JOSEPHUS DANIELS - TYPED MANUSCRIPT SIGNED 10/20/1936 - HFSID 283805

JOSEPHUS DANIELS
He signed this printed copy of the Gettysburg address while serving as US Ambassador to Mexico (1936). He has added a typed statement assessing the relevance of Lincoln's words to Americans of the 1930s.
Typed Manuscript signed: "Josephus Daniels"/Mexico, D. F. [Federal District], October 20, 1936", 1 page, 6½x9. Below the transcript of the Lincoln's speech, Daniels has added a typed statement of his own: "As long as the English language lives, and I think that will be as long as civilization endures, the Gettysburg Address will stand out as an imcomparable classic. In this day, when the people have almost suddenly awakened to the fact that the blessings of personal freedom are unattainable without economic freedom, Lincoln's appear for a 'new birth of freedom' must be an inspiration. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address was not for one day only, it was for all time. 'It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated' to the task of our generation, inspired by the lofty sentiments uttered by the immortal Lincoln." Josephus Daniels (1862-1948) served as Wilson's Secretary of the Navy from 1913-1921- prior to which he was a successful newspaper owner and editor. As a partisan Democrat, he used his control of the Raleigh News & Observer to advance the party causes. He launched a "White Supremacy" campaign in North Carolina that led to Democrat victories in 1898 and 1900 and the disfranchisement of African-Americans. In 1898, he was credited with inciting the Wilmington Race Riots, an action for which he expressed regret in his autobiography. While Secretary of the Navy, he banned alcohol from US Navy ships and ruled that no prostitution would be permitted within five miles of any naval base. He later served as Ambassador to Mexico (1933-1941) under his friend, Franklin Roosevelt, and is generally credited with improving US-Mexico relations. Toned around edges. Creased at upper edge. Pencil note on verso (unknown hand). Otherwise, fine condition.