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HORACE GREELEY - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 06/14/1860 - HFSID 15488

Greeley handwrote, signed and dated this letter to J. H. Fowler in New York in 1860. In it, he rips the work of abolitionist and anarchist Lysander Spooner and an article by Fowler, which he called "a clear imitation of Spooner". Autograph letter signed "Horace Greeley".

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HORACE GREELEY
Greeley handwrote, signed and dated this letter to J. H. Fowler in New York in 1860. In it, he rips the work of abolitionist and anarchist Lysander Spooner and an article by Fowler, which he called "a clear imitation of Spooner".
Autograph letter signed "Horace Greeley". 1 page, 5x8¼, with small embossing in upper left corner. New York, June 14, 1860. Addressed to Mr. J. H. Fowler, Cambridge, Massachusetts. In full: "Mr. Fowler: I have not received Mr. Spooner's work from you, and you need not send it. I am already familiar with it. I rather like it as an [illegible] and enane [sic] attempt to show that the framers of the Federal Constitution meant what we all perfectly know they did not mean. Your arti-cle is a clear imitation of Spooner. The readers of news-papers are mainly busy people, who have no time for such exer-cises of the [illegible] and imagination. Yours,". "Mr. Spooner" is probably Lysander Spooner (1808-1887, born in Athol, Massachusetts), a Massachusetts lawyer, abolitionist and anarchist who opposed the Civil War and Reconstruction and started his own mail-carrying firm, the American Letter Mail Company, that unsuccessfully challenged the United States Postal Service's monopoly on letter delivery. More apropos to this letter, he wrote a number of pamphlets and books on the Constitution and law, including a 1867 essay called No Treason, which argued that the Constitution was a contract that had been broken by the Civil War. Greeley (1811-1872, born in Amherst, New Hampshire) founded the New York Tribune in 1841 and edited it until his death. His newspaper, competitive in price with the "penny press" but less sensational, was the first to give its writers individual by-lines and the first with a literary and book review department. The Tribune had wide readership and influence, and many of his editorial quips became famous. ("Go West, young man," was one.) He was steadfast in support of many causes, such as antislavery, temperance, and the rights of labor, but he could be mercurial at times. (His swift reversal of opinion on the secession of the southern states is reflected in two 1861 "Tribune" editorials: "Go in Peace, Errant Sisters," followed shortly by "On to Richmond") He served as a Whig in Congress for three months (1848-1849) to fill a vacancy and did not seek reelection. As the Democratic and Liberal Republican parties' presidential nominee in 1872, he was defeated by President Ulysses S. Grant, who was seeking reelection. On November 28, 1872, just 23 days after the election, Greeley, worn out by the grueling campaign, died at the age of 61. Lightly toned, soiled, stained, foxed and creased. Tears in top and left edges. Folded twice and unfolded. Otherwise in fine condition.

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