Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-10-21
PRESIDENTIAL
CAMPAIGNS
By FREDERIC ]. HASKIN
XIII. The Grant-Greeley
Race of 1872
ASHINGTON, Sept. 30-The
M presidential campaign of 1872
w resulted in a tragedy-the
inSanitV and death of Horace

WY AsHINGToN. Sept. 3O.-The
W. presidential campaign of 1872
w resulted in a tragedy-the
insanity and death of Horace
Greeley. 1t took the organization Of
the Republican party out of the
hands of the men. who had founded
it and turned it over to another group
of Republicans, in whose control it
remained until after the rise of
Roosevelt. 1t added to the lexicon Of
Democratic party historians the
phrase, "the Greeley fiasco." And,
more important than ALL it marked
the beginning of the end of the polit-
zeal party organ newspaper, and was
responsible for an independent press.
The Liberal Republican movement
of 1S71-72 was the most considerable
detection the Republican party had
suffered since it's organizations. Its
effect on the party was not disas-
trous, but it carried into the Demo
cratic party many of the men who
were most prominent, in the early
days of Republicanism. 1t is re-
markable fact that more than two
thirds of the men prominent in the
Republican conventions of 1855 and
1850 died Democrats, or Independents.
Even more remarkable is the fact
that this great detection from Re-
publican ranks was the result OF
movement headed by Clement Val
landigham, of Ohio. Vallandigham
was the a rch-Copperhead of the whole
north, was arrested by General Burn
side and banished to the Confederate
States of America, and was eXecrated
by every loyalist north of the Mason
and Dixon line. Yet it was the
same Vallandigham who, in 1871, IN
the famous Dayton platform, declared
for the unifcation of all elements OPP
posed to Grant on the basis of com
nf
war, the reconstruction policy, the,
amendments to the constitution ana
so on. SO radically did this pollcy
differ from that formerly held ny
northern Democrats that me " NJ
New Departure"
A Newspaper Campaign
The Democratic press, headed by
the Missouri Republican, afterward
the st. Louis Republic, and the Lou
isville Courier-J Journal, broke away
from conventional moorings and hail
ed the New Departure" as the po-
litical salvation of the land. The VAL
landigham origin of the movement
was lost sight of, and Editor Grosve-
nor, of st. Louis, and Editor Waiter
son, of Louisville, became the leaders
in the Democratic ranks.
Meanwhile General Grants admin
istration was alternating old-time Re
publican leaders by the score. Gen
eral Grant was a great soldier but
his most ardent admirers cannot COM
mend his judgment in selecting men
to assist him in civil administration.
Scandals without number were con-
tinually arising. The secretary or
war, William Belknap, and the
secretary of the navy, George M:
Robson, We're accused OF all xmas OF
graft. The New York Sun, then ed
tied by Charles A. Dana, every day
thundered against the Robbers at
Washington. Meantime General
Grant was blind to many things, was
blinded to others, was too trustful OF
some of his advisers, and was at
tempting to run the whole admlnlS-
tration on a military plan
Horace Greeley raised the flag of
revolt in the Tribune. Charles Sum
ner another chieftain of the anti
slavery agitators, joined IN: Casslus
M. Clay, of Kentucky, and Hinton II.
Helper, aof North Carolina, the pre-
mier southern abolitionists and Re-
publicans, followed the new depar-
lure" The movement was crystal
lized by the merging Of party lines IN
Missouri in an effort to gain com
plete amnesty for Confederate sol.
diers in that state. The Missouri
leaders issued a call for a national
convention to meet at Cincinnati.
Gathering of the GREAT
When the Liberal Republican"
natl on May /, the country believed
it faced a political crisis. The per-
sonnet of the convention was ex-
tremely able. Few political gather
showed SO many famous names on
the roster. Carl Schurz was perma-
nent chairman and he made the
speech of party revolution. The
leading candidate at first was Charles
Francis Adams, of Massachusetts.
then Lyman Trumbull, of Illinois;
B. Gratz Brown, of Missouri: David
Davis, of Illinois; Andrew G. Cur
tin, ofs Pennsylvania, and the per-
ennial Salmon P. Chase.
Greeley was nominated on the
Missouri, was chosen for second
place on the ticket. Greeley was the
founder and editor of the Tribune
and the most eminent newspaper
man in the country. Brown had
risen to prominence as the editor Of
the st. Louis Democrat, since con-
solidated with the Globe to form the
Globe-Democrat. 1t is the only in
stance that a national ticket was
named composed exclusively of jour
nalsts.
Newspapers of great influence raj
lied to Greeley's support. Dana, of
the Sun, and Bennett, of the Herald.
battled for him in New York. Henry
Watterson, today the only survivor
of that era of journalistic giants,
was in the very thick of the battle
for Greeley and reform: Alexander
uel Bowles, Of the Springfield Repub-
lcan; Horace White, of the Chicago
Tribune; Frank Leslie and scores of
others were declaring the election of
Greeley and the defeat of Grant nee
essary to save the republic. SO bit
administration that the press did not
hesitate to take up Jere Blacks
statement that no tyranny was so
bad as that of republic thoroughly
rotten"
Gree1ey's Nomination
The Democrats met in Baltimore
on July 9. Thomas Jefferson Ran
dolph, grandson of the founder of
the party, was chairman. The Gin
cinnati Liberal Republican platform
was adopted without the change of
a word, and Greeley and Brown were
Endorsed and nominated as the reg
ular Democratic candidates. Thomas
w. Voorhees,, of Indiana, voiced a
feeble protest, but in vain. The pol
iticians believed that it was the gol-
den opportunity to kill the Republi-
can organization and they seized it,
Horace Greeley formally accepted
the Democratic nomination. Greeley.
who had hated Jackson, despised
Van Buren,, scorned Polk, damned
Pierce and Buchanan and Douglas;
Greeley, the abolitionist; Greeley, the
protectionist; Greeley, the Prohibi
tinist; Greeley, the woman's suffra-
gist: Horace Greeley was the candi-
date of the Democratic party for
president. But Democrats all over
the union remembered the bitter
things Greeley had said about them.
The Republican orators helped them
to remember. They did not remem-
Der to vote.
In July, or perhaps as late as Au-
gust, it seemed certain that the
Democratic-LiberaI coalition would