HORACE GREELEY - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 12/20/1866 - HFSID 1794

HORACE GREELEY
The publisher writes about problems with his publications in the American West.
Autograph Letter Signed: "Horace Greeley", 2p, 5¼x8½, separate sheets. On letterhead of "Office of the Tribune, New York" but written from Chicago, Illinois, 1866 December 20. To Mr. Case, Hartford, Connecticut. In full: "I have yours of the 15th here today. I have not seen the Sherwoods, but I assure you there is great gambling among the subscribers almost everywhere in the West that they do not get Vol. II and other books get read where ours ought to be. I hear some of ours will be refused when ready, on the ground of the subscribers having voiced till weary, and then taken another history instead. I did not mind. If I ever can have a quiet week at home, I shall set down to revising both volumes for future issues. I shall be at home Jan. 7th, I trust, but shall spend some time at Washington soon afterward." Horace Greeley founded "The New Yorker", a literary magazine, in 1834. In April 1841, Greeley, who had also published a weekly political newspaper, "Log Cabin", established the "New York Tribune", which played a large role in shaping public opinion. The newspaper, which became the leading journal in the rural North, served as a platform for Greeley's views on politics and social reform as well as providing news and literary articles. In 1851, the phrase "Go west, young man", written by Indiana newspaperman John Soule, appeared in the popular paper. The phrase became a byword because of the influence of Greeley's publication, and Greeley also demonstrated his support of opening the West by founding a cooperative community, Union Colony, in what is today Greeley, Colorado. Greeley, one of the nation's first editors to join the Republican Party, was instrumental in getting the nomination for Abraham Lincoln in 1860. He opposed Lincoln's re-nomination in 1864, however, and later openly criticized the corruption in Grant's administration. In 1872, the anti-Grant Liberal Republicans and the Democrats nominated Greeley, who had served as a Congressman for three months in 1848-1849, to challenge Grant. The newspaperman suffered a tremendous defeat in the election, carrying only six states. After the election, Greeley was broken in body and spirit. He suffered both mental and physical breakdowns and died on November 29, 1872. Folds, vertical fold touches the "H". Ink smudged at some words, stray ink marks at blank areas on second page. Overall, fine condition.