a motion of General Cochrane to lay the whole

366 THE STRUGGLE OF '72..
matter on the table, which prevailed upon a call of
the states. '
The gentlemen who desired to nominate pre
maturely, having failed in their attempt, endeavored
to effect their purpose by a shower of resolutions,
all of which were referred, without reading, to the
Committee on Platform, with the exception of one
presented by Colonel McClure, which was adopted.
This declared that the convention would not pro
ceed to ballot fpr candidates before a platform had
been adopted.
Besides the meaningless generalities embodied
in these various expressions of private opinion,
there were declarations for the one term principle,
enactment of penal laws, punishing by fine and im
prisonment all persons found guilty of bribery and
corruption, abrogation of the government patron
age system, and improvement of morality among
the officers and servants of the people, etc. A por
tion of these specific principles were embodied in
a series of resolutions, prepared and presented by
Mr. Braughn, who innocently moved that they be
adopted as the platform of this convention.
The vast assemblage laughed heartily, and the
tropical delegate took his seat discomfited.

CHAPTER XX.
THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION.
(CONTINUED.)
" Tbe Apple of Discord" — Struggle Over the Tariff — The Temporary Presi
dent Demands a Free Fight — Reformers Beaten on Both Candidate and
Platform — The Balloting for President — Blair's Game — Arrival of Gratz
Brown — Greeley Forging Ahead — Schurz Denounces Him Before the Mis
souri Delegation — White Might Have Saved His Own Humiliation, but
Did Not — Greeley Nominated and Blair Triumphant — Brown Also —
Chagrin of the Reformers — Their Utterances — Carl Schurz Plays a Plain
tive Air, and the Curtain Falls.
EVENING SESSION  SECOND DAY.
A recess was taken until half-past seven o'clock
in the evening. At that hour the convention re
assembled. A prolonged stay in Cincinnati was
beginning to tell on the purses of delegates, and
protracted sessions on their patience. A large por
tion were in no humor for longer delay.
The chairman stated that the Committee on Plat
form would not be ready to report until morning,
and suggested that the time be pieced out with
speeches such as are usually made when candidates
are named.
General Cochrane, taking advantage of the situ
ation, moved that members proceed to name their
(367)

368 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
candidates, and be allowed ten minutes in which to
proclaim their virtues and demonstrate their avail
ability. The motion prevailed by a scarcely per
ceptible majority. No one taking immediate ad
vantage of the permission to nominate, Mr. Parks,
of New York, presented a resolution recommend
ing extension of civil rights to all, and universal
amnesty. The resolution was referred. Mr. Allen
followed with a resolution advising the appointment
of executive committees in all the States.
TARIFF AND OTHER TROUBLES.
Gilbert H. Peck, of New Jersey, presented a
resolution in favor of a reform in the manner of
levying import duties, steadfast resistance to cen
tralization, and many other generalities. An In
diana delegate, devoted to serious business, pre
sented a resolution, which was adopted, declaring
that the convention would not defeat the objects
for which it was assembled by adjourning without
a nomination of candidates for the position of
President and Vice-President.
Mr. Groesbeck, of Virginia, offered a resolution
against a restriction of the presidential office, and
affirming that every American, with a true heart in
his bosom, was eligible to the office.
A resolution presented by Mr. L. N. Peterson,
of Richmond, Pa, favored an amendment to the
constitution, providing for the election of a Presi
dent, Vice-President and U. S. Senators, directly by
the people.

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 369
Others were presented, all of which, with the
exceptions named, were referred to the Committee
on Platform. Among the rest was one referring
the question of tariff to the Congressional districts.
It is uncertain how long this thing might have
continued, every member seeming to have a reso
lution in his pocket, had not Mr. Hickman, of Penn
sylvania, called for the regular order of business,
which was understood to be the presentation of
candidates. But the undercurrent of feeling against
a nomination at that time was very vigorous. A
motion to adjourn was for the moment defeated.
A delegate from North Carolina suggested a call
of States alphabetically, and an adjournment if no
delegates were named. A slight gloom had over
spread the convention, but this sally provoked
laughter. Colonel Hudson, of Terre Haute, Ind., gaining
the attention of the Chair in spite of the confusion,
said he had been informed by a member of the
Committee on Platform that they were unable to
agree. As it was apparent that the convention hesi
tated to nominate candidates, and the Committee
on Platform seemed to be " stalled" on the tariff
question, that question already having been decided,
it would be quite proper for the committee to re
port at once, that being the only impediment. A
delegate suggested that the tariff resolution pre
sented was not adopted, only referred. " Then, sir,"
said Colonel Hudson, "upon that question of the
tariff and its presentation in the resolutions just re-

370 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
ferred to the committee, I move you, sir, a suspen
sion of the rules [laughter] that this convention, at
this very moment, may take up that stumbling
block which hangs in the way of the Committee on
Resolutions, and remove it ourselves." Great ap
plause followed, but a large proportion of the mem
bers seemed thrilled, and terrified by a sudden pre
cipitation of the patent question upon them.
Infinite confusion succeeded, during which noises
of all kinds were heard, — calls to order, for the
regular order of business, and motions whose pur
port was undistinguishable in the immense volume
of sound, but a vote was finally attained, and the
suspension of the rules was ordered, 460 voting
for and 229 against.
The States voting in the negative were Georgia,
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mis
souri, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, South Carolina, Ten
nessee, Vermont and Virginia. Delaware and
Rhode Island did not vote when called upon.
The vote of Delaware was cast by George Alfred
Townsend, Washington correspondent of the Chi
cago Tribune. Mr. Townsend is a native of Del
aware, but has not lived there since his childhood.
Pennsylvania voted as a unit against the resolution,
but was thought secretly to favor its adoption.
The danger of committing some fatal error
seemed at this moment to be imminent, but the in
telligence was conveyed to the Chair that the Com
mittee on Platform had adopted the tariff plank.

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 371
He rose hastily and imparted the information briefly
to the assembly.
" Only two votes dissenting out of the whole
committee," added David A. Wells, sotto voce.
"Let it be read," called out an impatient delegate.
"Wait until to-morrow," exclaimed Judge Hoad-
ley. There were many and loud cries of " No, no ;
noAv!" during the prevalence of which J. H. Rhodes,
of Cleveland, moved that the tariff resolution of
the committee be referred back to them for consid
eration. In response to an objection, the Chair stated that
the rules had been suspended for all purposes. Mr.
Rhodes moved that the resolution of Colonel Hud
son be referred to the committee, with instructions
to report it to the convention. There was renewed
confusion, which fell into partial quiet when Cassius
M. Clay appeared upon the platform.
Mr. Clay shook his gray locks, and launched
boldly out upon a sea of oratory. He deprecated
the debate on the tariff question, and deplored the
condition of the South, "overrode" by military des
potism. The latter point he thought of infinitely
more importance. The former he characterized,
with his usual felicity of eloquence and metaphor,
as an "apple of discord."
The torrent of eloquence poured forth with such
resistless energy was finally stopped by the ten
minute barrier wisely erected at an early stage of
the proceedings.

372 THE STRUGGLE OF 7'.

AN EXPLOSION.
It remained, however, for Judge Stanley Mat
thews to fire the train so ingeniously laid by pre
vious speakers. He professed to deprecate the
question of the tariff, sprung upon the convention
while the Committee on Platforms was in session,
and continued when it was fully understood that
the committee had agreed upon a tariff plank with
great unanimity. After these words of peace and
placation, he ended his remarks in the following
fiery style, his metaphors being borrowed from the
slang of the lower Mississippi :
" Now, if this is to be a free fight, let us make it a fair one, and I have a
counter proposition, the proposition which was used as the basis of the call
for this convention, which I will read, and move as a substitute for the pro
position pending before the body. It is in these words :
Resolved, That no form of taxation is just or wise which puts needless
burdens upon the people. We demand a reform of the tariff, so that those
duties shall be removed which, in addition to the revenue yielded to the
Treasury, involve increase in the price of domestic products, and a conse
quent tax for the benefit of favorite interests.
[Great applause on the floor and in the galleries.]
Now, gentlemen, I will tell you one of the reasons why I entered into this
movement. It was that I might assist in the work of emancipating the
politics and the business of this country from the domination of rings. [Ap
plause.] I mean political rings in Washington ; I mean railroad rings, which
are stealing our public lands [applause], and I mean pig iron rings, which are
robbing the people [great applause], and which, under pretense of relieving the
burdens of the people, are taking taxes off from tea and coffee in order that
they may keep them up on salt and iron."
An increasing restlessness had been observed
during the continuation of Judge Matthews' speech.
When he had finished the inflammatory para
graph quoted, several gentlemen into whose souls
the pig iron had entered, rose to their feet with a
spasmodic movement

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. ^7^
The points of order were innumerable. Judge
Matthews attempted to hold the floor on the ground
that the rules were suspended. No assistance was
vouchsafed by the chairman, who fully recognized
the perils of the situation. He simply said that but
one rule had been suspended, which was that all
resolutions should be referred without debate.
Upon this the incendiary orator retired from the
stand. The next bold Roman to leap into the breach
was Edward Atkinson, of Massachusetts, a courte
ous gentleman unused to the turmoil of active poli
tics, and not informed with the zeal which charac
terizes the mere partisan. He took the stand with
perceptible hesitancy, and said, speaking as a mem
ber of the committee, that the delay in the report
was not caused by difference in regard to the tariff
plank. Not being the chairman, he might not re
port the vote properly, and no copy was at hand
from which he might read. The sub-committee had
acted, in fine, the whole committee had acted, and
the action had been nearly unanimous. Haste at
a juncture like this would only hinder.
Just as Mr. Atkinson was going on to hint at
what was really going on in the committee, General
Cake, of Pennsylvania, rose and inquired whether
it would be in order in that place for a member of
the committee to report. The Chair decided Mr.
Atkinson to be in order. The gentle Atkinson
went on timorously and apologetically, fearing to
offend, and said he was simply speaking for har-

374 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
mony, which certainly at that moment seemed to be
a scarce article. He closed with a mixed motion to
lay on the table the suspension of the rules and the
pending resolution.
Various gentlemen attempted to speak, but were
crushed with the statement of the Chair that the
question was not debatable. Among those who
struggled hardest to gain the recognition of Mr.
Schurz, was Colonel McClure, of Pennsylvania,
who moved to rule the question debatable. He
was compelled to succumb to the rulings, although
having a little spasmodic aid from Judge Hoadley.
Mr. Rhodes, of Cleveland, fearing the business
would get into the committee and make trouble,
moved to amend so as to lay on the table until the
Committee on Platform had reported. The motion
was ignored. The motion of Mr. Atkinson prevailed,
amid great noise and confusion and not a little mani
festation of ill temper in the Pennsylvania delega
tion. Colonel McClure was eager for the fray.
After voting to have a call of the States, so that
each might nominate, the convention adjourned
until the next morning at ten o'clock. McClure was
said to have so far forgot himself in the excitement
of the moment as to have said that, could he have
reached Carl Schurz upon the platform, he would
have put a fanciful ornament on his frontispiece.
It was further recounted that, as the satisfaction
next accessible, he approached Judge Matthews, and,
with a refreshing forgetfulness, asked him the lead
ing question — "Why are you not honest?" "I am,"

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 375.
replied Judge Matthews, neglecting to add, "but
indiscreet." To which the tall Pennsylvanian re
sponded with the assertion, "No, you are not. Your
resolution was a Jesuitical cheating sham."
With such touching interchange of feeling as
this between delegates, the convention ended the
last session of the second day of its existence. The
three sessions had been noisy without being at all
enthusiastic. The spectators on the floor had ap
plauded moderately, and the silence of the galleries
had been funereal. The situation, when the dele
gates separated for the night, was ominous.
FACTS, RUMORS AND SPECULATIONS.
After the adjournment of the convention, rumor
again became busy. Not having the concrete and
tangible to deal with, recourse was had to the im
agination. Before the convention met in the eve
ning it was understood that the Committee on Plat
form had agreed upon the tariff plank. Therefore,
surprise was common when Mr. Schurz stated that
the committee were not prepared to report. It was
currently reported about the city that the Presi
dent was endeavoring to gain time until an answer
could come to the following dispatch sent during
the day : Cincinnati, May 2, 1872.
To Horace Greeley, Tribune Office, New, York :
We can secure the nominatiin of Trumbull for the first place if you will
accept the second place on the ticket. Will you ? Answer.
[Signed] Carl Schurz.
The break between Schurz and a portion of the

376 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
Missouri delegation had already occurred, the Sen
ator not deeming Governor Brown the most eligi-
gible candidate for the Presidential office. But the
Adams men had supposed Schurz to be working in
their interest, and were not prepared consequently
for an out* and out declaration for Trumbull. The
rumor of the dispatch brought Davis and Adams
men here and there into council. An offer to trade
from the former to the leaders of the latter elicited
the reply that, if they agreed to do so, inforcement
of the contract would be impossible.
The combinations most talked of were Trumbull
and Greeley, and Adams and Brown. Other names
were mentioned in connection, but the general in
disposition of candidates to accept the second place
on the ticket rendered the chances for their success
hopeless. Among the possible candidates was Wm.
S. Groesbeck, of Cincinnati. Mr. Groesbeck is a
venerable and dignified Democrat with the instincts
of a gentleman, the purse of Fortunatus, and the
lingering hope of some office of importance to en
noble his declining years, and lift him into immor
tality. He had been too many years trimming,
with a view to the disruption of existing parties,
and the creation of a new one, of which he should
be the stately idol. This course had continued too
long, and his expectations were too well known to
permit of his accepting the second place, even if
he had so desired. Up to the last moment he was
occasionally seen among the throng at the Burnett
House, discussing the situation with interest, but
still with antiquated dignity.

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 379
THE TARIFF IMBROGLIO.
The Committee on Platform were in session all
day on Thursday and deep into the small hours of
Thursday night. The discussions were earnest, and
occasionally personal. The furniture of the parlor
at the St. James, where the meetings were held, was
badly abused. With much exertion John D. De-
frees, delegate from the District of Columbia, se
cured the adoption of the following — a variation of
the device submitted by Greeley, through his con
fidential agent, Whitelaw Reid :
A tariff being necessary to create a sufficient revenue to discharge the pe
cuniary obligations of the government, and its enactment and its adjustment
of details being the constitutional province of the representatives of the
people in Congress assembled, it should be submitted to their action un
molested by executive interference.
But, overheated with toil, and burning with thirst,
he left to secure a glass of ice-water to cool his
parched tongue, and the vote upon it was recon
sidered. In a sub-committee consisting of Mr. Defrees,
Hon. Daniel A. Wells, and Hon. George Hoadley,
the following was finally adopted after prolenged
debate :
Resolved, That all taxes should be levied only for the purpose of paying
the current expenses of the government, the interest on the public debt, the
pensions to disabled soldiers and the widows and orphans of the late war,
and a fair per cent, of annual reduction on the principal of the public debt ;
that none of these taxes should be levied so as to promotethe interests of any
particular class, or oppress the industrial pursuits of any particular section ;
nevertheless, assembled in this convention we declare that as the President
of the United States is an executive, and not a legislative officer, the subject
of taxes should be left to Congress in the belief that the President will exe
cute the laws made by Congress."

380 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
The full committee concurred in the report of
the sub-committee, and the matter was thought by
most to be settled. But Colonel McClure thought
differently. He swore with many oaths, and
" ne'er a true one," that the tariff plank was a
" wishy-washy" affair, and invoked eternal perdition
if he ever accepted it. He prepared the following,
which he declared he would present to the conven
tion the following morning.
Resolved, That as the raising of a revenue for the maintenance of our
national credit is a sacred obligation, imposed by the fundamental law, the
levying of import duties is a duty the details of which belong to the people
of the whole country through their representatives in Congress assembled,
and such policy when established shall be left free from executive interference.
THE SITUATION ON THURSDAY NIGHT.
Caucusing continued until after midnight with
out any particular change in the situation. The
Adams men were confident. The Davis men had
lost hope, but still put on a bold front. The Trum
bull men were disheartened by the continued ag
gressiveness of the Davis men, and did not hesi
tate to say so to their intimate friends. The friends
of Greeley thought the nomination of their candi
date possible ; that was all. Theodore Tilton
worked for him incessantly, especially among the
delegates from the Southern States, with whom his
sonorous periods and sophomoric eloquence had
considerable weight. Whitelaw Reid had been on
the ground for several days, in constant telegraphic
communication with his principal. The communi
cations were shown to a select coterie of intimates,

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 38 1
and their contents by them from time to time dis
seminated. One or two were published in the pa
pers. They generally advised the ignoring of the
tariff question, or its direct reference to the people.
BLAIR AND BROWN.
Late at night it was noised about among a few
that Frank Blair and Gratz Brown were in the city.
There was great surprise and not a little uneasi
ness. It had been authoritatively stated that
Brown had too delicate a sense of honor to be at
the convention, and the presence of Blair portended
good to no one. What conferences the lateness of
the hour permitted after the arrival of the twain,
were with the Pennsylvania and New York dele
gates. What was really done and contemplated
was known to a very limited number of persons.
Outside of this circle, the life of which was sup
posed to be McClure, everything was strangely
misconstrued. The real state of the case was not
suspected. It was conjectured by most that .Brown
was to be put forward for the second place on the
ticket either with Adams or Trumbull as principal.
The influence which Pennsylvania really had in the
convention, and its pivotal position, were fully de
termined by the events of the succeeding day. To
have defended protection against the aggressive
free-traders, and left the tariff question untouched
in the canvas, was a great victory. Not to take
the fortress which they were storming, was to the
partisans of revenue reform an ignominious defeat.

382 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
Pennsylvania secured the adoption of its own plat
form, and put its candidates upon it. The confer
ences which preluded the nomination of Greeley
and Brown were held with the utmost secrecy.
What was agreed upon was communicated to less
than a dozen miscellaneous delegates, and under a
pledge of eternal silence.
The convention was called to order punctually
at ten o'clock.
The Chairman sat down with disturbed looks.
Colonel G. Moore, of Missouri, presented a reso
lution dispensing with the formal nomination of
candidates. It was adopted, after some confusion.
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON PLATFORM.
The Chair announced to the convention that the
Committee on Platform was ready to report.
There were cries of " Good, good," and loud
cheers. Mr. Schurz further stated that he had been re
quested to read the resolutions on account of the
vocal weakness of the Chairman of the committee,
(Mr. White) and also asked to state that the con
currence of the committee in the report was almost
unanimous. The President read the report as follows :
The administration now in power has rendered itself guilty of wanton dis
regard of the laws of the land in the exercise of powers not granted by the
Constitution. It has acted as if the laws had binding force only for those
who are governed, and not for those who govern. It has thus struck a blow
at the fundamental principle of constitutional government and the liberties
of the citizen.
The President of the United States has openly used the powers and oppor-

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 383
tunities of his high office for the promotion of personal ends. He has kept
notoriously corrupt and unworthy men in places of power and responsibility,
to the detriment of the public interest.
He has used the public service of the government as a machinery of parti
san and personal influence, and interfered, with tyrannical arrogance, in the
political affairs of States and municipalities.
He has rewarded, with influential and lucrative offices, men who had ac
quired his favor by valuable presents, thus stimulating the demoralization of
our political life by his conspicuous example.
He has shown himself deplorably unequal to the tasks imposed upon him
by the necessities of the country, and culpably careless of the responsibilities
of his high office.
The partisans of the administration, assuming to be the Republican party
and controlling its organization, have attempted to justify such wrongs and
palliate such abuses, to the end of maintaining partisan ascendency.
They have stood in the way of necessary investigations and indispensable
reforms, pretending that no serious fault could be found with the present ad
ministration of public affairs, thus seeking to blind the eyes of the people.
They have kept alive the passions and resentments of the late civil war, to
use them for their own advantage. They have resorted to arbitrary measures
in direct conflict with the organic law, instead of appealing to the better in
stincts and latent patriotism of the Southern people by restoring to them.
those rights, the enjoyment of which is indispensable for a successful admin
istration of their local affairs, and would tend to restore a patriotic national
feeling. They have degraded themselves and the name of their party, once
justly entitled to the confidence of the nation, by a base sycophancy to the
dispenser of executive power and patronage unworthy of Republican freemen.
They have sought to silence the voice of just criticism, to stifle the moral
sense of the people, and to subjugate public opinion by tyrannical party dis
cipline ; they are striving to maintain themselves in authority for selfish ends
by an unscrupulous use of the power which rightfully belongs to the people,
and should be employed only in the service of the country.
Believing that no organization thus led and controlled can longer be of
service to the best interests of the Republic, we have resolved to make an in
dependent appeal to the sober judgment, conscience, and patriotism of the
American people.
We, the Liberal Republicans of the United States, in national convention
assembled at Cincinnati, proclaim the following principles as essential to just
government : — • -•--— -—„
I. We recognize the equality of all before the law, and hold that it is the
duty of government in its dealings with the people to mete out equal and ex
act justice to all of whatever nativity, race, color, or persuasion, religious or
political. , -/
2. We pledge ourselves to maintain the Union of the States, emancipation

384 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
and enfranchisement, and oppose any re-opening of the questions settled by
tb.e_ Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments of the Constitution.
3. We demand immediate and absolute removal of all disabilities imposed
on account of the rebellion, which was finally subdued seven years ago, be-
I lieving that universal amnesty will result in complete pacification in all sec
tions of the country.
4. Local self-government, with impartial suffrage, will guard the rights of
all citizens more securely than any centralized power. The public welfare re
quires the supremacy of the civil over the military authority, and the free
dom of person under the protection of the habeas corpus. We demand for
the individual the largest liberty consistent with the public order, for the
State self-government, and for the nation return to the methods of peace and
/£he constitutional limitation of power.
5. The civil service of the government has become a mere instrument of
partisan tyranny and personal ambition, and an object of selfish greed. It
is a scandal and reproach upon free institutions, and breeds a demoralization
dangerous to the prosperity of republican government.
¦ — 6. We therefore regard a thorough reform of the civil service as one of the
'"most pressing necessities of the hour ; that honesty, capacity and fidelity con
stitute the only valid claims to public employment*? that the offices of the
government cease to be a matter of arbitrary favoritism and patronage, and
that public stations become again a post of honor. To this end it is impera
tively required that no President shall be a candidate for re-election.
7. We demand a system of Federal taxation which shall not necessarily
interfere with the industry of the people, and shall provide sufficient means
to pay the expenses of the government, economically administered, pensions,
and the interest on the public debt, and a moderate annual reduction of the
principal thereof ; but, recognizing the existence in our midst of honest, but
irreconcilable, differences of opinion upon the merits of the respective sys
tems of protection and free trade, we remit the discussion of the subject to
the people in their congressional districts and to the decision of Congress
thereon, wholly free from executive interference or dictation.
8. The public credit must be sacredly maintained, and we denounce repu
diation in every form and guise.
9. A speedy return to specie payment is demanded alike by the highest
considerations of commercial morality and honest government.
10. We remember with gratitude the heroism aud sacrifices of the soldiers
and sailors of the republic, and no act of ours shall ever detract from their
justly earned fame or the full rewards of their patriotism.
11. We are opposed to all further grants of land to railroads or other cor
porations. The public domain should be held sacred to actual settlers.
12. We hold that it is the duty of the government, in its intercourse with
foreign nations, to cultivate the friendship of peace by treating with all on
fair and equal terms, regarding it alike dishonorable either to demand what
is not right, or to submit to what is wrong.

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 385
13. For the promotion and success of these vital principles, and the sup
port of the candidate nominated by this cenvention, we invite, and cordially
welcome, the co-operation of all patriotic citizens, without regard to previous
political affiliations.
General Burnett, of Cincinnati, moved the adop
tion of the " second Declaration of Independence"
by acclamation. The motion prevailed amid riot
ous enthusiasm caused rather by the consciousness
of really having a platform safe and sound after
much tribulation, than by the nature of the princi
ples presented.
After the turmoil partially subsided, the Presi
dent said, "The Chair announces, with gratification
and pride, that the resolutions are adopted by a
unanimous vote." The gratification of the vast
assembly at having at last touched bottom again
welled to the surface in fainter efforts at applause.
The Chair stated that the question recurred on
the nomination of candidates.
A spasmodic effort was made to secure formal
nominations. The Chair directed the roll-call to
proceed. FIRST BALLOT.
The first ballot resulted as follows.
States. Adams. Trumbull. Davis. Greeley. Brown. Curtin.
Alabama  3 2 7
Arkansas   1 1 .. -- 10
California   6 6
Connecticut  12
Delaware   6
Florida  6
Georgia  .- 2 2 2 4 12
Illinois  - _- 21 21
Indiana    8 14 6 ..

386 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
States. Adams. Trumbull. Davis. Greeley. Bhowh. Curtm.
Iowa  _. 927 4
Kansas __   .. 10
Kentucky   16 .. __ 2 6
Louisiana  4 8 _. 2
Maine   — 14
Maryland  2 1 13
Massachusetts  22 4
Michigan  18
Minnesota   — -. 9 1
Mississippi.-   4 4 2 6
Missouri  .. __ .. _. 30
Nebraska  .. 3 .. 2 I
Nevada  .. __ .. .. _. 6
New Hampshire  __ __ .. _. 8
New Jersey  5 _. ._ 5 7
New York    2 .. .. 66
North Carolina  .. .. 12 J_ 5
Ohio   44 .. .. .. _i
Oregon    .. ._ ._ . . 6
Pennsylvania  .. __ .. ._ ._ 56
Rhode Island  8
South Carolina   ._ 2 12
Tennessee   11 6 1 4
Texas  _  _ 2 _. .. 14
Vermont . _   1 . . __ y
Virginia.   6 5 5 __ 6
West Virginia   5 _. 3 2
Wisconsin..  10 5 4 1
Total  203 108 92^ 129 92 ~62
Chase, 2J_.
When Judge Casey, of the District of Columbia,
offered the vote of his delegation, the chairman ex
pressed the opinion that as the present was a lib
eral convention, and all national conventions had
admitted the territories to vote, they should be so
allowed on this occasion.
Objections were made, and the territories were
excluded from the ballot.

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 387
ENTER GRATZ BROWN.
At this point occurred the most remarkable epi
sode of the convention. Gratz Brown, of Missouri,
had been for some time sitting with the Missouri
delegation, whose place was a few seats from the
platform, and to the left of the chairman. He was
now observed to have risen, and to be endeavoring
to gain the eye of that official. The chair seemed
disinclined to recognize the gove'rnor of Missouri.
After having once or twice enunciated the formula,
" Mr. President," Mr. Brown slowly skirted the re
porters' platform, picking his way with difficulty
through the narrow lane, closely hemmed in by ex
cited people, and making his way with difficulty to
ward the steps of the platform. The chair seemed
startled and uncertain how to act. When the in
truder was nearing the steps, and recognition could
be no longer postponed, Mr. Schurz said : " A gentle
man, who is recognized by the chair as not a mem
ber of this convention, desires to make a personal
explanation to the convention, and being a gentle
man who had been voted for by a large number of
delegates as a candidate for President of the
United States, the chair submits to the convention
whether or not leave should be granted him by
unanimous consent. That gentleman is Governor
Gratz Brown, of Missouri."
As this was delivered, there was an appealing
wave of the hand, and a glance of t the eye, that
swept the house to the farthest seat. No whisper
23

388 THE STRUGGLE OF '72-
of objection was wafted to the anxious ear of the
speaker. Had there been a breath of remonstrance,
the speech of Mr. Brown would never have been
made. But the only sounds heard were, " leave,
leave!" and applause. The voice of dissent was
delicately silent. The majority were too much as
tonished to take action, not having even the faintest
idea of what was to occur.
brown's speech.
As Brown ascended the steps to the platform, the
sunlight, finding entrance through some opening in
the lofty roof, struck fully upon his red hair, giving
it an intenser fiery tinge, and making his head seem
not as if encircled by a golden aureole, but as
though it were really the flaming torch of discord.
Having attained his position, and turned his hag
gard face.toward the audience, he said:
" Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention : Although a
¦delegate to this convention, it has not been possible for me to meet with you
until to-day, as I have been detained at home by official business; And now
¦when I come in for the first time, I find myself in an embarrassing position.
Some of my friends from my own State, arid many from other States, have
¦done me the honor to cast their votes for me for the highest office in the gift
of the nation. [Applause.] Now, I do not disguise it from myself that this
is a prize worthy of the ambition of any man on the broad face of this globe.
[Applause.] I also recognize the fact that it requires ability, culture, experi
ence, age, and many qualities which my modesty forbids me to believe, and
-which my judgment convinces me, I do not possess. [Cheers.]
I therefore, after tendering to you, gentlemen, my thanks for the compli
ment which you have given me, desire to say in brief that I came to this con
vention with no personal ends to accomplish ; that I am animated sincerely
and solely by a desire of victory in this contest. [Applause.] We want a
man nominated who will carry the largest Republican vote in this nation in
defiance of the regular Grant organization [applause], and that man, in my-
judgment, is Hon. Horace Greeley, of New York. [Applause andjiisses.]"

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 389
The voice of the orator was shaky. It would
be impossible to describe the immediate effect of
his speech upon the majority of the convention.
There was a sudden pause, a momentary paralysis,
a temporary deprivation of speech. The whole
corrupt bargain of the previous night — the mean
ing of the Brown and Blair irruption, was appa
rent. There was a spasm of intense indignation.
Had the delegates been less dignified, had they
been men on a level with the ordinary workingmen
in culture, they would have risen in the might of
their wrath and cast Gratz Brown beyond the
threshold of the hall. That was, without exagger
ation, the feeling of the moment. The Missouri
delegation shared in the momentary revulsion of
feeling, and glared at their late leader in astonish
ment. It was only the Pennsylvania and New
York delegations that looked upon the scene un
moved, and with a show of approbation. Friends
of Greeley outside of these States would have been
glad to see the success of their candidate, but they
hoped for less questionable means.
Several gentlemen endeavored to get the floor in
order, it was supposed, to change their votes, but
were not successful.
The vote was announced as follows : Adams, 293 ;
Davis, 92^: Brown, 95; Chase, 2^; Trumbull,
no; Greeley, 147; Curtin, 62.
A Kentucky delegate attempted to add fuel to
the excitement by insinuating that Cassius M. Clay,
chairman of the delegation, had not correctly stated
the vote.

39O THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
Mr. Clay said he had been too long in public life
to reply to the imputation upon his honor. He had
stated the vote as he understood it.
SCHURZ'S SPEECH IN THE MISSOURI DELEGATION.
The delegation from Missouri asked leave to re
tire for consultation. Mr. Schurz relinquished the
chair to Mr. Julian, and followed into the north
wing of the Industrial building.
The Missouri delegation were gathered loosely
about one of the long tables. On one side of it
stood Schurz, speaking in an animated manner.
His face was flushed, and his appearance nervous
and agitated. Gratz Brown was stalking about on
the edge of the crowd, his dejected looks bent on
the ground, and his cloak hanging carelessly from
one shoulder. After a few preliminary remarks
Mr. Schurz said :
" I think the convention would niake a fatal error in nominating Greeley
for the presidency. Instead of being the strongest candidate that can be put
forward, I regard him as the weakest. It is not possible for him to win the
German vote. He has been a life-long temperance man, and his name has
been associated with the most ultra and unreasonable acts of which they
have been guilty. He is therefore most objectionable. The Liberal ticket
cannot be elected without Ohio and Illinois. Neither of these States can be
carried by Mr. Greeley. I have known Mr. Greeley for fifteen years, and
our relations during that time have been of the most friendly character. But
he is not by nature or by education suited to fill the presidential office. His
lack of dignity, his idiosyncracies, his many crotchets, eminently unfit him
for appropriately occupying so high and honorable a position."
Mr. Schurz returned to the Adams chair, looking
depressed and several years older than when he
left it.

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 39 1
Several unavailing efforts were made to have the
territories recognized in the balloting, but they
were disposed of by cries of "ballot, ballot !" 'no,
no, that wont do,' ' " put them out," and such ele
gant invocations to the orators, as "spit it out
again." The name of Andrew G. Curtin was withdrawn
after the first ballot. THE SECOND BALLOT.
The call of states for the second ballot was at
length commenced by the clerk, Mr. McClane. It
proceeded to the noisy accompaniment of rebel
yells and discordant shouts in all keys.
California cast her vote thus : " Six votes for
honest David Davis."
A voice sneeringly called out "Honest David
Davis — Oh, yes!" at which there was general
laughter. New Jersey cast her thirteen votes for the
" friend of humanity." A parenthetic voice, desir
ing to know who the universal friend might be,
was answered, " Horace Greeley." The remainder
of the votes of New Jersey were cast for another
candidate. With great effort the chairman brought sufficient
order out of the chaos to permit the result of the
second ballot to be heard. It stood:
States. Adams. Trumbull. Davis. Greeley.
Alabama..    .. .. 18
Arkansas   .   2 .. .. 10
California    .. .. 6 6

392 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
States. Adams. Trumbull. Davis. Greeley.
Connecticut     12
Delaware.    -- 6
Florida     -- -- °
Georgia.     2 .. -- 18
Illinois  --  --- -- 21 21
Indiana   9 16 2 I
Iowa     10 5 1 6
Kansas   -- I0
Kentucky  19 -- -- 5
Louisiana    4 8.-2
Maine..     14
Maryland   2 3 10 I
Massachusetts   22 4
Michigan  22
Minnesota  -- 9 4
Mississippi  -- 8 .. 8
Missouri  4 16 — 10
Nebraska   -. 5 .. 1
Nevada   ,  ..  .. 6
New Hampshire  .. .. .. 8
New Jersey     5 .. __ 13
New York  2 1  65
North Carolina  _. g 3 8
Ohio  42 _ . ._ 2
Oregon  ._ .. __ (,
Pennsylvania  26 .. it 18
Rhode Island  8
South Carolina  __ 2 12
Tennessee   11 9 r 1
Texas    3 T-
Vermont  =.    __ j -
Virginia    2 14 2 4
West Virginia   6 3 r
Wisconsin   15 2 2 I
Total  -  243 148 75 245
Brown, 2 ; Chase, 1.
Whole number of votes cast, 714 ; necessary to a choice, 355.
Before the vote was announced, California changed six votes from Davis
to Greeley. On the third ballot the totals were but little
changed, standing: Adams, 246; Trumbull, 146;
Greeley, 258; Davis, 44. On the fourth they

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 393
ytood: Adams, 279; Trumbull, 141; Greeley, 251;
Davis, 41. FIFTH BALLOT.
States. Adams. Trumbull. Davis. Greeley.
Alabama    ._ .. 18
Arkansas   2 .. .. 10
California   ._ ._ .. 12
Connecticut   12
Delaware    6
Florida    6
Georgia  2 .. .. 18
Illinois  .. 21 21
Indiana   11 7 ._ 10
Iowa  16 .. .. 6
Kansas  10
Kentucky  19 .. 5
Louisiana    5 3 .. 6
Maine  .  14
Maryland   12 4
Massachusetts    22 4
Michigan..  — 22
Minnesota  .- 9 1
Mississippi    5 3 -- 8
Missouri  4 8 .. 18
Nebraska   -- 6
Nevada  -- -- -- °
New Hampshire  -- -- -- 8
New Jersey  5 -- -- T3
New York   5 I .. 62
North Carolina  5 7 3 5
Ohio   42 -- -- 2
Oregon    -- -- -- °
Pennsylvania   32 I 4 18
Rhode Island.  —  — 8
South Carolina  --
Tennessee..   12 9 .. 1
Texas    3 -- -- :3
Vermont  4 -- -- 4
Virginia  I 8 -- 4
West Virginia  6 .. 1 3
Wisconsin  18 .. -- 2
Total   309 91 30 258
Brown — Georgia, 2.
Chase— Pennsylvania, 1 ; South Carolina, 14 ; Virginia, 9. Total, 24.

394 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.

SIXTH BALLOT AND NOMINATION.
States. Adams. Trumbull. Davis. Greeley
Alabama   .. -- -- 18
Arkansas   2 .. -. 10
California    -- -- 12
Connecticut   12
Delaware     6
Florida.     ..
Georgia  -. -- — 22
Illinois  27 I -- 14
Indiana.  8 .. -- 19
Iowa   __   17 --  5
Kansas   5 2 .. 3
Kentucky  5 .. -. 19
Louisiana.   7 .. .. 7
Maine    14
Maryland   II 2 3
Massachusetts  22
Michigan    20 .. .. 2
Minnesota  .. 9 I
Mississippi  8 .. .. 8
Missouri   10 2  18
Nebraska  .. ..  6
Nevada    .. .. .. 6
New Hampshire   ..  8
New Jersey    5 _. .. 13
New York   5 I .. 62
North Carolina  3 .. ._ 17
Ohio.      42 .. _. 2
Oregon   .. .. .. 6
Pennsylvania  32 I 4 17
Rhode Island  8
South Carolina   .. .. .. 2
Tennessee  9 3 .. 10
Texas     3 --  13
Vermont    I 7
Virginia.   8  7
West Virginia     1 .. I 7
Wisconsin   18 .. .. 2
Total  309 21 6 346
Brown — Pennsylvania, 1.
Chase — Florida, 6 ; Massachusetts, 4 ; Pennsylvania, 1 ; South Carolina,
12 ; Virginia, 7.
Palmer — Indiana, 1.

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 395
The influence of Schurz upon the Missouri dele
gation was shown by its vote in the second ballot, —
sixteen for Trumbull, ten for Greeley. The vote
for Greeley gradually increased until in the last
two ballots it reached 18 ; the remainder casting
their votes persistently for Adams. During one of
the most exciting scenes of the balloting, a Missouri
delegate uttered the pithy sentence already become
historical, — " Sold, but not delivered." When the
state vote was made up on the occasion of each
ballot, it was always with bickering and bitterness
apparent to the entire convention.
The second and third ballots were completed
without the occurrence of anything notable.
There were occasional spasms of excitement, which
yielded to comparative order.
The fourth ballot showed a small gain for
Adams, and a diminution in the votes for Greeley.
The friends of Adams were jubilant. Davis's vote
steadily diminished from the first ballot.
WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN.
At the end of the fifth ballot, Illinois might
have nominated Adams by changing her vote to
him unanimously. Her own vote alone would
have accomplished the result, but the moral effect
of the transfer would have been further accessions
of strength. The friends of Davis changed to
Greeley in the successive ballotings, or scattered
on impossible candidates. Trumbull's strength
diminished to ninety-one on the fifth ballot. At
this time the end was apparent.

39° THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
The states were called on the sixth ballot, amid
unprecedented confusion. The chair tried to pre
serve the semblance of order with a useless ex
penditure of strength on the gavel. A motion to
take a recess of twenty minutes was badly de
feated. The aisles were full of excited delegates
and others. Men were everywhere talking excit
edly, mounted upon benches, and standing on
chairs. Speeches were being made in all parts of
the hall at the same moment. Illinois retired for
consultation, and returned with the vote divided
between Adams and Greeley; Trumbull having a
solitary retainer. The announcement was received
with derisive laughter.
New Jersey, rich in benevolent nomenclature,
cast her vote on the last ballot for "the Philoso
pher, Horace Greeley."
The sixth ballot, as tabulated above, shows the
result before the final change that nominated
Greeley. Pennsylvania was the first to change
when the crisis arrived, going solidly for the
high tariff reformer. The announcement of this
change, by Col. McClure, was received with extra
ordinary enthusiasm. Kentucky changed next,
then Minnesota, Kansas, Mississippi, South Caro
lina, and other states. The exact result will prob
ably never be known, but the majority was over
whelming for Horace Greeley.
When it became apparent to the convention that
Greeley would be the nominee, there was great
enthusiasm in certain quarters, and an extraordin-

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 399
ary lack of it in others. The local sympathy was
with Adams, therefore the gallery was ominously
silent. When the nomination was announced from the
chair, not a handkerchief was lifted, and not a
cheer heard from the balcony. The cheering on the
floor was principally confined to Pennsylvania, and
the Southern "delegations;" Ohio, and the extreme
Eastern members not participating. After a brief
interval for thought, consciousness of what they
had done seemed to fill the convention with amaze
ment. The friends of Adams and Trumbull were
the most aggrieved. They seemed stunned and
blinded by their sudden downfall. Some of them
were so staggered that they were obliged to seek
the nearest means of physical support. Like the
lady collegian, in the " Princess," they " stared with
great eyes, and laughed with alien lips."
FOR VICE PRESIDENT.
The balloting for Vice President was tame after
this scene of excitement. The names of Trumbull,
Cox, Cassius M. Clay, and Palmer were successively
withdrawn. It is possible that Trumbull might
have won the second place on the ticket had he
desired it. Hon. John Hickman, of Pennsylvania,
moved the nomination of Gratz Brown by accla
mation, both before and after the first ballot.
The following is the result of the first ballot :
Whole number of votes cast, 702 ; necessary to a
choice, 352 ; B. Gratz Brown received, 237 ; Lyman

40O THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
Trumbull received 156; George W.Julian received
134^ ; Cassius M. Clay, 44.
The Chair announced the second ballot in the
following terms: Whole number of votes, 647;
necessary to a choice, 349; Brown received 435;
Walker, 75 , Palmer, 8 ; Julian, 75 ; Tipton, 3.
A motion to make the nomination unanimous
was greeted with a storm of indignant " noes."
Brown was called upon for a speech, but was
found to have left the hall.
The National Executive Committee of the new
party was formally appointed. The following are
the names of its members :
South Carolina, S. A. Pierce ; Texas, E. M. Pease ; West Virginia, Hon.
M. C. Church ; District of Columbia, C. M. Alexander , Maine, J. L. Le-
ford , Nevada, George C. Lyon ; Ohio, J. T. Brooks ; North Carolina, L. R.
Goodloe ; Montana, J. C. Everts , Pennsylvania, Hon. Wm. H. Raddiman ;
Louisiana, H. C. Warmoth , Minnesota, Thomas Wilson ; Arkansas, John
Kirkwood ; New Hampshire, Henry O. Kent ; Iowa, James D. Campbell ;
Florida, J. C. Drew , New Jersey, James M. Scovill ; Colorado, S. C. Brown ;
New York, Ethan Allen ; California, Frank M. Pixley ; Maryland, Samuel
M. Gouverneur , Connecticut, David Clark , Indiana, Isaac T. Gray ; Ten
nessee, J. S. Fowler ; Nebraska, T. W. Tipton ; Kansas, S. A. Biggs'; Illi
nois, L. Swett ; Kentucky, L. N. Dembitz ; Wisconsin, A. Scott Sloan ;
Vermont, John P. Ladd ; Massachusetts, Charles G. Davis ; Oregon, Jasper
W. Johnson ; Alabama, W. T. Hatchett ; Mississippi, E. Jeffords ; Delaware,
George Alfred Townsend ; Missouri, Geo. W. Anderson ; Michigan, George
L. R. McWhorter ; Rhode Island, E. Corbett.
During the final proceedings the spectators had
been leaving, and few even of the delegates were
in their places.
Mr. Schurz, being repeatedly called upon for a
final speech, said with evident unwillingness, and
with obvious hesitation of manner :
"This convention has overwhelmed me with kindness, and I have especially

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 40I
to thank them for the indulgence with which they have borne with me while
I was endeavoring, to the best of my ability, to conduct, with fairness and
impartiality, the deliberations of this large and — let us confess it — sometimes
a little unruly body. [Applause and laughter.]
"We have now completed our work. It will now be our duty to proclaim
to all the land the principles we have embodied in our platform, and to go
forward and solicit, with a!l the entreaties which our minds and hearts are
capable of making, the support of the people of the United States for the
candidates we have nominated.
"I have already done so much speaking in this convention, and maybe I
shall still have to do so mueh during the impending campaign, that you will
certainly bear with me if I close my last speech in the same manner in
which I closed my first, when seconding a motion to adjourn, and now de
clare the Liberal Republican Convention adjourned sine die."
Mr. Julian was called upon to speak, but declined
on the ground of ill health". Theodore Tilton and
Cassius M. Clay were also called for, but did not
respond, and the remains of the immense crowd dis
persed. The executive committee met in the evening,
and elected as permanent officers Ethan Allen, of
New York, (no relation of the Revolutionary hero)
Chairman, and Daniel R. Gobdloe, of North Caro
lina, Secretary.
The aspect of Cincinnati was almost funereal
after the convention. Everything was gloom and
uncertainty. Few were hopeful enough to think
that the Liberal party could elect the ticket nom
inated, and all were disgusted at the shameful
trickery by which the result had been reached.
Judges Stallo, Matthews and • Hoadley, the two
Brinkerhoffs, and others, were understood to have
left the convention before adjournment, utterly
repudiating its acts and filled with mortification.

402 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
Some of the Indiana delegates were said to have
left when Brown made his speech of bargain and
sale. All the local talk upon the streets was bitter
and acrimonious. Everywhere the greatest con
tempt was felt for the nominees, and the deepest
anger mingled with sorrow at the action of the
convention. For several hours it seemed as if the
ticket would find no supporters of influence in the
West. THE GERMANS.
The Germans were most of all vexed and turbu
lent. They declared that they would not support
Greeley under any circumstances. The local Ger
man papers were unanimous in their opposition.
Carl Daenzler, editor of the Anzeiger des Westen,
published at St. Louis, telegraphed to his editor in
charge the following :
"The corruptionists, under the lead of Blair and Brown, have carried the
day. It was a regular bargain and sale, in which Missouri spoil hunters and
adventurers from other States, self-styled delegates, have played a prominent
part. The liberal German element is unanimously opposed to the nomina
tions ; and the Anzeiger will fight them to the bitter end. Bolt the nomina
tions at once, and as energetically as you can, and publish this over my own
signature."
It was thought on the night succeeding the nom
ination that not a single German newspaper
throughout the length and breadth of the land could
be induced to support Greeley, for reasons well
expressed in Carl Schurz's speech to the Missouri
delegation ; and the surmise has been almost veri
fied. The Reunion and Reform convention, which

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 403
had been sitting simultaneously" to the main con
vention, and as an auxiliary of that body, broke up,
demoralized and disgusted, and nothing has since
been heard of Judge Stallo and its other influen
tial members, mostly Germans, except in denunci
ation of the results of the convention. The
speeches with which the nominations were immedi
ately received by the Reunited Reformers were
very violent. SECESSION OF THE OHIO DELEGATION.
The Liberal Convention had proved to the
Ohio delegation a dead sea apple, — dust and ashes
to the core. While the balloting was progressing,
and when Greeley's chances looked exceedingly
favorable, a meeting was appointed, to occur soon
after the convention completed its labors. The
delegation assembled at College Hall, at four
o'clock, with a tolerable full attendance. Very
bitter speeches were made by Judge Spaulding, Gen.
Burnett, Judge Brinkerhoff, Judge Hoadley and
others. The last named gentleman said he was
authorized to speak for Judge Matthews, John W.
Sohn, and the United German delegation. His
language was, in part, as follows :
" I have heretofore expressed the opinion that we have to-day seen the
candidates of an organized fraud put on a platform which we believe to be
an honest and fair one. The administration of Greeley and Brown would
be the most corrupt with which this country was ever afflicted. It would
be carried on by a new Tammany Ring. We may not succeed in defeating
their nominations, but we are after them, and if they get elected we will at
least help to knife them in the midst of their villanies. They are a pair of
scoundrels — of infernal scoundrels. I am after them now, and intend to be
after them till next November, and I shall vote and work for Grant to help

404 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
defeat these thieves. Others who have been called away to their homes in
the country think and speak just as I do. We need take no formal action
here. The reporters are present, and the doings of this meeting will go out
to the world. I am glad of it. The more public it is made the better. We
must, however, keep up an organization and be ready for future action. We
have many good men on our rolls, and we will yet make our power felt. We
were only a little too late or we should have had no John Sherman to mis
represent us in the United States Senate. We will accomplish good results
in this State, and shall eventually triumph in the Nation."
The meeting adjourned without stated action.
THE NJEWSPAPER SYNDICATE.
The action of the principal newspaper men
present at the convention has been given consider
able prominence since the convention. This has
not been without reason. But for their opposition
to the administration of Grant, the convention
would never have been. The Cincinnati Com-
mercial had been pronounced for Adams, and worked
up the feeling day after day with skill and energy.
To the last moment Mr. Halstead was confident of
success. His most active co-worker in the Adams
cause was Samuel Bowles, of the Springfield Re
publican. Bowles was to be seen at the Com
mercial office at all hours of the day and night.
Godkin, of the Nation, was in favor of Adams, and
from the first intolerant of any other candidate.
Horace White preferred Trumbull, in whose in
terest he was all the while quietly laboring, but
would have accepted any available candidate.
Henry Watterson, of the Louisville Courier-Jour
nal, had from the first advocated the claims of
Adams, although without acrimony.
All of these' gentlemen were intensely mortified

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 405
at the result. For some hours after the nomina
tion of Greeley was precipitated, these men were
in doubt whether they would or would not bolt the
nominations. As night drew on, there were in some
of them faint signs of adhesion. The name of
Horace White was appended to the plat
form. He was, therefore, bound to the cause with
hooks of steel. He seemed in honor compelled to
adhere to its decision. His journalistic confreres
were not so inextricably bound in the tangled mesh
of Liberalism.
In the evening, there was a supper of delicate
edibles, at the Saint Nicholas, about which the five
gentlemen named gathered for the discussion of
results, and the formation of plans. The topics
were as distasteful as the supper was savory.
Whitelaw Reid, first lieutenant of Greeley's paper,
is said to have been an invited- guest. Over the
viands the disappointments, the hopes, the fears,
the anticipations of each were expressed with free
dom. The result was that all but Godkin and
Halstead promised to support the ticket cordially,
but to censure the manner in which the nomina
tions were brought about. How they did so will
be inferred from following extracts of their utter
ances :
Bowles told in the Springfield Republican of Sat
urday what had happened on Friday, as follows :
"Frank Blair became alarmed at the growing prospect of Adams' nomina
tion, in which he and his family naturally had no sympathy, and brought over
Gratz Brown from St. Louis last night, to undertake its defeat. How they
did it the record shows. Brown withdrew in favor of Greeley ; and though
24

406 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
at first the move seemed likely to prove a failure, the slowness of the friends
of Trumbull to appreciate the danger and act aggressively against it, allowed
it to aggregate strength, arouse the friendly heart of the convention for Gree
ley, and give him a brilliant victory. The logic and the judgment of the
convention were for Adams— not its enthusiasm. * * *
Mr. Greeley's wisest freinds then tried to change the plan of the architects
of this result or giving the Vice- Presidency to Gratz Brown. They saw how
much this would look like a bargain, and they greatly felt the personal ob
jection to Mr. Brown. But in the demoralized and flabby state of feeling in
the convention, it was impossible to concentrate the votes of his opponents
on any one acceptable. Mr. Julian would have been especially agreeable to
Mr. Greeley ; but the convention was impatient and hungry ; many didn't
care what happened ; Mr. Trumbull's and Mr. Cox's friends refused to allow
those gentlemen to be pressed for the second place ; Brown had many earnest
personal friends at work for him ; the thoughtless among Mr. Greeley's
friends were grateful to him ; and so the little sinful game of Frank Blair
was played out "successfully to the end.
"The blow falls very heavily upon the free traders of the West. They
-were the originators of this reform movement ; to them it meant, almost first
of all, tariff reform, and they struggled long and earnestly to put their ideas
on this aubject in the front. But partly by the betrayal of a portion of their
Missouri associates ; partly by their own over-persistence in the verbal strug
gle for the platform on the question, they have lost everything. The tariff
resolution is practically, and almost in words, Greeley's compromise, and the
candidate is the one man in all the country who believes most sincerely in
protection, and fights its battle most ably."
Horace White, of the Chicago Tribune, the
chief of these free traders, expressed his grief in
the following terms :
"The Gratz Brown performance has given the whole affair the appearance
of a put-up job, but it was merely a lucky guess. The Blairs and Browns
do not like Schurz. To defeat a candidate who was likely to be on confiden
tial terms with Schurz, as either Adams or Trumbull would have been, was
the thing nearest to their hearts, and for this purpose Brown made his appear
ance here. His speech in the convention fell like dishwater on the whole
assemblage. ¦1* ^fi ^T* . "jt !f! Sf! 3|S aft ?f»
"Then gush and hurrah swept everything down, and almost before the vote
of Illinois had been recorded by the Secretary, the dispatches came rushing
to the telegraph instruments that Greeley was nominated. For a moment
the wiser heads in the convention were stunned, though everybody tried to
look perfectly contented. Of all the things that could possibly happen, this

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 407
was the one thing which everybody supposed could not happen. Not even
the Greeley men themselves thought it could happen. The only able politi
cian who seemed to be really for Greeley, was Waldo Hutchins, of New York,
and even his sincerity was questioned by Greeley's back-bone friends as long
as the Davis movement was regarded as still alive."
"The politicians, for the most part, either left the convention, to bathe
their heads, or sat still, as idle and indifferent spectators. It was freely
charged and believed that the nomination of Greeley was a put-up job of
Brown's, and so delighted were the innocents at the success of the supposed
scheme, that they hastened to ratify it.
After the convention adjourned, the streets were filled with a Babel of the
most sorely puzzled individuals that the world has ever seen."
From the morning on which this dispatch was
published the Tribune never mentioned the name
of Gratz Brown editorially, except in a manner
merely incidental. The Cincinnati Volksblatt, the
ablest of the German papers which had inclined to
Liberalism, received the result with ineffable dis
gust. It said, on the following morning:
"The Liberal Convention has thrown away the opportunity it had. We
regret this, not merely on account of the forfeited success, but on account of
the bungled management of the movement. In a contest for correct princi
ples, and conducted by a real representative of the same, we could, if need
be, have even submitted to a defeat. It is nothing new to us to struggle with
minorities. The old Freesoil, afterwards Republican, party, was originally
a minority party. But it was a minority party which had to become a major
ity party, because it had Truth and Justice on its side. We cannot say the
same thing of a Greeley party."
How the Reformers were put to ignominous
route on their main issue — the Tariff — is thus told
*
by Mr. Bowles, a member of the syndicate and the
best possible authority on this subject :
" But here we must consider" how these people threw away their first and
great opportunity. So soon as the delegates began to assemble on Saturday,
the agitation of the tariff question commenced. Through Monday, Tuesday
and Wednesday, there was, as it were, a protracted meeting for discussion
and consultation upon this subject. It threatened at one time to disrupt the
convention. But it soon grew obvious that the great majority of the revenue

408 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
reformers themselves were indisposed to insist upon a radical declaration for
free trade. It was clearly felt that the reform movement had passed beyond
this special question, had reached to new elements of power, who held an
tagonistic views as to the tariff, and that the question of general reform, of a
higher tone in the administration, of a more generous policy toward the
South, of a burial of past issues, and the revolution and reconstruction of
parties, were the more pressing and absorbing points of the movement. But
a few of the revenue tariff doctrinaires — such men as Mr. Atkinson, of Bos
ton, and Judge Hoadley and Stanley Matthews, of Cincinnati — would not
yield their faith to these considerations. This was the corner-stone of their
politics ; it had grown in their minds to the first place in all reform ; they
felt that it would be disgrace and treason to yield it up, and they insisted
upon it beyond the patience almost of their associates — certainly beyond the
patience of the great body of the convention. Had they seen what such
men as Horace White and David A. Wells saw, what independent outsiders
saw and warned them of, and had they come frankly forward on Tuesday or
Wednesday, or even on Thursday morning, and said to Mr. Greeley's friends
and the Pennsylvania delegates — " We will yield this difference, we will ac
cept the relegation of this disputed question to the congressional elections,
and agree with you to its decision by congressional votes ; but in view of the
history of this movement, and in return for this concession, you must take a
candidate from among our representative men — you must take Mr. Adams,
or Mr. Trumbull, or Mr. Cox, or Mr. Brown" — doubtless the offer would
have been accepted, and platform and candidate would have grown out of an
honorable compromise. But they fought the platform against fate. They
urged, first, positive declarations for free trade or revenue reform ; next, they
sought to juggle the question with fine words ; and they only yielded the
only honorable compromise, when they had lost the good-will of the con
vention, and lost the opportunity to make terms on the ticket."
SCHURZ SOOTHES HIS SORROW WITH A SYMPHONY.
We make room for one other extract from Mr.
Bowles's letter, narrating how the man of the best
ability, clearest view and most sincere purpose
among them, vented his disgust after the crash and
chaos came :
"The conduct of Governor Brown and its resultant nomination of Mr.
Greeley were indeed a sad surprise and serious blow to Carl Schurz. Pledg
ing in faltering voice his support of the nomination to the convention, he left
it, weary with labor and sad in spirit, for the house of his friend, Judge Stallo-
Entering there a circle of equally disappointed friends, he said: 'I am over-

THE CINCINNATI CONVENTION. 409
whelmed and discouraged.' There were no words of consolation or cheer to
offer him, and a sad silence reigned for a few moments. Then he turned to
the piano, and with his master hand poured out his feeling through one of
Auber's most touching compositions. It seemed as if the composer's thought
had never been so fitly rendered before, and tears filled the eyes of the whole
company. But in a more noble way than he was wounded will the country
revenge Carl Schurz. His high and generous course at this convention and
his noble address to it won him the added respect of both friend and foe.
Never did he stand so high in the estimation of the American people as at
this moment, and he well deserves the compliment which Charles Francis
Adams paid to him more than a year ago, in saying, 'that the one man who
seemed to understand our institutions, their spirit, their history, their dan
gers and their possibilities, better than any other citizen, was of foreign birth,
and his name, Carl, Schurz.' "

CHAPTER XXI.
HORACE GREELEY.
Birth of the Hero — His Youthful Experiences — A Statesman in Leading
Strings — Almost Drowned — The Mystery of Ox-yoking too Great for
Him — Apprenticed to a Printer — Migrates to New York — Makes an Im
pression upon a Boss Printer — Begins to Develop his Eccentricities — His
Grahamite Experience — LAn Eating Exploit not Down in Graham's Bill
of Fare — Divers Instructive Anecdotes — Rise of the " Tribune" — Greeley's
Characteristics as a Journalist — What Horace White Said of Him — Gree
ley Travels — His Imprisonment at Paris — His Terrible Ride to Placerville.
It seems almost foolhardy to commence at this
stage of our book the biography of a man of such
multiplex characteristics, and of such a public rec
ord as belong to Horace Greeley — the man whose
name is better celebrated than that of perhaps any
other American ; the man who has been most inti
mately concerned in nearly half a century of New
York and national politics ; who has written a
dozen ponderous volumes and uncollected matter
enough to fill ten times as many ; who has been
on both extremes of nearly every important public
question, and received alternately the encomiums
and the curses of every free-speaking American
citizen ; who may truthfully be said to have brought
on the late civil war, insisted upon conducting it
both politically and militarily, nearly brought it to
(410)

HORACE GREELEY. 411
a disgraceful close more than once during its pro
gress, and finally officiated as its most popular his
torian. It is plain that to crowd the events and the
lessons of such an active and instructive life into
the space now at command will be great violence
to the subject — yet it has to be done ; and any who
may be disposed to grieve over the brevity of Mr.
Greeley's " life," as herein contained, must console
himself with reflecting that Greeley's friend, Mr.
Parton — most charming of biographic whitewash-
ers — has furnished to the world a history of this
famous man's life, only- less fascinating than the
same biographer's panegyric of Aaron Burr, or of
Benj. F. Butler — a history, too, which the present
writer has perused too well to contentedly forego a
frequent reference to its pages in the preparation
of this sketch. BORN.
Horace Greeley, sometimes called the Tribune
Philosopher, sometimes the Sage of Chappaqua,
sometimes the Peacemaker of Niagara, was born
on the 3d of February, 1811, and was therefore, at
the time of his nomination for President, somewhat
over sixty-one years old. Seven cities would doubt
less have contended for the honor of his birth-place,
had not the town of Amherst, N. H., shown such
incontestible proofs of title to that honor as to
squelch utterly all rivals. It is noteworthy that the
nascent statesman began, even before he ever
breathed, that policy of puzzling uncertainity which

412 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
has characterized him since looming upon the pub
lic view. Up to the time when he was fifteen
minutes old, Horace had by no means made up his
mind whether to accept this world as a fitting tene
ment for his occupancy, or to " spit upon it" (figur
atively, his salivary apparatus being not then well
developed) as he has since done for the platforms
of his party, and thus leave it to wag on as best it
might without him.
To be more explicit, it is related by his faithful
biographer that Horace, when first ushered into, —
well, the reader knows what is meant, without re
peating the trite phrase, — was found to be a dark
problem indeed ; presenting a skin of Cimmerian
blackness and a body as lifeless as that of the
Democratic party before it was galvanized at Cin
cinnati. "But the little discolored stranger had ar
ticles to write," observes Parton, most happily', "and
was not permitted to escape his destiny." Through
the efforts of an experienced aunt, whose name
richly deserves handing down to fame, the incipient
(and we might almost add, inchoate) philosopher
and Presidential candidate soon began to breathe
and to undergo that change of color from red to
black experienced by a lobster in boiling.
BECOMES A PRODIGY.
Being named Horace, in remembrance of a rel
ative "on his father's side," the infantile statesman
soon took upon himself the proper abbreviation,
"Hod," and bore it triumphantly until manhood

HORACE GREELEY. 413
arrived. "Hod" soon became the intellectual prod
igy of the community in which he lived. It is re
lated that he could read any ordinary book when
four years of age, and he was certainly the cham
pion speller of a large area of New Hampshire
territory. At six he had already resolved to be
come a printer ; and at fifteen he was allowed by
his father to put this resolution into practice. The
conversion of the elder Greeley to this plan of
disposing of his ambitious boy may have been fa
cilitated by the fact that, although "Hod" was an
intellectual prodigy, and could hold any man in
town a tearing discussion on political economy, he
would not learn which was the " off" ox and which
was the "near" one, and therefore was wont to
waste a great deal of valuable time, both of him
self and the oxen, in a useless endeavor to persuade
" Buck'" to come under the yoke in the place where
"Bright" ought to be* ADVERSITY.
Horace's mother was a woman of many excel
lences, and contributed much, by her training, to
bring the boy rapidly forward. Of his father, Zac-
cheus, we do not hear very much, except that he
was a good-natured, improvident man, who kept his
help (and himself, too, for that matter) too well
supplied with New England's favorite beverage,
rum. As a consequence, he was sold out by the
sheriff, and fled with his family to Westhaven, Rut-
* Parton's Panegyric,' page 67.

414 THE STRUGGLE OF '72-
land county, Vermont, where he took a farm of
a nabob of those parts, and operated it on shares.
A POSSIBLE (BUT NOT PROBABLE) EPISODE.
It must have been while on the Amherst farm
that Horace took those first lessons in agriculture
to which he alludes in " What I Know about Farm
ing." He there tells how he commenced his career
as an agriculturist by riding the old mare to furrow
between his father's corn, when he was only five
years old. Already his genius for acquiring knowl
edge had shown itself in his exploits with the read
ing book, and the neighbors had already marked
him as the boy who was one day to be President
(one of the million American youths who have been
thus marked, though we have had only eighteen
Presidents.) If marvels such as we read about in
ancient Roman history had not gone out of fashion
long ago, we might have looked in that memorable
cornfield for a repetition of the omen experienced
by the Tarquinian Lucius, whose cap, the veracious
fable tells us, was removed by an eagle, and then,
after that fowl had cut a pigeon-wing in the air,
was gracefully replaced. We might imagine the
juvenile Horace — Hod, for short — thus visited; but
if so, the bird should have been the pelican — type
of the Southern Confederacy, to which Horace
will be indebted for the supreme place in the na
tion's councils, if he ever obtains it.
Zaccheus Greeley's exodus took place in 1821,
when Horace was ten years old. He continued to
help about the farm — to

HORACE GREELEY. 415
"Mow and hoe and hold the plow,
And long for one-and-twenty,"
and to absorb the contents of all the books and
newspapers which came within seven miles of him
(we follow the figures of his Boswell in this narra
tive) until he had got well into his sixteenth year.
The experiences of the farm were only varied by
the exploits of the spelling school, the lyceum, and
the village tavern, where " Hod" was often trotted
out by admiring old codgers who there sat in per
petual congress, and whose earnest applause, while
developing in the boy a streak of vanity which has
never left him, doubtless did him much good, by
also developing in him the quality of self-reliance,
and encouraging him on a path which boys usually
find thorny, rough and unattractive.
A NARROW ESCAPE.
To these incidents were added few out of which
the biographer can construct a thrilling episode —
absolutely none, in fact, except one, wherein, it ap
pears, the young philosopher's thread of life came
near being nipped prematurely. When he was
thirteen years old occurred an adventure which
Parton designates as " Horace's first experience at
log-rolling." (Cincinnati may be termed his last,
thus far.) Himself and his younger brother were
floating across a mill-pond upon saw-logs, which ap
pears to have been the regular means of making the
transit. The younger one suddenly found himself
plumped into the pond, in water far beyond his
depth. Horace sailed to his relief upon his own

416 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
log, but was soon floundering in the water with his
brother. Neither could swim; but the younger
one had the sagacity to escape to a more tenable
mooring by clambering over Horace, who still
struggled with the treacherous log, yelling lustily
for help. This came at last, and the editor of the
Tribune was rescued from what had threatened to
be his watery grave. ANOTHER
It would appear that the young philosopher did
not, even through this thrilling experience, master
the science of riding saw-logs successfully; for
since his nomination at Cincinnati, a correspondent
of the Warren (Pa.) Mail has contributed to his
tory the following similar incident, with which he
endeavors to point a moral :
" In 1841 the correspondent was working at a saw-mill in Wrightsville.
Greeley being in that section on a visit to his father's family, came along can
vassing for his paper. He started to cross the pond on loose logs. ' Now,'
says the correspondent, ' such logs never will keep still. They bolt, and the
bolting philosopher soon found himself on two logs and two legs spreading
wider and wider apart the longer he tried to stand still ! The writer called
to him to go ahead, but he didn't ; he only went in up to his neck, and that's
all he knows about riding a saw-log. Now if he can't ride two saw-logs in
one direction, how can he ride two horses running in differe.it directions,
without going under ? That's the question.' "
At fourteen, the precocious youth had already
become a profound politician, and could put to
rout almost any of the Democratic politicians of
those parts. He had also become a confirmed
Universalist in religion ; nor has his Whiggism nor
his Universalism ever wavered a hair-breadth since

HORACE GREELEY. 417
that day, though other isms by the dozen have
risen and subsided in his fermenting brain.
HE GOES TO BE A PRINTER.
At fifteen* Horace was bound as an apprentice
to the publisher of the Northern Spectator, a week
ly paper published at East Poultney, Vermont,
having walked from Westhaven, all by himself, to
secure a situation advertised in that paper — the
stereotyped " Boy Wanted," so familiar at the
head of the editorial columns of many country
weeklies. Horace seems to have had the faculty
of impressing himself upon everybody whom he
met for the first time as an unmitigated idiot. He
so impressed the editor of the Northern Spectator,
who nevertheless consented to take him, and was
soon proud of the budding faculties of his appren
tice. MUSTERED OUT.
Here Horace worked over four years, having
been released from the conditions of his appren
ticeship about a year before its expiration, by the
failure of the newspaper and of the firm which
conducted it. This occurred in spite of the fact
that Horace had contributed many paragraphs to
its columns during the last year or two of his ser
vice. The dissolution of this concern mustered
Horace- Greeley out of service at East Poultney,
with twenty dollars in cash, a wardrobe which he
* Viz., in the spring of 1826.

41 8 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
might have stuffed in his pocket, and a fair knowl
edge of the typographic art. Released from his
apprenticeship and " out of a sit," as the printers
term it, he set out for a visit to his parents, who
had then removed "away out West," into the wilds
of Pennsylvania* He did not leave the scenes
of his struggles with the art of Guttemberg and
of his many debating-school triumphs, without re
ceiving a testimonial from admiring friends.
The landlord of the tavern in which Horace had
boarded, seeing the young man about to set out on
his journey, scantily clad and with a sore leg
(which the curious reader will find duly depicted
on the 1 6th page of Mr. Parton's book) felt so
moved in his heart toward the youthful pilgrim that
he urged one of his other boarders, then sitting by,
to give Horace an old overcoat which he (the
boarder) then had on ; and so contagious did this
generous emotion of the landlord prove that the
garment was immediately stripped off and con
ferred upon Horace, who, being much smaller than
his benefactor, walked away quite overwhelmed
with (and in) his newly acquired possession.
IN NEW YORK.
This ends the boyhood history of Horace Gree
ley. He next appears as a young man in his
twenty-first year, applying for work at the case in
New York. It is safe to say that young Greeley
was not at this time so lacking in confidence as
* Where his father died, aged 80 and upwards, about 1870.

HORACE GREELEY. 419
many young men who make their way to the city
in pursuit of work. He had acquired some of the
habits of journeymen printers — among them, card •
playing and a fluency in swearing and obscenity
which have since, as exhibited in and about the
Tribune office, been the admiration of outsiders
and the terror of employees. He had but recently
beaten Joe Wilson, of Cattaraugus county, at a
game of chequers, and  well, it could no longer be
disguised from a young man of Horace's keen per
ception, that he was " no slouch" of a fellow, take
him for all in all. But this impression was not
readily shared by casual observers; and hence,
when Horace appeared to take a " sit" in the office
of a Mr. West, at No. 85 Chatham street, he was
the subject of no little cacchination on the part of
the printers there employed, and of the following
remark from the proprietor to the foreman :
" What ! did you hire that  fool ?*
PARTNER IN A JOB OFFICE.
" That  fool" proved, however, to be one of
the best printers in the shop, and came forward
rapidly in his trade. At the beginning of 1833 we '
find him forming a partnership with a Mr. Story,
in the proprietorship of a job printing establish
ment on a small scale. The firm of Greeley &
Story was originated by the fatter named partner,
for the purpose of publishing a two-penny morning
paper for one Dr. Sheppard, and doing such other .
*Parton, page 124.

420 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
job work as could be obtained. The paper, called
the Morning Post, was the first one of its price
ever conceived in this country or elsewhere ; in
deed, it was never born as a penny paper, the
printers having persuaded the Doctor to place his
price at two cents for a time. The enterprise failed
in its third week, but the firm of Greeley & Sto
ry went on swimmingly until dissolved by the death
of Story, in the middle of the first year. The chief
revenue of the concern was derived from lottery
printing, which the firm made a specialty. It seems
that, though Greeley had imbibed a great many isms
— among them Washingtonianism, anti-Masonism
(on which he is very much set to this day), Gra-
hamism, Communism, etc., he had not acquired any
such antipathy to the lottery business— then infest
ing the lower strata of society with particular viru
lence — as to prevent his soliciting business auxiliary
to this species of gambling. The death of Story
did not break up the business, as the lottery print
ing had already begun to be quite remunerative.
Greeley took in two more partners, named Jonas
Winchester and E. Sibbett, and the firm name be
came Greeley & Co. He subsequently alludes
to these men, in a letter which he printed in the
Tribune, as "bad partners" — not a chivalrous phrase,
in view of the facts. HIS AFFECTATIONS.
It was about this time (1833-4) tnat Greeley
began to develop some of the personal eccentrici-

HORACE GREELEY. 42 I
ties which form so large an element of his notori
ety. For instance, he was very slovenly about his
dress, and it is recorded by his faithful Boswell that
the ladies of Mr. Winchester's household had great
difficulty "in inducing him to keep his shirt but
toned over his white bosom." It is also related by
the same chronicler that he was in the habit of for
getting whether he had been to dinner, and that
he would often be sent off after superfluous meals,
or fooled into fasting altogether by the practical
jokers of the office. This indication of genius was
not lost upon his admiring friends, who swore by
him as an oracle, whereas some of his old New
England neighborswould probably have been more
than ever disposed to brand as a (blank) fool, a
grown man who "didn't know enough to go to
dinner." A GRAHAMITE.
If, however, Horace did not know enough to go
to dinner, he knew a thing or two about what
•should be eaten on arriving there. In 1834 he em
braced the doctrines of Dr. Graham concerning
food, and, as was his wont with regard to other the
ories which struck him favorably, he became com
pletely possessed by them for a time, carrying them
to their farthest extreme. He became a vegetarian \
of the strictest sect, and reveled in bran-meal mush ;
and apples, to the exclusion of everything succu
lent and savory, especially meat. To carry this
doctrine into practical effect, and also to place him-
25

42 2 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
self conspicuously before the world as one who had
renounced the lascivious pleasures of the chop and
steak, Greeley went to the Graham Hotel to board.
CUPID SMITES.
It was here that he first encountered the lady
who soon afterward became his wife — Miss Mary
Y. Cheney, of North Carolina, a young woman of
the strong intellectual type, and a school teacher,
who also doted upon Graham breads, and who had
come even further than her lover to carry out her
theories of living. Their marriage occurred on the
X 5th of July, 1836, and has never been dissolved,
though there have always been • rumors that it did
not prove entirely a happy one. These rumors
have probably been exaggerated. At all events,
the fruits of the marriage have been five children,
of whom only one — a daughter, Ida, now twenty
odd years old — survives. In view of the possibility
of Mr. Greeley's being chosen President, there may
be some curiosity about the future lady of the
White House. This will undoubtedly be Miss Ida,
as society has not known her mother at all, not
withstanding Mr. Greeley's prominence, his idiosyn
cracies and his genial sociality have made him a
favorite in many parlors, and especially at public
banquets. THOSE SILK STOCKINGS.
While on the subject of Mr. Greeley's personal
eccentricities, particularly of dress,' we must not for-

HORACE GREELEY.

423

get the story of his wedding stockings. Horace
had imbibed from sortie source — probably from some
of the books which he had read in Vermont — an
idea that the only correct costume for a gentle
man to be married in, should include a pair of silk
stockings. He accordingly ordered a gorgeous pair
along with the wedding suit. Arraying himself in
the outfit, in rehearsal for the event, he was dis
gusted to the point of profanity to find that the
pantaloons came down so well upon the foot as to
bury the silk stockings in total eclipse. His radi
cally philosophical mind immediately preceived that
there was no use in sporting silk stockings for
nobody to look at — to " blush unseen" beneath the
shadow of black doeskin. And here the inventive
genius of our philosopher came into play. While
a common mind, or one tied down, like that of
General Grant, for instance, to the conventionalities
of society, would have gone to the wedding, and
few of the spectators been aware whether their
bridegroom's hose were of silk or cotton, Greeley
severed the Gordian knot of the situation, and won
an easy triumph. He ordered the tailor to cut a
sort of half moon into the bottom of the panta
loons, large enough to exhibit the gorgeousness of
the stockings so plainly that the wayfaring man,
though a fool, need not err therein. The silken
hose appeared in all their glory, and the trowsers
were, to say the least, of a cut which no man had
ever worn before, so that the device may be pro
nounced a complete success. " The way to resume

424 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
specie payment is to resume" says our philosopher.
" The way for everybody to be happy and wealthy
is to associate" ; and the way to exhibit your stock
ings to advantage is explained in the foregoing
lines. THE WHITE COAT.
It was also during or about this eventful period
7. of Greeley's life that the famous white coat first
\ made its appearance. The young adventurer had
; not failed to perceive that his awkwardness of ap
pearance had, on the whole, worked rather in his
favor than against him, since they had enhanced
his individuality, and made him a " marked man,"
as the saying is. He evidently resolved to culti
vate this feature of his personality, and cast about
him for some sort of garment which would serve
the purpose better than any other. He found it
upon a newly arrived immigrant — a long grey coat
of wool, which, not being made under the protect
ing wing of Henry Clay tariffs, was well made, and
lasted an astonishingly long time. When it was
gone, another was found, and thus Greeley was dis
tinguished until his metamorphosis occurred, on
"the occasion of his visiting Europe in 185 1. Then
he plunged to the opposite extreme, but soon lapsed
back into a slip-shod, though not absolutely eccen
tric style of costume.
A MEAL FOR A GRAHAMITE.
Having wandered away from our chronological
bearings, we may as well relate (still on the autho-

HORACE GREELEY. 425
rity of Greeley's own biographer) an anecdote
which his friends tell in illustration of the eccen
tricities above referred to. It was during the
famous campaign of 1840. Let us have the story
in the charming language of Mr. Parton, who
vouches for it as literally true :
"Time, — Sunday evening. Scene, — the parlor of a friend's house. Com
pany, — numerous and political, except the ladies, who are gracious and hos
pitable. Mr. Greeley is expected to tea, but does not come, and the meal is*
transacted without him. Tea over, he arrives, and plunges headlong into a
conversation on the currency. The lady of the house thinks he ' had better
take some tea,' but cannot get a hearing on the subject ; is distressed, puts
the question at length, and has her invitation hurriedly declined ; brushed
aside, in fact, with a wave of the hand.
" 'Take a cruller, any way,' said she, handing him a cake basket containing
a dozen or so of those unspeakable, Dutch mdigestibles.
" The expounder of the currency, dimly conscious that a large object was
approaching him, puts forth his hands, still vehemently talking, and takes,
not a cruller, but the cake-basket, and deposits it in his lap. The company
are inwardly convulsed, and some of the weaker members retire to the ad
joining apartment, the expounder continuing his harangue, unconscious of
their emotions or it cause. Minutes elapse. His hands, in their wandering
through the air, come in contact with the topmost cake, which they take and
break. He begins to eat ; and eats and talks, talks and eats, till he has fin
ished a cruller. Then he feels for another, and eats that, and goes on, slowly
consuming the contents of the basket till the last crumb is gone. The com
pany look on amazed, and the kind lady of the house fears for the conse
quences. She had heard that cheese is an antidote to indigestion. Taking
the empty cake-basket from his lap, she silently puts a plate of cheese in its
place, hoping that instinct will guide his hand aright. The experiment suc
ceeds. Gradually the blocks of white new cheese disappear. She removes
the plate. No ill consequences follow. Those who saw this sight are fixed
in the belief that Mr. Greeley was not then, nor has since become, aware
that on that evening he partook of sustenance."
THE " NEW YORKER."
Meantime, Greeley has made his debut and his
first success as an editor. On the 2 2d of March, jC
1834, appeared the first number of the New York-

426 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
er, of which the firm of Greeley & Co., above de
scribed, were the proprietors and Greeley himself
chief editor. The joint capital of the firm was
then about $3,000. The paper which they proposed
to print was a political, (but not partisan) literary
and family weekly, of a class much higher than
any then published in this country ; and few will
deny that they carried out their idea with great
zeal and fair ability. The New Yorker was a
model of typhographical neatness ; its selected
matter was choice, its compilations of news uncom
monly full and accurate for the time, and its edit
orials pointed, energetic and original. Its first en
deavor to be impartial in politics did not succeed
very well. Still, its Whiggism was much more
moderate than that of Mr. Greeley's subsequent
ventures in the journalistic line. One of the fea
tures of the New Yorker was the publication of a
piece of music each week. The first number con
tained "Meet me by moonlight alone ; " the next,
" Still so gently o'er me ; " and the next two were
devoted to Rossini's "All by the shady greenwood
tree ;" and in view of the narrow space at the dis
posal of the editor, it is evident that the musical
feature of the New Yorker was intended to be an
important one. The plan underwent some change
as time wore on ; but through all the circulation
increased, until it reached at one time 9,000. Yet,
through the failure of any of its proprietors to
grasp the practical and financial situation, the en
terprise never paid, and the publishers buried in it,

HORACE GREELEY. 427
during the seven years of its existence, all the
money they could make out of their job office, and
all they had accumulated at the beginning.
During the campaign of 1 840, Greeley published
and edited the Log Cabin, a Whig campaign paper,
in addition to the New Yorker, then still in exist
ence. In the autumn of the following year they
were both merged in the Weekly Tribune.
STARTS THE " TRIBUNE."
It was on the morning of the 10th of April,
1 841, that the first number of the Tribune was is
sued', as a cheap Whig daily, with a purpose to be
more decent as well as more enterprising than the
Sun and Herald — then the leading penny papers in
New York. The Tribune was sold at one cent a
copy, or $4 a year. Its capital was $1,000, bor
rowed by Greeley of James Coggeshall ; the talent
of himself and Henry J. Raymond, then new to New
York daily journalism; and the real need, which
then existed, of such a paper. The Tribune began
with 600 subscribers, and printed an edition of
5,000 the first day, only a portion of which were
sold. The circulation of the Tribune increased
apace, and well it might ; for besides being the
cheapest of all respectable papers in the city, it was
as newsy, spicy and able as the best of the ten-dol
lar journals. Both Greeley and Raymond performed
prodigies of work, the former usually writing about
three columns per day of editorial matter. Never
theless the paper did not attain financial success

428 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
during the first few months, for a reason which is
obvious. It lacked a good business head. This it
fortunately found in Thomas McElrath, who took
an interest in the concern and assumed the busi
ness management on July 31, following the foun
dation of the Tribune. Raymond should have
been made a partner also ; but he was kept on a
salary of $8 per week, and was, after a year or two,
allowed to leave the paper. The course of Gree
ley toward both Raymond and McElrath has been
criticised ; but upon what data we shall not under
take here to say. The best authority upon thissub-
ject is Maverick's Life of Raymond, which, how
ever, has a slight bias of personal favoritism for the
lamented subject of the biography.
Mr. Greeley embraced Fourierism as early as
1839; Dut *t did not crop out in the Tribune until
near the end of the first year of that paper's exist
ence. The most important facts of Mr. Greeley's
career in behalf of Communism are reserved for a
separate chapter in this history. The fact of such
a connection is mentioned here as an episode of
the Tribune's history — and a very important epi
sode it was, since it had much to do with the sud
denly gained notoriety of that paper.
GREELEY AS AN EDITOR.
Mr. Parton, in expressing his regrets that Gree
ley allowed Raymond to leave him, remarks, "Hor
ace Greeley is not a born journalist. He is too
much in earnest to be a perfect editor. He has

HORACE GREELEY. 429
too many opinions and preferences. He is a born
Legislator, a Deviser of Remedies, a Suggester of
Expedients, a Framer of Measures." But Parton
is manifestly wrong in ruling Greeley out of the
sphere of journalism upon these qualities and
characteristics. It is obvious from this schedule
of his biographer, as well as from his life generally,
that Mr. Greeley is a theorist, rather than a prac- ¦>
tical man ; an observer who takes a birds-eye view '
of humanity, rather than one who comes amongst
it and learns the character and qualities of each 1
specimen; and a ready and fertile inventor of
things practicable and impracticable, rather than
an organizer and handy operator of affairs. The
qualities which he has are needed in the journalist;
of those needed by the Legislator he has but few,
as he proved when in Congress ; and of those
needed by the Executive he has next to none.
Tact he has not ; but genius in a certain direction,
viz., of accumulating facts, constructing theories,
and communicating ideas, he certainly has. In
this direction runs the path of the journalist ;
and although Mr. Greeley is deficient in the judi
cial faculty, which every journalist should have, yet
it cannot be denied that he is, or rather was, until
the Presidential mania seized him, the most bril
liantly successful, and, on the whole, the chief of
all journalists in America.
HIS INTEMPERANCE OF LANGUAGE.
Mr. Greeley's career, as editor of the Tribune,

430 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
cannot here be traced in detail. Only such points
as illustrate his individual peculiarities will be
alluded to. One of these peculiarities is his intem
perate use of invective, showing his lack of prac
tical charity, and his uncontrollable tendency to
become flagrantly belligerent upon any case sub
mitted for his consideration. His penchant for
vituperative language toward his opponents devel
oped itself early in the history of the Tribune, and
continued up to the latest recorded utterance. It
is as natural for him to call names in his newspaper
as it is for a Billingsgate fishwoman at her stand ;
and the only excuse to be offered for. such violation
of dignity and decency is the same in each ease,
viz., that no fights ever come of it, as would hap
ped if another had used the epithet. Scarcely a
day passes during a compaign season, when Mr.
Greeley is habitually engaged at writing editorials
for the Tribune, that he does not brand some state
ment as "a lie." Somewhat less frequently he dubs
some person "a villain," etc. He used to pursue
Major Noah, of a rival paper, with especial vindic-
tiveness. In one paragraph referring to him he
would commence with, " We ought not to notice
this old villain again." In another, he would refer
to him as a "superannuated renegade from all par
ties." a "worn-out tool," etc. Here are other deli
cate morsels of Tribune repartee :
" The villain who makes this charge against me well knows its falsehood."
"We defy the Father of lies himself to crowd more stupendous falsehoods
into a paragraph than this contains."
" Mr. Benton ! Each of the above observations is a deliberate falsehood,-
and you are an unqualified villain ! "

HORACE GREELEY. 43 1

GREELEY AND WHITE EXCHANGE COMPLIMENTS.
And it was only last summer that Mr. Greeley
dubbed the editor of the Chicago Tribune — now
perforce his principal advocate in the West — as "a
sublime liar;" but the editor referred to had got
ahead of Greeley in this respect by saying of him
some months before :
" For twenty-five years he has been a marplot in council ; an unreliable
commander in action ; a misanthrope in victory, and a riotous disorganizer
in defeat. He has always been fanatical in his demands for the extremest
measures, and when the party has reached the eve of triumph, invariably
thrusts himself forward as a negotiator of terms of surrender to the enemy.
His course during the war was but a repetition of his course in politics.
In 1861 he was an open defender of secession ; he changed to a vigorous
champion of the war, and thereafter was forever recklessly making proposals
for peace and as recklessly withdrawing them — making war in spite of Mars,
and negotiating in spite of Minerva.
" For twenty years he has been an uncompromising advocate for a square
fight with the pro-slavery party, and when that kind of a fight was forced
upon the Republicans in i860, he was here in Chicago, voting not for Lin
coln, nor for Chase, but for old Edward Bates, of Missouri, one of the fossils
of the slave party. He was then the associate and co-laborer of that other
impracticable and unreliable squad, the Blair family. The country at this
time wants no inspired Harlequins in the national councils. Still less does
it want men with statesmanship so microscopic that they can see nothing in
public business but the mileage and per diem of their fellow members. If
Mr. Greeley is not satisfied with his position as a journalist — a position which
ought to be equal, in point of influence, power, and dignity, to that of six
average Senators — and if the Republicans of New York want to do some
thing for him, let them make him State Prison Inspector, or even Governor,
anything that will not make the people outside of the State responsible for
his follies."
Mr. Greeley continued his connection with the
Tribune up to the 15th of May, 1872, when, follow
ing the advice of friends proffered in view of his
recent nomination for President, he published in
that paper the following card :

432 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
" The Tribune has ceased to be a party organ, but the unexpected nomin
ation of its editor at Cincinnati, seems to involve it in a new embarrassment
All must be aware that the position of a journalist who is at the same time
a candidate, is at best irksome and difficult ; that he is fettered in action and
restrained in criticism by the knowledge that whatever he may say or do is
closely scanned by thousands, eager to find in it what may be so interpreted
as to annoy or perplex those who are supporting him as a candidate, and to
whom his shackled condition will not permit him to be serviceable. The
undersigned, therefore, withdraws absolutely from the conduct of the Tribune,
and will henceforth, until further notice, exercise no control or supervision
over its columns. "(Signed,) HORACE GREELEY.
" May 15, 1873."
greeley's works.
During his service on the Tribune and New
Yorker he fonnd time to enage in lecturing and
other enterprises, out of which he earned several
fortunes, though he has never amassed great wealth,
owing partly to improvidence, and partly to his
promiscuous generosity with money* In 1838-9,
*Some idea of the looseness of Mr. Greeley's habits in the management of
money affairs may be formed from an incident which Mr. Parton relates as
characteristic : " If a boy stole his letters from the Post-office, he would ad
monish him and let him go, or try him again. On one occasion, he went to
the Post-office himself, and, receiving a large number of letters, put them, it
is said, into the pockets of his overcoat. On reaching the office, he hung the
overcoat on its accustomed peg, and was soon lost in the composition of an
article. It was one of the last chilly days in spring, and he thought no more
either of the overcoat or its pockets till autumn. Letters kept coming in
complaining for the ndn-receipt. of papers which had been ordered and paid
for ; and the office was sorely perplexed. On the first cool day in October,
when the editor was shaking the summer's dirt from his coat, the missing let
ters were found, and the mystery was explained."
Under the same head the Chicago Times tells the story, which is doubtless
authentic in substance :
" It has long been notorious that whenever any unprincipled adventurer,
confidence man, or dead beat desired to ' make a raise,' he could readily de-
vise the way to bamboozle H. G. into indorsing his note or lending him the
required note. When one of the proprietors of the auxiliary Grant organ of

HORACE GREELEY. 433
he edited the Jeffersonian, a Whig campaign organ,
designed for New York State circulation ; he also
wrote leading articles for the Daily Whig, another
campaign organ. He has published numerous books,
mostly reprinted from the Tribune and other pa
pers. Principal among these are his " Hints To
ward Reform" (1850), "Glances at Europe" (1853),
" History of the Struggle for Slavery Extension
or Restriction in the United States, from 1718 to
1856, (1856), " Recollections of a Busy Life" (1866),
" The Great American Conflict," a history of the
War of Rebellion, in 2 volumes, (1865), a book in
Advocacy of Protection, published in 1868, and
"What I Know of Farming," (1870). "Hints To
ward Reform" was his maiden book. It contains
more condities of manner than the others, and is
at the same time more exempt from some of the
peculiar faults of Mr. Greeley's methods of treat-
this city met the philosopher in New York some months ago, he took the liberty
of an old acquaintanceship to ask him how much he was worth. ' Well,' said
the philosopher, ' I don't know. I've got ten shares in the Tribune ; I've got
a farm up here in the country, and I've got some other things, but I don't know
what they're worth. ' What does your Tribune stock pay you ?' ' I think about
$10,000 a year.' ' How much does it cost you to live ?' ' About $5,000 a year.'
'Well, what becomes of the other $5,000?' 'I pay my debts with it.'
'What revenue does your farm yield ?' ' From what I know about farming,
I should say not much. I contrive to get a part of my living from it.'
' Which leaves something over five thousand with which you pay your debts ?'
' Well, I think likely.' ' How much did you make out of your book ?' ' I
should say about a $100,000.' ' What became of that ?' ' Oh, I paid my
debts with it. ' Of course you draw a salary from the Tribune ?' ' Oh, yes ;
I use that to pay my debts. You see, Joe, the fact is, some of these fellows
who get me to indorse for them, turn out to be liars, villains, and scoundrels !¦
The Times ventures the observation that it is not economy in money matters,
any more than it is political economy, which H. G. represents."

434 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
ment. There is perceptible throughout this series
of essays a free gush of sentiment, or of senti
mentality, and the writer often indulges in a flight
of fancy which would probably have astonished
him at a later period of his development. "Hints
Toward Reform" is " affectionately" inscribed, with
many typographical flourishes, " To the Generous,
the Hopeful, the Loving who, firmly and joyfully Be
lieving in the Impartial and Boundless Goodness of
our Father, Trust that the Errors, the Crimes and
the Miseries which have long rendered Earth a Hell,
shall yet be Swallowed Up and Forgotten in a Far
Exceeding and Unmeasured Reign of Truth, Purity
and Bliss."
In one of the essays of this volume — that on
"Human Life" — he pictures the scene which should
present itself "to the piercing gaze of an unfet
tered spirit, unmindful of space, who should scan
this fair globe from the central orb of our system,"
with such detail as to make a sort of geographical
epic of the whole. From the " tiger-haunted jun
gles of India" and the "swarming vales of China
and Japan," he marches on, past the " scorched and
glowing deserts of Africa, shining in silvery worth-
lessness and desolation," to this country, with the
"prairie openings in its center, which nature, or
rather, the red man's annual conflagration, has suf
ficed to hollow out by imperceptible gradations,"
and the great lakes, of which he says the " last is
surpassing in profundity and beauty ;" and thence to
the "broad placid surface of the unvexed Pacific,

HORACE GREELEY. 435
sprinkled with isles of deepest emerald, where flow
ers perennial bloom." GREELEY AS A POET.
It should be known, also, that Mr. Greeley has
often "dropped into poetry," and that nearly forty
published poems, the product of his muse, are now
extant in print. They are less meritorious than
his prose, but that is not saying that they are bad
verses ; for Horace Greeley is certainly one of the
most vigorous and felicitous prose writers in Amer
ica. Of these poems, the most interesting and
carefully constructed (and, as it happens, the only
love poem in the lot) is called " Fantasies," and
bears date May 31, 1834. Therein, after stating
that,
"They deem me cold, that through the years departed,
I ne'er have bowed me to some form divine,"
he goes on to explain :
" No ! in my soul there glows but one bright vision,
And o'er my heart there rules but one fond spell,
Brightening my hours of sleep with dreams Elysian
Of one unseen, yet loved, aye, cherished well.
Unseen ? Ah ! no : her presence round me lingers,
Chasing each wayward thought that tempts to rove,
Weaving affection's web with fairy fingers,
And waking thoughts of purity and love."
At the time of composing this, Horace was
boarding at the Graham House; and it is more
than likely that he never had but one " bright vis
ion" to haunt him in the manner described, and she
the veritable one for whom the silk stockings were
donned two years afterwards.

436 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
Some facts of Mr. Greeley's connection with
American politics will be touched upon in the next
chapter ; and as his life has been one prolonged
political campaign, there are but few incidents or
episodes which we need stop to relate here. One
of these was the Tribune editor's voyage to Europe
in 1 85 1, where he served as a juror at the World's
Fair in London, and attracted considerable atten
tion as a prominent American politician and agita
tor — a class which always obtains demonstrative
recognition in England. In 1859, Mr. Greeley
made the journey overland to California, lecturing
and delivering addresses at almost every consider
able town. These are the principal travels of our
hero, and the principal episodes of his life, outside
of politics. CAPTURED BY THE FRENCH.
An incident of Greeley's European tour has re
cently been related by Don Piatt (a personal friend
and supporter), and is amusing enough to warrant
its transcription here :
One sunny summer's afternoon, nearly twenty years since, in beautiful
Paris, we were dressing for a dinner party. We had progressed liesurely so
far as the immaculate linen, the buff-colored pantaloons with the broad gold
braid running the length of each leg, and the patent leather boots, when
further adornment was arrested by a row upon the pavement in front of the
Legation. Looking through the window we saw our valued friend, Horace
Greeley, struggling in the hands of six ruffians, while a gathering crowd
looked on with the quiet indifference so peculiar to the French.
It was not wise to rush into that conflict without our diplomatic coat.
Could we , have added the cocked hat, with national tail feathers of the
American rooster, it would have been well. The French mind respects
the diplomatic position, being a civilized, a polite nation, and find in the

JANUS GREELEY.

and Honesty in Government.'

HORACE GREELEY.

439

clothes thereunto belonging conclusive evidence of mysterious powers. Now
our diplomacy did not get beyond the legs. From the feet to the waist we
were in the eyes of Paris a diplomatic power. From the waist up we were
only a private citizen. We might have kicked a French official, but he in
return, while respecting our diplomatic legs, could have punched our unofficial
head. We have never ceased to regret this false move on our part. Oh ! if we
had only put on that coat, what different results would now go to make up the
Recollections of a Busy Life and the history of the world. As it was, our
arrival upon the scene did not have the effect it ought to have had. The
French myrmidons did npt fall back in respectful awe before us. Not much.
They only went on more vigorously with their infamous work. This consisted
in an attempt to get Mr. Greeley into a very common and disreputable voiture.
Two stout Frenchmen were swung each to the great journalist's arms, and
he held back in the most bashful and diffident manner. The six Parisians
were all talking at once in the purest French. Mr. Greeley was responding
in the purest English — that is, interspersed with some profane language, of
which he was, and is, a consummate master. We recollect he called these
officious officials "damned hogs," showing at the moment his agricultural
turn. We did not suggest at the time that he had better translate that into
" maudit cochon," and so touch the souls of the miserables, as the hour for
discussion had'passed, and that of action arrived. We shook off one of the
assailants, and interposed our diplomatic person between our journalistic
friend and his other enemy, and while doing so we cried :
" Run into the bureau, Mr. Greeley — run ! "
We knew that if he once took sanctuary in that way, he would stand as it
were upon the sacred soil of free America, and could bid the minions of an
effete despotism defiance. But he would not, this infatuated quill driver,
take the hint
" What must I run for ?" he demanded in his querulous, shrill voice. " I
have done nothing to run from ; only ask these damned scoundrels what they
want." We did not believe our guileless friend ; we must say that we did not put
a particle of confidence in his assertions of innocence. We believed he had
committed murder. From reading Mr. Greeley's editorials we had been
impressed with the belief that he was capable of great violence. We thought
then that he had got into controversy with some poor Frenchman on the
tariff, and had assassinated him because of the difficulty of making himself
understood. Mr. Greeley is troubled with this, and gets very violent when
the fit is on him.
We continued our friendly efforts in his behalf. Not wishing to accompany
our dear friend to prison when we were expected to a charming dinner, we
did not murder the six assailants; we did not even knock them down, but we did
make it very lively for them, and gave Mr. Greeley several excellent chances
26

44-0 THE STRUGGLE OF '72-
escape. He declined accepting them, and knowing that we would be too
late for dinner, we desisted at last, and through our tears saw the old white
hat and venerable coat chucked by the ruffians into that vulgar vioture,
where two sat by him and one on him. The dirty vehicle was driven away
with such violence that the horse actually took fright and for the first time in
the history of Paris a horse of this sort ran away. It was not much of a
run, but so amazed the driver that he lost his head and let the crazy animal
collide with one of the trees in the camps Elysees, when the Tribune and the
officers were all spilled out.
The police of Paris are world-famous for their efficiency, and on this
occasion they arrested the voiture and driver and marched them off, leaving
the officers and prisoner to find another vehicle to carry them to the debtors'
prison, known as Clichy.
This all occurred on Saturday afternoon, and I learned that night the
meaning of it. It seemed that the World's Exposition, held in New York a
few years before this event, the directors, wishing to encourage the concern,
pledged themselves to not only return safely the articles not sold, but pay for
transportation of the same. This encouraged a French artist to send a life-
sized statue of Venus de Medicis, and whether in marble or plaster we fail
to remember. All French artists indulge in Venuses, and this one came to
grief. The Exposition proved a failure, the transportation was not paid, and,
worse yet, the Venus de Medicis had her nose knocked. Now the Venus in
Paris with a damaged nose is common, but not attractive, and the indignant
artist wanted pay for the same. He did not get pay to any great extent, and
learning that Mr. Greeley, one of the directors, was in Paris, the artistic
stone-cutter had him arrested late on Saturday afternoon, so as to incarcerate
him in prison until Monday at least, believing that the free-born American
would pay the amount rather than submit to the outrage. He mistook his
man. We left that little dinner party at an early hour. We saw Judge Mason
and secured his efforts in behalf of the imprisoned journalist. We had an
interview with the Minister of Foreign affairs, and I must say for my chief,
that he stated the case with much earnest force, so much indeed, that Mr.
Greeley's release was promptly ordered, and on Monday, the able journalist
came out a free man.

CHAPTER XXII.
GREELEY AS A FOURIERITE.
The Sage of Lackawaxen — He Espouses the Philosophy of Fourier — What
That Means — Socialism in America — Greeley as its Great Apostle — His
First Bull Run — " On to Lackawaxen" — His Colony Fails Miserably and
he Calls the Members hard Nances — Greeley's Utterances in Favor of
Communism — His Discussion with Raymond.
By no means the least interesting part of Horace
Greeley's life is his experience as a prominenfad-
vocate of Fourierism, and a zealous laborer in the
work of planting these unfortunate colonies, or
" phalanxes," which began to dot the country about
thirty years ago, and the wrecks of which are still
to be seen in almost every State. The story of
these enterprises would be comical if it were not so
sad a record of credulous, crack-brained mortals,
duped by designing knaves or (more frequently)
misled by others more brilliant, and also more
crack-brained than themselves.
GREELEY THE FOUNDER OF FOURIERISM IN AMERICA.
Early in his journalistic career, Mr. Greeley
espoused the cause of the Socialists — they who
sought to reorganize society on a far better plan
than that which .he Creator ordained ; to abolish,
in great measure, the sacred ties of family, and to
(440

442 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
substitute the Community in its place; to repeal
the natural laws which guarantee personal inde
pendence in the enterprise of accumulating wealth
and spending it, and to substitute therefor a prin
ciple which Mr. Greeley calls interdependence.
John Humphrey Noyes, the leading apostle of
the Oneida Community, a strictly free-love associ
ation which grew out of these earlier attempts at
Communism, says in his " History of American
Socialisms" [page 14] :
., " Fourierism was introduced into this country by
A Albert Brisbane and Horace Greeley in 1842, and
then commenced another great national movement
similar to that of Owenism, [a previously exploded
ism] but far more universal and enthusiastic. Many
of them never undertook to carry into practice
Fourier's theories in full ; but they all originated
in a common excitement, and that excitement took
its rise from the publications of Brisbane and
Greeley." WHAT FOURIERISM MEANS.
Before narrating (chiefly from facts obtained in
Noyes's book and from a carefully prepared ac
count by A. J. MacDonald, embodied thereii ) the
career of Mr. Greeley as a Fourierite and Com
munist, we will quote from Henry J. Raymond — a
man noted, in his day, for fairness to his opponents
— a statement of the vital tenets of the American
Socialists. It is taken from the concluding article
of a notable discussion which took place in 1846-7

GREELEY AS A FOURIERITE. 443
between Raymond and Greeley, and which was
printed in the New York Times and Tribune, com
mencing Nov. 20,, 1846. Mr. Raymond says:
"We have proved, in preceding articles of this
discussion, that the whole system of association is
founded upon, and grows out of, the fundamental
principle known as the law of passional attraction.
The arguments by which this position is established
remains untouched ; and we shall not therefore re
peat it. In our last article we proved that in this
system the law of man's nature is made the supreme *
rule of his conduct and character; that it recog
nizes no higher law than that of inclination, no
authority above that of passion ; and of course no
essential distinction between right and wrong — no
standard of duty except that of impulse. Of course
the idea of human responsibility is utterly de
stroyed ; and all the sanctions of moral and religi
ous truth, as derived from the Word of God, are
abrogated and cast aside. These deductions flow
inevitably from the law of passional attraction."
The inevitable particular tendencies of the social
istic theory advocated by Mr. Greeley, not only as
elaborated by Fourier and others, but as following
logically upon the main principles avowed by Gree
ley, are further pointed out by Mr. Raymond in his
concluding article. He shows how in attempting
to reform labor, by breaking down what he calls the
monopoly of land, Mr. Greeley would virtually
throw all the land into the hands of a few capital
ists, and make those less thrifty by nature their de-

444 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
pendent tenants and serfs. He shows how, in abol
ishing the isolated households which characterize
the natural condition of civilized society, and throw
ing everybody into droves, Mr. Greeley would de
prive men and women of that desire for a comfort
able separate home, which constitutes the main
spur to industry and good habits. He shows how,
in the communistic plan of taking children from the
care of their parents and nurses, and entrusting the
community with their education from the first, a
deadly blow is struck at the parental relation as
ordained in the Word of God. He shows how, in
the abolition of the marriage relation, and leaving
women free from either marital obligation or re
sponsibility for the care of their offspring, Mr.
Greeley, or those who defend this communistic the
ory, introduce into society a worse form of polyg
amy, or of that and polyandry combined, than has
ever been attempted in any nation or any age of
the world.
Such is a clear, cool, logical statement of the
doctrines of an order of which Albert Brisbane
said : " Greeley has created the cause in this
country." THE TRIBUNE THE ORGAN OF FOURIERISM.
How did he do this? Let us follow events in
their chronological order.
In 1842, when Brisbane and Greeley introduced
Fourierism into America, the New York Tribune

GREELEY AS A FOURIERITE. 44c
was in its infancy. It was, as Mr. Greeley is accus
tomed to call the Pennsylvania iron mills, and the
New England woollen and cotton factories, a "strug
gling" institution. A portion of its space was then
surrendered to the Communists, who occupied it
daily with good effect — that is, good from their
point of view. To be sure, there was an editorial
explanation on the first day of the Tribune's ser
vice in this cause, to the effect that the proprietors
of the paper were not to be held responsible for
what they printed in these columns. But this was
evidently on account of Mr. Greeley's partner, Mr.
McElrath, as " it was known," says Noyes, "that
Greeley was much in sympathy with Fourierism, so
that Brisbane had the help of his popularity"
with the laborers, whose organ the Tribune
also was). And the historian adds : " Whether the
Tribune lifted Fourierism or Fourierism lifted the
Tribune, may be a matter of doubt ;" but he inclines
to the latter opinion. ON TO LACKAWAXEN !
In May, 1843, we hear of Mr. Greeley as Treas
urer of the Sylvania Phalanx, a Fourierite com
munity, which ran a brief and by no means brilliant
career at Lackawaxen, Pike county, Pennsylvania,
and of which Thomas Whitley was President. An
address issued in the form of a pamphlet, and
signed by Horace Greeley, amongst others, con
tained the following announcement :
" This association was formed early in 1843 by a few citizens of New
York, mainly mechanics, who, deeply impressed with the present defective,

446 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
vice-engendering and ruinous system of society, with the wasteful complica
tion of its isolated households, its destructive competition and anarchy in in
dustry, its constraint of millions to idleness and consequent dependence or
famine for want of employment, and its failure to secure education and devel
opment to the children growing up all around and amoug us in ignorance
and vice, were impelled to immediate, energetic action in resistance to these
manifold and mighty evils. Having earnestly studied the system of indus-
ttial organization and social reform propounded by Charles Fourier, and been
led to recognize in it a beneficent, expansive and practical plan for the melior
ation of the condition of man and his moral and intellectual elevation, they
most heartily adopted that system as the basis and guide of their operations:'
" Vice-engendering " is a good phrase, especially
when, as a remedy for the vice-engendering system,
Mr. Greeley proposed to substitute a plan of social
organization which abolishes the home, and throws
the human beings upon whom he experiments into
a promiscuous boarding-house in which each works
for his keeping merely ; and in which the only moral
law recognized is "passional equilibrium"!
Into this scheme about 1 50 persons were decoyed
by the Greeley prospectus and by the glowing de
scription of the " domain," published in the Phal
anx, organ of the association, which last repre
sented the said domain as being handily accessible,
and having for soil " a deep loam, well calculated
for tillage and grazing." How the poor Lacka-
waxenites fared, and what were the practical work
ings of Mr. Greeley's " beneficent, expansive " sys
tem, is best told in a dialogue reported by Mr. Mac
Donald, as having been held between G, an inqui
rer after wisdom, and A., a member of the Phalanx.
HOW THE "EXPANSIVE SYSTEM" WORKED.
C — What were the qualifications of the men who were appointed to select
the location ? I think this very important.

GREELEY AS A FOURIERITE. 447
A. — One was a landscape painter, another an industrious cooper, and the
third was a homoepathic doctor !
C. — And not a farmer among them ! Well, this must have been a great
mistake. At what season did they go to examine the country ?
A. — I think it was in March ; I am sure it was before the snow was off the
ground. C. — How unhappy are the working classes in having so little patience.
Everything they attempt seems to fail because they will not wait the right
time. Had you any capitalists among you ?
A. — No ; they were principally working people, brought up to a city life.
C. — But you encouraged capitalists to join your society ?
A. — Our constitution provided for them as well as laborers. We wished to
combine capital and labor, according to the theory laid down by Charles
Fourier. C. — But about the committee which you say consisted of an artist, me
chanic and a doctor ; what report did they make concerning the land ?
A. — They reported favorably of a section of land in Pike County, Pa., con
sisting of about 2,394 acres, partly wooded with yellow pine and small oak
trees, with a soil of yellow loam without lime. It was well watered, had an
undulating surface, and was said to be elevated fifteen hundred feet above the
Hudson river. To reach it from New York and Albany, we had to take our
things first to Rondout, on the Hudson, and thence by canal to Lackawanna ;
then five miles up hill on a bad stony road. [In the prospectus the canal is
said to be " directly across from the domain."] There was plenty of stone
for building purposes lying all over the land. The soil being covered with
snow, the committee did not see it, but from the small size of the trees, they
probably judged it would be easily cleared, which would be a great advantage
to city-choppers. Nine thousand dollars was the price demanded for this
place, and the society concluded to take it.
C.  What improvements were upon it, and what were the conditions of
sale? A. — There were about thirty acres planted with rye, which grain, I under
stood, had been successively planted upon it for six years without any manure.
This was taken as a proof of the strength of the soil ; but when we reaped,
we were compelled to rake for ten yards on each side of the spot where we
intended to make the bundle, before we had sufficient to tie together. There
were three old houses on the place ; a good barn and cow-shed ; a grist-mill
without machinery, with a good stream for water-power ; an old saw-mill,
with a very indifferent water-wheel. These, together with several skeletons
of what had once been horses, constituted the stock and improvements. We
were to pay $1,000 down in cash ; the owner was to put in $1,000 as stock,
and the balance was to be paid by annual instalments.
C. — How much stock did the members take ?

44^ THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
A. — To state the exact amount would be somewhat difficult ; for some who
subscribed liberally at first, withdrew their subscriptions while others in
creased them. On examining my papers, I reckon that in Albany there were
about $4,500 subscribed in money and useful articles for mechanical and
other purposes. In New York I should estimate that about $6,000 were sub-
cribed in like proportions.
C. — When did the members proceed to the domain, and how did they pro
gress there ?
A. — They left New York and Albany for the domain about the beginning,
of May ; and I find from a table I kept of the number of persons, with their
ages, sex and occupations, that in the following August there were on the
place twenty-eight married men, twenty-seven married women, twenty-four
single young men, six single young women, and fifty-one children ; making a
total of one hundred and thirty-six individuals. These had to be closely
packed in three very indifferent two-story frame houses. The upper story of
the grist-mill was devoted to as many as could sleep there. These arrange
ments very soon brought trouble. Children with every variety of temper and
habits, were brought in close contact, without any previous training to pre
pare them for it. Parents, each with his or her peculiar character and mode
of educating children, long used to very different accommodations, were
brought here and literally compelled to live like a herd of animals. Some
thought their children would be taken and cared for by the society, as its
own family ; while others claimed and practiced the right to procure for their
children all the little indulgences they had been used to. Thus jealousies and
ill-feelings were created, and in place of that self-sacrifice and zealous sup
port of the constitution and officers, to which they were all pledged (I have
no doubt by some in ignorance), there was a total disregard of all discipline,
and a determination in each to have the biggest share of all things going>
except .hard labor, which was very unpopular with a certain class. Aside
from the above, had we been carefully selected from families in each city, and
had we been found capable of giving up our individual preferences to accom
plish the glorious object we had in view, what had we to experiment upon ?
In my opinion, a barren wilderness ; not giving the slightest prospect that it
would ever generously yield a return for the great sacrifices we were making
upon it.. The land was cold and sterile, apparently incapable of supporting
the stunted pines which looked like a vast collection of barbers' poles upon
its surface. I will give you one or two illustrations of the quality of the soil :
We cut and cleared four and a half acres of what we thought might be pro
ductive soil ; and after having plowed and cross-plowed it, we sowed it with
buckwheat. When the crop was drawn into the barn and threshed, it yielded
eleven and a-half bushels. Again, we toiled hard, clearing the brush and
picking up the stones from seventeen acres of new land : we plowed it three
different ways, and then sowed and harrowed it with great care. When the

GREELEY AS A FOURIERITE. 449
product was reaped and threshed, it did not yield more than the quantity of
seed planted. Such experiences as these made me look upon the whole oper
ation as a suicidal affair, blasting forever the hopes and aspirations of the few
noble spirits who tried so hard to establish in practice, the vision they had
seen for years.
C. — How long did the Association remain on the place ?
A. — About a year and a half, and then it was abandoned as rapidly as it
was settled.
C. — They made improvements while there. What were they, and who got
them when the society left ?
A. — We cleared over one hnndred acres and fenced it in ; built a large
frame-house forty feet by forty, three stories high ; also a two-story carpen-
ter's-shop, and a new wagon-house. We repaired the dam and saw-mill, and
made other improvements which I cannot now particularize. These im
provements went to the original owner, who had already received two thou
sand dollars on the purchase ; and (as he expressed it) he generously agreed
to take the land back, with the improvements, and release the trustees from
all further obligations !
And MacDonald adds to this narration, ias the
fruit of his observations and reflections upon the
subject, the following remarks :
" There were too many children on the place, their number being fifty-one
to eighty-five adults. Some persons went there very poor, in fact, without
anything, and came away in a better condition ; while others took all they
could with them, and came back poor. Young men, it is stated, wasted the
good things at the commencement of the experiment ; and besides vic
tuals, dry-goods supplied by the Association were unequally obtained. Idle
and greedy people find their way into such attempts, and soon show forth
their character by burdening others with too much labor, and, in times of
scarcity, supplying themselves with more than their allowance, of various
aritcles, instead of taking less.
"Where such a failure as this occurs, many persons are apt to throw the
blame upon particular individuals as well as on the principles ; but in this
case, I believe, nearly all connected with it agree that the inferior land and
location was the fundamental cause of ill success.
" It was a loss to nearly all engaged in it. Those who subscribed and did
not go, lost their shares ; and those subscribed and did go, lost their valuable
time as well as their shares. The sufferers were in error, and were led into
the experiment by others, who were likewise in error. Working men left
their situations, some good and some bad, and, in their enthusiasm, expected
not only to improve their own condition, but the condition of mankind.

45° THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
They fought the fight, and were defeated, Some were so badly wounded
that it took them many years to recover ; while others, more fortunate,
speedily regained their former positions, and now thrive well in the world
again. The capital expended on this experiment was estimated at $14,000."
This funeral sermon is corroborated in its sub
stantial statements by the Phalanx, (the same paper
which had published the rose-colored description
of the Sylvania " domain " a year before,) which in
announcing the failure and utter confusion of the
enterprise, treated it as due to " the fact that the
domain is located in a thinly inhabited region, cut
off almost entirely from a market for its surplus pro
ductions," and that the association had "become
satisfied of its inability to contend successfully
against an ungrateful soil and ungenial climate,
which unfortunately characterize the domain on
which it settled." The notice is exceedingly laconic
for the Communists, who had developed a great
fertility of words ; no " ungrateful soil " or " un
genial climate " were their fermenting brains. So
laconic indeed was the obituary of the Lackawaxen
Phalanx that there appears to have been no room in it
for an invitation for the ruined Communists to "apply
to the Treasurer, Horace Greeley, Esq., for the re
turn of the $14,000 cash sunk in the enterprise"!
And yet such a transaction as this, whatever we
may say of the " passional equilibrium," was abso
lutely necessary to the financial equilibrium of the
Phalanx. WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE?
We cannot forbear making one more quotation

GREELEY AS A FOURIERITE. 45 1
relative to the history of this cruel experiment. It
is a reflection indulged in by one who feels kindly
toward Socialism, but who does not approve of such
a reckless rushing into experiments, with illy diges
ted plans, or such an unscrupulous confidence game
as that practiced by the agents of this Lackawaxen
enterprise :
"What, then, shall we say of the rank and file that formed themselves in
to phalanxes and marched into the wilderness to the music of Fourierism ?
Multitudes of them, like the poor Sylvanians, lost their all in the battle. To
them it was no mere matter of theory or of pleasant propagandism, but a
miserable 'Bull Run.' And surely there was a great mistake somewhere.
Who was responsible for the enormous miscalculation of times and forces,
and capabilities of human nature, that is manifest in the universal disaster of
the experiments ? Shall we clear the generals, [Greeley, Whitley, et «/.,] and
leave the poor soldiers to be called volunteer fools, without even the comfort
of being in good company ?"
And yet this is precisely what Greeley called his
colonists in his Tribune not long after the retreat
from Lackawaxen. He referred to himself, Whitley,
and other "generals," as "noble, lofty souls," and to
their unhappy dupes as " the conceited, the crotch
ety, the selfish, the headstrong, the unappreciative,
the played out, the idle, and the good-for-nothing
generally," upon whom the blame of the failure
rested ! Here is true charity for you ! Here is an
illustration of the practical philanthropy of some
who set themselves up as philanthropists on a grand
scale !
GREELEY CONTINUES TO RECONSTRUCT MANKIND.
But this disastrous and humiliating experience
did not quench the fire of philanthropy which
burned in the breast of the sage of Lackawaxen.

452 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
Greeley was still recognized by the Socialists as a
strong tower of their system ; and at the National
Convention of Associationists, held at New York,
April 4th, 1844, he was one of the Vice-Presidents,
and was re-elected one of the editors of the Pha
lanx newspaper, (the Harbinger, to which Greeley
also contributed, having been founded later.) This
convention was very much of a love-feast and jubi
lee, the order being at the time in the heyday
of its financial prosperity. Among the members
were Brisbane and Greeley, the twin leaders of the
movement ; George Ripley, one of Greeley's edit
orial writers at the present time ; Charles A. Dana,
who has since developed into the champion black
guard of America, but who was then a very devout
and self-abnegating representative of the Brook
Farm Phalanx ; and Parke Godwin, who furnished
a remarkably pious and ingenious address, attempt
ing to trace to the Bible the principles of the
order. A FAMOUS BANQUET.
On the evening of the 6th, the Convention had
a banquet at the Apollo Saloon. Mr. Greeley
was toasted by Brisbane in a fervent speech, in
which the toaster said: "He [Greeley] has done
for us what we never could have done. He has
created the cause on this continent. He has done
the work of a century." This extravagant eulogi-
um Mr. Greeley accepted with a smile, and launched
out in a speech wherein he said:

GREELEY AS A FOURIERITE. 453
"When I took up this cause, I knew that I went in the teeth of many of
my patrons, in the teeth of the prejudices of the great mass, in the teeth of
religious prejudices ; for I confess I had a great many more clergymen on
my list [no credit for poor McElrath] before than I have now, as I am sorry to
say ; for had they kept on, I think I could have done them a little good.
[Laughter.] But in the face of all this I have gone on, pursuing a manly,
and at the same time a circumspect course, treading wantonly on no man's
prejudice ; telling, on the contrary, universal man, I will defer to your pre
judices as far as I can consistently with my duty ; but when duty leads me
you must excuse my stepping on your corn if it be in the way." [Cheers.]
This speech is printed in the official report given
by the Phalanx at the time, and bears internal evi
dence of having been written out by Mr. Greeley
for this purpose. It will be seen that the philoso
pher and presidential candidate avows very em
phatically his purpose to fly in the teeth of the
prejudices of the great masses whenever he sees
fit. Of course, he at once dubs as "prejudice" all
opposition to his views, and proceeds to "fly in the
teeth " of the people, "tread on their corns," etc., as
he pleases. This is not the kind of man whom the
people want for President, especially since their ex
perience of Andrew Johnson.
The day on which this banquet was held was the
anniversary of Fourier's birth-day. The regular
toasts were all to the memory of this theorist, and
to the twelve several passions, which, according to
Fourier, constitute the active forces of human na
ture. The brethren became so wrought up with
some of these passions that after one of the toasts,
Mr. Mac Daniel proposed that the thing be repeated
with clasped hands. " This proposition," says the
Phalanx, "was instantly accepted, and, with a burst

454 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
of enthusiasm, every man rose, and locking hands
all round the table, the toast was repeated by the
whole company, producing an electric thrill of
emotion through every nerve" This phenomenon
is strictly according to Fourier, who has much to
say about the passional effect of Touch. It is
doubtless a recollection of this thrilling moment
which impels Mr. Chas. A. Dana, after years de
voted to writing down Mr. Greeley, to turn about
and give him a solemn support (if Dana's advo
cacy can be called a support) in his candidacy for
President. Of course, after such a season of mutual admir
ation and " electric thrill" as this, the faithful band
returned to their task of propagandism with re
doubled zeal. Dana returned to "menial and re
pulsive work" at Brook Farm, and Greeley straight
way indulged in another Phalanx, and another pros
pectus. This was the North American Phalanx
which had its location at Monmouth, N. J., about
forty miles from New York city. Greeley was
Vice President and a large stockholder. Special
efforts were made to fill up the ranks of this phal
anx with true and trusty soldiers, and to weed out ,
with scrupulous care all " the selfish, the conceited,
the played-out," etc., whom their leader at Lacka
waxen had so severely execrated. But human
nature proved too much for the "beneficient and
expansive" system of Association, and after eleven
years of trial, during which the financial prosperity
of the Communists had not been bad, the members

GREELEY AS A FOURIERITE.

455

suddenly discovered, with one consent, that they
would prefer to return to the "vice-engendering
systems" of civilized society, and the "wasteful
complications of its isolated households."
Mr. Greeley's demeanor toward these enterprises
was characterized by the same reckless generosity
with money which has been observed in his private
life. The Philosopher has ever been ready to lend
a man five dollars, even though he had but four to
lend him. It is imputed to him that, in contribut
ing material aid to the struggling associations, he
was far more forward than his fellow laborer, Bris
bane. In his address to the fraternity, published
in the Harbinger of Oct. 25, 1845, he wrote :
" Fellow Associationists ! I shall do whatever I
can for the promotion of our common cause. To
it whatever I have or may hereafter acquire, of pe
cuniary ability is devoted ; may I not hope for. a
like devotion from you ? "
The response does not seem to have been very
encouraging; for the system, already dead at the
core and fast going to decay, continued to droop in
all its branches. THE DISCUSSION WITH RAYMOND.
This did not, however, deter Greeley from taking
up the cudgels in behalf of Socialism whenever
opportunity offered. In 1846 and '47 occurred the fa
mous discussion with Henry J. Raymond, already
quoted from.
In the first of his twelve articles of this series,
Mr. Greeley contended that the landless have an
27

456 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
inherent' right to their "due share" of land, and
the right of constant employment ; and that these
rights cannot be guaranteed without a radical
change in our social economy. In the second he
outlined the system of co-operation by phalanxes.
In the third he unfolded the same fully, and enun
ciated substantially the theory of Fourier ; i. e.,
common property, etc. And so on, to the end of
the last chapter, wherein he yearned for " the associ
ation of two or three hundred families, after the
similitude of a bank or a whale-ship (!) inhabiting
a common edifice." He " saw in the benevolent
movements of the present time the portents of a
good time coming. In this faith," he declared, " I
labor and live; share it or scout it, as you will.
Adieu." And nere he appended those awe-inspir
ing initials, " H. G." with which the public has be
come so familiar.
It was generally pronounced that Raymond had
the better of his antagonist in this discussion; but
in estimating the intellectual merits of the perform
ance, it must be borne in mind that Raymond had
the sympathy of the entire public, to begin with.
However well he may have "argued, he did not
convince " H. G." — that is certain ; for ten years
later we find that staunch disputant still "flying in
the teeth of prejudice," and incontinently tendering
a loan of $12,000 to the North American Phalanx
— an offer which does more credit to his heart than
to his head, since the Phalanx was then in the
throes of dissolution, and was soon sold out at sixty
cents on the dollar.

CHAPTER XXIII.
GREELEY AS A POLITICIAN.
His Political Life Characterized — Greeley's First Experience at " Relegat
ing" — The Tippecanoe Campaign — The Clay Fiasco — " Isms" of the Philo
sopher — In Congress — His Career as a Legislator — The Partnership with
Seward and Weed — Greeley Indignantly Withdraws — Cause of his Wrath —
The FamousSeward Letter — Greeley Favors Secession — Defeats Seward at
Chicago — The War Comes On — " Forward to Richmond !" — Thorning Lin
coln — The Cleveland Convention — " Anybody to Beat Lincoln" — Greeley
Winks at the Movement — The Niagara Falls Affair — Greeley Hobnobs with
Bogus Rebel Commissioners — Blames Lincoln and Misrepresents Him —
Noble Letter of the Martyr President — The War Ended — Greeley Does
go On to Richmond — What he Does There — Indignation of the Public —
Greeley's Opinion of Himself and Other Presidency-Hunters — Greeley
and Tammany.
Horace Greeley's public career as a politician —
all the while as an influential writer and the most
of the time as an inside manager of politics — al
ready stretches over a period of about thirty-eight
years, commencing with the founding of the New
Yorker vn. 1834. It did not, however, put on that
very actice phase which has for the most part, char
acterized' it, until the Presidential campaign of
1840, when Harrison and Tyler were running, on
the Whig ticket, against Van Buren and Johnson.
(459)

460 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
The campaign was an unprecedently active one,
being known as the Hard Cider and Log Cabin
Campaign. The canvass commenced as early as
the December preceding the election — nearly
eleven months being thus allowed for " working up"
the candidates. THE RELEGATING BUSINESS.
The convention which nominated Harrison took
place at Harrisburg, and it, like the campaign, was
long and bitter. At this convention recurred Mr.
Greeley's first experience at "relegating" trouble
some questions to the several localities — something
which may have struck our younger politicians as a
new trick in politics, when introduced by Greeley
as a stepping-stone to the candidacy at Cincinnati.
We read in one of the earliest issues of the Tri
bune an explanation of this matter, in response to a
question which had been raised as to whether the
Whig party then had any platform. It seems that
the Convention broke up and went home without
adopting any platform at all ; the Tribune explaining
that on the last day of the session, " every thought
was turned to the healing of disappointments and
the solution of a Vice President" [and the one
that they elected proved soon that they had better
turned more careful thoughts in that direction] ;
and that "each delegation should," on returning
home, " communicate to their constituents the
nomination and the reasons for sustaining it in
such manner as they should think proper." It was

HORACE GREELEY. 46 I
generally understood, however, that Mr. Greeley
and his fellow-zealots of the Whig faith were fight
ing mainly for a high protective tariff, a consoli
dated national bank in the hands of a corporate
monopoly, and under the "protection" of the gov
ernment, and a profuse expenditure of national
funds for building local improvements, such as
wharves, railroads, etc. Of the doctrine we have
nothing to say at present ; but we call attention to
the school of politics in which the present Demo
cratic candidate received his first lessons.
GREELEY ON D. S. DICKINSON.
During the early history of the Tribune, Gree
ley was at Albany a good deal, and sent thence
copious " editorial correspondence" to his paper.
In one of these letters we read his opinion of
Daniel S. Dickinson — a man of much nobler aims
and purer ideas of public management than him
self. Putting on a sweet smartness of style, with a
little smattering of French which he had picked up
somewhere and seemed anxious to air, our young
editor wrote :
" I hear that my very sensitive friend, Daniel S. Dickinson, of Broome
(familiarly, Scripture Dick), is a candidate for Secretary of State, Attorney
General, or almost anything that 'is comfortable. I hardly credit it. Mr.
Dickinson's talents are rather of a forensic than executive order. He ought
to go to Congress manifestly ; his peculiar style of oratory would create more
amusement than a puppet show, and his words would suffice at any time to
still the fiercest words of disorder, — the angriest burst of passion, at the first
sound of his voice would subside in a horse laugh. There was a rare low
comedian (the French would say farceur) spoiled when he became a states
man. He must not come here, therefore, but go to Congress."
The description certainly did not fit Mr. Dickin
son. Would it not fit Mr. Greeley better?

462 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
GOES TO CONGRESS.
In the fall of 1848, Mr. Greeley was elected to
Congress on the same ticket with James Brooks, of
the Express — Mr. Greeley to serve out the remain
der of a deceased member's term, which expired
on the 4th of March following, and Mr. Brooks to
fill the whole term succeeding that. This arrange
ment does not seem to have satisfied Mr. Greeley's
idea of what was due him from the party, or rather
the party managers, for in the famous letter to
Governor Seward, in 1854, he uses this language: "I
was once sent to Congress for ninety days, merely
to enable Jim Brooks to secure a seat therein for
four years. * * * James White (you hardly
know how good and true a man he is) started my
name for Congress, and Brooks's packed delegation
thought I could help him through, so I was put on
behind him."
Greeley's career in Congress does not appear to
have been very successful. He proposed measures
enough, and was especially active in behalf of his
hobby of then — abolition of mileage — but never
got any proposition before the House in a way or
at a time to receive consideration. At the same
time, he was constantly berating his fellow mem
bers through his correspondence for the Tribune
— a course which could not be expected to concili
ate them toward him, or any of his favorite meas
ures. One of his epistolary attacks, of which a
member named Rust, of Arkansas, was the object,

HORACE GREELEY. 463
brought that gentleman down upon Mr. Greeley
with a cane, in a very dastardly attack — the only
one, we believe, which the philosopher has ever
received, notwithstanding he has applied "fighting "
epithets to a majority of his fellow citizens, either
individually or by class.
WISHES TO BE GOVERNOR.
In 1854 Greeley experienced one of the severest
disappointments of his life. He then desired in
tensely the nomination of the Whigs for Governor
of New York, and his failure to get that nomina
tion may be said to have embittered his political
life and changed the whole future course of the
Tribune. His paper had, up to this time, been a
truthful party organ, working implicitly for the
nominations of the Whig party ; but from this
time it became a habitual bolter of nominations
and a spitter upon platforms. The animus of its
subsequent course is easily learned from the letter
which Mr. Greeley addressed to Mr. Seward, on
the nth of November, immediately following the
election which assured Seward's return to the
Senate. Greeley had, as already mentioned, desired the
nomination of the Whigs for Governor. His al
most Herculean efforts in behalf of Whig prin
ciples had, as he urges in the letter referred to, de
served some such recognition as this from the party.
But there were considerations which prevented his
nomination — chief of which was the almost abso-

464 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
lute certainty of his being defeated, and with him
Governor Seward for the Senate, if he should
run. For ten years his paper had been the " organ,"
not merely of the Whig party, but of all the isms
which had found lodgment in the big scraggy brain
of its editor. And whatever Greeley had advo
cated, he had advocated in the most belligerent
\ and extreme fashion, giving no quarter to his op
ponents, nor charity to their motives or opinions.
These ten years had been probably the most pro
lific period of the Tribune's history in the develop-
• ment of isms — the crop including Fourierism,
Grahamism, Maine-law-ism, Spiritualism, Woman's
Rights-ism, (which Greeley was then, but not now,
disposed to favor) and an infinite number of minor
crotchets in which the philosopher indulged, per
haps no more than a journalist and reformer of so
ciety ought (several of them he did not fully adopt —
only favoring them enough to enable his opponents
in the press to stigmatize him with them), but still
much more than is advisable in a candidate for the
chief magistracy of a State in which political par
ties are balanced as evenly as the most delicately
poised scale. On this account, Mr. Thurlow Weed,
the most adroit and influential of Mr. Seward's
friends, waited upon Mr. Greeley and urged him to
abandon the idea of running for Governor. He
was successful in this, but Greeley added, " Sup
pose you try my name for Lieutenant Governor,
and see whether I am so odious."

HORACE GREELEY. 465
When the convention assembled at Albany, it
was found advisable to give the second place upon
the Gubernatorial ticket to some gentleman whose
action, in an emergency, coVild be depended upon
more implicitly than that of Greeley could be. For
instance, Greeley had given notice, in the Tribune,
that he should support " Maine Law" candidates
for the legislature, no matter what their political
principles or their general character. This course
might easily throw the majority of one branch of
the legislature into the hands of the Democrats,
(or " Locos," as Greeley then called them) and de
feat Seward, the tower of strength of the Liberal
Whigs and (as all old citizens remember) the
champion of the anti-slavery element of politics-
The result was that Myron H. Clark, a poor stick,
but a man who happened to be in favor with all
wings of the party, was nominated for Governor,
and Henry J. Raymond, a journalistic rival of
Greeley, was put in nomination for Lieutenant
Governor. The ticket won ; but the manner of making it
up had proved the last feather that broke the batk
of Greeley's patience, long groaning, it seems,
under real or fancied wrongs. These wrongs con
sisted in the neglect of Seward to provide Greeley
with a fat office at several opportunities which had
occurred. These opportunities Greeley mentioned
in his letter, referred often to his " extreme poverty,"
rebuked Seward with having been hard upon him
in a judicial decision upon a libel case (!) and an-

466 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
nounced " the dissolution of the political firm of
Seward, Weed and Greeley, by the withdrawal of
the junior partner." Here is one paragraph out of
his letter :
" Now (1 841) came the great scramble of the swell mob of coon minstrels
and cider-suckers at Washington — I not being counted in. Several regi
ments of them went on from this city ; but no one of the whole crowd,
though I say it who should not, had done so much toward General Harrison's
nomination and election as yours respectfully. I asked nothing — expected
nothing ; but you, Governor Seward, ought to have asked that I be postmas
ter of New York. Your asking would have been in vain; but it would have
been an act of grace neither wasted nor undeserved."
The reader should peruse this extract once
more, or, indeed, read here the whole letter, which
is found to be a complaint, not because Seward
did not testify his gratitude to Greeley for what
few personal favors he had received from him (this
he admits the Governor did do, in many profes
sional favors and other "acts of kindness"); but
} the complaint is that Seward did not give him office.
Seward, a man of good breeding and of conscien
tious devotion to the people's interest, sought to
reward Greeley for his labors by favors which
came from his own pocket or his own labor — which
really testified by their cost to the bestower, his
good will toward the recipient. Greeley, on the
contrary, wanted Seward to reward him in the peo
ple's coin — to bestow on him an office which cost
the giver nothing, but which would make the re
ceiver a pensioner on the public. Seward judged
Greeley, as many verdant people have since judged
him, by his protestations in the Tribune, and
thought he was above any susceptibility to the

HORACE GREELEY. 467
allurements of a fat office. He mistook his man,
and incurred the vindictive opposition of one who
was able, six years after, to retaliate at Chicago for
his imaginary grievances. GREELEY AT CHICAGO.
Greeley went to the Chicago convention of i860
with the grand purpose of defeating Seward, then
by far the most prominent candidate of the Re
publicans for Presidential nominee. The South
had already threatened secession in the event of
the nation's refusal to extend slavery ad infinitum,
and the issue had to be met boldly. To meet it
thus, Seward was the man upon whom the Repub
licans of every section felt they could best depend.
But Greeley, having obtained a seat as a delegate
from Oregon (though he was far more influential
in the lobbies as a delegate from the Tribune, and
a supposed friend of Seward, since his letter of
1854 had not then been published, and he was con
tinually asseverating to those whom he button
holed his personal devotion to Seward,) went to
work vigorously for Edward Bates, of Missouri —
a man whom Greeley's present Chicago organ
calls "one of the fossils of the slave party," a labor
in which he was associated, as he now is, with
those Machiavillis of politics, the Blair family.
The result was the defeat of Seward, and the grat
ification of a grudge which the '' magnanimous," uni
versal-amnesty-ranting philosopher had cherished
within his bosom for six long years. He could

468 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
forgive in a day the traitors who had struck at the
heart of the nation, and who, thanks to on-to-Rich-
mond and other like efforts of his own, had brought
woe into a million loyal households ; but he could
not in a life-time forgive a man who had failed to
name him as Postmaster of New York ! Behold,
young man, ambitious to win a name as a patriotic
statesman, how fine a thing it is to be magnani
mous on paper, in withholding the justice which
belongs to a higher authority, and at the same time
wreak all your own private revenges in the stolen
name of that same authority !
HE FAVORS SECESSION.
In securing by such means the nomination of
Lincoln, Mr. Greeley builded better than he knew.
It is one of those cases in which the Lord hath
made the wrath of man to praise him. The South
ern States seceded, encouraged thereto, as their
statesmen claim, by the utterances of Greeley's
Tribune, and their belief, founded thereon, that
there was a large party of political free-thinkers at
the North who sympathized with Greeley in the
views expressed in the following extracts :
[From the New York Tribune, of November 9, 1859.]
"If the cotton States shall become satisfied that they can do better out of
the Union than in it, we insist in letting them go in peace. The right to
secede may be a revolutionary one, but it exists nevertheless. * * * We
must ever resist the right of any State to remain in the Union and nulify
and defy the laws thereof.
"To withdraw from the Union is quite another matter ; and whenever a
considerable section of our Union shall deliberately resolve to go out, we
shall resist all coercive measures to keep them in it. We hope never to live
in a Republic where one section is pinned to another by bayonets."

HORACE GREELEY. 469
[From the New York Tribune, of November 26, 1859.]
"If the cotton States unitedly and earnestly wish to withdraw peacefully
from the Union, we think they should be allowed to do so. Any attempt to
compel them by force to remain would be contrary to the principles enunci
ated in the immortal Declaration of Independence — contrary to the funda
mental ideas on which human liberty is based."
GREELEY AS A MILITARY COMMANDER.
Next in chronological order, of Mr. Greeley's
disastrous attempts to run the United States gov
ernment, was his " On-to-Richmond" fiasco of July,
1861. The circumstances of that heart-sickening
affair are too well known to the public to need re-
pitition here. He had been thorning the Govern
ment for weeks to order an advance upon the
Rebel capital. Of course he knew nothing about
the military situation or about military maxims or
military possibilities ; but he had a crotchet in his
head, he had the ear of the public, and he could
not refrain from acting upon his impulse to dictate
upon all questions which engaged his interest. Ac
cordingly, he kept urging, in labored editorials, a
speedy advance upon Richmond, before the Union
army had been drilled or fairly organized. In ad
dition to these leaders, he kept up the following
cry from day to day — the paragraph being reiter
ated, word for word, in successive issues of the
Tribune, set in italics and capitals :
" THE NATION'S WAR CRY.
" Forward to Richmond ! Forward to Richmond ! The Rebel Congress must not
be allowed to meet there on the 20th yuly ! BY THAT DATE THE
PLACE MUST BE HELD BY THE NATIONAL ARMY .'" -f-
On the 1 6th qf July, mainly in obedience to this

470 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
clamor, the Union army was set in motion. The
terribly disastrous result is well known. How
many thousand lives, how many millions of treasure
it cost us, no one can tell ; but all admit that the
war was greatly prolonged and made greatly more
burdensome by the disastrous defeat of Bull Run.
Most military men are of opinion that if a battle
could have been won in Virginia that fall, instead
of the utter rout which did occur, the war would
have been closed without calling out one-quarter
of the troops that were used, and with one-tenth
of the loss of life that did occur.
On the morning of the 17th of July, 1861, the
Tribune, elated with the idea that its military policy
had been enforced upon the Government, assured
the country that victory was certain, and the Con
federacy about to gasp its last. " This day," it said,
" is to have important results. * * * Where
the victory will rest, there can be no doubt." In a
few days more the editor of the Tribune, cringing
under the public indignation which his " Forward
to Richmond" cry and its lamentable result had
worked, was seekjng, in a personal card, to fasten
the blame upon his subordinates. " Still," he said,
" I wish to be distinctly understood as not seeking
to be released from any responsibility for urging the
advance of the Union army into Virginia." And
the public, after hearing his defence, with its whin-
ning plaint that if some one must die to appease
the popular rage, it might as well be himself as any
body, concluded not to release him. They have,

HORACE GREELEY. 47 1
perhaps with too impetuous justice, held him re
sponsible for that disaster to this day; and their
natural arrangement, when it comes to voting upon
Mr. Greeley's application for the Presidency, will
be this: those who rejoiced at the result of Bull
Run will vote for Greeley ; those who lamented
that result will vote against him.
Views like those cited from the Tribune on page
468 were reiterated by Greeley at intervals during
the war, and served, like his efforts in behalf of a
dishonorable peace, to stimulate in the breasts of
the Rebels, a belief that the Northerners were
weakening in their determination to enforce the
Union. " The pro-slavery Democrats we have on
our side anyway," they argued with themselves ;
"if we have also the Radical abolitionists repre
sented by the Tribune, we can certainly hold out
and whip them yet." And so more blood, more
blood, more blood was poured out.
DICTATING TO LINCOLN.
In the summer of 1862, Greeley led in a grand
attack upon Lincoln, because he had not yet got
ready to launch his policy of Emancipation* He
was more anxious than they to destroy slavery;
but he knew when the military situation would en
able him to enforce such a policy — they didn't. In
* A correspondence which took place between Lincoln and Greeley concern
ing the emancipation of the negroes may be found in Raymond's Life and
Letters of Abraham Lincoln, and in McPherson's History of the Rebellion ;
but Greeley in his American Conflict, and in his (Parton's) biography, garbles
his own letter fearfully, since certain passages of it read badly in the light of
subsequent events.

472 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
good time the proclamation came. Then Greeley
refrained from his turbulent criticism for awhile,
especially as 1863 was a year of overwhelming
Republican victories, showing that the people held
the Administration in high esteem.
The spring and summer of 1864 appear to have
been a very uncomfortable period in Mr. Greeley's
political career. A Presidential campaign was com
ing on ; Greeley was, as usual, fretting and fuming
for a change ; and at the same time the people were
so determined to fight it out under the leader
whom they then had, that they would tolerate
scarcely a word in opposition to " Old Abe." Never
theless, Mr. Greeley found courage to slip into the
Tribune sly inuendos against the administration of
Lincoln, and to cherish tenderly the movement for
an independent nominiation at Cleveland. He
secretly favored that operation of his present part
ner, Gratz Brown, his fellow Communist Cluseret
and other hot-heads and sore-heads of the period,
and when the Convention came off he published
their bombastic Address in large type in the
Tribune, with some kind words in its behalf. A
meeting was held at Cooper Institute, New York,
on the 13th of May, against Greeley's solemn ad
vice, and addressed by Governor Oglesby and Hon.
I. N. Arnold, of Illinois, Senator Doolittle and
others, whose speeches favored the nomination of
Lincoln. Its proceedings were totally ignored —
the Tribune, notwithstanding that journal had room
on the same day for an elaborate report of a " dress

HORACE GREELEY. 473
reform" convention, on the morning when it should
have reported this meeting.
ANYBODY TO BEAT LINCOLN.
After it was found that the Cleveland convention
was a flat failure, the anti- Lincoln facfionists, look
ing to Greeley as their most valued sympathizer,
cast about for a candidate more available than
Fremont, and fixed upon Grant, then in the Wilder
ness, as their man. (" The man on horseback" was
not so objectionable an idea to Greeley then as it
seems to be now.) They appointed a meeting, to
be held in New York a few days before the Re
publican convention was to be held at Baltimore,
and intended to develop such a feeling of enthusi
asm for Grant as could be used upon the national
assembly of Republicans — Greeley had not then in
vented his great device of calling them " Renomi-
nationists" to force the nomination of Grant, in
stead of Lincoln. This meeting was held, and its
callers had the temerity to invite Lincoln himself to
attend. That noble statesman wrote a generous
letter closing in a manner, which shows that he ap
prehended the object of the meeting. It was to
this effect : " I trust that your meeting will be a suc
cess in developing an expression of the gratitude
which is due so brave and skillful a commander ;
and that you will so shape your good words that
they will turn to men and guns marching to his
(Grant's) aid in the field."
The result of the meeting was not satisfactory to
28

474 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
the malcontents. A great many speeches eulogis
tic of Grant were made, but they were equally
strong in behalf of sustaining the existing policy of
the national government that they could not be
used at Baltimore, especially as Grant himself had
caused it to be understood that he would, on no
account, be used for any such purpose as the engi
neers of this meeting contemplated.
The " Renominationists" met at Baltimore and
endorsed Lincoln, in effect, unanimously. The
people proved to be Renominationists too, and Lin
coln was chosen by the largest popular and elect
oral majorities ever recorded. But Greeley did not
allow this glorious result to be brought about with
out resorting to every device in his power to pre
vent it. On the morning after the nominations
had been announced, Greeley had remarked in his
paper :
" We cannot but feel that it would have been wiser and safer to spike the
most serviceable guns of our adversaries by nominating another for President
and thus dispelling all motives save that of naked disloyalty, for further war
fare upon this Administration. We believe the Rebellion would have lost
something of the cohesion and venom from the hour in which it was known
that a new President would surely be inaugurated on the 4th of March next,
etc." He continued to intrigue against the Republican
nominations during the summer. First, it was
proposed, with infinite braggadocia, to have both
Lincoln and Fremont withdrawn (and Fremont,
glad to get out of the scrape with any show of
grace, soon did so) ; then, on the 2d of September,
finding Lincoln still in the field, in spite of the
probs of the Tribune quill and the disgraceful and

HORACE GREELEY.

475

damaging operations at Niagara Falls (to be men
tioned below),. Greeley addressed the following let
ter to the Governors of the loyal States (a call for
500,000 troops being then but partially answered) :
New York, Sept. 2, 1864.
Hon.  :
Your Excellency : The undersigned have been requested by a body
of influential Unionists to communicate with the loyal Governors for the
purpose of eliciting replies to the following queries :
1. In your judgment, is the re-election of Mr. Lincoln a probability ?
2. In your judgment, can your own State be carried for Mr. Lincoln ?
3. In your judgment, do the interests of the Union party, and so of the
country, require the substitution of another candidate in place of Mr.
Lincoln ?
In these queries, we give no opinion of our own, and request yours only
for the most private and confidential use.
Yours truly,
HORACE GREELEY,
Editor of the Tribune, (and two others.)
This device failed entirely, except as it may have
served to retard the recruiting of troops in some
of the States. If the answers to this letter had
afforded any encouragement to their purpose, there
is no telling what new coup d' etat this "influential
body of Unionists" might have sprung upon the
country. greeley's Niagara falls exploit.
It was during the summer of 1864, about a month
after Lincoln had been renominated, that Greeley —
pretending to be friendly to the President — attempt
ed to draw him into a proposition to the Rebel Gov
ernment for peace. We will give the- history of
this operation of Greeley's in the language of an
other, who has epitomized it in a manner suitable
to our purpose :

476 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
So late as the 23d day of February, 1864, he reiterated in the New York
Tribune, in this language, his views concerning the right of the South to
secede :
"We have repeatedly said, and we once more insist, that the great principle
embodied by Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence, that governments
derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, is sound and just,
and that if the slave States, the cotton States, or the Gulf States only, choose
to form an independent nation, they have a clear, moral right to do so. *
* * Whenever it shall be clear that the great body of the Southern peo
ple have become conclusively alienated from the Union, and anxious to escape
from it, we will do our best to forward their views."
Recognized by the South as a leading Republican, it is not strange that
Mr. Greeley should be regarded by them as the most fitting person to whom
to address peace propositions. His views differed in no essential particular
from theirs. Every failure of the Union armies was continually magnified
by him. His views of the situation were most gloomy and despondent, and
he took good care that through the columns of his paper they should be
widely circulated. Early in July, 1864, correspondence was opened with
Mr. Greeley by an irresponsible and half crazy adventurer known as "Color
ado Jewett." On the 5th of July, Jewett writes Greeley, in reply to a note
previously received from him, in which he says : " I am authorized to state to
yon, for our use only, not the public, that two embassadors of Davis & Co.
are now in Can-da, with full and complete powers for a peace, and Mr. San
ders requests that you come on immediately to me at Cataract House, to
have a private interview, or if you will send the President's protection for
him and two friends they will come on and meet you."
On the next day Jewett telegraphed Greeley as follows :
"Will you come here ? Parties have full power."
On the 7th of July Greeley inclosed Jewett's letter and telegram to the
President, accompanied by a letter of his own, in which occurs this remark
able passage :
"And, therefore, I venture to remind you that our bleeding, bankrupt, almost
dying country, also longs fot peace, shudders at the prospect of fresh conscrip
tion, of fu> thet wholesale devastation, and of new river of human blood; and
a widespread Conviction that the government and its prominent supporters are
not anxious for peace, and do not improve proffered opportunities to achieve it,
is doing great harm now, and is morally certain, unless removed, to do far greater
in the approaching elections!'
[In this letter were also embodied the terms on
which Greeley proposed to effect a peace. Among
these conditions were the payment of $400,000,000
to the Slave States, rebel and loyal alike, for the

HORACE GREELEY. 479
value of slaves emancipated, and the concession to
them of the right to be represented in Congress
according to their "total, instead of their federal
population." The bonds for the $400,000,000 were
to be paid over to each State " upon the ratification
by its legislature of this adjustment !"]
"To this letter Mr. Lincoln at once, on the gth of July, replied, saying to
Greeley : " If you can find any person, anywhere, professing to have any
proposition of Jefferson Davis, in writing, for peace, embracing the restor
ation of the Union and abandonment of slavery, whatever else it embraces,
say to him he may come to me with you, and that if he really brings such
proposition, he shall at the least have safe conduct with the paper (and with
out publicity if he chooses) to the point, where you shall have met him. The
same if there be two or more persons."
" On the 10th of July, Greeley wrote the President suggesting that the
rebel envoys would decline to exhibit their credentials to him, and on the
13th advised the President that he then had information on which he could
rely, that Clay and Thompson were then in Canada, duly commissioned and
empowered to negotiate for peace.
" Hearing nothing further from Greeley, Mr. Lincoln, on the 15th, wrote
him that he had sent Mr. Hay, his private Secretary, to him, and said to
him : ' I am disappointed that you have not already reached here with those
commissioners. If they would consent to come on being shown my letter to
you of the 19th inst., show that and this to them, and if they will come on
the terms stated in the former, bring them. I not only intend a sincere ef
fort for peace, but I intend that you shall be a personal witness that it is
made.' " Mr. Hay reached New York' on the morning of the 16th, met Greeley,
who promised to start on his mission immediately if he could have an abso
lute safe conduct for four persons to be named by him, whereupon, under the
direction of the President, Hay wrote for the safe conduct, and Greeley
started for Niagara Falls. Arriving there on the 17th, he addressed a note
to the supposed rebel commissioners, in which he stated that he had been in
formed that they are duly accredited from Richmond as the bearers of propo
sitions looking to the establishment of peace, and that they desired to visi'
Washington in fulfillment. He then adds : ' If my information be thus far
substantially'correct, I am authorized by the President of the United States
to tender you his safe conduct on the journey proposed, and to accompany
you at the earliest time that will be agreeable to you.'
" THE NEGOTIATIONS FAIL.
" And here occurred the first hitch in these extraordinary negotiations.

480 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
The only assurance that Greeley ever had that these gentlemen were duly
accredited from Richmond, or possessed any authority whatever to negotiate
for peace, he derived through Colorado Jewett. In answer to this letter
these rebel gentlemen informed Mr. Greeley that they had not been accredited
from Richmond, but they thought that they might be. The substance of this
letter Greeley telegraphed to the President, who sent by the hand of Major
Hay this celebrated paper :
" To whom it may concern : — Any proposition which embraces the restor
ation of peace, the integrity of the whole Union and the abandoment of
slavery, and which comes by and with an authority that can control the
armies now at war against the United States, will be received and considered
by.the executive government of the United States, and will be met by liberal
terms on substantial and collateral points, and the bearer or bearers thereof
shall have safe conduct both ways."
On the 20th of July, accompanied by Greeley, Maj. Hay delivered this
document to Prof. Holcombe, one of the supposed rebel commissioners. No
reply was vouchsafed to Mr. Hay ; Greeley at once returned to New York,
and a most elaborate reply was sent to him through the irrepressible lewett.
In this reply, with great force of statement, the President was charged
with a sudden and entire change of views ; the rebel envoys insisted that
having been assured at the outset that the safe conduct for which they applied
would be granted without conditions, very properly complained that the paper
handed them was a clear violation of any such assurance, and adjured their
Southern brethren to fight to the death, rather than submit to such insults.
AND GREELEY PREVARICATES.
The paper addressed " To whom it may concern," and the reply to it were at
once published, together with the statement that Greeley " regrets the sad
termination of the initiatory steps taken for peace in consequence of the
change made by the President in his instructions to convey commissioners to
Washington for negotiations unconditionally." The administration was thus
placed clearly in the wrong, and incalculable mischief was worked both
North and South.
The other portions of the correspondence which I have read to you were
not then published, and the country knew nothing of its existence. The
attitude in which Mr. Lincoln was thus placed was that of an Executive in
the interests of peace, offering unconditionally safe conduct to the rebel
commissioners, and then suddenly withdrawing his officer and substituting
unheard of and unanticipated conditions. This impression was false — utterly
and altogether false. Horace Greeley knew that it was false. He knew that
the prevalence of any such false impression must result in serious injury to
the Union cause. He knew that the terms proposed by Mr. Lincoln were
those which he had himself proposed at the very outset of the correspond
ence. He knew that the first letter addressed to him by the President,

HORACE GREELEY. 48 1
placed any peace negotiations upon the basis of restoration of the Union
and the abandonment of slavery. He knew that the President had requested
him to exhibit that letter to any one holding the position of Confederate
commissioner, and that any negotiations were based upon the readiness of
the rebels to treat on those terms. He knew that a word from him would
relieve the President of the serious charges made against him, would
strengthen his administration and the Union cause, and, yet he failed to
speak that word. Nay, more. He not only suppressed the truth, but he
stated in the interests of self-constituted rebel negotiators, and against the
Union, an unequivocal falsehood, wilfully, wickedly and deliberately.
He stated that the negotiations had terminated in consequence of the
change made by the President in his instructions, when he knew that there
had been no change whatever, and that those negotiations had disgracefully
failed merely because he had failed to communicate to his rebel friends pre
cisely what the President desired at the outset they should know, to wit, the
terms upon which propositions for peace would be considered. He misre
presented the facts to the President when he assured him that he had reliable
information that the rebel commissioners were duly authorized to treat for peace.
He had no such information, and such was not the fact. He deceived and
misled his rebel friends when he told them that he was authorized by the
President to tender them safe conduct to Washington to negotiate for peace.
He had no such authority, except that they were willing to negotiate on the
basis of a restored Union and the abolition of slavery. Thus he deceived
and misled both sides, and to cap the climax refused to permit Mr. Lincoln
to place himself right before the country. The President requested that the
whole correspondence be published, except those portions of Mr. Greeley's
letter where he spoke of our bleeding, bankrupt and almost dying country,
the publication of which, at that time, Mr. Lincoln urged would do injury to
the cause, and was not necessary to understand the correspondence, but this
concession Horace Greeley obstinately refused to make. Abraham Lincoln,
rather than add one particle to the burdens which were then weighing down
the public heart, preferred to suffer himself — preferred that the country
should misjudge him, and the correspondence was not published until after
the close of the war, when Horace Greeley's white-livered complaints could
work no harm.
The passages which Mr. Lincoln wished expunged
from the correspondence on publishing it were, the
ones quoted above (in italics) from Greeley's letter
of July 7th ; another in the same letter, saying, " it
may save us from a Northern insurrection ; " and
one or two others, wherein a coming election in

482 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
North Carolina is hinted at as the objective point
of the negotiations. It will be perceived that there
was nothing in Lincoln's requirements which was
really prejudicial to Greeley, and the only conclu-
clusion is that the latter stood out for unworthy
reasons, making the really patriotic conditions im
posed by Lincoln merely a pretext for not consent
ing to the publication. No patriot can read with
out emotion the fac simile autograph copy of the
private letter which Lincoln wrote to his friend,
Henry J. Raymond, at this time, and which is pub
lished in the "Life of Lincoln" by that gentleman
already referred to. It is as follows :
Executive Mansion, Washington, Aug. 15, r86g.
Hon. Henry J. Raymond :
My Dear Sir : — I have proposed to Mr. Greeley that the Niagara corres
pondence be published, suppressing only the parts of his letters over which
the red pencil is drawn in the copy which I herewith send. He declines
giving his consent to the publication of his letters unless these parts be
published with the rest. I have concluded that it is better for me to submit
for the time to the consequences of the false position in which he has placed
me, than to subject the country to the consequences of publishing these
discouraging and injurious parts. I send you this, and the accompanying
copy, not for publication, but merely to explain to you, and that you may
preserve them until their proper time shall come.
Yours truly, A. LINCOLN.
A HOME THRUST FROM GRANT.
So much for the disgraceful peace negotiations.
We will only add, as supplementary to this state
ment and to that of Greeley's letter to the loyal
Governors, a dispatch from Grant, of nearly even
date with the latter document :

HORACE GREELEY. 483
City Point, September 13, 1864,
10:30, a. m.
Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War:
We ought to have the whole number of men called for by the President in
the shortest possible time. Prompt action in filling our armies will have
more effect upon the enemy than a victory over them. They profess to be
lieve, and make their men believe, there is such a party North in favor of
recognizing Southern independence, that the draft cannot be enforced. [The
Tribune's homily of February 23d, 1864, and other similar utterances from
the same source, had been extensively republished in the South. — E. C] Let
them be undeceived. Deserters come into our lines daily, who tell us that
the men are nearly universally tired of the war, and that desertions would
be much more frequent, but that they believe peace will be negotiated after
the fall election.
The enforcement of the draft and prompt filling up of our armies will
save the shedding of blood to an immense degree.
U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant-General.
THE BAILING OF JEFF. DAVIS.
The next spring peace was obtained, thanks to
Grant, not Greeley, without buying it. Then Jeff.
Davis was captured, and, his trial being delayed,
Greeley rushed down to Richmond to sign thev
bail bond which exempted Davis from any further
punishment for the greatest of possible crimes.
This was not even necessary to save Davis from
suffering, as there were many Southern gentlemen
of means anxious to go upon the bond. It was
merely a little piece of sensational sentimentality,
which gratified Greeley ; which might have done
some good if the signer's record had been more
unequivocally loyal during the war ; and which cer
tainly did no harm except to the feelings of a great
proportion of the loyal people of the North, espe
cially the soldiers, and those whose sensibilities,
lacerated by the loss of dear relatives, had not yet

484 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
been soothed and deadened by time. Greeley was
greatly feted by the " chivalay " of Richmond, and
made them a gushing speech twelve yards long ;
but he came back North to find most of the loyal
press of the country denouncing in unmeasured
terms his impetuous course. It was this general
denunciation which drew from Greeley that phrase
characterizing the editors of the country as " the
little creatures whom God, for some inscrutable
purpose, permits to edit a majority of our minor
journals" — a phrase which we quote from a letter
addressed by Greeley to the Union League Club
of New York, and published in the Tribune about
May 25th, 1867.
-f During the campaign of 1808, the Tribune fav
ored Grant, and the many eloquent words which it
then uttered in praise of the honored soldier are
now doubly true, while the equally many which it
then recorded against the Democratic party are at
least equally true. GREELEY ON GREELEY.
In the fall of 1868, Mr. Greeley attended a ban
quet at Montreal. There he made a speech, of
which the following is an extract, concerning the
baneful effects upon public men of that political
disease called Presidency-mania — an ailment to
which he has himself finally succumbed :
" Mr. Webster was not only a gentleman, but he had the elements of moral
greatness ; and he had faults as well. He failed only in one respect, and in
this respect I differ from him ; he wanted to be President, and I don't [But

HORACE GREELEY. 485
you did.] But for that one misfortune he would have been the greatest man
America ever produced. We have seen our greatest man, Mr. Chase, mak
ing the same blunder. I have seen men who had the disease early and died
of it at a very old age. Gen. Lewis Cass died at about 82, and up to the day
of his death he wanted to be President. No one ever escapes who once catches
the disease; he lives and dies in the delusion. Being a reader and an ob
server at an early age, I saw how it poisoned and paralyzed the very best of our
public men, and I have carefully avoided it. It is easy then to speak for
truth and justice, when they need an advocate, when those who- threatened
could execute no vengeance that you dreaded. So, then, I think you are
happy in that respect, if no other, for none of you in Canada expect to be
come sovereign of your country. That enables you to have a purer press and
more fearless public men than perhaps you would otherwise have. We at
least, in our day, have a President elect who did not try to be President. He
was elected mainly on that account. Let a public man honestly go forward,
saying what he believes to be just, doing what he thinks is right, and, though
he may not probably be President, he can enjoy a very large measure of free
dom of opinion, as well as freedom of action, though freedom of opinion is
the very last thing that a free people is disposed to concede to its public men."
So poor Mr. Greeley thought, doubtless, at Cin
cinnati, where he sold or "relegated" his whole
birthright for a mess of Democratic pottage.
GREELEY AND " BAYONET LEGISLATION."
The Cincinnati platform condemns in the sever
est language (and Mr. Greeley endorses it in his
letter of acceptance) the so-called Ku-Klux legisla
tion of Congress. But on the 21st of April, 1871,
the Tribune, in publishing the Ku-Klux bill then
just passed, said editorially :
" It is a great point gained that there has been legislation of any character
upon this question. The lawlessness at the South has been greatly fostered
by the heretofore seeming indifference of Congress and the North to the
outrages committed upon loyal citizens. Legislation, however imperfect, was
calculated to restore the confidence of the friends of the Union and to warn
its enemies. The bill, now become a law, should be enforced with such
power and firmness as to intimidate those who seek to regain political power
by outrage and crime, and to protect fully all friends of order and peace,
irrespectively of party or of political considerations. Th'e Democrats in

486 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
Congress have fought the Ku-Klux bill as party measure directed against
their adherents in the South. The Republican administration will enforce
it as a measure of peace to the country and security to all its citizens."
The only objection that Mr. Greeley even intimated at the time consists in
the fact that the law, in his view, was not sufficiently stringent. He would
have had a still stronger law. He found no fault with the section which
authorizes the President to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus,
when the necessity existed therefor. Previously to the enactment of the law
he had filled the columnes of the Tribune from day to day with the evidences
of outrages and murders committed by the Ku-Klux Klans, showing the
extent of these nefarious organizations, and proving the absolute necessity of
interference by the General Government for their suppression.
To show that the language of the Tribune, cited
above, embodied Mr. Greeley's own sentiments, we
quote from his speech before the Lincoln club on
the 1 2th of June, 1871 :
" But I have been asked, 'Are there any Ku-Klux down South ?' ' Yes,
gentlemen, there are. They didn't come up to me, and tell me they were
Ku-Klux very often. * * * I hold it to be the duty of the Government
of the Union to oppose, with all its power and all its force, every such exe
crable proceeding as this. Do you tell me that those men are liable to the
State laws for the assaults and batteries which they have committed. I don't
doubt it ; but I say they are also in substance and purpose traitors to the gov
ernment, rebels against its authority, and the most cowardly, skulking rebels
ever known to this or any other country. 1 hold our government bound by
its duty of protecting our citizens in their fundamental rights, to pass and
enforce laws for the extirpation of the execrable Ku-Klux conspiracy ; and if
it has not power to do it, I say our government is no government, but a sham.
I therefore, on every proper occasion, advocated and justified the Ku-Klux
act. I hold it especially desirable for the South; and if it does not prove
strong enough to effect its purpose, / hope it will be made stronger:'
And he showed how his present Southern friends
had carried Louisiana in 1868 for Seymour, not
withstanding there was 30,000 Republican majority
in the State, adding, " You know perfectly well that
this result was secured only by terrorism and vio
lence."

HORACE GREELEY. 487
GREELEY AND TAMMANY.
In following Mr. Greeley through some of his
wanderings after strange gods, and his dangerous
lapses from the excellent rules and principles with
which he commenced political life, we have only
space left to point to his flirtations with Tammany,
the most desperate of political prostitutes. The
record of the Tribune on this subject is unques
tionably bad. On many occasions of local elec
tions it has been found veering about in strange
ways, like a compass needle in the vicinity of a
hidden lodestone. It would favor all manner of
queer coalitions with the Democracy, and the nom
inees thus united upon would be found, when in
stalled in office, to be suspiciously lenient toward
the practices of Tammany. It would be continu
ally embroiled with the management of the Repub
lican party in its own State, and would rarely have
any serious quarrel with the monster of corruption
that was eating up the store of New York city tax
payers. Pretending to be a tribune of the people,
an independent and fearless journal, ready to lash
evil-doers wherever it found them, and to carry
out the high-sounding precept of its editor to
young Americans — " Be no man's man but Truth's
and your country's" — (borrowed from Shakspeare's
Wolsey, but still none the less a fine precept,) it
sat in its easy chair, never budging, except to
thwack the Custom House officials once a day
pretty regularly — sat until the rascals in Tammany

488 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
Hall and the City Hall had stolen $60,000,000 out
of the treasury of the city and county of New
York — stolen dollars where a cent was wasted at
the Custom House.
When, finally, the other New York journals, led
by the Times, commenced the scathing exposition
and denunciation of the Tammany frauds, which
led to the expulsion of Tweed and his ring from
the offices which they had abused, and which, be
sides causing many of them to disgorge their
spoils; came near landing them in the penitentiary,
the Tribune was all the while pulling back and ex
claiming, " Let us be calm ; let us not make any
assertions until we can have incontestible proofs,"
etc. When the Times came out with transcripts
from the Comptroller's books, which showed a fear
ful record of wholesale thieving, with data to indi
cate just where the money went, who audited the
bills, and what the pretext was, Mr. Greeley still
cried, "Hold ! " " These accounts are surreptitiously
obtained," said he ; and he published Oakey Hall's
quibbling answers, and treated the complaint as
nothing more than a newspaper sensation. It
was not until forced into it by the denunciations
and threats of its patrons that the Tribune rallied
and made a show of helping to expose Tammany.
Meantime how more than cat-like was it in its
vigilance toward the Custom House authorities!
How quick to pounce upon the merest mouse that
was suspected of gnawing at the revenues of Uncle
Sam!

HORACE GREELEY. 489
THE WHEREFORE.
Why this discrimination in favor of the greatest,
most barefaced robbery ever perpetrated under
political protection, and against an administration
(meaning that of the New York custom house)
more efficient than any of its predecessors had
been? It is not enough to argue that the $50,000
a year which (according to the New York Times)
the Tribune derived from Tammany printing jobs
served to control its course in this manner. Those
who know Mr. Greeley know he cannot be bought
with money. They also know that he can be
wheedled into almost any project by a due appli
cation of flattery, protestation and cajolery, and
that he is especially susceptible to the blandish
ments of those who promise him high office.
Greeley saw the debt of New York city in
creased, in the face of enormous taxes, $66,500,000 X
in thirty-one months, and never so much as growled.
He saw the debt of the United States diminished
by $242,128,401 in twenty-nine contemporaneous
months, and yet rent the air with his vociferous
complaints. This achievement was the work of General
Grant's administration, and Greeley " knew a man"
whom he preferred to see in Grant's place. That
achievement was the work of Tammany's adminis
tration, and Greeley knew a man who would soon
need Tammany's votes. Verbum sat.

CHAPTER XXIV.
GREELEY AS A BOOK FARMER.
A Chapter Consisting of what Mr. Greeley Knows About Farming, and
which, therefore, has Nothing In It.
We had intended to go somewhat into detail in
describing Mr. Greeley's method of farming and
enunciating his peculiar theories concerning agri
culture — all this mainly as a curiosity, and as an il
lustration of how easy it is for a born philosopher
to construct half a dozen theories without possess
ing one fact ; but our space is too far overrun for
this, and the chapter will therefore have to be very
brief. . Mr. Greeley has a farm at Chappaqua station,
town of Newcastle, Westchester county, New York,
some 35 miles from the city. This farm, mostly
marsh and unpromising upland, cost him $140 an
acre ; and he has been at work on it twenty years
trying to make a model farm of it. Its total area,
as increased by late purchases, is seventy acres ;
and of this, fifty acres is a hill-top. He visits it
every Saturday, and gives the man who carries it
on for him a good top-dressing of profanity and a
rich mulching of theory; and the man has, by dili
gently avoiding the latter and benignantly forgiv-
(49°)

GREELEY AS A BOOK FARMER. 491
ing the former, been able to keep himself and wife
alive on the product of the seventy acres.
As everybody knows, Greeley has been a very
voluminous writer upon agriculture. His book,
called " What I Know About Farming," has ob
tained a large circulation by being given away as
a premium for subscribers, when the portrait of the
Sage of Lackawaxen himself had no further charm
for rural readers. It is beyond cavil, one of the
most entertaining books in the language It fills
a place in American literature somewhat akin to
that occupied in English by a'Beckett's "Comic
History of England." In it the reader is afforded
the luxury of seeing a great mind turn itself inside
out, and evolve things from the focal point of what
it does not contain. It is a complete refutation of
the ancient maxim, ex nihilo, nihil fit. This may
have been true in ancient Roman times, but no
man who sees Horace Greeley evolve a bookful of
agricultural aphorisms out of his own internal
consciousness, will longer believe that "out of
nothing, nothing can be made." This circumstance
affords further evidence of Greeley's leading prin
ciple that the world is all awry, and has got to be
reconstructed altogether, from keel to topmast.
Horace tells us that during the fifteen years of
apprenticeship which he served on his father's farm,
he "learned no more about farming than a plow-
horse ought to know" ; but he thinks if he could
have had such a book as " What I Know About
Farming," to read, he would have become so fascin-
29

492 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
ated with his calling that he would have continued
a good agriculturist to this day ; and he closes his
book, at the 52nd chapter, "with the joyful hope
that its perusal will inspire in the mind of the young
agriculturist a desire for something better" — a hope
that is doubtless realized. At least the old farmers,
who are not to be caught with book chaff, have
usually signified, after reading Horace's essays,
that they " desire something better," or nothing at
all. Mr. Greeley's great hobby as an agriculturist, is
deep plowing. He will not stop a barley-corn short
¦of thirty inches ; and the brindle steers that perish
in the attempt to haul subsoil plows through the
stony hard-pan at this depth are of no more ac
count to him than the thousand soidiers who got
their death at Bull Run. He has also strong ideas
upon the subject of irrigation, and actually de
livered a lecture in the Wabash Valley of Indiana —
a district almost constantly flooded from the river,
and malarious from alluvial deposits, recommend
ing elaborate apparatus for this purpose !
Being compelled to summarize Mr. Greeley's
agricultural platform very briefly, we will adopt his
own style of re-laying the planks of the Cincinnati
platform, and throw it into a letter to the illustri
ous author — thus : Anywhere, July 4, 1872.
Hon. Horace Greeley:
Sir : — I have received your work entitled " What I know of Farming,"
which contains your gospel of agriculture. Being a. young farmer without
experience— one of those young men whom you have so impetuously
advised to " take $250 and go West" — your book will, I anticipate, prove of

GREELEY AS A BOOK FARMER. 493
inestimable value to me in supplying those precepts of which a lamentable
defect in my early training places me so greatly in need. Your precepts
aforesaid, as I understand them from a careful reading, may be fairly epi
tomized as follows :
Concerning Plowing. — That thirty inches is the requisit depth, no
matter whether we are raising strawberries or oaks. That the man who
plows shallower than this is an idiot or a knave, and that State's prison is
too good for him. That we really can't have any successful farming until
somebody invents a steam plowman who whistles as he goes, and pulverizes
crosswise and otherwise, ten to twenty acres per day. I am reserving all
my plowing till that happy day.
Concerning where to Farm. — That if I " cannot coax it (my farm) to
grow decent crops of anything," I must " run away from it or work out by
the day" for my " more fortunate neighbor," and that you and I are in favor
of " a law compelling him" (the more fortunate neighbor) to employ me
whenever I demand employment. That I must n't go West with a family
on my hands, nor must I buy a farm on credit ; but that I must take $2,000
and buy up somebody's improvements and farm it in peace and comfort.
(By the way, Mr. Greeley, must n't we have a law compelling somebody to
give me that $2,000? Some "more fortunate neighbor," for instance?)
Concerning Trees. — That "for every tree cut down, two should be
planted." This rule is invariable. That you are in favor of chestnut, wal
nut, hickory, white oak, locust and white pine as the proper trees to be
planted ; that you don't know whether they will grow or not, but that they
ought to, and should be compelled to do their duty. ( What I Know, etc.,
page 54-)
Concerning Draining. — That water will not, as you formerly supposed,
run on level ground. (Ibid p. 65). That the way to make a good drain
is to find out how you made yours at Chappaqua, and then proceed as
unlike you as possible, (Ibid p. 66); and that to get a drain well laid, I
should go to " Messrs. Chickering & Gall," New York, (Ibid p. 67); and that
it wont pay to wall in _ brook as you did, at the expense of $3,000, when
the spring floods carry the walls away every year.
Concerning Irrigation.— That, next to deep plowing, this is the first
law of nature ; that irrigating dams like yours, which cost $90—" twice what
it ought to have been,"— and which don't work then, are productive of
irritating damns, even in Philosophers.
Concerning Guano.— That it is a very reprehensible beverage for the
soil to make use of— in fact, as you felicitously style it, " the brandy of vege
tation ;" and that being, moreover, the product of the pauper labor of
pigeons in savage islands, it should not be allowed to come in competition
with protected American gypsum.
Concerning Apple Trees.— That no limb should extend more than
eight feet from the trunk ; that " for shedding wind barren trees are best ;"

494 x THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
that caterpillars are incongenial to apples, and that " no man who harbors
caterpillars has any moral right to apples." That apples are often lost through
the too early blossoming of the trees, and the subsequent appearance of Jack
Frost, and that the placing of ice under the roots of the trees will obviate
this evil. (Ibid p. 141.)
Concerning Potatoes.— That the aspiration of the age is toward a
Perfect Potato ; and that " he who originates a really valuable new Potato
deserves a recompense for his industry"— perhaps to have your next book
dedicated to him, as the present is " to the future inventor of the steam
plow," whereby "Not Less than Ten Acres per Day shall be Pulverized to a
Depth of Two Feet, at a Cost of not more than Two Dollars per Acre." I
find, also, to quote your valuable Work, that potatoes cannot be honestly
raised without treating them to Swamp Muck.
Concerning Beets and Carrots.— That these are proper vegetables,
which deserve encouragement ; that you yourself have never succeeded with
Beets (no political insinuation) but that you " confidently expect to be able
soon to raise 1,000 bushels of Carrots, and 1,500 bushels of Beets per acre."
I will defer my experiments with those roots until you tell me how you did
this. Concerning Animals. — That you have understood sheep to be valuable
animals to the farmer ; but that you know nothing about Animals, of your
own positive knowledge, and therefore relegate that subject to the several
Congressional districts ; but that concerning Dogs, you have no hesitation in
counting them as disreputable, and recommend strychnine for the whole
species. Concerning Pasturing. — That it is " a process I (you) detest ;" that it
is a radical, incurable vice, "(Ibid p. 19, 20,) etc. ; and that a prohibitory
law, making pasturing a penal offence, and authorizing the seizure and
destruction of all pastures, would therefore, according to the Greeley philos
ophy, be a good thing. This is a subject which I feel should not be
" relegated." Concerning Grain Raising. — That the prettiest way to raise Wheat is
to take $72,000 and buy 400 acres of desert in New Jersey, put on $24,000
worth of Marl, $20,000 worth of Swamp Muck, $5,000 worth of Oyster
Shell Lime, and $5,000 worth of Bone Flour, and sow Wheat upon the
compost thus formed, (Ibid p. 767.) I am now looking for a man to loan
me $72,000 on security of the probable crop. Several have refused. Will
you please brand them in the Tribane as liars, cut-throats and villains ?
Yours admiringly,
jonas peapod.
greeley's battle of dorking.
The vagaries of Mr. Greeley on the subject of

GREELEY AS A BOOK FARMER.

495

agriculture have been made the subject of many
broad burlesques (which the foregoing, made up
largely of actual extracts from Mr. Greeley's book,
is by no means intended to be). They have also
given rise to several clever hits in a more delicately
satirical way, one of which, a parody on the English
sketch, " Battle of Dorking," also hits off some of
Mr. Greeley's other weaknesses and eccentricities.
The story (which we reproduce below) is supposed
to be told, fifty years hence by a father to his
inquiring child : THE FALL OF AMERICA.
You ask me to tell you, my children, of the events which immediately pre-
ceeded the destruction of the once great American Union and the capture of
the country by its present European rulers, and to say something, also, of the
cause which led to these deplorable results. I undertake the task with a
heavy heart, for when I revert to that terrible time I cannot help contrasting
our proud condition up to that fatal year with the humiliating position occu
pied now by the American people. The story is a short one. In the fall of
1872 Horace Greeley, the editor of a newspaper in New York, was elected
President of the United States, The people voted for him because they
thought he was an honest man. And so he was. But he was also vain and
weak, and he entertained certain fanatical and preposterous notions — about
agricultural matters, for instance — which he was determined' to force upon
the people at all hazards and despite all opposition. He believed, among
other things, that every man ought to go west to earn his bread, and long be
fore he was chosen President he used to advise everybody to move to that re
gion, as a cure for all the disasters that could befall the human family.
As soon as he reached the executive mansion, which we used to call the
White House, President Greeley organized an army of two hundred thousand
men, and proceeded to force the entire population of the seaboard States
westward at the point of the bayonet. The utmost violence was used.
Those who resisted were shot down, and their dead bodies were carried off
to a national factory which the President had established for making some
kind- of fantastical fertilizer. All the large cities of the East were depopu
lated, and the towns were entirely empty. The army swept before it mil
lions of men, women and children, until the vast plains west of Kansas were
reached, when the pursuit ceased and the army was drawn up in a continu
ous line, with orders to shoot any person who attempted to visit the East.

496 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
Of course hundreds of thousands of these poor creatures perished from starv
ation. This seemed to frighten President Greeley, and he sent a message to
Congress recommending that seven hundred thousand volumes of a book of
his entitled " What I Know about Farming," should be devoted for the
relief of the starving sufferers. This was done, and farming implements and
seeds were supplied ; and then the millions of wretched outcasts made an
effort to till the ground. Of the result of this I will speak further on.
In the meantime the President was doing infinite harm to the country in
another way. His handwriting was so fearfully and wonderfully bad that no
living man could read it. And so when he sent his first annual message to
Congress — the document was devoted wholly to the tariff and agriculture —
a sentence appeared which subsequently was ascertained to be, " Large culti
vation of rutabagas and beans is the only hope of the American nation, I am
sure." The printers, not being able to interpret this, put it in the following
form, in which it went to the world : " The Czar of Russsia could'nt keep
clean if he washed himself with the whole Atlantic ocean once a day ! " This
perversion of the message was immediately telegraphed to Russia by the
Russian Minister, and the Czar was so indignant that he immediately de
clared war.
" Just at this time President Greeley undertook to write some letters to
Prince Bismark upon the subject of potato rot, and, after giving his singular
views at great length, he concluded with the statement that if the Emperor
William said that subsoil plowing was not good in light soil, or that guano
was better than bone-dust, he was ' a liar, a villain and a slave ! ' Of course
the Emperor immediately declared war, and became an ally of Russia and
England, against which latter country Mr. Greeley had actually begun hos
tilities already, because the Queen, in her speech from the throne, had de
clared the Tribune's advocacy of a tariff on pig iron incendiary, and calcu
lated to disturb 'the peace of nations.
'¦ Unhappily, this was not the full measure of our disasters. The Presi
dent had sent to the Emperor of Austria a copy of his book, ' What I
Know," etc., with his autograph upon a fly-leaf. The Emperor mistook the
signature for a carricature of the Austrian eagle, and he readily joined in a
war against the United States ; while France was provoked to the same act
by the fact that when the French minister came to call on Mr. Greeley, to
present his credentials, the President, who was writing an editorial at the
time, not comprehending the French language, mistook the Ambassador for
a beggar, and without looking up handed him a quarter and an order for a
clean shirt, and said to him, 'Go West, young man — go West.'
" So all these nations joined in making war upon the United States. They
swooped down upon our coasts and landed without opposition, for those ex
posed portions of our unhappy country were absolutely deserted. The Presi
dent was afraid to call away the army from Kansas at first, for fear the out
raged people upon the plains would come East in spite of him. But at last

GREELEY AS A BOOK FARMER. 497
he did summon the army to his aid, and it moved to meet the enemy. It
was too late. Before the troops reached Cincinnati the foreigners had seized
Washington and all the country east of the Ohio, and had hung the Presi
dent, the Cabinet, and every member of Congress. The army disbanded in
alarm, and the invaders removed to the far West, where they found the popu
lation dying of starvation because they had followed the advice of Greeley's
book, to ' Try, for your first crop, to raise limes ; and don't plant more than
a bushel of quicklime in a hill ?' Of course, these wretched people were at
the mercy of the enemy, who — to his credit be it said — treated them kindly,
fed them, and brought them back to their old homes.
" You know what followed — how Prince Frederick William of Prussia
ascended the American throne, and the other humiliations that ensued.
It was a fearful blow to Republicanism — a blow from which it will never re
cover. It made us, who were freemen, a nation of slaves. It was all the
result of our blind confidence in a misguided old man, who thought himself
a philosopher, but who was actually a fool. May heaven preserve you, my
children, from the remorse I feel when I remember that I voted for that bu
colic old editor."

CHAPTER XXV.
IS HE FIT?
Traits of Horace Greeley's Character — For what his Genius Fits him — For
what it Does Not — How an Honest Man Can Do Dishonest Acts — Some
Faults and How they Might be Cured— Can the Country Afford it ?— How
his One-Term Theory Kills His Own Chances— H. G., his Plea at the
Jubilee— H. G. as an Administrator— Eleven Specific Points— Wm. C.
Bryant's Portraiture of Greeley.
It is to be hoped that no reader has received an
impression from the preceding chapters, or from
any other source, that Horace Greeley is a man
destitute of admirable personal qualities. He cer
tainly has several such. In the first place, he is a
man of genius — genius in a certain direction, to
which his success as an agitator and reformer, and
as a writer for the patriotic American public, bears
sufficient testimony. His best trait — indeed the
best trait which any man, public or private, can
have, is honesty : or rather, we must say in this par
ticular case, the intention to be honest ; and this in
tention is always executed except where it is over
borne by his strong and impetuous prejudices, or
by his inordinate personal vanity, or by some other
motive, in itself not dishonorable, but which warps
the man's conscience, unconsciously to himself.
This paradox often occurs in men of irregular
(498)

IS HE FIT? 499
education, of uncontrolled impulse, and of a pre
disposition to theorizing and to making all events
and actions square themselves by their theories.
we have already seen this illustrated in the case of
Charles Sumner, asserting what was not true with
regard to Stanton, and denying what was true with
regard to himself. It rarely appears in Mr. Gree
ley's history, except in connection with public af
fairs — as in the case of the Niagara peace negotia
tions, wherein he not only misrepresented Lincoln,
and caused him to be misrepresented still more
widely by the quasi Rebel commissioners, but mis
represented his own status to the public through
the Tribune. On the morning of the 2 2d of July,
1864, five days after his fiasco at the Clifton House,
he said, at the head of his editorial columns :
" Of course all reports that the writer has been engaged in proposing, or
receiving or discussing hypothetical terms or basis of peace, whether with
accredited agents of the Richmond authorities or others, are utterly mistaken,"
On the same day he published those portions of
the correspondence which accuse Lincoln of pre
varicating. Having in youth few really vicious impulses, and
none, perhaps, which manifested themselves to his
parents, Mr. Greeley never felt obliged to put forth
effort to control his impulses ; hence it is, doubtless,
that we find him yielding so readily to them through
out his career.
There is no doubt that a term of public service
in an office of dignity and responsibility, would be
beneficial to him — would make him less flighty, less

500 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
fidgety, less ready to go into a passion and speak
hard words, less ready to yield to the importuni
ties of friends without reference to the character of
those friends, less ready to adopt every new va
gary which presents itself to him of a summer morn
ing in a plausible aspect. In short, his consti
tutional radicalism might be toned down into a par
tial conservatism by a term of office as chief magis
trate of the nation. But can the nation afford to
take him as a leader, just for the training it would
give him, when it has others already trained ? And
especially when there is great risk that the quali
ties which now unfit the man for the place might,
by the force of circumstances extremely liable to
occur, be exaggerated, rather than cured by the
process ? Even if it were not for this risk, a very
strong argument against trying Greeley in the
Presidency would be furnished by his own rule of
One Term, which would muster him out of service
before he had become well fitted for his duties.
Mr. Greeley himself argues* that, since he has
been a good journalist, he may be reasonably ex
pected to make a good President ; but this is a most
palpable non sequitur. In the first place, he is not
a good journalistt — he is simply an able writer and
speaker, a bold innovator and a doughty disputant
upon mooted points of politics, who can command
the ear of the public, and whose style is peculiarly
adapted to the needs of the newspaper " leader" or
?Speech at the Boston Jubilee, July 3, 1872.
fMr. Parton concurs in this view, See Biography, p. 205.

IS HE FIT. 5OI
editorial paragraph. Whenever he has had the ab
solute management of the Tribune, its list and its
profits have fallen off. One year since the begin
ning of the war, under such conditions, the net
receipts of the paper were reduced to less than
$12,000, whereas they should have been upwards of
$200,000. But supposing Mr. Greeley were a good journal
ist, the fact would not argue that he would make a
good President any more than that he would be a
skillful watchmaker. Some of the qualities which
militate seriously against Mr. Greeley's fitness for
the Presidential office are these :
1. He is inconstant of purpose. Evinced in hrs
vacillating course on many questions of social
economy in the period previous to i860, and his
hot-and-cold blowing during the war — favoring one
day the right of the South to secede, counseling
amnesty, peace-on-any-terms, etc., and on the next
day shouting "On to Richmond !" "The Rebels have
been too leniently treated !" "They must, on re
turning, find their homes desolate, their wives and
children starving," etc.
2. He is intolerant, rabidly intolerant, of the
opinion of others, even in non-essentials. He him
self tells us* how he was at serious variance with
Margaret Fuller, during months of her stay in his
household, because she chose to drink tea and cof
fee. Of his intolerance in more serious matters,
numerous instances have been given in these
pages.
* Parton, page 257.

502 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
3. He tends to violent theories and isms as a
duck tends toward the water. Instance his sudden
embracement of Communism (which he has not
yet really abandoned), his ultra views concerning
sumptuary legislation, his dalliance with Rebels
during the War, his "affinity" for Margaret Fuller,
Theodore Tilton, and such extremists, for Weston,
the pedestrian, "Lord Gordon Gordon," and such
humbugs, and his general eagerness to revolution
ize society.
4. He is rude to boorishness in manners, a fact
springing not less from his lack of breeding than
from his inordinate self-conceit and affectation
of individuality. Instance his habitual profanity,
his appearance upon the street in rags and filth*
his commencing a reply to the Evening Post in
1849, with these words:
" You lie, villian ! willfotlly, wickedly, basely lie /"
and other like illustrations cited in chapter twenty
of this book.
5. He is the worst judge of men. Instance his
choice of political associates at home, and his
almost daily experience in being duped by design
ing fellows, recommending rascals for office, etc.
6. He is ignorant of the qualities and capacities
of human nature. Instance his "worse than crimes"
— his blunders — in the Lackawaxen expedition and
other Fourierite experiences.
7. He does not know the American people, nor
respect their opinions. Instance his wayward
* Parton, pp. 574 and 576.

IS HE FIT. 503
course in the war, and his declaration at the Four
ier banquet of his purpose to "fly in the teeth"
of public opinion whenever he chose.
8. He lacks the organizing and administrative
faculty. See Tribune experiences as above, fail
ure in all newspaper ventures before he picked up
McElrath, failure of his farming, frittering away
of his million of personal revenues, failure of his
political schemes, etc.
9. He is a Radical by temperament, which a
President should never be, though may entertain
progressive views.
10. He cherishes personal revenges and is con
stantly in half a dozen quarrels, and Charles Sum
ner's Eleventh Commandment (which Greeley is
circulating by the hundred thousand) says^ "A
President should never quarrel." (See Seward let
ter, Lincoln episodes, Tribune of almost any date
relative to Senator Conkling, etc.)
11. And worst — he has a morbid laxity of con
duct toward evil-doers — not because he is prone to
evil himself, nor solely because of his sentimental
notions about universal amnesty, but because the
public condemns robbery and corruption, and Gree
ley's habitual belligerency toward public opinion
places him instinctively on the opposite side from
the general public. Instance his course toward
Tammany from a remote date, toward the South
ern Rebels, and toward many isolated and indi
vidual malefactors.
Of these eleven articles of impeachment none

504 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
would perhaps serve to oust Greeley after should
be placed in the Presidential chair ; there is there
fore all the more need of the public considering
them well, before elevating him to such a responsible
place. If any two or three of them are true, they
should disqualify him for the popular suffrages.
Which one of them is not ?
We will close this chapter with two quotations
from high authority in reinforcement of our
characterization of Mr. Greeley. First, from Mr.
George William Curtis, most candid and generous
of New York journalists, and editor of Harper's
Weekly. He says:
" Mr. Greeley undoubtedly has elements of strength, but he is not a strong
candidate. His name does not suggest to the country either of the two great
executive qualities — discretion and decision. Bred in the school of Henry
Clay, whose memory he piously reveres, he is naturally timid and a com
promiser. He has the credulity which belongs to a certain simplicity of
nature, and which destroys all sound judgment of person. His sympathies
are limited ; his prejudices deep and strong. He has been always a poli
tician, and of an unsuspected personal honesty. Yet he is not free from sus
picion of personal grievance, for he undoubtedly considered himself betrayed
by the action of the New York Republican Convention in 1870 ; and it is
plain that he has felt the want of what is called influence with the adminis
tration."
And next, from that Nestor of the press, Mr.
William C. Bryant, who writes in his Evening Post
(a paper which had been in sympathy with the
Cincinnati movement up to the time of its wreck
upon the old rock of political trickery) :
" We shall, therefore, put together a few reasons that occur to us why the
nomination of Mr. Greeley is unworthy of support.
" He lacks the courage, the firmness, and the consistency which are re
quired in a chief magistrate of the nation. He showed this in a remarkable
manner when, at the outbreak of the civil war, he desired to let the South

IS HE FIT? 505
have its way and dissolve the Union of the States. He was frightened, and
feared to face the consequences of rejecting the demands of the Southern
politicians. The war, however, went on, and soon, though claiming to be a
Unionist, he became frightened again. He wanted to make terms with the
rebel government at Richmond ; he wanted to negotiate with George Saun
ders and other agents of the rebel government who had sought refuge in Can-
¦ ada. He was for stopping the war and letting the South depart with the
chance of preserving slavery. His whole career during the war was irreso
lute and cowardly, and his counsels impolitic and unwise to the last degree.
" Mr. Greeley's political associations and intimacies are so bad that we can
expect nothing from him, in case, to his own misfortune and ours, he should
be elected, but a corrupt administration of affairs. Everybody is aware of
his close intimacy with Mr. Fenton, of the Senate. If there is a corrupt and
dishonest politician in the land, there is no man who has a better claim to be
so considered than Reuben E. Fenton. His character is well known to Mr.
Greeley ; yet is he Mr. Greeley's bosom friend and counsellor in politics.
Without a single idea of what public virtue or-principle means, he is a most
shrewd and skillful political manager. It was probably through his intrigues
more than through any other influence that Mr. Greeley succeeded in obtain
ing his nomination. The same facility for entering into close association
with dishonest men has marked the whole of Mr. Greeley's career. He be
gan his political life as a disciple of Thurlow Weed, and only rebelled against j
his master when he found that he was not to have any of the offices for which
political parties were quarreling. In a letter, which found its way to print,
he expressly declined to hunt any longer in company with that virtuous indi
vidual, Weed, because there was no proper division of the game. He now
hunts in company with .Fenton, who is more generous. If he should be
elected, it is very likely that Fenton would be the principal member of his
Cabinet, and that the other heads of departments would be little better. As
for the subordinate offices, they would probably be filled by the men whom
he makes his companions, such as John Gridley, Waldo Hutchins, Benjamin
Wood, John Morrissey and Hank Smith, the lesser lights of Mr. Greeley's
social firmament.
" Mr. Greeley has no settled political principles, with one exception. It is a
serious objection to any candidate for an office of high political trust that he
has no well defined standard of right in his own mind by which to try any
measure or any course of proceeding that may be proposed. This is one of
Mr. Greeley's great deficiencies. Any aspect of a public measure which
looks plausible satisfies him, and drifts backward and forward upon the
shifting currents of expediency. It has been said of him as a politician, and i
we believe with some tiuth, that he has been on every side of every public 1
question that has come up save one, and that brings us to another objection
to him as a candidate.
" He is a thoroughgoing bigoted protectionist, a champion of one of the

506 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
most arbitrary and grinding systems of monopoly ever known in any country.
Mr. Greeley is nothing if not a protectionist.
" The last objection to Mr. Greeley which we shall here mention is the
grossness of his manners. General Grant is sometimes complained of as not
filling the executive chair with the decorum and dignity which properly belong
to the place ; but his deficiency in this respect is the deficiency of one not
accustomed to polished society, giving little heed to certain conventionalities
which really become the high sphere he moves in, as Mr. Greeley so often is.
" These are some of the objections which will occur to thoughtful men when
they hear of Mr. Greeley's nomination ; and allowing these the weight which
they fully deserve, we must advise our readers to refuse the nomination their
support. With such a head as is on his shoulders the affairs of the nation
could not, under his direction, be wisely administered ; with such manners as
his, they could not be administered with common decorum ; with such
associates as he has taken to his bosom, they could not be administered with
common integrity,"

CHAPTER XXVI.
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
Its Record During and Since the War— Some Nice Tidbits from the History
of Greeley's Present Allies— The Essence of their Poliey Then the Same
as Now— A Democratic Club of 500,000— Greeley's New York Associates
—Who and What They Are— Greeley the Ring Candidate— That Good,
Honest Soul — What he has Promised to Do for Them— ^Frank Blair as
Painted by H. G. — The Southern Aristocrats, Ditto — Some of Greeley's
Western Friends — Democratic Record on Financial Questions — On Con
gressional Abuses — The Original Nominator of H. G. — He Favors Repu
diation of the Yankee War Debt and a Return of Negroes to Slavery — A
Question by H. G. in 1864 — Will he Answer it in 1872 ?
The action of the Democratic party at Balti
more, in nominating Horace Greeley as its candi
date upon his secession record and his amnesty
principles, has two effects. It completely stulti
fies the course of those "Liberal Republicans" who
claim to be still Republicans, and who arrogate to
themselves much virtue for breaking up the Demo
cratic party ; and it also makes Greeley distinct
ively the Democratic candidate for the Presidency,
just as Judge Chase would have been in 1868, if
he had secured the nomination which he then so
ardently coveted. Greeley is the candidate of the
regular Democratic organization. Democratic dis
cipline will be brought to bear to whip voters into
30 (5°7)

508 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
his ranks, and Democratic money, doled out by
Augustus Schell and Cyrus H. McCormick, will be
used to buy such as will yield to no other incen
tive. The friends of the Democratic party, there
fore, are Greeley's friends, and the friends of Gree
ley are its friends. RECORD OF THE DEMOCRACY.
The record of the Democratic party prior to the
Administration of James Buchanan, is not of much
account in this connection, since all national issues
assumed a new phase with the dawn of secession
and civil strife. It will be recollected, however,
that the Democratic party (so called because it
was not democratic but oligarchic) was the party
of Slavery before the war, and that ever since the
firing upon Sumpter, it has been the opponent of
all measures for putting down the Slaveholders'
Rebellion, and for realizing the results of the de
feat of that rebellion. Its personnel is practically
the same now as then ; and its perpetuation of it
self at Baltimore — its refusal to adopt the "pos
sum" policy signifies nothing less than the deter
mination to keep alive the aspirations and pur
poses of 1861-63-64-66, and those years; a deter
mination which is doubtless reinforced by confi
dence in Greeley's devotion as a neophyte to their
cause, and especially by his promise in a recent let
ter to a Hartford gentleman, to deal out the loaves
and fishes of office to copperhead Democrats in
proportion to the number of votes which they cast
for him.

THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

509

We will refresh the recollection of the reader
with a few facts in the record of the Democracy —
and but a few, since they are all so notorious and
so uniformly unpatriotic as to be an uninviting
theme for the chronicler.
BUCHANAN AND HIS CABINET.
In the winter of 1 860-1, when the rebellion
broke out, the Democratic party was in power, as it
now seeks to be. It had in the Presidential chair
an old fussy man, such as it now seeks to put in,
who held, as Greeley holds, that the national gov
ernment had no right to coerce a State into loyalty.
That fussy old man, James Buchanan, had very
much such a pro-Southern cabinet as Greeley may
be expected to appoint if he succeeds in being
elected next November. In this cabinet the Sec
retary of War was J. B. Floyd — the same who
afterwards ran away from Grant at Fort Donelson.
Among the exploits of Floyd, in behalf of the
Southern Confederacy and the Democratic party,
just before the storm broke, was to transfer from
Northern to Southern arsenals 105,000 stand of
muskets and 10,000 rifles. At the same time forty
columbiads and four 32-pounders were moved from
Pittsburgh to Ship Island, La., and seventy col
umbiads and seven 32-pounders from the same
foundries to Galveston, although the fortifications
at Galveston, on which the guns were to be used,
were not to be done in five years. At the same
time, also, the navy of the United States was by the
the Secretary of that Department scattered and

5IO THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
the vessels assigned either to Southern ports, where
they could be captured by the Rebels, or to remote
stations, whence they could not be recalled in
months. Buchanan's other cabinet officers also rallied in
support of the rebellion. Jeremiah S. Black — one
of Greeley's supporters — then Attorney General"
decided solemnly that the President had no power
to call out the militia ; though a committee of Con
gress appointed that winter said " Yes, the power
is distinctly conferred by the statute of February
28,1795." President Buchanan informed the country, in his
last message, Dec. 4, i860, that "the Constitution
did not delegate to Congress or to any other
department of the Federal Government, the power
to coerce a State into submission which is attempt
ing to withdraw, or has actually withdrawn from
the Union." THE DEMOCRATS IN CONGRESS.
It will be recollected that the members of the
House of Representatives which was chosen in
i860, did not take their seats until after the session
of March 4th of the following year, and that the
members from the seceding states maintained their
seats for a time, thus leaving the Democrats a
large vote in each house until near the close of the
3 7th Congress. The propositions made in Congress
during that eventful winter, with a view of settling
with the South by compromise, were many of them

THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 5 I I
disgraceful to American patriotism. Among others,
John A. McClernand, now Greeley's chief stump
orator for Illinois, and who came near being Presi
dent of his Baltimore Convention, introduced a
resolution in favor of a bill indemnifying, at the
expense of the government, the owners of all slaves
who had escaped from freedom, and providing for
a special police, paid by the general government —
Massachusetts contributing to the fund alike with
South Carolina — for the prevention of any further
escapes. Noell, of Missouri, introduced a resolution pro
posing to abolish the office of President of the
United States and establish instead a triumvirate,
to be chosen from three sections — the East, West
and South (this with a view to keeping New Eng
land under), and also to restore to the South her
former prestige in the Senate by subdividing the
Southern states.
On the 27th of February, 1861, every Democrat
in the House voted for a constitutional amendment
which should say that " No amendment shall be
made to the Constitution which shall authorize or
.give to Congress the power to abolish or interfere
with slavery."
John Cochrane is a specimen of the "Liberal
Republicans" who have joined the Democratic
ranks because the Republican party could not in
decency recognize their impertinent claims for pre
ferment. He was only an interloper in the Repub
lican camp at best. In December, i860, being then

512 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
a Democratic Member of Congress, he defended
Buchanan's cowardly message, and introduced a
joint resolution "fully concurring with the Presi
dent, that no department of the Federal Govern
ment has the right to wage war against a seceding
State," and declaring that "a just conception of the
Constitutional authority of Congress combines
with other and more commanding motives [mean
ing love for slavery and slaveholders] to prescribe
other means than aggressive and coercive warfare
to remedy the inconveniences of such secession."
This unvarying policy of favoring the South and
truckling to the worst demands of the fire-eaters,
continued to characterize the party, even after act
ive hostilities were in progress. On the 5th of
December, 1862, S. S. Cox, also one of Mr. Gree
ley's supporters, and one of his intimates, intro
duced an amendment to another member's resolu
tion, which amendment defined as " assassins " "all
men, whether of the North or South, who have
been instrumental in producing the present war,
and especially those, in or out of Congress, who
have been guilty of flagrant breaches of the Con
stitution, and who are not in favor of establishing
the Union as it was and the Constitution as it is ; "
and all the Democrats, except two, voted for this
amendment ! INSULT TO INJURY ^
Buchanan, in his last message to Congress, pro
posed the enactment of "an explanatory Constitu
tional amendment, containing, 1. An express recog-

THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 513
nition of the right of property in slaves where it
now exists, or may hereafter exist; 2. The duty of
protecting this right in all our territories ; and 3.
"A like recognition of the right of the master to his
slave," and a forcing of the Fugitive Slave Law
upon all the States, as a part of their State codes.
Here is Democratic State Rights for you in all its
original purity !
Propositions like this came in by the dozen
during the first few months of the Rebellion. For
tunately, the very impetuosity of the Southern
traitors defeated their cause, by preventing the en
actment of any of these suicidal propositions. It
did not, however, prevent the Democrats in Con
gress and elsewhere from evincing, on all conven
ient occasions their sympathy with the South. The
Democratic Members of Congress voted solid, or
nearly so, against a committee to inquire into the
alleged abuse of the executive power as to the
South ; against a resolution censuring the Secre
tary of the Navy for sending off men-of-war, so
that they could not be used to put down the rebel
lion ; against the construction of seven steam war
vessels ; against a resolution approving the course
of Major Anderson in defending Fort Sumpter;
and, in general, against every measure proposed
during the prevalence of the Rebellion, for putting
down that Rebellion or strengthening the Govern
ment. OUTSIDE OF CONGRESS.
Outside of Congress the Democrats were equally

514 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
active. Mr. Greeley's friend and advocate, Fer
nando Wood, then mayor of New York, sent a
special message to the Common Council of that
city, proposing to secede from the Union and join
the Confederacy — the latter clause of the proposi
tion being implied. In 1863 the New York News
(Ben. Wood's paper) and the Brooklyn Eagle —
both of them among the earliest and most earnest
advocates of Greeley for the Presidency, were pre
sented by the grand jury of their respective counties
for trial for disloyalty.
In the year last mentioned, the Democrats were
better organized than they have been of late. It
appears from testimony taken by a Commission
over which Judge Advocate General Holt presided,
that there were in the Northwestern States 500,000
staunch Democrats compacted into organizations
known variously as the Order of American
Knights, Sons of Liberty, Knights of the Golden
Circle, etc., two-thirds of whom were furnished with
arms* and all of them banded together by string
ent oaths and working under elaborate forms, like
the White Brotherhood, or Ku-Klux Klan, of later
days in the South. The number above given is the
estimate of C. L. Vallandigham, who was himself a
high officer of the order. The object of this fine
Democratic organization, as elicited from the testi
mony of numerous witnesses and summarized by
Mr. Holt, were as follows :
1. To aid soldiers of the Union army to desert and to harbor and protect
deserters. * See testimony of witness Clayton and others in Mr. Holt's report.

THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

515

2. To discourage enlistments and to help resist drafts.
3. To circulate disloyal and treasonable publications.
4. To furnish intelligence of Union movements to the enemy.
5. To aid the enemy by recruiting for them within our lines.
6. To furnish the Rebels with arms, etc.
7. To co-operate with raids and invasions from the South.
S. The destruction of government property.
9. The destruction of private property.
10. Assassination and murder
11. The establishment of a Northwestern Confederacy.
There have been studious efforts made since the
war to cry down the facts about these organizations
and represent them as mere myths. They were
undoubted realities. The draft riots of Wisconsin
and New York city, the Camp Douglas plot in
Chicago, and other like demonstrations, were speci
mens of their handiwork. The members of the
O. A. K., the K. G. C, etc., are still at large* and at
work for Greeley. IN CONGRESS SINCE THE WAR.
The Thirteenth Constitutional Amendment,
abolishing slavery, was adopted by the U. S. Senate
on February 10, 1864, every Democratic member
voting against it except two, and those are now
shelved by their party. In the House, 65 Demo
crats voted against it, and only 3 in its favor.
Among the noes were Brooks, Cox, Wood, Rand
all, Eldridge and others, now at work for Greeley.
In 1868 the Democrats, though still maintaining
their reactionary policy on Southern questions,
abandoned their time-honored position on the tariff,
and declared for incidental protection.
* See Chicago Tribune of December 4, 1871, for murders committed by
the Indiana Ku-Klux, now important allies of the newspaper named.

516 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
In January, 1870, the entire Democratic vote of
the House of Representatives in Congress was
cast in favor of a resolution requiring the payment
of the Five-twenty bonds in greenbacks (then at
about 25 per cent, discount) and declaring that the
Government "squanders millions" by paying 'par
upon these bonds. On the 16th of May, 1870, a
resolution declaring the 14th and 15th amendments
to the Constitution valid and obligatory upon all
the departments of the Government, received the
votes of only four Democrats in the House, while
thirty-two voted against it.
Indeed, the uniform record of the party upon
the questions thus far referred to and as illustrated
by the examples cited, is well recollected by all who
have followed the political history of our country
during the past twelve years. With regard to those
public vices which it has been .their custom (and it
is now) to 'charge upon the Republican party, such
as legislative jobbery, the abuse of the franking
and other Congressional privileges, the Democrats
have been much more reckless and unscrupulous
than the Republicans, and it is to their practices
that a large measure of the odium is due.
WHO ARE GREELEY'S FRIENDS?
The record of some* of these has been already
celebrated in the foregoing paragraphs. Before
ever Greeley sold himself out to the Democracy,
and while making his loudest plaints as the most
virtuous and an unproperly suppressed member of

THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 517
the Republican organization, his affiliations were of
the most scandalous sort. When he tried to split
up the Republican party in New York in i87i,and
descended upon the Syracuse Convention with the
purpose of capturing that organization, and with 'it
some spoils for the Fenton crowd, he was backed
by a bogus Central Committee, recently organized
under his lead, and which contained forty-one pen
sioners of Boss Tweed and his Tammany Ring.
Among the most conspicuous of Greeley's adherents
at that time were Benj. F. Manniere, "Hank"
Smith, Fire Commissioner Galway, D. D. Conover,
Rufus F. Andrews, Tom. E. Stewart, Waldo Hutch-
ins and John Cochrane, all beneficiaries of Tam
many. These were his associates and the men in
whose behalf he labored when claiming to represent
the double-refined purity of Republicanism ; what
can be expected now that he has fallen absolutely
into the arms of Democracy ?
Among the first reinforcements to join his
standard after the Cincinnati affair were the mem
bers of the Brooklyn Ring — a more compact
organization of robbers than Tammany, and equally
successful. The head of this is Wm. C. Kingsley,
owner of the Brooklyn Eagle, and " King of the
Ring." His paper favored Greeley (why?) even
before the Cincinnati convention.
To the Tammany and Brooklyn rings, add, as
specimens of Greeley's supporters in his own state.
such men as Orange S. Winans, the renegade Re
publican legislator who sold out his party for $5,000

518 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
at Albany, in the spring of 1871 ; John Morrissey,
the professional gambler, who has always clung to
Greeley as a political affinity, and who, like most
professional gamblers, "knows his man"; Jo. How
ard, forger of proclamations, who was sent to Fort
Lafayette for one of his acts of wanton disloyalty ;
and  -. But the list defiles our pages.
Geo. N. Saunders, the notorious rebel agent, who
was connected with a plot to burn Northern cities
and rob Northern banks as a Confederate war meas
ure, has lately returned from Europe to make the
canvass for his friend Greeley, He flew at once to
Chappaqua on arriving on these shores, and has
since been an intimate associate of the great Re
form canoidate, both in private and public.
Among the most active participants in the Cin
cinnati convention was Alexander Long, expelled
from Congress for disloyalty in 1863.
On the National Executive Committee whicb is
to direct the campaign (and placed there because
he is expected to contribute $100,000 to make
votes with) is Cyrus H. McCormick, of Chicago,
who attempted to found a political theological
seminary at Chicago, and did contribute $25,000
toward General Lee's military school at Lexington,
Virginia, for the education of soldiers for the next
Confederate army.
A man without whom Greeley could not have
been nominated at Cincinnati, is Henry C. War
moth, the most corrupt of the Southern carpet-bag
governors, and the head of the most absolute local

THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

519

monarchy ever known in the United States — the
man who engages in public brawls, and who says of
his constituency that " they are all demoralized ; that
they are either  knaves or  fools, and
that he, by  knows how to handle them" (!)
Warmoth is the Louisiana member of the ' Liberal"
Executive Committee, and will have any place that
he wants under Greeley when the latter is elected.
In Missouri, Mr. Greeley's most active supporter
is the Lexington Caucasian — a paper which, indeed,
claims the merit of having been the only one to
propose beforehand the precise ticket which was
nominated at Cincinnati. This paper keeps stand
ing at the head of its editorial columns, displayed
in very bold letters, the following stuff:
STATE SOVEREIGNTY ! !

WHITE SUPREMACY! —AND —
REPUDIATION !!

THIS IS LIBERTY!!

Our Motto :
NEVER DESPAIR OF THE REPUBLIC !
OUR PLATFORM:
THE CONSTITUTION OF i860, AND THE RIGHTS OF
TH-E STATES !
OUR DOCTRINES:
THIS IS A WHITE MAN'S GOVERNMENT, MADE BY
WHITE MEN FOR WHITE MEN, AND THEIR POS
TERITY FOR EVER !

DOWN WITH THE FIFTEENTH BEDAMNEDMENT! !
Total Repudiation 0/ the Monstrous Yankee War Debt!— That
Accursed, Unconstitutional Burden, accumulated by an Un
constitutional Mob styling itself a Congress, in the prosecu
tion of an Unconstitutional Crusade, for the Accomplishment
of an Unconstitutional and Horrid Purpose !

520 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
DOWN WITH BOND-HOLDERS AND TAXATION!
Subordination of the Military to the Civil Authorities!
DOWN WITH THE SATRAPS!
EQUAL TAXATION AND THE RIGHTFUL REPRESENTATION OF
ALL THE STATES, OR
ANOTHER REBELLION!!

Revolution must be met by Counter Revolution!— Force by Force!
Violence by Violence !— And Usurpation should be overthrown.
if need be, by the Bayonet !

Down with Test Oaths and Registrations!
And Horace Greeley is the man through whom
it proposes to carry out this extraordinary pro
gramme !
There are some men to be counted in the Gree
ley party (at least were, early in the campaign) who
have respectable, or semi-respectable, records in
politics. They are, however, chiefly of the class
called soreheads — disappointed Federal office seek
ers, or men shelved by their local party associates.
The most valued of Greeley's allies, perhaps,
are the Blair family, of whom the Washington cor
respondent of the Boston Globe (an independent
sheet) writes :
"It is curious to notice how the Blair family come in as marplots and Cat-
alines. It was the presence of Montgomery Blair in Mr. Lincoln's Cabinet
that brought about the revolt of Wade aud Winter Davis, as well as the
Cleveland Convention with the Fremont nomination. The removal of that
Blair was the price paid by Mr. Lincoln for the withdrawal of General Fre
mont as a Presidential candidate. It was the Blairs who played Mephisto-
pheles to Andrew Johnson. After his drunken fiasco on inauguration day,
he retired to Silver Springs, and there passed entirely under the Blair influ
ence. Montgomery was his chief kitchen cabinet adviser ; the effect of such
advice has since become history. Now they appear again ; this time to
break up the party both Montgomery and Frank P. helped to make and
mold, and which they have ever since been seeking to betray."

THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

521

GREELEY ON THE MAN WHO NOMINATED HIM.
It has already been shown that Frank Blair was
the principal intriguer along with Gratz Brown, to
log-roll Greeley's nomination through the Conven
tion, along with Brown's. Here is what Greeley
said of Blair in the Tribune of May 7, 1864:
"An outright secessionist is wickeder and more dangerous than Frank
Blair; but his position seems to us meaner and more glaringly inconsistent
than that of Jeff. Davis. He would first use the blacks to subjugate the
traitors, and then combine with the traitors to trample on and deny all polit
ical rights to the blacks."
When Greeley says of Blair that "his position is
meaner and more glaring that that of Jeff. Davis,"
he justifies the inference that he Greeley would
not go so far to bail Blair as he did to bail Jeff.
Davis ; and yet, after all this denunciation of the
blatant Missourian, and a thousand times as much
more, which he heaped upon him after his famous
Brodhead letter, and during the campaign of 1868,
Mr. Greeley does not hesitate to accept, chiefly
from these same traitors, a nomination which he
owes mainly to the good offices of this same "mean,"
disreputable and "glaringly inconsistent " Blair !
BLAIR TO BRODHEAD.
The "Brodhead letter" referred to — written a
few days before Blair's nomination by the Demo
crats at New York for Vice-President, contained
this passage, which was not qualified or toned
down in the least by the context, nor afterwards
explained by Blair :
" The reconstruction policy of the Radicals will be complete before the

522 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
next election ; the States so long excluded will have been admitted, negro
suffrage established and the carpet-baggers installed in their seats in both
houses of Congress. There is no possibility of changing the political char
acter of the Senate, even if the Democrats should elect their President and
a majority of the popular branch of Congress. We .cannot therefore undo
the Radical plan of reconstruction by Congressional action ; the Senate will
continue a bar to its repeal ; must we submit to it ? How can it be over
thrown > It can only be overthrown by the authority of the Executive, who
is sworn to maintain the Constitution, and who will fail of his duty if he
allows the Constitution to perish under a series of Congressional enactments
which are in palpable violation of its fundamental principles.
"If the President elected by the Democracy enforces, or permits others
to enforce, these reconstruction acts, the Radicals, by the accession of twenty
spurious Senators and fifty Representatives, will control both branches of
Congress, and his Administration will be as powerless as the present one
of Mr. Johnson.
" There is but one way to restore the Government and the Constitution,
and that is for the Pi esident (Greeley ?) to declare these acts null and void, com
pel the army to undo its usurpation at the South, disperse the carpet-bag.
State Governments, allow the white people to reorganize their own govern
ments and elect Senators and Representatives."
A PERTINENT QUESTION.
In the Tribune of May 4, 1864, on one of the
days when Mr. Greeley felt more like helping the
Republican party than he did like beating Lincoln,
he wrote these words, which especially the last
clause, with names in brackets, altered a trifle, is
well suited to the present time :
" Some of us think Slavery might and should have been crowded to the
wall much faster and more sternly than it has been," [the trouble with "some
of us" this year, however, is of an opposite sort, viz. . That Slavery, in the
form of terrorism, has been pushed too hard]; "Supposing," continues Mr.
Greeley, " supposing this true ; should we make anything by substituting for
our present Administration one whereof [Frank Blair, Beauregard, Warmoth,
Letcher of Virginia, Sat. Clark, Boss Tweed, the Brooklyn Ring, et id omne
genus] are the chief spokesmen and champions ?"
GREELEY ON HIS SOUTHERN SUPPORTERS.
One great end of Greeley's candidacy, as claimed

THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 523
by his advocates, is to "break the sway of the
carpet-baggers" at the South, and to set up the
"respectable element" of the Southern population
in their place. From this respectable element they
expect such support as will enable them to carry
most of the Southern States. Here is Greeley's
opinion of this " respectable element," after he had
been among them in 1871 — only a year ago. We
extract it from an " H. G." letter in the Tribune,
published about the time that Greeley returned
from his trip through the South.
" The ancient aristocracy of the South remind me of the Federal Squire
archy of our country after Jefferson's election as President. Instead of
studying the new situation and seeking to master it, they content themselves.
with endless and fruitless complainings. They lament the sway of the " carpet
baggers" over their late slaves, but take no effective measures to counteract
it. Rogues as some of the " carpet-baggers" are, they are all zealous for the
education of the Blacks, while the submerged aristocracy grudge every penny
assessed on them for building school-houses and paying teachers as though
it were thrown into the sea. The noblest, purest, most intelligent women of
New England, who have come down here to teach Black children, are.
shunned and banned by the aristocracy, as though they were camp followers;
of Sherman's army, and being thus doomed to associate only with Blacks,
and live with them, are actually charged with this as a betrayal of low tastes
when it is a dictate of stern necessity."
And more to the same effect.

31

CHAPTER XXVII.
THE BALTIMORE CONVENTION.
Its Composition — A Cut and Dried Aflair — To Nominate or to Endorse : —
That is the Question — Organization — " Dixie" for Music — Greeley Swal
lowed — Likewise the Cincinnati Platform — Delaware, Pennsylvania,
Georgia, Remonstrate in Vain — A Sudden Adjournment.
The Baltimore Convention is a short horse, soon
curried. The delegates had, nearly all, been in
structed to vote for Greeley and Brown, and there
was nothing left for them to do but to meet and go
through with the form. The only question was
what that form should be — whether to nominate
formally or to simply endorse the Cincinnati nomin
ations and platform, appoint an auxiliary commit
tee, and adjourn. The latter policy was urged
with great earnestness by the " Liberal" leaders
present, but the Democrats proper would not listen
to it for a moment. The " endorsing" policy ob
tained no show at all in the Convention, and the
four-year-long efforts of Horace White and others
to persuade the Democracy to go out of business
were thus brought to naught. The Democrats
reasoned that Greeley was a good enough Demo
crat for them — that recent converts usually proved
more zealous in enforcing the party creed than
(524)

THE BALTIMORE CONVENTION. 525
older members ; and that the Democracy, whose
platform now was anything to beat Grant, and re
verse his policy — a platform to which Greeley
heartily subscribed, could afford to hold up its head
as high as ever. THE LIBERAL PLAN SCORNED.
This course prevailed. The convention met at
twelve o'clock on the 9th of June, in Ford's Opera
House. It was called to order by August Belmont,
Chairman of the National Executive Committee,
who had been the chief manipulator of the party
in Seymour and Blair days — in McClellan and Pen
dleton days, and so on back. The leaders gener
ally were equally veterans in the service ; though
some effort had apparently been made to leave out
from the published proceedings the names to which
odious records are attached.
THE OLD, OLD STORY.
Mr. Belmont, in his opening speech, of course
made pathetic allusions to the "Caesarism and cen
tralization," which, he said, "are undermining the
very foundations of our federal system, and are
sweeping away the constitutional bulwarks erected
by the wisdom of the fathers of the republic.
These abuses," said Belmont, "have become so
glaring that the widest and best men of the Re
publican party have severed themselves from the
Radical wing, which is trying to fasten upon the
country another four years' reign of corruption,
usurpation and despotism, and whatever individual

526 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
opinion we may entertain as to the choice of the
candidates," we must, etc., etc.
ORGANIZATION.
Mr. Belmont nominated a Mr. Randolph, of Vir
ginia, said to be a grandson of Jefferson, as tem
porary Chairman. Afterwards the convention was
permanently organized by the election of Hon.
James R. Doolittle, of Wisconsin — the right hand
man of Andrew Johnson during the administra
tion of that worthy, as permanent Chairman, with
E. O. Perrin, of New York, A. T. Whittlesey, of
Indiana, Thos. H. Moore, of Maryland, and Jno-
C. Barr, of Pennsylvania, for Secretaries. The
Vice-Presidents were as follows :
Alabama, Wm. M. Bird ; Arkansas, D. W. Carroll ; California, Hon.
Eugene Casserly ; Connecticut, D. A. Daniels ; Delaware, J. H. Payne ;
Florida, Thos. Rundell ; Georgia, H. L. Benning ; Illinois, Wm. M. Gon-
ard ;' Indiana, Bayless W. Hanna ; Iowa, Jno. H. Peters ; Kansas, Isaac
Sharp ; Kentucky, G. H. Dore ; Louisiana, B. F. Taylor ; Maine, Wm. H.
McCrelles ; Maryland, R. T. Banks ; Massachusetts, D. D. Brodhead ; Mich
igan, E. H. Lathrop; Minnesota, Wm. Lee ; Mississippi, J. W. D. Watson ;
Missouri, Silas Woodson ; Nebraska. Jno. Black ; Nevada, N. B. Weyman ;
New Hampshire, G. M. W. Pitman ; New Jersey, Albert H. S. Lape ; New
York, Thomas Kinsella ; North Carolina, R. T. Armfield ; Ohio, Alfred
Gaither ; Oregon, E. F. Colby ; Pennsylvania, Wm. McMullen ; Rhode Isl
and, Lyman Pierce ; South Carolina, Wm. Aiken ; Tennessee, Neils Brown;
Texas, J. W. Henderson ; Vermont, W. T. Horiben ; Virginia, Robt. Ould ;
West Virginia, Allen T. Caperton ; Wisconsin, H. H. Gray ; Dakota, Bart-
Iett Thripp ; District of Columbia, Richard T. Merrick ; Idaho, B. F. Pat
terson ; New Mexico, Chas. P. Chaveo.
After a half hour speech from the Chairman, a
Committee on Resolutions was constituted, a great
flood of independent resolutions presented, and
the National Executive Committee appointed, after
which an adjournment was had.

THE BALTIMORE CONVENTION.

527

THE COMMITTEE.
The members of the National Committee are as
follows :
Alabama, Thos. A. Walker, Jacksonville ; Arkansas, S. R. Cockrell, Pine
Bluffs ; California, F. McCoppin, San Francisco ; Connecticut, Wm. H.
Barnum, Lime Rock ; Delaware, Chas. Beasten, Odessa ; Florida, Chas. E.
Dyke, Talahessee ; Georgia, A. R. Wright, Augusta; Illinois, Cyrus H.
McCormick, Chicago ; Indiana, Thos. Dowling, Terre Haute ; Iowa, M. M.
Hall, Dubuque ; Kansas, Isaac Eaton, Leavenworth ; Kentucky, H. D.
McHenry, Hartford ; Louisiana, H. D. Ogden, New Orleans ; Maine, D. T.
M. Sweet, Portland ; Maryland, A. Leo Knott, Baltimore ; Massachusetts,
F. O. Priner, Boston ; Michigan, Wm. A. Moore, Detroit ; Minnesota, Wm.
Lochren, Minneapolis ; Mississippi, J. H. Sharp, Columbus ; Missouri, John
G. Priest, St. Louis ; Nebraska, G. L. Miller, Omaha ; Nevada, Thos. H.
Williams, Virginia City ; New Hampshire, M. V. B. Edgerly. Manchester ;
New Jersey, T. F. Randolph, Morristown ; New York, A. Schell, New York;
North Carolina, M. W. Ransom, Weldon ; Ohio, J. G. Johnson, Columbus ;
Oregon, R. J. Ladd, Portland ; Pennsylvania, Jas. D. Barr, Pittsburgh ;
Rhode Island, Gideon Bradford, Providence ; South Carolina, Thos. G.
Simmons, Charleston ; Tennessee, Wm. R. Bales, Nashville ; Texas. F. S.
Stockdale, Indianola ; Vermont, H. B. Smith, Milton ; Virginia, Jno. Goode,
Norfolk ; West Virginia, J. B. Hoge, Martinsburg ; Wisconsin, Geo. H.
Paul, Milwaukee.
The displacement of Mr. Belmont from the
committee and the substitution of Mr. Schell
created some hard feelings among the New York
delegation, but was smilingly acquiesced in by Mr.
Belmont, who is doubtless glad to be relieved from
the large pecuniary obligations which have hitherto
rested upon him as chairman and moneyed man
of the committee, and also from the odium which
so prominent an advocacy of Greeley would bring
him in financial circles. Mr. Schell is a very wealthy
man, having made millions of dollars in a govern
ment contract, under Andrew Johnson. Mr. Storey,
of the Chicago Times, a former valuable member of

528 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
the committee, had chosen to forego that honor
henceforth, rather than support the nomination of
Greeley. The members of this committee, so far
as known to the writer, are of Copperhead antece
dents. THE PLATFORM — AND TROUBLE.
In the evening the Committee on Resolutions
met and voted to adopt the Cincinnati philippic as
a platform. Only three States^— Delaware, Missis
sippi and Georgia — voted against this. The pro
gramme thus agreed upon was ratified by the Con
vention on the following day ; but not until Senator
Bayard, of Delaware, a member of the Platform
Committee, and speaking for the Delaware dele
gation, had made a very earnest speech against
" the adoption of the language of a platform made
by other men not of the same political faith with
the convention." Other members rose to remon
strate in the same manner, but a call for the previ
ous question had been made and carried ; which
shut off debate, and carried the second-hand plat
form through under the gag law. The vote by which
the previous question was seconded was 573 to
159; and the platform was adopted by 662 to 70.
The scene, pending the discussion and voting, was
one of great turbulence.
A NOMINATION — AND CLAP-TRAP.
After the platform was swallowed, the next thing
in order was to swallow the candidate which had

THE BALTIMORE CONVENTION. 529
been prepared for the patient; and an Illinois
gentleman named Snowhook, who had been bob
bing up at frequent intervals and nominating Hor
ace Greeley off-hand, was now allowed to do so pro
forma, and the convention proceeded to swallow
its leek, " in token of revenge." The vote resulted
as follows :
Horace Greeley.  686
Jeremiah S. Black     21
James A. Bayard  16
W. S. Groesbeck   _ 2
Blank..  7
Total    732
Upon the announcement of this result an attempt
was made to imitate the thrilling dramatic features
which accompanied the renomination of General
Grant at Philadelphia. A motion was made, by a
heart-sick Pennsylvanian (who afterwards swore
point blank that he would not vote for Greeley) to
make the nomination unanimous ; but this was
negatived by the staunch Delawareans and by many
Southern delegates. Then a canvass was lowered
away from the flies of the theater stage, on which
was a vision of the White House; and the band
struck up "The Battle Cry of Freedom." A
newspaper correspondent, writing from the scene
immediately afterwards, said of the musical feature
of the Convention and the result upon that body's
enthusiasm :
" A significant feature in the convention to-day was the manner in which
the popular airs were received. Previous to opening the convention this
morning the band played " Yankee Doodle," " Red, White and Blue,"
" Marching Through Georgia," etc., but they received no notice. Finally,

530 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
however, when " Dixie" and "The Bonnie Blue Flag," were performed, the
audience broke out in a most violent manner, and cheered the airs to the
echo. In fine, the convention did not display enough enthusiasm over
anything of a national character to charge a bottle of pop. But all allusions
to the south and southern sdldiers were loudly applauded, showing clearly
enough the composition and spirit of the convention."
With a few further formalities, the convention
adjourned sine die, after a painfully short and em
barrassed session.
This convention, also had its side-show — an
assembly of Irreconcilables who met in a neigh
boring hall, under the presidency of another
Bayard — Hon. Samuel J., of New Jersey. They
adopted an address and voted to call a national
convention to be held at Louisville on the 3d of
September to take advantage of any new phase
which the situation might assume at or before that
time. There were many members of the regular
convention in sympathy with this movement, but
the number who actually participated was not
great.

CHAPTER XXVIII.
HENRY WILSON.
His Humble Birth— Apprenticed to a Farmer— Learns the Shoemaker's
Trade After Becoming Twenty-one— Pursues an Academical Course After
That — Becomes a Stump Orator — Great success — Enters Public Life — In
the Legislature— An Ardent Free Soiler— An Editor for Two Years— Cho
sen United States Senator in 1850 — His Career in the Senate — Challenged
by Bully Brooks — Service on the Military Committee — Joins the Army—
His Labors for the Colored Race — Why he Would Not Join the Working-
men's Party — An Answer Worth Reading — A Busy Career.
Our sketch of Henry Wilson, Republican candi
date for Vice-President, is mainly a hasty compila
tion from recent newspaper sketches, of which the
New York Times and the Philadelphia Telegraph
have published the best which have come to hand.
The origin of Wilson, like that of Lincoln, Grant,
Johnson and others whom the whole nation has
seen fit to elevate to the highest places with
in its gift, was extremely humble ; more so, indeed,
than any of the others. His manner of struggling
upward against adversity was very like that of
Horace Greeley ; but as the temperaments and
minds of the two men are essentially different, the
parallel does not extend to their respective careers
after attaining manhood.
Henry Wilson was born at Farmington, N. H.,
(530

532

THE STRUGGLE OF 72.

February 16th, 1 812, and is now, therefore, in his
sixty-first year. On account of the extreme pov
erty of his parents, he was at ten years of age appren
ticed to a farmer in the vicinity for eleven years.
His master was a kind and generous man, who
sent the young hard-working boy to school in the
intervals of agricultural labor, and here he soon
developed a great taste, for reading. He hungered
after knowledge, and his evident desire to learn
induced a lawyer of Farmington to offer him the
free use of his library, which was fortunately a very
extensive one. Here the statesman in embryo rev
eled, and, in after life he has declared to friends
that he believes he read during those eleven years
a hundred volumes a year. When he became
twenty-one he had exhausted the library. We
continue the narrative in the words of another :
LEARNS A TRADE.
" His indentures were now completed, and if he had chosen to become a
farmer, opportunities of advancement were not wanting, for everybody liked
the shy awkward youth, with his broad, high forehead, his honest eyes and
his immense but somewhat desultory stores of information. But he had re
solved upon quitting Farmington and seeing the world. Putting his few
clothes and his books, his only treasures, into a bundle, he slung it across his
shoulder and walked gayly off to Natick, in Massachusetts, where he hired
himself to a shoe-maker, with the resolution of working at this trade until he
had accumulated a fund sufficient to maintain him in some good academy. It
took three years to do this, when he returned to New Hampshire and studied
for a time in the academies at Stafford, Wolfsborough and Concord. Most
unfortunately, the man to whom he had confided his little heap of savings
became insolvent, so Henry Wilson was obliged to return to the shoemaker's
bench at Natick.
"Mr. Wilson himself gives, in one of his speeches, the following account of
his rugged experience as a boy and young man :
" T left my home at ten years of age and served an apprenticeship of eleven
years, receiving a month's schooling each year, and at the end of eleven years

HENRY WILSON. 533
of hard work, a yoke of oxen and six sheep, which brought me eighty-four
dollars. Eighty-four dollars for eleven years of hard toil ! I never spent the
amonnt of one dollar in money, counting every penny, from the time I was
born until I was twenty-one years of age. I know what it is to travel weary
miles and ask my fellow-men to give me leave to toil. I remember that in
October, 1833, 1 walked into your village from my native town, went through
your mills, seeking employment. If anybody had offered me nine dollars _
month, I should have accepted it gladly. I went to Salmon Falls, I went to
Dover, I went to New Market, and tried to get work, without success, and I
returned home footsore and weary, but not discouraged. I put my pack on
my back and walked to where I now live, in Massachusetts, and learned a
mechanic's trade.' BECOMES A STUMP ORATOR.
" He was now twenty-six, and noted everywhere in the neighborhood as a
modest, well-educated young man, with a great turn for debating. He de
lighted in discussion, and was so redoubtable an opponent that no one in the
academies or among his comrades at Natick cared to enter into an argument
with one who was so logical, so keenly alive to the weak points of others,
and who had, moreover, so powerful a flow of language. Everybody
predicted that at the next election the people would hear of Henry Wilson.
They did. In 1840 General Harrison was the Whig candidate, and young
Wilson's feelings were warmly enlisted on his side. He spoke with great ef
fect at Natick in his favor, and afterward in other towns of Massachusetts
and New Hampshire. He was at once recognized as a genuine orator, and
his services were engaged by the Whig party, for whom he delivered no less
than sixty speeches during that campaign.
AND AN EDITOR.
In the next five years he was himself elected three times a member of the
Legislature of Massachusetts, and was twice State Senator. Here he quickly
distinguished himself as a bitter hater of slavery, and, when a State Senator
from Middlesex county, was selected to carry the great protest of Massachu
setts against the evils of slavery and against the annexation of Texas to
Washington. The poet Whittier was connected with him in this character
istic embassy. He was a delegate to the Whig National Convention of 1848,
being now thirty-six, and he took the opportunity of proposing and present
ing to the Convention a series of anti-slavery resolutions which were declared
by many authorities to be the most comprehensive and the most unsparing
that the brain of man could devise. The Convention, however, was too timid
to accept them, and Henry Wilson, on their rejection, at once withdrew and
devoted himself to assisting in the formation of the Free Soil Party. Be
lieving that the public mind wanted educating on the subject, he purchased the
Boston Republican and for two years agitated the question without fear or
flinching.

534 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
In 1849 he was chosen Chairman of the Free Soil State Committee of
Massachusetts, which post he held for four years. In 1850 he was sent to
the State Senate, and unanimously elected President. Two years afterward
he was elected by acclamation President of the great Free Soil Convention.
which was held in Pittsburg, Penn., when he electrified the members by the
most wonderful displays of eloquence. The Free-soilers put him up as can
didate for Representative in Congress, and though defeated, he ran ahead of
his ticket by thousands of votes. Next year the same party put him up for
Governor, but he was again defeated, though still running largely ahead of
his ticket. Two years afterward, 1855, things changed, and the Free-soilers
being in the ascendant, Henry Wilson was elected United States Senator in
the place of Edward Everett. IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE.
No sooner had he taken his seat than he made the Senate Chamber ring
with the most eloquent denunciations of slavery. He made a great speech
advocating the repeal of the Fugitive Slave law, and for the abolition of
slavery in the District of Columbia. He next took an active part in organiz
ing the Republican Party on the basis of equal and exact justice to all. In
May, 1856, Mr. Sumner, his colleague, was assailed in the most dastardly
manner by Preston Brooks, of South Carolina. He rose to his feet and
denounced the assault as " brutal, murderous and cowardly." The South
Carolina fire-eater sent him a challenge, which he disregarded, on the ground
that dueling was a remnant of barbarism, branded by the law, and that it ill
became law-makers to violate law so grossly. At the same time he intimated
that should any one assault him as his colleague had been assaulted, it would
be seen that he believed most fully in the right of self-defense.
AT THE HEAD OF THE MILITARY COMMITTEE.
" In March, 1861, Mr. Wilson was assigned to the chairmanship of the
Committee on Military Affairs. For four years previous he had been a
member of that committee, when Jefferson Davis was its chairman, and,
though a in minority, had profited by his position in becoming thoroughly
familiar with all the details of the condition of the arms and defenses of the
country, and the state of the army and its officers. To it he now brought
his indomitable energy and tireless industry. Its duties were multiplied a
hundred fold in the four years that followed.
"The important legislation for raising, organizing and governing the armies
originated in that committee, or was passed upon by it, and eleven thousand
nominations, from the second lieutenant to the lieutenant-general, were
referred to it. The labors of Mr. Wilson as chairman of the committee were
immense. " Being in Washington when Fort Sumter fell, he was one among the few
who advised that the call should be for three hundred thousand instead of
seventy-five thousand men. On the day that call was made, he induced the

HENRY WILSON. 535
Secretary of War to double the number of regiments apportioned to Massa
chusetts. " On the second day of the extra session of Congress, July 4, 1861, Mr.
Wilson introduced five bills and a joint resolution. The first bill was a
measure authorizing the employment of five hundred thousand volunteers for
three years, to aid in enforcing the laws ; the second was a measure increasing
the regular army by the addition of twenty-five thousand men ; the third was
a measure providing for the " better organization of the military establish
ment," in twenty-five sections embracing very important provisions. These
three measures were referred to the Military Committee, promptly reported
back by Mr. Wilson, slightly amended, and enacted into laws. The joint
resolution to ratify and confirm certain acts of the President for the suppres
sion of insurrection and rebellion was reported, debated at great length, but
failed to pass, though its most important provisions were, on his motion
incorporated with another measure.
"Mr. Wilson, at the called session, introduced a bill in addition to the '/Act
to authorize the employment of volunteers," which authorized the President
to accept five hundred thousand more volunteers, and to appoint for the
command of volunteer forces, such number of major and brigadier-generals
as in his judgment might be required ; and this measure was passed.
"He introduced bills "to authorize the President to appoint additional aids-
de-camp," containing a provision abolishing flogging in the army ; " to make
appropriations ;" " to provide for the purchase of arms, ordnance and
ordnance stores ;" and " to increase the corps of engineers ;" all of which
were enacted. He introduced also a bill, which was passed, " to increase the
pay of privates," which raised the pay of the soldiers from eleven to thirteen
dollars per month, and provided that all the acts of the President respecting
the army and navy should be approved, legalized and made valid.
"At the close of the session General Scott emphatically declared that Senator
Wilson had done more work in that short session than all the chairmen of
the military committees had done in the last twenty years.
" After a brief period of actual military service (having raised a brigade of
troops in Massachusetts in 1861, and afterwards served on General McClel-
lan's staff as a volunteer aid-de-camp) pressing duties in Congress forced him
to tender his resignation, and he returned to his legislative duties.
ORIGINATES ARMY LEGISLATION.
" During the second session of the Thirty-seventh Congress, Mr: Wilson
originated, introduced and carried through, several measures of vital import-
anc« to the army and the interests of the country. Among these measures,
were the bills ' relating to courts-martial ;' ' to provide for allotment certifi
cates ;' ' for the better organization of the signal department of the army ;'
' for the appointment of sutlers in the volunteer service, and defining their
duties ;' ' authorizing the President to assign the command of troops in the

536 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
same field or department, .to officers of the same grade, without regard to
seniority ;' ' to increase the efficiency of the medical department of the
army ;' ' to facilitate the discharge of enlisted men for physical disability ;'
'to provide additional medical officers of the volunteer service ;' ' to encour
age enlistments in the regular army, and to volunteer forces ;' 'for the pre
sentation of medals of honor to enlisted men of the army and volunteer
forces, who have distinguished, or who may distinguish themselves in battle
during the present rebellion ;' ' to define the pay and emoluments of certain
officers of the army, and for other purposes,'— a bill of twenty-two sections
of important provisions; and 'to amend the act calling forth the militia to
execute the laws, suppress insurrection and repel invasion.' This last bill
authorized for the first time the enrolment in the militia, and the drafting of
negroes, and empowered the President to accept, organize, and arm colored
men for military purposes. During the session, Mr. Cameron, the Secretary
of War, resigned, and, on leaving the department, he said, in a letter to Sen
ator Wilson :
" No man, in my opinion, in the whole country, has done more to aid the
War Department in preparing the mighty army now under arms, than your
self ; and, before leaving this city, I think it my duty to offer to you my sin
cere thanks, as its late head. As chairman of the Military Committee of the
Senate, your services were invaluable."
" In the last session of the Thirty-seventh and the whole of the Thirty-
eighth Congress, Mr. Wilson labored with the same vigor and persistency to
organize and develop the military resources of the nation, to do justice to the
officers and to care for the soldiers. Aside from the numerous bills which,
though originating with him, were offered by others, and the amendments
which he suggested to bills originating with other Senators, or with the
House of Representatives, the following important measures were introduced
and advocated by him, and passed through his efforts : ' An act to faciiitate
the discharge of disabled soldiers, and the inspection of convalescent camps
and hospitals ;' ' to improve the organization of the cavalry forces ;' ' to
authorize an increase in the number of major and brigadier-generals ;' ' for
enrolling and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes' (this
act contained thirty-eight sections, and was one of the most important passed
during the session) ; ' to amend an act entitled ' An act for enrolling and
calling out the national forces' (this bill contained the provision that ' colored
persons should, on being mustered into the service, become free') ; ' an act
to establish a uniform system of ambulances in the armies ;' ' to increase the
pay of soldiers in the United States army, and for other purposes' (this in
creased the pay of a private soldier to sixteen dollars a month ;) ' to provide
for the examination of certain officers of the army ;' ' to provide for the bet
ter organization of the Quartermaster's Department ;' ' an act in addition to
the several acts for enrolling and calling out the national forces ;' ' to incor
porate a national military and naval asylum for the relief of totally disabled

HENRY WILSON.

537

men of the volunteer forces ;' ' to incorporate the National Freedmen's Sav
ing Bank ;' ' to incorporate the National Academy of Sciences ;' ' to encour
age enlistments, and promote the efficiency of the military and' naval forces,
to making free the wives and children of colored soldiers ;' and a joint reso
lution ' to encourage the employment of disabled and discharged soldiers.'
The important legislation securing to colored soldiers equality of pay from
the ist of January, 1864, and to officers in the field an increase in the com
mutation price of the ration, and three months' extra pay to those who should
continue in service to the close of the war, was moved by Mr. Wilson upon
Appropriation bills. HIS LABORS FOR THE NEGRO.
" But while laboring, with ever-watchful care, for the interests of the army
and the support of the government in its gigantic efforts to suppress the
Rebellion, Mr. Wilson did not lose sight, for a moment, of slavery, to the
ultimate extinction of which he had consecrated his life more than a quarter
of a century before slavery revolted against the authority of the nation. In
that remarkable series of anti-slavery measures which culminated in the anti-
slavery amendment of the Constitution, he bore no undistinguished part.
He introduced the bill abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia, which
became a law on the 16th of April, 1862, and by which more than three
thousand slaves were forever made free, and slavery became forever impossi
ble in the nation's capital. He introduced a provision, which became a law
on the 21st of May, 1862, providing that persons of color in the District of
Columbia should be subject to the same laws to which white persons were
subject ; that they should be tried for offenses against the laws in the same
manner as white persons are tried, and if convicted, be liable to the same
penalty, and no other, as would be inflicted upon white persons for the same
crime. On the 12th of July, 1862, he introduced from the Military Commit
tee the bill, which became a law on the 17th, to amend the act of 1795,
calling for the militia to execute the laws. This bill made negroes a part of
the militia, authorized the President to receive, into the military or naval
service, persons of African descent, and made free such persons, their mothers,
wives, and children, if they owed service to any persons who gave aid to the
rebellion. On the 24th of February, 1864, he caused the enrollment act to
be so amended as to make colored men, whether free or slave, part of the
national forces ; and the masters of slaves were to receive the bounty when
they should free their drafted slaves. On the committee of conference, Mr.
Wilson moved that the slaves should be made free, not by the act of their
masters, but by the authority of the government, the moment they entered
the service of the United States, and this motion prevailing, the act passed
in that form. General Palmer reported that in Kentucky alone more than
twenty thousand slaves were made free by it. He subsequently introduced,
and in the face of the most persistent opposition, carried through, a joint
resolution making the wives and children of all colored soldiers forever free.

538

THE STRUGGLE OF '72-

Six months after the passage of this bill, Major-General Palmer reported that
in Kentucky alone, nearly seventy-five thousand women and children had
received their freedom through it.
" Senator Wilson also moved and carried an amendment to the Army
Appropriation bill of June 15, 1864, providing that all persons of color who
had been or who might be mustered into the military service should receive
the same uniform, clothing, arms, equipments, camp equipage, rations, medical
attendance and pay, as other soldiers, from the 1st day of January, 1864.
" His efforts in behalf of the Massachusetts colored regiments are well
known, and it was due to his persistency, that they received a part of what
was their just due. The Freedmen's Bureau bill wa. originally reported by
him, and in all the subsequent legislation on that subject, he was active and
decided in favor of its organization and maintenance. He defended with
great ability and secured the adoption of negro suffrage as a part of the
Congressional plan of reconstruction, and in both the thirty-ninth and
fortieth Congresses, he has maintained fully his old reputation as the champion
of the oppressed and downtrodden.
" Mr. Wilson was a prominent candidate for the Vice Presidency in the
political campaign of 1868, and though, eventually, Mr. Colfax received the
nomination, the vote for Mr. Wilson was 61 ori the fifth ballot, on which Mr.
Colfax was nominated. A THIRD TIME ELECTED SENATOR.
"In 1871 Mr. Wilson was again re-elected to the Senate, without any
organized opposition, for the full term of six years ending March 4, 1877,
and was again placed at the head of the Committee on Military Affairs, a
position which he still retains. Although his colleague in the Senate, Mr.
Sumner, joined in the crusade against the administration of President Grant,
he held fast to the party and its regular organization, and, in a letter
addressed, in November, 1871, to the Committee on the Organization of the
Labor Reform movement, in Washington, announced his continued adherence
to the party in the following words : —
" I cannot, with my ' views of propriety, join in this movement.' I am a
Republican by conviction as well as by association. Born in extreme poverty,
bound as an apprentice at an early age, I learned by bitter trials and hard
ships the poor are doomed to suffer from boyhood. Every pulsation of my
heart has been in sympathy with the sons and daughters of toil of all races.
My early experiences made me abhor wrong and oppression, so I early became
any enemy of slavery and of the rule of the slave-masters. I saw and felt
the degrading influences of a system that held working-men in enforced toil,
that allowed capital to own labor. For more than twenty years I strove to
make a political power to emancipate the slave and end the iron rule of the
master. " The Republican party came into being to break the power of the owners

HENRY WILSON. 539
of labor and to deliver the laborer, to lift from the brows of workingmen the
dishonor of enforced toil, and to make our country a glorious land where
labor can look up and be proud amidst its toil. I did what I could to bring
it as a party into being. It has done grand work for the country and for the
toiling men of the country, and of the world, too. History records no
nobler achievements. Its work is not yet secure, nor is it completed. I can
do nothing to endanger that work ; nor can I do anything to arrest the
completion of the work imposed upon the Republican party by the needs of
the country and the logic of its own principles, that require it to be as true
to the interests of white workingmen as it has been to the interests of black
workingmen. I am constrained by an imperitive sense of duty to stand by
the Republican party till its great work is secured and finished. But what
ever I can do shall ever be done to aid in improving, elevating and rewarding
labor."
Mr. Wilson is now writing, and has published
one volume of an elaborate " History of the Slave
Power in America," which promises to be a monu
mental work on the subject.

32

CHAPTER XXIX.
BENJAMIN GRATZ BROWN.
Of Aristocratic Family— Graduates at Yale — Studies Law — Moves to St.
Louis — Cultivates the Germans — Goes to the Legislature — Starts the
" Democrat "—Elected to the United States Senate— Governor of Missou
ri—His Characteristic Traits— A Habitual Bolter and Extremist— How
he Doubled on his Track as to Amnesty — Brown and the Schoolma'ams —
Some of his Flights Accounted for.
The Democratic candidate for Vice-President is
Benjamin Gratz Brown, of Missouri. Mr. Brown
is not, as Greeley called him, not long since, " a
third-rate lawyer." He is a man of ability, and his
career has been a brilliant one, — erratic, perhaps,
but still brilliant. Some points of it follow.
Unlike the three other gentlemen whose names
appear upon the national ticket of 1872 as candi
dates for the Presidency or Vice-Presidency, Mr.
Brown is of what we may call aristocratic birth ;
and this fact in Kentucky was unquestionably of
great service to him. His father was the late
Judge Mason Brown, of Frankfort, a lawyer and
jurist of note, and the son of John Brown, the first
person ever chosen Senator from Kentucky. He
is a kinsman of the Prestons, Breckenridges, Blairs.
McDowels, Bentons and other well-known families,
whose members have been prominent in national
(54<>)

BENJAMIN GRATZ BROWN. 54T
and State affairs since the formation of the Gov
ernment. EARLY HISTORY.
Gratz was born on the 28th of May, 1826, at
Lexington ; graduated at the Transylvania " Uni
versity," and at Yale College, taking his bachelor's
degree at the latter institution when he was only
twenty-one years of age. He next studied law at
Louisville, whence he moved to St. Louis in 1850
and commenced the practice of this profession. At
law he was successful, but preferred politics. He
was chosen to the State Legislature in 1852, and
served there for several terms. In St. Louis were
many Germans, and Brown was sagacious enough
to see in them an element of power for any politi
cian who could obtain recognition as their repre
sentative. They were mostly radical — so was he.
They were for the abolition of slavery — so he be
came, although he had been brought up by slave
nurses. He has the distinction of making the first
speech for emancipation in the Legislature of a
slave State, and of founding the first anti-slavery
journal in a slave State. Thus we have three edi
tors in the Presidential field — Greeley, Wilson,
Brown. BECOMES A SENATOR.
The journal referred to was the Missouri Demo
crat, which Brownestablished at St. Louis, in 1854,
in conjunction with Frank Blair and others, Brown
being the chief editorial writer. His articles were

542 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
fiery and powerful, and he not only succeeded in ad
vancing the cause of the Benton democracy, but in
establishing his journal on a firm, broad basis. In
1862, Mr. Brown was elected to the United States
Senate for the incomplete term extending from 1863
to 1867. (He was afterwards instrumental in ele
vating Carl Schurz and Frank Blair to seats in the
same body.) Retiring from public office at the ex
piration of this term, he remained in comparative
seclusion until 1870, when he appeared before the
State Republican Convention of Missouri as a can
didate for the gubernatorial nomination. His pet
issue then was complete amnesty to Rebel citizens
of the State, who were disfranchised by the then
existing State constitution — an instrument which, as
will afterwards appear, Brown had helped to get
adopted. Failing to secure the nomination, he,
with Schurz and others, organized a bolt and a co
alition with the Democracy. This proved immense
ly successful, and Brown became Governor, — an
office which he still holds.
CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS.
By temperament and talent, Brown is a sensa
tionalist. Upon whatever course he may resolve,
he goes at once to the extreme of it, that he may
thereby startle the community and attract its no
tice. He is not so much a pioneer of the army of
progress, keeping in front a clearing away the ob
stacles, as he is a volunteer aid-de-camp or a priv
ileged straggler, galloping about, finding conspicu-

BENJAMIN GRATZ BROWN. 543
ous and commanding heights, ascending them and
shouting to the marching masses, "See here ! Here
I am — Brown ! You daren't come up here, boys ! "
Brown is a fire-eater, and the direction of his ex
tremism depends upon that of the current of
thought upon the community upon which he pro
poses to operate. He is now, and has been since
the agitation in Missouri, in 1870, fierce for com
plete amnesty. It would hardly be thought by
Brown's present partisans, except by those who
know the ultraism of the man's character, that he
would have uttered such words as these in a public
speech :
" It is not within the thought of this nation and this people that they who
have engaged in this resistance and rebellion, whether openly in arms or
stealthily by device and falsehood, shall EVER in the future have the means
of controlling our institutions or shaping our policies. Franchise is not
FOR SUCH  CANNOT BE FOR SUCH — WILL NOT BE for such. Power and po
sition belong of right to the loyal, for self-preservation knows no higher law.
In the revolted states this is peculiarly the case — but the limit will not be
territorial ; it will go wherever rebellion has gone or shall go, or shall en
kindle a kindred sympathy to manifest itself. The valor of the nation has
gone forth to peril life — all of life — to carry forward that progress which
promises a nationalty of freedom to our union ; and think ye that it is within
the endurances of human nature that they who remain at home to thwart
such high purposes will be permitted to repose on beds of peace and fructify
in the abuse of power and influence ? God's providence has not so ordered
it heretofore in this world, and there is no reason to believe otherwise than
that, as it has been in other annals and like progressions from the people, so
will it he in ours to the fullest measure of RETALIATION. Escape will be
the exception, visitation the rule, for the evidences of treason, rebellion, sym
pathy, are too plain to escape detection."
ETERNAL PROSCRIPTION STILL HIS POLICY IN 1865-
And yet he said precisely this — and his whole
speech on the subject was of the same purport —
at St. Louis on the 27th of August, 1863. But

544 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
this, it may be said, was during the prevalence of
the war, and under the stimulus of Mr. Brown's
loyal feeling, and peace would bring a revulsion of
his sentiments. But let those who think thus read
also Brown's letter to J. R. Winchell, Esq., of Han
nibal, written in 1865, after the close of the war, and
republished in Mr. Winchell's paper, the Hannibal
Courier of May 8, 1872. The following is an ex
tract. He is arguing with his correspondent in
favor of the new Constitution, and adduces as its
first point the precise provision which was so odious
to him a little while after — at least by opposing
which he then got into office. He says :
"Upon reading it, however, I find two provisions that go very far to re
deem it, and that certainly make it preferable to the old. First, the provis
ion authorizing the Legislature to amend, by a majority vote, approved by
the people. Second, the registration of voters, and the disfranchisement of
Rebels, on proofs submitted to the registers. My remark about eternizing
our hostilities was an epitome of the idea that oaths had failed to exclude
Rebels, and only keep alive their identity and irritation in our midst, and if
the Constitution intend hereafter to rely on oaths alone, it would be a failure.
/ need scarcely say that I am one of those who have from the beginning be-
cieved that the loyal and the disloyal can NE VER live in Missouri together,
and the latter must be FORCED to depart, and I believe that registration is
the only mode that will accomplish it. * * * Will you be kind enough to
return or destroy my note to you some days since, as it may fall into the
hands of those who would not know the qualifications that attend it, and
might use it dangerously."
And but for Mr. Brown's care to cover his tracks
by having the earlier letter destroyed, it is quite
likely that we might find something therein still
more highly flavored with the doctrine of eternal
hate which he was then inculcating. There is no
law against a man's changing his opinions ; but the
rule of common sense dictates, where a man's opin-

BENJAMIN GRATZ BROWN. 545
ion undergoes such frequent and such violent
changes as those of Governor Brown, noted in this
case, the value of those opinions decrease, with
each change. BROWN ON EDUCATION.
We have said that Brown is a sensationalist.
This quality of his mind was illustrated in the
summer of 1 871 by a remarkable address which he
made before the National Convention of School-
Teachers, which met at St. Louis. Wishing to
advocate to them a greater proportion of moral
culture in their courses of instruction, he overshot
his mark entirely, and gave them a discourse which
must have been revolting to the sentiments of his
hearers, denouncing the whole system of American
education, and declaring that the public schools of
the country were the firebrands of society, and
much more conducive to immorality than absolute
ignorance ; his theory being that education makes
a youth ambitious — and that ambition makes him
unprincipled ! He seemed to forget that children
have any other means of moral instruction except
the public school, and slashed away, thick and
heavy, in behalf of some sort of a moral-precept
machine whereby the evils of which he complained
might be remedied, and the teachers whom he
addressed deprived of their poisonous fangs. This
speech was applauded by the Chicago Tribune.
WHY SOME THINGS ARE THUS.
It is generally understood among those familiar

546 THE STRUGGLE OF '72.
with the habits of Governor Brown, that the extra
ordinary theories and sentiments which he is apt
to advance in public ways are not so much the re
sult of the consumption of midnight oil, as of some
other liquid, more volatile in its properties. St-
Louis is a convivial city, and politics, as run by
Brown, is a demoralizing business to the habits of
its votaries. The result upon a man of sanguine
temperament can be easily imagined. Some of Mr.
Brown's most brilliant and startling oratory has
been delivered on banquet occasions, at an hour
when reporting is impracticable, hence they have
been lost to the world. It is related that Frank
Blair, whose habits are also convivial, and who is
not himself noted for his continence of language,
has been seen to pluck the Governor by the coat,
in the midst of the latter's most extravagant flights
of oratory, when the table was in a roar, and exclaim
spiritedly, " Good, Governor ! Good, by  !
Go ahead, Governor ! make a  fool of
yourself. That will read well in the morning.
(Hie) hurrah!"
It must in candor be admitted by Governor
Brown's enemies that he reforms his habits fre
quently, and is every few months as rabid a teeto
taler and Maine law man as he was the opposite a
month before, and it is more than likely that, at
least until the present campaign is over, he will be
as good a temperance man as his companion upon
the Democratic ticket.
In person, Governor Brown is of the medium

BENJAMIN GRATZ BROWN. 547
hight, very slender of figure and immediately no
ticeable for his wealth of red hair and beard. The
color is very pronounced, and hence our engraving.
in plain black and white, cannot adequately portray
his most distinguishing feature. In short, he is,
like his companion upon the Democratic ticket,
exactly the man whom an observer would not select
for a place requiring, as the Presidency or the Vice
Presidency does, a large degree of dignity, reserved
force, calmness of manner, consistency of purpose
and equability of temper. None of these can justly
be attributed to B. Gratz Brown.

APPENDIX.
DOCUMENTS, STATISTICS, CAMPAIGN NOTES.

Greeley's Letter of Acceptance — Henry Wilson's Ditto — Scraps From Greeley's Paper —
A Secessionist through i860, '61, '62 — Converted to Republicanism — Eulogizes Grant's
Administration Repeatedly — What the Tribune Said for Grant in 1870 and 1871— Sumner's
Falsehood Concerning Stanton Exposed — ** Bayonet Legislation" — Of What it Consists
— The New Tax Law — Burdens Lifted from the People — Interesting National Debt
Statement — Election Statistics — National and State Governments — Presidential Tickets
in the Field — Expose of Greeley's Intriguing for the Democratic Nomination in 1871,
HORACE GREELEY'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE:
New York, May 20, 1872.
Gentlemen : I have chosen not to acknowledge your letter of the 3d inst. until I
could learn how the work of your Convention was received in all parts of our great
country, and judge whether that work was approved and ratified by the mass of our fellow
citizens. Their response has from day to day reached me through telegrams, letters, and
the comments of journalists independent of official patronage and indifferent to the smiles
or frowns of power. The number and character of these unconstrained, unpurchased,
unsolicited utterances satisfy me that the movement which found expression at Cincinnati
has received the stamp of public approval, and been hailed by a majority of our countrymen
as the harbinger of abetter day for the Republic.
I do not misinterpret this approval as especially complimentary to myself, nor even to
the chivalrous and justly esteemed gentlemanwith whose name I thank your Convention
for associating mine. I receive and welcome it as a spontaneous and deserved tribute to
that admirable Platform of principles, wherein your Convention so tersely, so lucidly, so
forcibly, set forth the convictions which impelled and the purposes which guided its course
— a Platform which, casting behind it the wreck and rubbish of worn-out contentions and
by-gone feuds, embodies in fit and few words the needs and aspirations of To-Day.
Though thousands stand ready to condemn your every act, hardly a syllable of criticism
or cavil has been aimed at your Platform, of which the substance may be fairly epitomized
as follows :
x. All the political rights and franchises which have been acquired through our late
bloody convulsion must and shall be guaranteed, maintained, enjoyed, respected,
evermore. 2. All the political rights and franchises which have been lost through that convulsion
should and must be promptly restored and re-established, so that there shall be henceforth
no proscribed class and no disfranchised caste within the limits of our Union, whose long
estranged people shall re-unite and fraternize upon the broad basis of Universal Amnesty
with Xmpatial Suffrage.
3-_ That, subject to our solemn constitutional obligation to maintain the equal rights of
all citizens, our policy should aim at local self-government, and not at centralization; that the
civil authority should be supreme over the military ; that the writ of habeas corpus should
be jealously upheld as the safeguard of personal freedom; that the individual citizen
should enjoy the largest liberty consistent with public order ; and that there shall be no
Federal subversion of the internal polity of the several States and municipalities, but that
each shall be left free to enforce the rights and promote the well-being of its inhabitants
by such means as the judgment of its own people shall prescribe.
4. There shall be a real and not merely a simulated reform in the Civil Service of the
Republic ; to which end it is indispensable that the chief dispenser of its vast official patron
age shall be shielded from the main temptation to use his power selfishly, by a rule inexor
ably forbidding and precluding his re-election.
5. That the raising of Revenue, whether by Tariff or otherwise, shall be recognized
and^ treate d as the People's immediate business, to be shaped and directed by them through
their Representatives in Congress, whose action thereon the President must neither over-

(549)

55°

THE STRUGGLE OF

rule by his veto, attempt to dictate, nor presume to punish, by bestowing office only on
those who agree with him or withdrawing it from those who do not. .
6. That the Public Lands must be sacredly reserved for occupation and acquisition by-
cultivators, and not recklessly squandered on the projectors of Railroads for when our
people have no present need, and the premature construction of which is annually plunging
us into deeper and deeper abysses of foreign indebtedness. .
7 That the achievement of these grand purposes of universal beneficence is expected
and sought at the hands of all who approve them, irrespective of past affiliations.
8. That the public faith must at all hazards be maintained, and the National credit
preserve^ ^ patriot;c devotedness and inestimable services of our fellow-citizens who,
as soldiers or sailors, upheld the flag and maintained the unity of the Republic shall ever
be gratefully remembered and honorably requited.
These propositions, so ably and forcibly presented in the Platform of your Convention,
have already fixed the attention and commanded the assent of a large majority ol our
countryman, who joyfully adopt them, as I do, as the basis of a true, beneficient National
Reconstruction— of a New Departure from jealousies, strifes, and hates, which have no
longer adequate motive or even plausible pretext, into an atmosphere of Peace, fraternity,
and Mutual Good Will. In vain do the drill-sergeants of decaying organizations flourish
menacingly their truncheons and angrily insist that the files shall be closed and straightened ;
in vain do the whippers-in of parties once vital because rooted in the vital needs of the
hour protest against straying and bolting, denounce men nowise their inferiors as traitors
and renegades, and threaten them with infamy and ruin. I am confident that the Ameri
can People have already made your cause their own, fully resolved that their brave hearts
and strong arms shall, bear it on to triumph. In this faith, and with the distinct under
standing that, if elected, I shall be the President not of a party, but of the whole People, I
accept your nomination, in the confident trust that the masses of our countrymen. North
and South, are eager to clasp hands across the bloody chasm which has too long divided
them, forgetting that they have been enemies in the joyful consciousness that they are and
must henceforth remain brethren Yours, gratefully, HORACE GREELEY.
To Hon. Carl Schurz, President ; Hon. George W. Julian, Vice-President ; and Messrs.
William E. McLean, John G. Davidson, J. H. Rhodes, Secretaries of the National
Convention of the Liberal Republicans of the United Stat es,
HENRY WILSON'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE.
Washington, Tune 14, 1872.
Hon. Thomas Settle and others, President and Vice-President National Republican
Convention, held at Philadelphia :
Gentlemen : Your note of the 10th inst., conveying to me the action of the Conven
tion in placing my name in nomination for the office of Vice-President, is before me. I
need not give you assurance of my grateful appreciation of the high honor conferred upon
me by this action of the fifth National Convention of the Republican party. Sixteen years
ago, in the same city, was held the first meeting of men who, amid the darkness and doubts
of that hour of slaveholding ascendancy and aggression, had assembled in National Conven
tion to confer with each other on the exigencies to which that fearful domination had
brought their country. After a full conference, the highest point of resolve they could
reach, the most they dared to recommend, was an avowed purpose to prohibit the existence
of slavery in the Territories.
Last week the same party met, by its representatives from thirty-seven States and ten
Territories, at the same great centre of wealth, intelligence, and power, to review the past,
take note of the present, and indicate its line of action for the future. As typical facts and
headlands of the nation's recent history, there sat on its platform, taking a prominent and
honorable part in its proceedings, admitted on terms of perfect equality to the leading
hotels of the city, not only the colored representatives of the race which were ten years
before in abject slavery, but one of the oldest and most prominent of the once despised Abo
litionists, to whom was accorded, as to no other, the warmest demonstrations of popular
regard and esteem, an ovation, not to him alone, but the cause he had so ably, and for so
many years represented, and to men and women living and dead, who had toiled through
long years of obloquy and self sacrifice for the glorious fruition of that hour. It hardly
needed the brilliant summary of its platform to set forth its illustrious achievements. The
very presence of those men was alone significant of the victories already achieved, the
progress already made, and the great distance which the nation had traveled between the
years of 1856 and 1872.
But grand as has been its record, the Republican party rests not on its past alone. It
looks to the future, and grapples with its problems of duty and danger. It professes, as
objects of its immediate accomplishment, complete liberty and equality for all ; the enforce
ment of the present amendments to the national constitution ; reform in the civil service ;
the national domain to be set apart for homes to the people ; the adjustment of duties on
imports so as to secure remunerative wages to labor ; extention of bounties to all soldiers
and sailors who in the line of duty became disabled ; continued and careful encouragement

APPENDIX.

551

and protection of voluntary immigration and guarding with zealous care the rights of all
adopted citizens ; abolition of the franking privilege, and speedy reduction of the rates of
postage ; reduction of the national debt and rates of interest and resumption of specie pay
ment ; encouragement of American commerce and of ship-building ; suppression of violence
and protection of the ballot-box. It also placed on record the opinions and purposes of the
party iu favor of amnesty, against all forms of repudiation, and indorsed the humane and
peaceful policy of the administration in regard to the Indians.
But while clearly denning and distinctly announcing the policy of the Republican
party on these questions of practical legislation and administration, the Convention did not
ignore the great social problems which are pressing their claims for solution, and which de
mand the most careful study and wise consideration.
Foremost stands the labor question.
Concerning the relations of capital and labor, the Republican party accepts the duty of
so shaping legislation as to secure full protection and the amplest field for capital and for
labor, the creation of capital, the largest opportunities and just share of the mutual profits
of these two great servants of civilization. *
To woman, too, and her new demands, it extends the hand of grateful recognition, and
proffers its most respectful inquiry. It recognizes her noble devotion to the country and
freedom; welcomes her admission to wider fields of usefulness, and commends her demands
for additional rights to the calm and careful consideration of the nation.
To guard well what has already has been secured, to work out faithfully and wisely
what is now in hand, and to consider the questions which are looming up to view but a
little way before us, the Republican party is to-day what it was in the gloomy days of
slavery, rebellion, and reconstruction — a national necessity. It appeals, therefore, for sup
port to the patriotic and liberty-loving ; to the just and humane ; to all who would dig
nify labor ; to all who would educate, elevate, and lighten the burdens of the sons and
daughters of toil. With its great record, the work still to bedone, and under the great
soldier whose historic renown, and whose successful administration for the last three
years begot such popular confidence, the Republican party may confidently, in the
language of the Convention you represent " start on a new march to victory."
Having accepted, thirty-six years ago, the distinguishing doctrines of the Republican
party of to-day ; having during years of that period, for their advancement, subordinated
all other issues, acting in and cooperating with political organizations with whose leading
doctrines I sometimes had neither sympathy nor belief; having labored incessantly for
many years to found and build up the Republican party, and having, during its existence,
taken an humble part in its grand work, I gratefully accept the nomination thus tendered,
and shall endeavor, if it shall be ratified by the people, faithfully to perform the duties it
imposes. Respectfully yours,
^ HENRY WILSON.
GREELEY FOR SECESSION.
THE *' TRIBUNE'* DEFENDS THE RIGHT TO SECEDE.
[From the N. Y. Tribune, November 9. i860.]
And now, if the cotton States consider the value of the Union debatable, we maintain
their perfect right to discuss it. Nay, we hold with Jefferson to the inalienable right of
communities to alter or abolish forms of government that have become oppressive or in
jurious- and, ifthe cotton States shall decide thafthey can do better outside of the Union
than in'it, we insist in letting them go in peace. The right to secede may be a revolution
ary one, but it exists, nevertheless ; and we do not see how one party can have a right to do
what another party has a right to prevent. We must ever resist the asserted right of any
State to remain in the Union, and nullify or defy the laws thereof ; to withdraw from the
Union is quite another matter. And, whenever a considerable section of our Union shall
deliberately resolve to go out, we shall resist all coercive measures designed to keep it in.
We hope never to live in a republic whereof one section is pinned to the residue by bay
onets. AS MUCH RIGHT AS THE COLONISTS HAD TO REVOLT IN 1776.
[From the N. Y. Tribune, Dec. 13, i860].
We have repeatedly asked those who dissent from our view of this matter to tell us
frankly whether they do or do not assent to Mr. Jefferson's statement in the Declaration of
Independence, that Governments " derive their just powers from the consent of the
governed ; and that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of those ends,
it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute anew Government fie
&c. We do heartily accept this doctrine, believing it intrinsically sound beneficent, and
one that, universally accepted, is calculated to prevent the shedding of seas of human
blood. And if it justified the secession from the Bntish Empire of three ; millions of colon
ists in ,776, we do not see why it would not justify the secession of five millions of Southrons
from the Federal Uuionin 1861. If we are mistaken on this point why does not some one
attempt to show wherein and why ? For our own part, while we deny the right of! slave
holders to hold slaves against the will of the latter, we cannot see how twenty millions of

552 THE STRUGGLE OF '72-

people can rightfully hold ten, or even five, in a. detested union with them, by military
force. Of course, we understand that the principle of Jefferson, like any other broad generaliza
tion , may be pushed to extreme and baleful consequences. We can see why Governor's Island
should not be at liberty tosecede from the State and nation and allow herself to be covered
with French and British batteries commanding and threatening our city., There is hardly
a great principle which may not be thus " run into the ground. But if seven or eight con
tiguous States shall present themselves authentically at Washington, saying, " We hate the
federal Union ; we have withdrawn from it ; we give you the choice between acquiescing
in our secession and arranging amicably all incidently questions on the one hand, and at
tempting to subdue us on the other" — we could not stand up for coercion, for subjugation,
for we do not think it would be just. We hold the right of self-government sacred,' even
when invoked in behalf of those who deny it to others. So much for the question of
principle. Now as to the matter of policy :
South Carolina will certainly secede. Several other cotton States will probably follow
her example. The border States are evidently reluctant to do likewise. South Carolina
has grossly insulted them by her dictatorial, reckless course. What she expects and de
sires is a clash of arms with the Federal government, which will at once commend her to the
sympathyand co-operation of every slave State, and to the sympathy, at least, of the pro-
slavery minority in the free States. It is not difficult to see that this would speedily work
a political revolution, which would restore to slavery all, and more than all, it has lost by
the canvass of i860.
We fear that Southern madness may precipitate a bloody collision that all must deplore.
But if ever " seven or eight States" send agents to Washington to say, "We want to go out
of the Union," we shall feel constrained by our devotion to human liberty to say, Let
them go ! _ And we do not see how we could take the other side without coming in direct
conflict with those rights of man which we hold paramount to all political arrangements,
however convenient and advantageous.
NO RIGHT TO COERCE THE SOUTHERN STATES.
[From the N. Y. Tribune, Dec.;24, i860.]
Most certainly we believe that governments are made for peoples, not peoples for
governments — that the latter, "derive theirjust power from the consent of the governed,"
and whenever a portion of this Union, large enough to form an independent, self-subsisting
nation, shall see tit to say, authentically, to the residue, "We want to get away from
you," we shall say — and we trust self-respect, if not regrad for the principle of self-govern
ment, will constrain the residue of the American people to say — " Go ?" We never yet had
so poor an opinion of ourselves or our neighbors as to wish to hold others in a hated con
nection with us. But the dissolution of a government cannot be effected in the time re
quired for knocking down a house of cards. Let the cotton States, or any six or more
States, say, unequivocally, " We want to get out of the Union," and propose to effect their
end peaceably and inoffensively, and we will do our best to help them out — not that we
want them to go, but that we loathe the idea of compelling them to stay. All we ask is
that they exercise a reasonable patience, so as to give time for affecting their end without
bloodshed. They must know, as well as we do, that no President can recognize a mere
State ordinance of secession, nor neglect to enforce the laws of the United States through
out thefr whole geographical extent. It takes two to make a bargain, whether of admission
or secession ; but with reasonable forbearance all may be brought about.
THE MORAL RIGHT OF SECESSION.
[From the N. Y. Tribune of 23d of February, 1861, Five days After the " Inauguration"
of Jeff. Davis]. *
We have repeatedly said, and we once more insist, that the great principle embodied
by Jefferson in the Declaration of American Independence, that Governments derive their
just powers from the consent of the governed, is sound and just ; and that if the slave
States, the cotton States, or the Gulf States only choose to form an independent nation,
they have a clear moral right to do so. We have said, and still maintain, that provided
the cotton States have fully and definitively made up their minds to go by themselves
there is no need of fighting about it; for they have only to exercise reasonable patience
and they will be let off in peace and good will. Whenever it shall be clear that the great
body of the Southern people have become conclusively alienated from the Union, and
anxious to escape from it, we will do our best to forward their views.
MR. GREELEY IN 1862.
- JIn-v?letl?rt,0 H. McChesney,of Troy, N. Y., dated September 23, 1862, and published
\ in the New York Tribune of the 26th of the same month, Horace Greeley, speakinz of
^ the right of secession, thus declared himself:] &
"But I still insist that, if it had been proved that the people of the slave States— or
even of the cotton States alone— had really desired to dissolve the Union, and had peace-

APPENDIX.

553

fully deliberately and authoritatively expressed that wish, we should have assented to it.
At all events, /should.
„ Adult readers will rememper that when the secession fever broke out in the South, the
*fon Alexander H. Stephens opposed the vile heresy, and delivered one of the ablest speeches
of his life in the Georgia Convention in opposition. It may not be known to them that the
only answer ever made to that eloquent appeal to remain in the Union and support the
government was the reading to the Convention by Robert Toombs of an editorial written
y Horace Greeley, from the New York Tribune, wherein the right of the South to secede
was conceded and placed on the same high plane of conduct with that of our revolutionary
fathers when they seceded from Creat Britain.
GREELEY EULOGIZES GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION.
[From the N. Y. Tribune, March 4, 1870.]
The quotations of gold, which have been steadily and rapidly going down during, the
past fortnight, fell yesterday till the premium reached the vicinity of 113, fluctuating the
greater part of the day a few fractions above that point, but at one time striking a fraction
below it. The quotations of government bonds indicated, during the day, that they were
on the verge of par in gold, most of the varieties being worth but little less than gold, while
one variety was at a gold premium over its face value.
That the day of which we are able to chronicle these highly favored financial facts was
also the day that marks the termination of the first year of President Grant's administra
tion of public affairs, is a circumstance which the country will not lose sight of, and which
the friendsof the President will witness with unfeignedjoy.
No one who has observed the fluctuations will believe that there is any more likeli
hood of gold returning to 130 than there is of its returning to 200. It has not gone down
through speculative combinations, but through the operations of general causes that are
not within the control of the Gold Room.
The things, however, for which the administration deserves the highest credit in con
nection with the improvement in our financial condition, are such as relate to the carrying
out of Grant's policy of honesty and retrenchment. When, by his election, the country
and the world received assurances that the financial honor of the government would be
maintained ; when the policy of repudiation was spurned by the people, and Congress
gave its pledge to support the public credit by paying the principal and interest on the debt
in gold — the first great steps towards financial redemption were taken. When Grant an
nounced his brief and simple policy for remedying the confusion of our financial state;
when he began carrying out practically the programme he had announced, it was evident
that we were about to take a long stride toward the settlement of our troubles. But a
year's experience of this policy had gone far beyond public expectation. To say that the
debt had been decreased during the year of his administration $100,000,000 is but to repre
sent a small part of what has actually been achieved. To say that during the first half of
the current year the revennes were increased by more faithful collection, at the rate of $30,-
000,000 a year over the previous year, does not indicate the actual result gained for the
public treasury. To say that the expenses of the government have been vastly reduced,
and that the interest has been decreased by the diminution of the debt is only to give a
hint of the retrenchment that has been carried out. But these things have told with im
mense effect upon our financial condition, and it is to the admirable policy and action of the
administration that we owe the improvement which is now going on to its consummation.
A Democratic paper recently took the trouble to attempt to show that neither Grant
nor his policy deserved any credit for the brightening financial outlooki But Grant and
his policy deserve the very highest credit. Suppose his policy had been of a different kind
from what it has been. Suppose he had collected the revenue in the reckless manner of
which we had so much previous experience. Suppose the debt had been increased as it
was in the latter part of Johnson's administration — suppose the wasteful expenditures of
Johnson's time had been continued — suppose we were experimenting with greenback
theory and the repudiation fraud — does anybody suppose that our bonds would now be at or
near par, or that gold would be quoted at the present price, or that our credit would stand
where it does abroad ? To ask the question is to answer it, and to show the absurdity of
the reasoning of the Domocratic organ. , t
It is not by the display of any immense genius, or of any gigantic or mysterious "plan '
that these great results have been wrought. It is by the carrying out of a few simple prin
ciples, the principles oihonesty and economy^ which President Grant announced one year
ago. There can be no more beneficent natural genius than is found in the power to per
ceive and enforce those principles. And having aided in the election of Grant, it gives us
pride and joy to be able, at the close of the first year of his administration, to point the
country to the results that have already been achieved — to speak of the growth of the
national welfare, as shown in the financial improvement no less than in the consummation
of the peaceful policy of reconstruction.
MEANING OF A DEMOCRATIC VICTORY.
[From the N. Y. Tribune, February, 1871.]
We like Gen. Grant ; but we care more for Republican ascendancy than for any man's

554 THE STRUGGLE OF 72.
personal fortunes. It is in our view of great importance that the opposition shall be kept
out of power, whilst it is of comparatively small moment that A or B should tenant the
White House, For a Democratic national triumph means a restoration to power of those
who deserted their seats in Congress and their places under the last Democratic President
to plunge the country into the Red Sea of Secession and Rebellion. Though you paint an
inch thick, to this complexion you must come at last. The brain, the heart, the soul, of the
present Democratic party is the rebel element at the South with its Northern allies and
sympathizers. It is rebel to the core to-day, hardly able to reconcile the^ defeats of Lee,
Johnson, Bragg, Hood and Price, and the consequent downfall of its faith in Divine Provi
dence. It would hail the election of a Democratic President in 1872, as a virtual reversal
of the Appomatox surrender. It would come into power with the hate, the chagrin, the
wrath, the mortification, of ten bitter years, to impel and guide its steps. It would devote
itself to taking off or reducing tax after tax until the Treasury was deprived of the means of
paying interest on the national debt, and would hail the tidings of national bankruptcy
with unalloyed gladness and unconcealed exultation. Whatever chastisement may be de
served by our national sins, we must hope that this disgrace and humiliation will be
spared us. GRANT'S GENIUS.
A DEMOCRATIC TRIBUTE  " SOLID WORK*' — NOT MERE SHOW.
[From the N. Y. World, April n, 1865.]
Gen. Grant's history should teach us to discriminate better than we Americans are apt
to do between glitter and solid work. Ourproneness to run after demagogues and spouters
may find a wholesome corrective in the study of such a character as his. The qualities by
which great things are accomplished are here seen to have no necessary connection with
showy and superficial accomplishments. When the mass of men look upon such a char
acter they may learn a truer respect for themselves and each other; they are taught by it
that high qualities and great abilities are consistent with the simplicity of taste, con
tempt for parade, and plainness of manners with which direct and earnest men have a
strong natural sympathy. Ulysses Grant the tanner, Ulysses Grant the unsuccessful ap
plicant for the post of City Surveyor of St. Louis, Ulysses Grantj the driver into that city
of his two-horse team with a load of wood to sell, had within him every^ manly quality
which will cause the name of Lieutenant General Grant to live forever in history. His
career is a lesson in practical democracy ; it is a quiet satire on the dandyism, the puppy
ism and the shallow affectation of our fashionable exquisites as well as upon the swagger
of our plausible, glib-tongued demagogues. Not by any means that great qualities are in
consistent with cultivated manners and a fluent elocution ; but that such superficial accom
plishments are no measure of worth or ability.
THE GREATEST OF ALL COMMANDERS.
General Grant's last brilliant campaign sets the final seal upon his reputation. It
stamps him as the superior of his able antagonist as well as of all the commanders that
have served with or under him in the great campaigns of the last year.
Grant stands gre-e?ninent among all the Generals who have served in this war in the
completeness of his final results. He has owed nothing to accident; and, both in the
West and the East, he_ has accomplished the most arduous things that were to be done.
Gen. Grant has exhibited the utmost strength of will of which the highest iy$e of man
hood is capable. The defenses of Vicksburg and the defenses of Richmond were both
deemed impregnable, and were defended with a proportionable confidence and obstinacy ;
but they both yielded, at last, to Grant's matchless persistence and unequalled strategy.
And, in both cases, he not only took the long-contested positions, but compelled the sur
render of the whole force defending them. Nothing could be more clean and complete,
even in imagination, than Gen. Grant's masterly execution. He did not merely, in each
case, acquire a position which was the key of a wide theatre of operations ; he did not
merely beat or disable the opposing force ; he left no fragment of it in existence except as
prisoners of war subject to his disposal.
HIS " SURENESS OF JUDGMENT."
If anybody is so obtuse or so wrong-headed as to see nothing great in Gen. Grant be
yond his marvelous tenacity of will, lot that doubter explain, if he can, how has it happened
that, since Grant rose to high command, this quality has always been exerted in conspicu
ous energy precisely at the point on which everything in his whole sphere of operations
hinged. There has been no display of great qualities on small occasions ; no expenditure
of herculean effort to accomplish objects not of the first magnitude. It is only a very
clear-sighted and a very comprehensive mind that could always thus have laid the whole
emphasis of an indomitable soul so precisely on the emphatic place. How if he be not a
General of the first order of intellect, as well as the most heroic determination, does it
happen that in assigning great and brilliant parts to his subordinate commanders, he has
never, when the results of his strategy were fully unfolded, appeared in the picture except

APPENDIX.

555'

as. the central figure ? However it may seem during the progress of one of his great corn-
Dined campaigns, it always turns out at last, when it reaches that completeness and finish
in wnich he contrives to Wave his campaigns end, that we see him standing in the fore
ground, and that the grouping is always such that the glory of the other generals, instead
of eclipsing his own, gives it additional luster ?
It is this sureness of judgment which sees precisely what are the objects that justify
the utmost stretch of persistence j it is this ability to take in the whole field of view in just
perspective and due subordination of parts, that is the' mark of a superior mind. Gen.
Grant has taken out of the hands of critics the question whether it belongs to him. He
has won his greatest triumph over the most skillful and accomplished general on the other
side ; over a general who foiled him long enough to prove his great mastery of the art of
war ; and the completeness of whose defeat is a testimony to Grant's genius such as a vic
tory over any other general of the Confederacy, or even an earlier victory over Lee himself
could not have given. Apply to Gen. Grant what test you will ; measure him by the mag
nitude °f the obstacles he has surmounted, by the value of the positions he has gained, by
the fame of the antagonist over whom he has triumphed, by the achievements of his most
illustrious co-workers, by the sureness with which he directs his indomitable energy to the
vital point which is the key of a vast field of operations, or by that supreme test of consum
mate ability, the absolute completeness of his results, and he vindicates his claim to stand
next after Napoleon and Wellington, among the great soldiers of this country, if not on a
level with the latter.
SUMNER'S FALSEHOOD CONCERNING STANTON.
[From Sumner's speech in U. S. Senate, May 31. 1872.]
" Something also must be attributed to individual character ; and here I express no
opinion of my own ¦ I shall allow another to speak in solemn words echoed from the tomb.
" My last visit [to Stanton] was marked by a communication never to be forgotten. As
I entered his bedroom, where I found him reclining on a sofa, propped by pillqws, he
reached out his hand, already clamy cold, and in reply to my inquiry, k How are you ?'
answered, 'Waiting for my furlough.' Then at once with singular solemnity he said, 'I
have something to say to you.' When I was seated he proceeded without one word of in
troduction : 'I Know General Grant better than any other person in the country can know
him. It was my duty to study him, and I did so night and day, when I saw him and when
I did not see him, and now I tell you what I know, he cannot govern this country.' I ob
served, k What you say is very broad.' It is as true as it is broad,' he replied promptly. I
added' * You are tardy: you tell this late ; why did you not say it before his nomination ?'
He answered that he was not consulted about the nomination, and had no opportunity of
expressing his opinion upon it, besides being much occupied at the time by his duties as
Secretary of War and his contest with the President. I followed by saying, ' But you took
part in the presidential election, and made a succession of speeches for him in Ohio and
Pennsylvania.' * I spoke,' said he, ' but I never introduced the name of General Grant. I
spoke for the Republican party and the Republican cause.' This was the last time I saw
Mr Stanton. A few days later I followed him to the grave where he now rests."
[Extract from Stanton's Speech at Steubenville, O., Sept. 25, 1868.]
"Grant stands this day before us the foremost military commander in the world, with
peace for his watchword. [ Applause.] Why should he not be elected ? What reason has
any lover of his country for not voting for him? By his side stands Schuyler Colfax, who,
by his own energy, good character and industry, advanced from the printing office to the
Speaker's chair, and for three successive terms has filled that high office with honor and dis
tinction. Honest and upright men have been nominated for your representatives in Con
gress, pledged to stand by Grant and the country. Why, then, again I ask, should he and they
not receive your support? The history of Grant is known to you and the whole world.
Educated at West Point, he served with distinction through the Mexican war, and when it
was ended, unwilling to be a drone, resigned his commission, and engaged in the pursuits
of civil life. Leaving his peaceful pursuits at the commencement of the rebellion, he joined
the army, and soon advanced to the rank of major general commanding an army. After
varied and important services, he moved upon the enemy's works at Donelson, and com
pelled their commander, Buckner, to surrender with 18,000 prisoners of war. Soon after he
grappled with Beauregard, on the field of Shiloh, and drove him and his routed army from
the field. Resolved to open the navigation of the Mississippi river, he ran its batteries,
fought and defeated Gen. Johnson, chased the rebel general Pemberton into Vicksburg,
and forced him to surrender with 30,000 prisoners of war. [Applause.] Advanced to the
command of all the armies of the West, he fought and defeated Bragg at Chattanooga,
shattered his army and delivered that vast territory from the hands of the rebels. Advanc
ed still higher, as Lieu ten aut -General he changed his headquarters to the Potomac. Forty
days' marching and fighting through the Wilderness drove Lee and his army into Rich
mond Compelled to evacuate that city, Lee was chased to Appomattox Court-House,
and forced to surrender himself and his arms and men as prisoners of war, which practically
brought the war to an end. [Applause.] And now I ask, what reason has any man to
vote ""against Gen. Grant? His capacity and integrity for civil administration were
eqally manifest in the vast territories in w*-'"h he operated."1
< 33

556

THE STRUGGLE OF Jl

¦ [Mr. Stanton continued in the some strain some minutes further, and in other speeches
during the campaign— particularly one at Philadelphia, enforced upon his hearers the mer
its of Gen. Grant as a patriot, a general and a wise administrator. Senator Carpenter in
his speech in the Senate, June 3d, 1872, thus further exposes^ the falsehood of Sumner's
statement ; " I know," he says, (and Mr. Carpenter was an intimate associate of Stanton's
in those days,) " that in the serious illness which terminated so disastrously, he frequently
had occasion to refer to the course of the Administration, to matters that were pending^ in
Congress, and I do know, and I can testify, and I hold it to be my solemn duty to testify,
that in all those interviews, from first to last, from the time I first made his acquaintance
down to the hour of his death, I never heard him say of General Grant anything that
was not of the kindest nature and of the highest praise * * * *
But the quotations I have made are sufficient to show either that Mr. Stanton on his
death-bed uttered a falsehood to the Senator from Massachusetts, a falsehood which he
must have known to be susceptible of easy contradiction by reference to the reports of his
speeches during that campaign, or that the Senator from Massachusetts deliberately falsi
fied Mr. Stanton ; and I am content that the American people shall judge between them. "3
BAYONET LEGISLATION.
OF WHAT IT CONSISTS.
[From the Utica (N. Y.) Herald.]
Some of the pretexts which are given for opposition to the national administration and
the Republican party, come with a particularly ill grace from those who make them. Con
spicuously, the charge of centralization of power, of " bayonet-legislation," illustrates the
weakness of those who have taken active part in all the acts for establishing order at the
South, and who now denounce those measures in the height of their success. The great
steps toward " centralization," if any have been taken, are the amendments to the National
Constitution, perfecting emancipation, conferring civil rights, maintaining the National
credit, and assuring a free ballot. Is it against these that assault is now to be directed ?
If this is the offense of the Republican party, let a proclimation be issued, and let the ver
dict of the country be pronounced. For in those amendments are written the victories of
the war. Beginning there, a cry against centralization is intelligible. The persons who
deny the validity of these new guaranteees of freedom, which, for the first time, under our
Republican system complete and symmetrical, submit for adjudication a question which
the American people will not be slow to decide.
Out of these amendments have sprung two, and only two, laws of especial importance.
A constitution will not inforce itself. Statutes must apply their principles, and assign the
duties of Courts. So far as criticism is directed against the administration, it runs against
laws enacted, and no pretense is put forward that the President has exceed by an iota his
legal authority. The two laws to which partisans now take exception are the enforcement
act and the Ku-Klux act. Neither of these involves a claim for federal sovreignty so broad
and sweeping as is embodied in the internal revenue law. That puts the strong hand on
the citizen and his property, and«nters his home and extorts the inmost secrets of his life.
The Republican party makes haste to mitigate and remove that necessity of the war, with
Httle help from Democrats or their new allies. Of that inqusitorial and arbitary exercise of
national power, our enemies say little, for the speedy removal of it is one of the greatest
triumphs of the present administrations and of the Republican party in Congress.
Upon two laws, then, the indictment must proceed, if at all. The enforcement act was
passed, May 31, 1870, and its purpose and character are designated by its title: "To en
force the right of citizens of the United States to vote in the several States of the Union
who have hitherto been denied that right on account of race, color or previous condition of
servitude." The law naturally and wisely limited and defined the methods by which the
rights of our new citizens should be secured, and one of its leading features is the placing
in the courts of powers which might have been confided to the executive. Eor example, the
officers designated to watch and verify registry and elections, are appointed by the courts.
Observe the time and circumstances which called for this law. The validity of the amend
ments was denied by a great party and by many States. They must be enforced. The
mode was not left to the choice of the President. It was carefully defined by written stat
ute, and so far as could be, the duty was imposed on the courts. Even Senator Trumbull
supported the bill on its passage. His intense dread of "bayonet legislation" took no
alarm at its provisions. Clearly the " Liberals" do not base their charges against the Re
publican party upon the enforcement act of 1870.
In 1871 the Democratic minority of a committee of the Senate of the United States,
speaking of North Carolinia, said : "All the disorders which exist in that State, were crea
ted by the unjustifiable and unconstitutional legislation of Congress, in regard to its govern
ment." So Democratic Senators admitted that disorders existed, and they were political
in character. _ What was true of North Carolina, was true in a worse degree of other States.
Murder, mutilation, and outrages were perpetrated on unnoffensive citizens only because
they were Republicans. An investigation committee was appointed ; the KuKhix law was
passed ; and to many States, almost wholly, and to all in good part, quiet and order have
been restored. This has been done by due process of law, except that an executive procta-

APPENDIX. 557
mation of warning was issued in two cases. This law after full discussion, was passed. The
Tribunes ainestly demanded it. Among others Senators Fenton, Schurz, Trumbull, Tipton,
who are now " Liberal" apostles, and denounce bitterly "bayonet legislation," claimed to be
good Republicans after its passage. Clearly their antagonism is not to the Ku Klux act of
1871, which has achieved such benificent results.
Nor is such criticism based on the reconstruction laws, by which the several States
were restored to loyalty and representation ; for these men participated in their passage.
Moreover, those acts have> accomplished their purpose, and passed into history. As things
of the past, they cannot divide parties in the present action.
What, then, is the "bayonet legislation, which alarms the timid nerves of persons.
-who, failing to control patronage, seek pretext for opposition to the Republican party ?
The issue has been created during the past session of Congress. The moderation of trie Re
publican party could not be more strongly expressed than in the fact, that the only pro
vision of law, even in pretext, repressive, passed at the recent session, authorizes wit
nesses of the election of representatives and presidential electors. In some southern States
intimidation and violation, at elections, are alleged, Difficulty has existed to obtain testi
mony, and threats and danger are assigned as the reason. Here is an evil which might
bring into dispute a presidential election or the political complexion of Congress. _ The
remedy proposed is not " bayonets," is not "the interference of the President. It is simply
that the United States courts, when requested, shall designate two witnesses, one from each
party, to observe the proceedings at elections so that in contested cases, sure evidence can be
¦obtained. Should they be driven> away, violence will be apparent. Their presence will
go far to guarantee regular balloting and honest returns. Is there a reasonable citizen,
who says that the eye of the Republic shall not be over the elections in which its very ex
istence is involved? Could there be a less objectionable method to guard against alleged
intimidation and violence ? Yet absolutely this is the whole sum of legislation, repressive,
centralizing, despotic, which Congress, at its recent session, placed on the statute books.
The pretext of " bayonet legislation" advanced for opposition to the Republican party, has
less basis than the mists of the morning.
THE AMENDED TAX LAV.'.
THE PRINCIPAL CHANGES IN THE TARIFF.
The new tariff bill, recently passed by Congress, contains forty-seven sections.
Most ofthechanges prescribed will take effect on the first day of August next.
The following are some of the new duties provided in the first section of the bill, with
a comparative statement of the duties in the present law; —.-._¦
Tariff of Tariff of
1870. 1872.
Bituminous coal, ton.    %1 25 * 75
Slack coal or culne, per ct  -  ---   *5 hush. 40
Salt, in bulk, per 100 lbs  ._  --  -- l8 B
Salt in sacks, barrels, &c, per ioolbs.-  -  24 12
Oatmeal, per cent _  __  IO Per'b- H
Potatoes. -  -  -  -  - 25 hush. 15
Bend, or belting leather, percent  -    - 35 1S
Calfskins, tanned or dressed, per cent  --  3° *5
Upper leather and dressed skins, N. O. P., percent   25
Morocco skins tanned, but unfinished, per cent...  ,0
Chicory, ground or unground, per lb  _.-  -  4a5 *
Timber, hewn or sawed, per cent  -  ao
Timber used in buildiug wharfs, per cent , . .   *°
On garden seeds and other seeds for agricultural purposes, not
otherwise provided for, percent  - 3°
-Ginger, ground, per lb_  --  --  5 3
Ginger, preserved or pickled and essence, per cent  -  - 3° 35
Chocolate, per lb     7 *
Cocoa Dreoared or manufactured  »,.¦
Tne second section of the new bill contains.the ten per cent reauct.onson many of the
articles ,n the present tariff. The principal articles affected by this section are : A man
ufactures of cotton ; all wools, hair of tte alpaca goat and other »"™als and all their
manufactures; all iron and steel, and on afi manufactures of iron and s'«'u «c'Pt,n?.
cotton machinery ; all metals not herein otherwise provided for, and on : all ma nufa ct ures of
metals of which either of them is the component part of chief value excepting g™u^°»
caps, watches, jewelry and other articles of ornament -all papery and manufactures of
paper, except unsized printing paper; all manufactures of India rubber CeX and
straw; and on oilcloths, glass and glassware, and on unwrought pipe clay, fine eg ^
fuller's earth ; all leather, and all manufactures of skins, bone, ivory horn and leather^
exrept gloves and mittens, and on liquorice paste and on nquonce mice Most o It hese
duties apply only where the articles named are the component part of the chief value in tne
manufactures^ ^.^ ^ ^^ ^^ of duty on certain article*,
chiefly used in manufacturing and on what the tariff is slightly reduced.

558

THE STRUGGLE OF 72.

The fifth section contains the free list, which is enlarged by the addition of many
articles, although most of them are unimportant to the general reader.
The sixth section provides that for two years after the passage of the act, machinery
and apparatus designed for steam towage on canals, and: not now manufactured in the
United States, may be imported by any State or by any person duly authorized by the
Legislature of any State, free of duty, subject to such regulations as may be prescribed by
the Secretary of the Treasury.
The seventh section establishes the standard of vinegar to be that strength which
requires thirty-five grains of bicarbonate of potash to neutralize one ounce troy of
vinegar. Sections 9, 10 and n provide for drawbacks in favor of materials used in American
manufactures, such as firearms, scales, shovels, axes, harness and agricultural machines,.
generally ; nearly all the articles used in ship building, when the ships are to be used in
the foreign trade ; and s?lt used in curing fish.
REDUCTION OF EXCISE TAXES.
Section 12 increases the tax on distilled spirits from 50 to 70 cents. This section
amends the system of collecting the tax, and is very long, ft also provides that all wines,
liquors or compounds, known or denominated as wine, and on all liquors not made from
grapes, currants, rhubarb or berries grown in the United States, paying a tax of ten cents
per bottle or package containing not more than one pint, or of twentv cents per bottle or
package, containing more than one pint and not more than one quart, and at the same rate
for any larger quantity of such merchandize, however the same may be put up, or whatever
may be the package, to be paid by stamps.
Sections 13 to 39 contain voluminous directions to brewers and distillers for the conduct
of their business.
Section 31 establishes a uniform tax of twenty cents on tobacco ; and the next three
sections provide numerous amendments regulating the collection of taxes and penalties.
Section 35 repeals the tax on coal gas.
Section 36 provides that on and after the first day of October, 1872, all the taxes im
posed by stamps under and by virtue of schedule B of scetion 170 of the said act, approved
June 20, 1864, and the several acts amendatory thereof, be and the same are hereby re
pealed, excepting only the tax of two cents on bank checks, drafts or orders ; provided
that where any mortgage has been executed and recorded, or may be executed and recorded.
before the first day of October, Anno Domini, 1872, to secure the payment of bonds or obli
gations that may be made and issued from time to time, and such mortgage not being
stamped, all such bonds or obligations so made and issued on or after the said first day of
October, Anno Domini 1872, shall not be subject to any stamp duty, but only such of their
bonds or obligations as may have been made and issued before the day last aforesaid.
The remainder of the bill is occupied with details amending the time of paying bank
taxes, extending the benefits of ths charitable exemptions, abolishing and regulating in
formers' moieties, remitting the shipbuilders' taxes, reducing and consolidating the
revenue districts, and providing means for recovering delinquent taxes.
STAMPS ABOLISHED.
The following stamps are abolished by the new tax law, after first October next.
Contracts for insurance against accidental injuries.
Affidavits.
All agreements or contracts, or renewals of the same.
Appraisements \ of value or damage, or for any other purpose.
Assignments of a lease, mortgage, policy of insurance, or anything else.
Bills of Exchange, foreign, inland, letters of credit, or anything of that kind now
taxed by stamps.
Bills of lading and receipts, in the United States or for anywhere else.
Bills of Sale, of any kind.
Bills of Indemnification, of any kind,
Bond Administrator or guardian, or anything that has the name of bond in it, and
now taxed by stamp.
Broker's notes.
Certificates of Measurement of anything.
Certificates of stock, profit, damage, deposit or any other kind of certificate now laxed
by stamp. Charter, or its renewal, or a charter-party of any kind.
Conveyance, any part of the work of conveying.
Endorsement of any negotiable or not negotiable instrument.
Entry , for consumption, warehousing or withdrawal.
Gangers returns.
Insurance policies, contracts, tickets, renewals, &c, (life, marine, inland and fire).
Lease. All through the lease list is abolished.
Legal documents. Writ or other process, confession of jugdment, cognovit, appeals,
warrants, &c, letters of administration, testamentaryi &c.

APPENDIX.

559

Manifests at Custom House, or anywhere else, or for any purpose.
Mortgage of any kind. Passage ticket to any place in the world,
Pawners1 checks. Pozver of attorney for any purpose.
Probate of will oi any kind. Promissory note for anything.
Protest of any kind. Quit claim deed.
Receipt. Now generally exempt, ana if included in present law in any case,
hereafter exempt. Sheriff's return.
Trust deed. Warehouse receipt.
Warrant of attorney. Weigher's return of any character.
THE NATIONAL DEBT.
OFFICIAL STATEMENT OF ITS REDUCTION UNDER GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION'.

ill hz

Debt of the U. S
less cash in the
Treasury

Dec. of debtl Total Dec.
during the pre- from March i,
ceding month. 1869, to date.

Decrease in
annual in
terest charge

1869. March 1 
¦April 1 
May 1  ..
June 1 
July 1 
August 1 —
September 1
October i_.
November 1.
December 1.
1870. January i-_.
February i_.
March 1 
Aprili 
May 1 
June 1 
July 1 
August 1 —
• September 1
October 1...
November 1
December 1
1871. January i._
February 1.
March 1 
April 1 
May 1 
June i- 
July 1 
August 1 
September 1 .
October 1...
November 1.
December 1.
1872. January i_-.
February 1..
March 1 
April 1 
May 1 
June

$2,525,463,260 01
2,525,196,461 74
2.518,797,391 09
2,505,412,613 12
2,489,002,483 58
2,481,566,736 29
2,475,962,501 50
2,468,495,072 11
2,461,131,189 36
2,453,559,735 23
2,448,746,955 31
2.444,813,288 92
27438,328i477 *7
2,432,562*127 74
2,420,864,334 35
2,406,562,371 78
2,386,358,599 74
2,369,324,476 00
2,355,92IiTI°4*2,346,923,652 28
2,34I,784,355 55
2,334,308,494 65
2,332,067,793 75
2,328,026,807 00
2,320,708,846 92
2,309,697,596 27
2i3<>3,573'543 x4
2,299,134,184 81
2,292,030,834 90
2,283,328,857 98
2,274,122,560 38
2,260,663,939 87
2,251,713,448 03
2,248,251,367 85

2,243,838,4ir 14 4,412,956 71
2,238,204,949 50 5,633,461 64
2,225,813,497 98 12,391,451 52
2,210,331,529 34 15,481.968 64
2,197,743,44072 12,588,088 62
2,193.517,378 94 4,226,061 78
Total Decrease, 9 months, ending Dec. 1, 1869-.
Total Decrease, 12 months, ending Dec. 1, 1870..
Total Decrease, 12 months, ending Dec. 1, 1871--
Total Decrease, 6 months, ending June 1, 1872.-

$266,798 27
6,399i°7° 65
I3,384>777 97
16,410,132 54
7*435,744 29
5,604,234 79
7,467,429 39
7,3631882 75
7,571,454 13
4,812,781 92
3,933,664 39
6,484,811 75
5 7^6,349 43
n,697,793 39
14,301,962 57
20,203,772 04
17,034,123 74
13,403,325 59
9,007,498 13
5,129,296 73
7,475,860 90
2,240,700 90
4,040,986 75
7,317,960 08
11,011,250 65
6,124,053 13
4,439,358 33
7,103>349 91
8,701,976 92
9,206,297 60
13,458,620 51
8,95Q,4gi 84
3,462,080 18

$6,665,868 92
20,050,646 89
36,460,779 43
43,896,523 72
49,5o°,7S8 51
56,968,187 90
64,332.070 65
71,903,524 78
76,716,306 70
80,649,971 09
87,134,782 84
g2,9or,i32 27
104,598,925 66
118,900,888 23
139,104,660 27
156,138,784 01
169.542,109 60
178,549,607 73
183,678,904 46
191.154,765 36

$74,694 00
115,521 00
304,467 00
667,467 00
1,786,725 00
2,387,325 00
3,354,345 °°
4,050,705 00
4,822,041 00

5,651.
6,119,6,301.6,601.6,908, 7,268,7,747-
8,i33-8,614,9.162,
9,768,
10, 155 j

193,395,466197,436,4=3
204,754,4*3
215,765,663221,889,716226,329,075
233*432,425242,134,402251,340,699264,799,320273,749,8n 277,211,892

:,66
11,064
",53712,062 ,870.
13,489,
11114,440
03(14,761-63 14-950.
14
98 16

281,624,848 87
287,258,31051299,649,762 03
315,131,730 67
327,719,819 29
331,945,881 07
 $ 71,903
 119,2s1
 86,057
 52,733

15.41316,36816,741

I7,i6517,5^8.18,203,
20,484.21,472,22,002.

.475 °°
,574 00
,707 00
,35000,436 00
397 00
,79700 95400
47000270 00
,3" 04
,576 96
,026 44
,916 44
,461 08
,997 96
,039 96
,202 04
,219 56
,404 00
.164 48
,528 04
,108 96
,43604,927 52
,834 48
,9*5 04
,552 to
,089 00
,51900
,524 78
,240 58
,126 80
,988 91

Total Decrease, 39 months of Grant's Administration  $33r,945,88i 07
The foregoing is a correct statement of the Public Debt, as appears from the books and
Treasurer's returns in the Department at the close °J,^I"g^ ^^oVtWELL
Secretary of the Treasury.

560

THE STRUGGLE OF '72-

ELECTION STATISTICS.
ELECTORAL VOTE OF 1872.
The additions authorized by the new apportionment bill passed by Congress will make
the House of Representatives consist of 292 members. Adding the Senators »"om tne
thirty-seven States, there will be an electaral college of 366 members, appointed as
follows :
Alabama    10
Arkansas  6
California   6
Connecticut  6
Delaware    3
Florida  _-   4
Georgia   n
Illinois    21
Indiana  15
Iowa    n
Kansas    5
Kentucky  12
Lousiana   8
Maine   7
Maryland  8
Massachusetts _  _   13
Michigan   n
Minnesota ._  L — •  -  5

Missouri .-_    --  -*5
Nebraska  ,.  3
Nevada   -  -  3
New Hampshire    5
New Jersey   9
New York   -   35
North Carolina   ---  ...io
Ohio  --  --  ----22
Oregon --_-  -   3
Pennsylvania   29
Rhode Island  -  4
South Carolina  7
Tennessee   -12
Texas  8:
Vermont   5
Virginia   11
West Virginia  .- 5
Wisconsin  _.ic*

Mississippi 
Total  -«  .-  366
HOW IT STOOD IN l868.
The electoral vote of 1868 was divided as follows :

FOR GRANT.

Alabama    8
Arkansas    5
California    5
Connecticut  6
Florida  3
Illinois  16
Indiana  15
Iowa    8
Kansas    3
Maine     _ 7
Massachusetts  12
Michigan  _  8
Minnesota  4
Total 

Missouri   ....  it
Nebraska.     3,
Nevada    ...   3
New Hampshire    ._ 5
North Carolina  ___  _,__  9,
Ohio  _   21
Pennsylvania  26
Rhode Island   *. 4
South Carolina    -. 6
Tennessee   io>
Vermont  ._  _  _ 5
West Virginia  _   5
Wisconsin  _ 8
   214.

FOR SEYMOUR.

Delaware   _   3
Georgia    -g
Kentucky   n
Lousiana  _  7

Maryland   7"
New Jersey   - 7
New York  33
Oregon  -- £
Total  .-._  _  80
The three States of Mississippi, Virginia, and Texas were not in a condition to vote.
The popular vote amounted that year to about 5,700,000, out of which the Republicans
had a majority of 300,000. POPULAR VOTE IN l868 AND 187O.
The following table shows the majorities in each State for the respective candidates-
for President in 1868, also in the gubernatorial or other State election nearest to November,
1871. It should be borne in mind that the full vote is never got out except in Presidential1
years, and that Republican majorities always make a poor showing on the off years:
Rep. maj. Dem. maj. Rep. maj. Dem. maj .
States. !868.

Alabama   4,280
A rkansas  3,°74
Caifornia     514
Connecticut  3,054
Delaware  _  
Florida    
Georgia   

1868.

1870.

1870.

5,474

3,357

io3

45,688

APPENDIX. 561

_. . ReP- maj. Dem. maj. Rep. maj. Dem. mal.
,,,. S?a,es- '868. x868. 1870. 1870.

Iowa .

9,572

37,153 15.135

K,-Sas  +6'359  41-254
rvansas  17,030
Kentucky  _.. 64*30. '.'.'.'.'.'.
Louisiana     46,962
Maine.  28,030 '.'"_''_ Vo',o3i
Maryland  31,918  ..
Massachusetts  _  77,069  13,465*
Michigan  31,481 
Minnesota  15,470  14,984 "
Mississippi   _ 24,049 
Missouri.   25,883 
Nebraska  4,290  _ 4*408^ "..."'.
Nevada  _.   1,262   1,053
New Hampshire  6,967   .lot
New Jersey    2,880  ** 5,979
New York ..  _  10,000 18,907 
North Carolina  12,136   9,345
Ohio      41,428  20,168 
Oregon.  _.. 164  
Pennsylvania  28,898  '4,575 
Rhode Island  6,445  3,47' 
South Carolina    17,064   
Tennessee    30,446   24,279
Texas    
Vermont.    32,122   
Virginia      
West Virginia  8,719  .  2,150
Wisconsin   35,447 -  9,329 

* Six candidates in the field.
t Plurality. Result reversed in April, 1872.
1 Congressional Election of 1870. THE NEGRO VOTE.
The number of electors, white and black, in the eight Southern States wherein the
•olored population is chiefly gathered, is as follows :
States. Whites.
Virginia  -  712,089
North Carolina  -  678,470
South Carolina  -  - 284667
Georgia  -  -  638,926
Florida    -  -- 96,057
Alabama     521,384
Mississippi   --  -  382,896
Lousiana  -  --- 362,065
Total    ---  3,68i,554
OTHER NATIONALITIES.
The German vote is estimated m four States as follows : Pennsylvania, 32,029 ; Ohio,
^6,578- Indiana, 15,611; Illinois, 40,750; total, 124,968. The heaviest Irish vote is in
Pennsylvania, 140,625 ; New York, 88,134 ; Illinois. 20,027 ; and New Jersey, 14,164.

Colored.

Per Ct. Col.

5x2,841

41.86

391,650

36.5

415,814

58.8

545,I42

48.

91,689

48.8

475,5io

47.6

444,201

53-6

364,210

50.1

3,241,057

46.9

STATES. (37)

OW o o
D PiHy. WH

Popula tion. 1870.

10

Alabama ..I.
Arkansas 
California 
Connecticut . .
. Delaware 
H Florida 
Georgia 
tfl Illinois 
55 Indiana 
2 Iowa 
H Kansas 
U Kentucky ...
W Louisiana 
H Maine 
¦^ Maryland 
ca Massachusetts
H Michigan ...
^ Minnesota -.
W Mississippi -
S Missouri 
S Nebraska ...
S Nevada 
^ N. Hampshire
O New Jersey..
O New York . . .
p-j N. Carolina _.
Eh Ohio 
< Oregon 
H Pennsylvania.
«° Rhode Island
S. Carolina...
Tennessee 
Texas 
Verjnent 
Virginia 
West Virginia
Wisconsin. __

Total  38,113

CAPITALS.

GOVERNORS.

Term
Expires.

996,992 Montgomery
484,471 Little Rock 
560,247 Sacramento  .-.
537,454 Hartfrd & N.Hav'n
125,015 Dover 
187,748 Tallahassee 
1,184,109 Atlanta  
2,539,891 Springfield
1,680,637 T
1,191,792 304,399
1,321,011 726,915626,915 780,894
i,457,35i1,184,059 439,7°6 827,922
1,721,295 122,993 42,491
318,300906,096
4,382,758 1,071,361
2,665,260 90,923
3,52*i79r 2I7^353 705,606
1,258,520 818,579 330,05!
1,225,163 442,014
1,054,670

I ndianapolis 
Des Moines 
Topeka 
Frankfort 
New Orleans 
Augusta^ 
Annapolis 
Boston 
Lansing 
St. Paul....- 
Jackson  
Jefferson City 
Lincoln 
Carson City 
Concord 
Trenton  
Albany 
Raleigh 
Columbus  -_.
Salem 
Harrisburg 
Newport & Provid
Columbia 
Nashville 
Austin  _ 
Montpelier 
Richmond 
Charleston 
Madison 

>253

Robert B. Lindsay  _.
O. A. Hadley, ex-officio 
Newton Booth 
Marshall Jewell. 
James Ponder 
Harrison Reed 
fatties Milton Smith. 
John W. Palmer 
Conrad Baker 
Cyrus C. Carpenter 
James M. Harvey 
P.H. Lesley 
Henry C. Warmoth 
Sidney Perham 
Wm. Pinkney Whyte 
Wm. B.Washburn 
Henry P. Baldwin 
Horace Austin 
Ridgley C. Powers, ex.offi'i
B. Gratz Brown, Ind 
Wm. H. James, ex-officio.
L. R. Bradley 
E. A. Straw  
Joel Parker   
John T.Hoffman 
T. R. Caldwell, ex-officio.
Edward F. Noyes ._  --
L. F. Grover 
John W. Geary  
Seth Padelford 
Robert K. Scott  
John C. Brown 
Edmund J. Davis  ---
John W. Stewart  
Gilbert C. Walker 
John J. Jacob  
Cadwallader C. Washburn.

Nov.
Jan.Dec.May,Jan.Jan. Jan. Tan. 'an.
Jan.Jan. Sept.Jan. "an.

an.
Jan.Jan.Jan.Jan.Jan,June
Jan. Jan.Jan.Jan. Sept.
Jan. May,Jan. Oct.Nov.Oct.Jan.Mar.
Jan.

1872
1873 18751872 187518731873 187318731874187318741873 1873 1876
i8731873 187418741873 1873
18741873187518731873
1874 1874187318731873 1874
1873 1872 1874
1874 1874

Legislatures Meet.

3 M. Nov.
1 M. Tan.
ci M. Dec.
1 W. May,
*i Tu. Jan.
T. a 1 M. Jan,
*i W. Jan.
1 M. Jan.
*i W. Jan.
*2 M. Jan.
2 Tu.Jan.
:i M. Dec.
1 M. Jan.
1 W.Jan.
*i W. Jan.
1 W. Jan.
*i W. Jan.
T. aiM. Jan.
T.ai M. Jan.
*Last M.Dec.
*Th.aiM. Ja,
*i M. Jan.
1 M. June.
2 Tu. Jan.
1 Tu. Jan.
1 Th. Nov.
:i M. Jan.
2 M. Sept.
1 Tu. Jan.
May & Jan.
3 W. Oct.
1 M.Oct.

*2 Th. Oct.
1 M. Dec.
2 Tu. Jan.
1 W.Jan.

State
Elections.

Tu. aft. 1 M. Nov.
1 Monday, Nov.
1 Wed. Sept.
1 Monday, April.
t Tu. Aug.
Tu. aft. 1 M. Nov.
Tu, aft. 1 M. Nov.
Tu. aft. 1 M. Nov.
2 Tuesday, Oct.
2 Tuesday, Oct.
Tu.aft. 1 M. Nov.
1 Monday, Aug.
1 Monday, Nov.
2 Monday, Sept.
Tu. aft. 1 M. Nov.
Tu. aft. 1 M. Nov.
Tu. aft. 1 M. Nov.
Tu. aft. 1 M. Nov.
Tu. aft. 1 M. Nov.
Tu. aft. 1 M. Nov.
2 Tuesday, Oct.
Tu. aft. 1 M. Nov.
2 Tuesday, March.
Tu. aft. 1 M. Nov.
Tu. aft. 1 M.Nov.
1 Thursday, Aug.
2 Tuesday, Oct.
1 Monday, June.
2 Tuesday, Oct.
1 Wed. April.
4 Monday, Nov.
1 Monday, Aug.

1 Tuesday, Sept.
Tu. aft. 1 M. Nov.
4 Thursday, Oct.
Tu. aft. 1 M. Nov.

Democrats in Italic.

* Biennial Sessions and Elections,

hffli

o 01 ¦ 2{> t^TS .
.13 .r^.O-V^r^r.-l Jiffi

««&iS<5w*B

appendix. 563
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.
Ulysses S Grant of 'Illinois President  Salary $,5,000
Schuyler Colfax, Indiana, Vice-President  ,k 8000
Hamilton Fish, of New York, Secretary of State. . _  _  ". .Salary Js'o-x.
George S. Boutwell, of Massachusetts, Secretary of the Treasury. _ '* 8 \* o
William W. Belknap, of Iowa, Secretary of War   " 8,000
George M. Robeson, of New Jersey, Secretary of the Navy   " 8^000
Columbus Delano, of Ohio, Secretary of the Interior   u 8 00*5
George H. Williams, of Oregon, A ttorney-General  _  -1 8^000
John A. J. Creswell, of Maryland, Postmaster-General  u 8^000
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES.
Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio, Chief Justice  ___  ..Salary S&8.«n__
Samuel Nelson, of N, Y., Associate Justice. ' ¦ ' "
Nathan Clifford, of Maine, " "
Noah H. Swayne, of Ohio, " "
Samuel F. Miller, of I«

David Davis, of Illinois, Associate Justice.
Stephen J. Field, of Cal. " "
William M. Strong, of Pa. " "
Joseph P. Bradley, of N. J., "
Salary of Associate Justices, $8,000. Court meets first Monday in December, at Wash
ington. MINISTERS TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES.
Country. Capital Ministers. Salary .Appointed.
Austria   .Vienna   John Jay, N. Y  _  $12,000.. 1868
Brazil    Rio Janerio  James R. Partridge, Md  12,000... 1871
Chili   _  Santiago.  Joseph P. Root, Kansas  10,000  1869
China  _  Pekin   Frederick F. Low, Cal  12,000... i860
France.   Paris..  .Elihu B. Washburne, III  17,500-. .1869
Great Britain  London...  Robert C. Schenck, Ohio  17, 500... 1870
Italy_  _   Florence   George P. Marsh, Vt  12,000. -.1861
Mexico  Mexico  Thomas H. Nelson, Ind.  12,000  1869
Peru    Lima  10,000  1871
Germany..   Berlin  George Bancroft, Mass  17,500.. .1867
Russia _  St. Petersburg  Andrew G. Curtin, Penn  12,000... 1869
Spain  Madrid  Daniel E. Sickles, N. Y  12,000. -.1869
Argentine Republic  Buenos Ayres  7,5°o- - - 1869
Belgium    Brussels   J. R. Tones, 111   7,500.. .1869
Bolivia  Cochabamba  Leopold Markbreit, Ohio  7,500. ..1869
Costa Rica.  San Jose  Jacob B. Blair, /W. Va  7,500.. .1868
Denmark  Copenhagen..  M. J. Cramer,' Ky...  - 7, 500... 1870
Ecuador.   Quito  _.E. Rumsey Wing, Ky  - 7,500. ..1870
Guatemala  Guatemala  S. A. Hudson, Iowa  7,500.. .1869
Hawaiian Islands  Honolulu   Henry A. Pierce, Mass  7,500. ..1869
Honduras.   Comayagua  Henry Baxter, Mich  7,500. ..1869
Japan.. _   Yedo  C. E. Delong, Oregon  12,000.. .1869
Netherlands   Hague _  Chas. T. Gorham, Mich  7,500. ..1870
Nicaragua  Nicaragua  Charles N. Riotte, Texas  7,500. --1869
Paraguay  ._  Asuncion   See Uruguay    7,500...
Portugal  ._  ...Lisbon   Chas. H. Lewis, Va  7,500... 1870
San Salvador   San Salvador.  Thomas Biddle, Penn  7,500.. .1869
Sweden and Norway  Stockholm  C. C. Andrews, Mass  ___ 7,500.. .1869
Switzerland  ..Berne-..  Horace Rublee, Wis   7,500... 1869
Turkey  Constantinople  George H. Boker, Penn  7,500. ..1870
Uruguay and Paraguay. Montevideo  John L. Stephens, Me  11,250.. .1871
U. S. of Colombia  Bogota.   S. A. Hurlburt, 111  7,500. ..1869
Venezuela   ..Caracas  William A. Pile, Mo  7,500.. .1869
Hayti  Port-au-Prince  E. D. Basset, Pa  7,500.. .1869
Liberia    Monruvia  ..J. Milton Turner  4,000.. .1871
DEPARTMENT AND BUREAU OFFICERS.
Assistant Secretary of State  -  -  ^wmiamH-nter:
A^anfs-^o^the-Tre^
r. . r. „ „   "    Robert W. Taylor.
First Comptroller,  -    -  , M Brodhead,
Second ---    -  -  "  J w -p Haines
Commissioner of Customs,  '."" T* , " . ,,- *
Register of the Treasury,..-  -  -  ^aviiw" Mahon!
Fust Auditor,...-  -  — -  — --  Ezra B. French.
Third " """"""""--'-----"-----""---------  Allen Ru'herfo"1-

564

THE STRUGGLE OF

Fourth Auditor  -  Stephen J. W. Tabor.
Fifth -     J- H- Ela.
Sixth ir  — -     J. J Martm.
Treasurer of the United States,....  __   Francis E. Spinner.
Comptroller of the Currency,    H. R. Hulbird.
Commissioner of Internal Revenue,   -J. W. Douglass.
General of the Army,.     W. T. Sherman.
Adjutant General,     -   E- D- Townsend.
Inspector General,     Col. Randolph B. Marcy.
Quartermaster General,....   Montgomery O. Meigs.
Commissioner General,       Amos B.,Eaton.
Surgeon General,..  __    .Joseph K. Barnes.
Judge Advocate General,   _.i...   Joseph Holt.
Assistant Secretary of the Interior,  Benjamin R. Cowen.
Commissioner of the Land Office,   Willis Drummond.
Commisssioner ofPensions,    J- H. Baker.
Patents,   M. D. Leggett,
u Indian Affairs,    -  FiancisA. Walker.
" Education,      John Eaton, jr.
First Assistant Postmaster Genl.,    __  Jas. W. Marshall.
Second " " '*      John L. Routeral.
Third " l* *¦•     -W. H. H. TerrelL
Assistant Attorney General,     ..Clement H. Hill.
Commissioner of Agriculture,     Frederick Watts.
Public Buildings   O. E. Babcock.
Chief Justice U. S. Gourt of Claims  .Charles D. Drake.
SENATORS TO BE REPLACED.
The terms of Spencer of Alabama, Rice of Arkansas, Cole of California, Ferry of Con.
¦ecticut, Osborn of Florida, Hill of Qeorgia, Trumbull of Illinois, Morton of Indiana,
Harlan of Iowa, Pomeroy of Kansas, Davis of Kentucky, Kellogg of Louisiana, Vickers of
Maryland, Blair of Missouri, Nye of Nevada, Patterson of New Hampshire, Conkling of
New York, Pool of North Carolina, Sherman of Ohio, Corbett of Oregon, Cameron of
Pennsylvania, Sawyer of South Carolina. Morrill of Vermont, and Howe of Wisconsin, all
expire on the 4th of March, 1872. AH of these are yet to be chosen except John Sherman
of Ohio, who has been already re-elected. . The United States Senate now stands ; Demo
crats 17 ; Republicans 57. Of the retiring members, 21 are Republican, and three are Dem
ocrats. PRESIDENTIAL TICKETS.
The following is a full list of the various tickets placed in nomination, or likely to be, up
to the time of putting this book to press :
For President. For Vice President.
1. Republican,   Ulysses S. Grant  Henry Wilson  
2. Democratic and Bolters,..Horace Greeley,1  B. Gratz Brown  _ 
3. Labor Reform,  _ .David Davis  Joel Parker  '  
4. Temperance,  James Black.  James Russell 
5. Revenue Reform,  .Wm, S. Groesbeck  ...Fred La.w Olmsted.. 
6. Anti Masonic,  Chas. Francis Adams  J. L. Barlow*   
7. Free Love,   Victoria Woodhull  Frederic Douglass  

Of these the third and fifth are aleady out of the field, while the seventh is not of any
moment— the candidate for Vice President, very justly deeming the gathering which nom
inated him, too trivial an affair even to bestow a letter of declination upon. The conven
tion of Labor Reformers was held at Columbus, O., on the 22nd of February. It was thought
at first that this nomination hy the ostensible representatives of the Labor interest, could be
brought to bear on the Cincinnati Convention, or on the Democratic party ; and Judge
Davis, on being notified of his nomination, hit upon the happy expedient of replying lacon
ically to the committee, lt The office of President is one which should be neithersought nor
declined by an American citizen," and there letting the matter rest. After it bceame evi
dent that the nominations at Columbus would not be endorsed by any body representing a
more numerous constituency, boththe candidates formally withdrew. (It should be men.
tioned that the Workingmen's Union of New York, representing a larger actual constitu
ency than the Cincinnati gathering, nominated Grant and Wilson about a fortnight before
the assembling of the Philadelphia Convention.)
?Vice Chas. H. Howard, declined. Mr. Adams (said to be a Royal Arch Mason,) has
paid no attention to this nomination.

APPENDIX. 565
SUMNER REBUKED BY A FELLOW-ABOLITIONIST.
William Lloyd Garrison, the noted anti-slavery pioneer, has sent the following letter to
Senator Sumner :
_ T Roxdury, June 1, 1872.
1JEARMR. Sumner— I owe it to you to say, with all the frankness which a sincere
friendship justifies, that 1 have carefully read your speech in sharp arraignment of the
President, and my conviction is that. it is ill judged, llUtimed and so extravagant in its
charges and bitter in its personalities as to neutralize whatever of just criticism can be
found in it. It will assuredly serve the purposes of the worst foes the cause of impartial
freedom has most to fear, very many of them now rallying under the deceptive banner of
" Liberal Republicanism," but the loyal, liberty-upholding party with which you have
hitherto been proud to be identified will peruse it with deep regret, if not with unfeigned
astonishment. Certainly you do not represent Massachusetts in this sweeping impeach
ment. Her Republican people are almost a unit for the re-election of the man whom you
attempt to stain with crime and cover with infamy.
You cannotseparate General Grant from the party which put him in the Presidential
chair, and which means to keep him in it, if possible, another term, being satisfied as to
his ability, integrity and patriotism ; and therefore in stigmatizing him as a venal self-
seeker and an unscrupulous usurper you virtually pronounce it to be equally corrupt and
untrustworthy. This you have a right to do on your own responsibility if you must, but
in so doing you will find yourself for the first time in marked opposition to the sentiment
of Massachusetts, as its Senator in Congress, and surrounded by allies who have been
heretofore your deadliest enemies. Occupying, as I do, an outside position, I write this
onder no party bias, and only because I feel constrained in this manner to free my mind
as a proof of my friendship. Receive it in the spirit which has dictated it.
Faithfully and regretfully yours,
WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON.
GREELEY'S INTRIGUES WITH THE DEMOCRACY.
The Cincinnati Nomination the Result of a Plot to which Greeley and Horatio Seymour
were Parties, Extending Back Nearly a Year.
The following are the essential facts of an intrigue whereof Horace Greeley, Horatio
Seymour, Waldo Hutchins and Lewis Carmichael were the principal agents, and which
resulted in a bargain between Greeley and the Democratic party of New York, for mutual
support in the present campaign. The particulars, as related by Carmichael to the editor
•f the Binghampton Republican, are certified to by many persons of unquestioned ver
acity and by the affidavits of two such, which are appended hereto.
CAR MICHAEL'S STATEMENT.
Lewis Carmichael is a farmer, probably between 50 and 55 years of age, who owns and
resides upon a tract of 240 acres of improved land, two miles west of the village of Una-
dilla, in '.Otsego county. For over twenty years he has enjoyed the reputation of being a
politician of influence and sagacity, and was consulted in times of important political
movements by Dickinson and other eminent men.
Carmichael wrote to Mr. Greeley, last September, giving him his view about the then
eqming presidential campaign, and inviting Greeley to become a candidate. Carmichael's
letter was addressed inside to " Hon. Horace Greeley, the next President of the United
States." Carmichael told Mr. Greeley that the time had come to "¦ raft over," and he
thought the Democratic leaders would drop old issues and support him.
Mr. Greeley answered this letter in a short time. He expressed [then or afterward — the
writer is not certain as to time here] his willingness to become a candidate, but was fear
ful that the Democratic leaders would not support him. A letter from him invited Car
michael to an interview with him.
Carmichael said he went down to New York soon after receiving that letter, and had
a long talk with Greeley in the Tribune office. Greeley told Carmichael that Horatio
Seymour was a standing candidate with the Democratic party, and that Mr. Seymour
would not step aside for him. Carmichael answered that he could not tell about that,
as Governor Seymour had not been asked, and had not said what he would do. Car
michael then offered to undertake to secure Seymour's consent and co-operation to the
movement, and Mr. Greeley agreed to be a candidate provided he succeeded with Mr.
Seymour and other prominent Democrats.
Within a short time after the interview with Greeley, Carmichael saw Governor Sey
mour. He was not inclined to receive the proposition with much favor. Carmichael gave
him his views, and left him to think the matter over. At that time Seymour thought that
perhaps Hutchins could be agreed upon as a candidate.
It was not long before Carmichael saw Seymour again, by appointment, and he said he
had made up his mind that Carmichael was right, and that the Democrats could support
Greeley; or if a portion of the Republican party preferred making a change in the ad
ministration, the Democrats should not take advantage of the movement.

566 THE STRUGGLE OF fJ2.
Carmichael informed Mr. Greeley, as soon as convenient, of his success with Governor
Seymour; and went about the State, immediately, to consult the Democratic leaders.
The proposition met with very strong opposition, but the fact that it was about the only
thing they could do, convinced the party leaders that they had better do it. If they should
electa prominent man from their ranks he would have political associations, and friends
that he could not help serving, and they could not get such an administration as they
could by taking up a man with no former political associations he would be under obli
gations to recognize. The leaders of both parties are corrupt. Such Democratic leaders
as Belmont, Marble and others, have been making money and political capital out ot our
following, and the party has continually lost. Three millions of Democratic votes had be
come useless for want of proper management of them, and we thought it was time to turn
the tables and compel the leaders to follow for a while.
In i860 we might have elected Houston, if we had nominated him, over Lincoln, be
cause Houston claimed that the territories were the' common property of all the States,
and the Democrats all over the United States could have united on that principle. In
1864 we could have elected Reverdy Johnson over Lincoln. And in 1868 we could have ¦
elected Chase over Grant. We had fooled away so many opportunities that we concluded
it was best to drop some of the old, unpopular doctrines this fall and come out in shape to
succeed. Carmichael refused to show any letters, alleging that he had already shown letters to
the editor of this paper. He said he did not understand Mr. Greeley as desiring there
should be secrecy about the movement. [Precisely how he desired to be understood here,
is uncertain.] The first plan, Carmichael said, was to call a convention in Otsego county
to nominate Mr. Greeley, and start the campaign in that manner.
Last April Mr. Greeley, true to his usual vacillating habit, wrote to Carmichael saying
that he believed the Democrats preferred a candidate from their own ranks, and would not
unite in his support ; therefore he desired to be withdrawn from the canvass. But Car
michael prevailed upon him to stick to it until they knew what the Democratic leaders
would do. It was not best to back down before they had time to work the thing up.
AFFIDAVIT OF C. s. CARPENTER.
[Of Mr. Carpenter, who makes the following affidavit, the Binghampton Republican
says ,l he is a young man of unusual ability, and probity ; was reared in Unadilla ; is re
spected by all who know him; and he is widely known. As the editor of the Oneonta
Herald, one of the best and most trustworthy weekly journals of the State, he is highly
esteemed. With his own readers, no certification could be stronger than his owu word.' J
Oneonta, July 17, 1872.
C. S. Carpenter, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is a resident of Oneonta,
Otsego county, in the Sate of New York, and that he is well acquainted with Lewis Car
michael, of Unadilla, in said county. That Carmichael has for many years been a Demo
crat, interested in county, State and national conventions, which he frequently at
tended ; and that he has for about a year past been engaged in seeking a Detr.ocratic
candidate for the presidency. That Carmichael was last fall in correspondence with
Horace Greelev and Horatio Seymour, on the question of making new issues; one of
which was the payment of pensions to disabled rebel soldiers, as well as to Union sol
diers ; and that deponent saw letters from said Greeley and from Seymour, on that ques
tion. That one of Greeley's letters, which deponent recognized by what he knows of
Greeley's handwriting, and by the. Tribune heading (this letter being an answer to a let
ter of Carmichael, asking his views on the Confederate pension question), expressed the
views of Mr. Greeley as favorable to the passage of a law providing that the general
government pay pensions to Southern disabled soldiers ; although he (Greeley)' doubted
whether Congress would pass such a bill. That deponent read the letter carefully, and
this was its true expression and meaning ; and it was freely discussed between Car
michael and deponent. That this letter was, according to deponent's best recollection,
dated in August or early in September, 1871. Deponent saw a letter from Horatio Sey
mour on the same subject, at about the same time. Mr. Seymour expressed himself in
opposition to making the pension an issue then.
That deponent also saw another letter of Horace Greeley, addressed to Carmichael, in
which Greeley invited Carmichael to call on him in New York, to talk over political
issues that had been broached between them ; and a separate part of that letter, which de
ponent did not have opportunity of reading carefully, expressed, as deponent casually
noticed, and was distinctly informed by Carmichael, the possibility that Greeley would
accept the nomination for president, if the nomination were tendered to him in 1872.
That Carmichael was absent from Otsego shortly afterward, and received from Greeley,
as Carmichael distinctly and emphatically stated to him, Mr. Greeley* s positive consent to
be the Democratic candidate for president in 1872, if the nomination were given to him.
The date of this letter was in October, 1871.
That Carmichael endeavored to induce deponent to consent to advocate paying pensions
to Southern soldiers, as a measure of conciliation between North and South, and to sup
port Mr. Greeley for the presidency.
That it was fully understood between deponent and Carmichael that Greeley was to be
pressed for Democratic nomination. That deponent regarded Carmichael as a candid man

APPENDIX. 567
who treated these subjects with the utmost seriousness; and that deponent is fully con-
VmtC j J .*} hl\ correspondence and interviews, and their meaning and results, were de
scribed by him honestly and faithfully.
cur u •,._._-. . C- s- CARPENTER.
Sworn before me this 17th day of July, 1872.
E. M. Carver, Notary Public.
Dr. Ireland, who makes the other affidavit, is a citizen of high character • enjoys the
esteem of everybody - and by the clearness and very essential importance of his affidavit,
contributes much to the completeness of the case. He, with Mr. Carpenter, was averse to
personal prominence m the matter ; but a sense of duty admitted of no other course than
that they have pursued. AFFIDAVIT OF DR. IRELAND.
Louis E. Ireland, of Unadilla, Otsego county, New York, being sworn, says that Lewis
Carmichael, also of Unadilla, whom he has known for six years, has frequently been in
deponent s office in Unadilla, and has shown deponent letters from Horace Greeley, of
New York, five or six in number; and one letter of Horatio Seymour ; that deponent did
not readily read Greeley's letters, except the heading and signature— Carmichael's being
addressed as u Friend Carmichael" in one or more of them— which letters deponent held
in his hand. Their contents related to matters understood between Carmichael and Gree
ley, some of the letters passing on as though connected with previous business ; and one
of the letters invited Carmichael to go to Cincinnati. These letters were shown to de
ponent in the last of March or first of April, 1872. Carmichael then said to deponent that
Greeley would be nominated at Cincinnati, and the Democrats would adopt him ; that
the only point there was, that Greeley should get the Cincinnati nomination. Depo
nent perused Horatio Seymour's letter, which he read easily, and recognized the hand
writing, according to his previous knowledge of it, as Seymour's. The subjects of that let
ter were as follows: It mentioned an interview of Carmichael and Seymour, and an in
terview of Carmichael and Greeley; saying he (Seymour) was more favorably im
pressed with the turn of matters, with which he seemed satisfied; mentioned the tariff
question, and said the best way was to leave the issue a vague one, as Carmichael had
proposed, so as to unite persons of different, views in the coalition movement ; suggested
that if Greeley favored this, it would smooth the way to the end. Deponent's strong im
pression is that Greeley's candidacy was mentioned ; but of that he does not say positively.
The time when this letter was read by deponent was about the last of March or first of
April, 1872.
The subject had previously been brought to deponent's attention by Carmichael ; but
when the letters were shown, particularly Greeley s letters, deponent thought the matter
too absurd to notice ; but after the Cincinnati nomination he understood their import
ance, and endeavored to procure copies. He would have exposed the matter, except that
he had hopes of procuriug the letters or copies of them.
Deponent was informed in December, 1871, from the statement of Carmichael, that
Greeley had promised Carmichael the tone of the Tribune would be changed about the
first of the year 1872 ; and the deponent, on noticing, saw the change — which statement of
Carmichael deponent can prove on competent testimony of a public officer.
Deponent further remembers that in one of Greeley s letters, Chase was mentioned as
now feeble and broken down.
Deponent makes this statement on his honor as a citizen, and because he believes the
facts he has mentioned should be exposed. L. E. IRELAND.
Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 17th day of July, 1872.
Frederick A. Sands,
Notary Public of Otsego county, N. Y.
THE TWO CHARGES AGAINST PRESIDENT GRANT.
[From Senator Conkling's Speech at New York, July 23, 1872.]
GIFT TAKING.
But let us go back a moment to Grant before he seriously thought of being President
and when he was only the idol of the nation. Returning from the field covered with glory,
out poor in money, the affluent, whose fortunes he had saved, met him with munificent offer
ings. In this they followed the customs of ancient and modern times. The austere re
publics of antiquity enriched and ennobled their heroes returning from victory. England,
with an unwritten constitution and an omnipotent Parliament, which a lawyer once said
* could do anything but to make a man a woman," has enriched her Generals both by acts
of Parliament and by voluntary subscriptions. In the United States the constitution does
not permit Congress to act in such matters. Here they rest wholly in the voluntary action
of individuals, and that public presentations to heroes involved turpitude in givers or
recipients has been first found out by the spurious reformers and libellers now clamoring
for notice. Wellington received from his government and his neighbors more than three
million dollars. British citizens of Calcutta made him presents, the officers of the army

568

THE STRUGGLE OF 72.

gave him $10,000, the House of Commons vqted him $1,000,000, and a mansion and e .
were purchased for him by subscription, at a cost of $1,300,000. Besides 'nls.nejW*f„' ;„
times ennobled, twice by England and once oy Spain. Oliver Cromwell, for deeds ooncm
civil war, received $32,500 a year in gifts. Marlborough was given a stately palace : ana
splendid fortune. Nelson and his family were ennobled and received $70,000. _ Jew^ l\r
money were given to Fairfax for services in civil war. The generals and admirals 01 ^"sr
land and France have generally been recipients of great pecuniary benefits. In r-ngiana
and elsewhere the custom of presents to public men has gone beyond the army ana t e
navy. Richard Cobden, a civilian, in token of political service only, was given Dy sud-
scription $350,000. John Bright has just received costly gifts. America, y°unSfr ana
poorer, with few wars to breed heroes, has been less lavish than older nations ; but Ameri
cans have not been stingy. General McClellan, perhaps, begins the list of largely reward
ed generals. His active service ended before the war was over, and his democratic admi
rers, prior to nominating him for the Presidency, presented him a costly house and a large
purse, amounting in all to $100,000. To Sherman. Sheridan, Farragut and (jrant large
sums were given. To Stanton's family and to Rawlins' were given more than a hundred
thousand each. Were these things dishonorable? Was it wrong for General Grant to accept
such gifts ? The charge is an insult to the nation who witnessed and applauded the proceed
ing ; it is an imputation upon those who gave, as much as upon him who received. It can
not have been dishonorable or improper for him to accept a gift without being dishonorable
and improper to offer it. How must the cant and snivel we hear seem to the people of
Germany just now. Bismarck, though Chancellor and Prime Minister, has just received
as a gift, in token of his services in the recent war, a magnificent landed estate, worth
more than was given to all our generals ; and Bismarck in like token, has been made a
Prince. General Von Moltke, for his services in the German-Franco war, has been given
$300,000 ; and Germany has set apart from the French indemnity fund $4,000,000 to be
distributed in gifts to her heroes. Do you believe any German, or an y man with a German
heart in his bosom, will ever be me:.n enough to throw these gifts in the face of those who
earned and accepted them ? If there is a man mean enough to do it he will be safer in the
Greeley menagerie than he would be in any hiding place in Germany. Yet gift-taking,
foraooth, is paraded by political Pharisees. One thing is noticeable : — The men who
screech about gift-taking are those who never gave a cent, and who were never openly
offered a cent — certainly not for any honorable service rendered to their country. The
charge that Grant accepted any gift after he became President, or after he ivas_ nomin
ated, is wholly false. He has accepted nothing of value since his first nomination — not
even a carriage and horses — although Lincoln, and Buchanan, and Pierce, and Taylor,
and other Presidents, did accept carriages and horses after their election.
NEPOTISM.
Let me go on with the charges asainst the President. Few of them figure more largely
than appointing relatives to office. Mr. Sumner has staggered the nation by the weight of
the dictionaries, encyclopaedias and other big books which he has dumped upon us, to
show what " nepotism" is. He finds it charged that Popes had children, and called them
nephews, and lavished upon them the moneys of the Church ; and he thinks that where a
public office is to be filled and a good man is appointed at the same pay any other man
would receive, a case has occurred like that of the Popes, provided the man who makes the
appointment and the man who gets it are related to each other. This, if not a useful, is a
wonderful discovery.
From the morning of time common sense has distinguished between creating a useless
and lucrative sinecure and bestowing it on a relative, and selecting a relative to do a service
required to be done. When Hannibal and Frederick the Great and Napoleon and Em
peror William put a brother or a son at the head of an army, with rank and titles, or even
placed him on a throne, the world_ never thought it was like a sinecure for a Papal nephew.
On the contrary, in public and private business, nothing has seemed more natural than for
those entrusted with affairs to employ and associate with themselves persons in whom they
most confided, whether relatives or not. In all such cases, if the person be fit, little harm
can be done ; but if he is unfit, a great wrong is done, whether he be a relative or not. If
the appointment of relatives be a crime, a great many men, including the busiest and most
blatant liberals," must be great criminals. Andrew Johnson, his Cabinet and chief of
ficers must have been huge offenders, for reasons which no one thought of at the time
though every one knew of them. President Johnson's son was his chiefPrivate Secretary.
Governor Seward s son was Assistant Secretary of State. Edwin M. Stanton's son was a
clerk in the War Department. Giddeon Welles' son was Chief Clerk of the Navy De
partment ; and when Giddeon Welles employed a relative at a great remuneration to buy
ships the scandal was not that he paid just slims to a relative, but that he paid such
sums at all. Reverdy Johnson, Minister to England, made his son Assistant Secretary of
Legation. John A. Dix, Minister to France, did the same thing with hU son Alftnfe
wasunder Andrew Johnson, but when a drag net of criticism and impeachment was cast
over him these things were not caught up. i«-»w.«iciii was w_*
" liberal" relatives.
The rueful "reformers" themselves will not bear examination on this point. Mr

APPENDIX.

569

Schurz pressed his brother-in-law upon the President, and obtained for him a lucrative
office, and when Mr. rruinbull caused his removal upon statements impeaching his fitness
Mr. Schurz raged against the President for removing his brother-in-law. Mr Trumbull
seems to have procured appointments for his brother-in-law, his sons and his nephews
and he broke, it is said, with the President because he refused to appoint Mr. TrumbullV
son to an office, lhat shrill and frisky "reformer," Mr. Tipton, although not colossal
himself, would need a hay scales to be weighed along with all his relatives he has helped
to get offica. Three brothers-m-law. a nephew and a son in office, with other things for
other relatives, did not satisfy his u liberal" inclinations, but he vigorously plied the
President and the Secretary of State to give a valuable consulship to another son, and
after they declined he frequently avowed— once pipingly to the President himself— that
the refusal was the cause of his opposition. Mr. Fenton saw no objection to giving to
his adopted son his influence for an office, nor to obtaining it from Tammany Hall, and
keeping it through all the exposures of Tweed and the rest, although no service was at
tached to it equivatent to the pay. Mr, Sumner, with a brother-in-law in office under
Andrew Johnson, was inflamed by his removal, and did not hesitate to make known his
displeasure. Even Mr. Greeley did not scruple to countenance his brother-in-law in
obtaining the most lucrative collectors!, ip of internal revenue in the United States. Nor
has he hesitated to urge appointments, clearly unfit, on the ground of the intimate
terms between himself and those he urged.
[Mr. Conkling then goes on to cite cases of nepotism on the part of Democratic office
holders — among them that of Governor Hoffman, who, when Mayor of New York, caused
the appointment of his father-in-law, Starkweather, to a place which yielded him $561,-
000 in four years.]
But if General Grant has done wrong, the crime of others cannot help him. Let us
look into his case. You might suppose from the noise, that he had used a relative as apeg
for every hole in the country, and that he had put round pegs in square holes, and square
pegs in round holes, everywhere. It has been said that he has appointed 50 relatives, 40
relatives, 30 relatives, and Mr. Sumner estimates 13 relatives, to office. None of these
statements are true. Since President Grant came in, but nine persons in all, connected in
the remotest degree with him or with his wife, have held political office under the United
States. I have a list of them, and do not speak without information. Nine is the total num
ber in political office. This does not include a son of the President, sent as a pupil to West
Point, long before his father became President; nor does it include his brother-in-law,
Dent, who has long held a commission in the army by the same tenure under which Sher
man and Sheridan, and every other officer of the army holds his place, and which the Pres
ident has no more power to give or take away than the man in the moon.
Of the nine relatives or connections in office, two were appointed by Andrew Johnson,
viz. : The President's father, postmaster at Covington, Ky., and his brother-in-law, the
Rev. Mr. Cramer, Consul to Leipsic. Mr. Cramer was transferred from Leipsic to
Denmark by President Grant, on the recommendation of Bishop Simpson, Bishop Jaynes,
and many other well known persons, friends of Mr. Cramer. Being the brother-in-law of
the President, he, of course became a mark for "liberal" abuse, and was charged with
drinking beer, and being refused the membership of a social club.
But now comes the Cincinnati Methodist Conference, about as respectable a body as
has met in Cincinnati lately, and certifies after full investigation, the utter falsity of the
charges. Their report is fortified by letters from Copenhagen, and by statements of the
official journal and other newspapers there, indignantly repelling the aspersions cast at Mr,
Cramer, and pronouncing him a blameless officer and man.
Deducting Jesse R. Grant and M. J. Cramer, appointed by Johnson, seven instances
of relatives appointed to political affice remain, and of these but two were in truth and in
fact abpointed by the President as I will show you.
Orlando H. Ross, a cousin of the President, holds a clerkship, under the third Auditor
of the Treasury. He was a soldier in the war, and Gen. Logan, as he stated in Senate,
procured his appointment at the Treasury Department without the knowledge of the Pres
ident who, in fact, never heard of it until he read it in a newspaper. This leaves six, and
of these four hold local offices, viz. : George W. Dent, Appraiser at San Francisco ; James
F. Casey, collector at New Orleans ; one a brother and the other a brother-in-law of Mrs.
Grant; Peter Casey, Postmaster at Vicksburg, Miss., a brother of a brother-in-law of Mrs.
Grant; and George B. Johnson, Assessor of the third District of Ohio, who married a third
cousin of the President. These men hold local offices, and were selected and put forward,
as has been universal in both political parties for 50 years, by the local Representatives.
When the member of Congress from a District certifies the character of an applicant
for a post-office or any other office local in his district, and recommends his selection, the
practice of the Government has always been to rely and act upon such representations,
holding the member of Congress responsible to the Government and to his constituents, if
he obtains unfit appointments.
It was in this way that the four persons just named were selected, the President hav
ing no part in the matter, if he believed the applicant fit and worthy, except to consult the
wishes of the people made known through their representatives, or else to overrule their
wishes, upon the grouud that it might be better for himself not to run the risk of having
the matter some* time or other flung in bis face.

57o

THE STRUGGLE OK 7:

Two appointments remain, and upon these the President did undoubtedly exercise his
own choice and his own judgment. .
The first is Alexander Sharp, a connection of Mrs. Grant, who was appointed Mar
shal of the District of Columbia. This officer is virtually a member of the President s
household— he receives company with the family, introduces visitors, and generally helps
along. For these reasons some relative or friend of the President's family has always been
found for this position.
The remaining relative is Silas Hudson, Minister to Guatemala. He is cousin to the
President. Iowa, the Siate in which he lives, had the mission to Guatemala before Presi
dent Grant came in ; Fitz Henry Warren held it • and on his retirement Iowa claimed it
still, and presented Mr. Hudson, who is described as anable and accomplished man. The
President might have refused to appoint him, without giving just offence to the Republi
cans of Iowa, because he might have taken a man from some other State, but he did ap.
point him, and thus he furnished the needy ** Liberals" with one awful example.

GREELEY INELIGIBLE.

Mr. Greeley is assailed on all sides, but the latest bit of gossip is furnished by a dis
patch published in the Boston Traveler to the effect that " one of the reasons for which
Carl Schurz is silent on the Greeley question is supposed to be the belief on his part that
the Axeman of Chappaqua is ineligible to office, because in all the amnesty bills passed by
Congress for the removal of political disabilities, the name of Horace Greeley does not
appear. His voluntary advice and encouragement which he gave to the seceding States,
now counts against him, for as matters stand no person can hold any office whatsoever,
who can not make oath that he has never given any aid or countenance, counsel or en
couragement to parties engaged in avowed hostilities against the government of the United
States, and that he has never yet aided or voluntarily supported any pretended government,
authority, power or constitution within the United States, hostile or inimical thereto. It
is well known that Horace Greeley can not, without perjury, subscribe to such an oath,
and his ineligibility to the presidential office is therefore an established fact."
a darkey's view of the situation.
A correspondent of the Cincinnati Commercial, a Greeley organ, traveling in Ken
tucky, interviewed his barber on the political situation, with the following result :
Barber. What is the name of your paper?
Correspondent. The Commercial. '
B. Oh, yes ; I've seen that. It's a Grant paper, ain't it ?
C. No, it's a Greeley paper.
B. Ohj I thought it was Republican.
C. So it is.
B. What ? Republican and for Greeley ?
C. Certainly.
B. It supported Seymour, didn't it ?
C. Not at all.
B. That sounds curious to me. How could » paper be against Seymour and for
Greeley ?
C. Because Seymour was a Democrat.
B. Well, so is Greeley.
C. You are much mistaken ; Greeley is a Republican.
B. {Looking amazed^ and opening his eyes as big as shaving mugs :) I don't under
stand it ; I can't see how a Republican can be running on a Democratic ticket.. There is
something loose somewhere.
C. He is not running on a Democratic ticket.
B. Then the Democrats are mightily fooled, for they think he is.
C. No, indeed, they don't.
B. But they are all going for him about here. Just look how it is ; every Republican
is for Grant, and every Democrat for Greeley. It looks to me like he is running the same
way Seymour did. The people are divided, just like they were then, only in place of
Seymour, Greeley has come out^ I don't know anything about the platform, as they call
it ; I look at the thing just as it is before the people.

THE END.

YALfc UNIVLMHI I T LiDttHni

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