the Astor House to get a good night’s sleep, but Lincoln left his hotel and walked across the street to the Tribune office. He stayed until the wee hours, editing the text of his speech for the morning edition. Witnesses say he compared the typeset speech against a handwritten foolscap copy. Many newspapers printed the speech, but only Greeley’s Tribune had the privilege of being edited by the author. Many variations appeared in broadsides and books during the campaign, and they all had slight variations. Patricia wants to compare my manuscript with the most authoritative source, which she undoubtedly has preloaded onto her laptop.”
“ Greeley? Professor Baldwin mentioned him.”
“ Professor Baldwin? I would’ve thought you two would be on a first-name basis by now.”
“ I’m trying to get her to use my first name but only because I don’t like the way she says ‘Commander.’ The professor thinks I work for the Gestapo.”
“ She was raised by a couple of heavy establishment types, rich but progressive nonetheless. Something rubbed off, I suppose.”
“ That explains her dress.”
“ Her dress? She couldn’t dress more conservatively.”
“ I didn’t mean the progressive part—I meant the rich part. Her clothing and accessories would make your female neighbors envious.”
Douglass laughed. “Yes, indeed. Patricia is a good person, but she has her frailties. Vanity among them. Unfortunately, it affects her research. Too damn smart for her own good, but she’s right that Greeley was a player in this drama. He helped found the Republican Party. By all opinions, William Henry Seward should have grabbed the Republican nomination for president in 1860. Greeley hated him for past transgressions and believed an ardent abolitionist could never win, so he supported a series of New York speeches by other Republicans, Lincoln included.”
“ Were Greeley and Lincoln allies?”
“ Depended on the month and the year … and possibly the phase of the moon with Greeley. The man rode political issues like a teeter-totter. Lincoln and Greeley were probably too similar to get along for an extended period. Both had desperately poor upbringings with little formal education, each passionately approached politics with unbridled ambition and a craftiness that would make Machiavelli proud, and they both used the English language with the finesse of a master. Greeley helped set up and publicize the series of lectures, but he thought Lincoln was a lightweight, and Lincoln held a grudge against Greeley for supporting Douglas for the Illinois Senate seat.”
“ Douglas? I thought he was a Democrat.”
“ Right you are, Greg.” Douglass chuckled. “Greeley had this grand idea that Stephen Douglas had so pissed off Southern Democrats that the party would split into warring factions if Douglas won the nomination for president. To secure the 1860 Democratic presidential nomination, Douglas had to win the 1858 Senate race, so Greeley went against his party and supported Douglas against Lincoln.”
Douglass chuckled again. “Greeley’s strategy worked. The collapse of the Democratic Party made Lincoln president, but Lincoln kept a wary eye on Greeley for the rest of his life, despite Greeley’s ardent support for him after the Cooper Union address.”
“ Baldwin said the Cooper Union speech made Lincoln president.”
“ Well, it gave him the chance to become president. Prior to that, he was just another interesting regional politician. He developed a national reputation in the race against Senator Douglas, but during the debates he became renowned as a rube that entertained ignorant farmers with humorous stories. He also didn’t appeal to the radical abolitionist wing of the party, because he repeatedly promised not to interfere with slavery where it already existed.”
“ The professor says he was a racist.”
“ A seismic fault in her reasoning.” Douglass went into one of his brief reveries before
“ Greeley? Professor Baldwin mentioned him.”
“ Professor Baldwin? I would’ve thought you two would be on a first-name basis by now.”
“ I’m trying to get her to use my first name but only because I don’t like the way she says ‘Commander.’ The professor thinks I work for the Gestapo.”
“ She was raised by a couple of heavy establishment types, rich but progressive nonetheless. Something rubbed off, I suppose.”
“ That explains her dress.”
“ Her dress? She couldn’t dress more conservatively.”
“ I didn’t mean the progressive part—I meant the rich part. Her clothing and accessories would make your female neighbors envious.”
Douglass laughed. “Yes, indeed. Patricia is a good person, but she has her frailties. Vanity among them. Unfortunately, it affects her research. Too damn smart for her own good, but she’s right that Greeley was a player in this drama. He helped found the Republican Party. By all opinions, William Henry Seward should have grabbed the Republican nomination for president in 1860. Greeley hated him for past transgressions and believed an ardent abolitionist could never win, so he supported a series of New York speeches by other Republicans, Lincoln included.”
“ Were Greeley and Lincoln allies?”
“ Depended on the month and the year … and possibly the phase of the moon with Greeley. The man rode political issues like a teeter-totter. Lincoln and Greeley were probably too similar to get along for an extended period. Both had desperately poor upbringings with little formal education, each passionately approached politics with unbridled ambition and a craftiness that would make Machiavelli proud, and they both used the English language with the finesse of a master. Greeley helped set up and publicize the series of lectures, but he thought Lincoln was a lightweight, and Lincoln held a grudge against Greeley for supporting Douglas for the Illinois Senate seat.”
“ Douglas? I thought he was a Democrat.”
“ Right you are, Greg.” Douglass chuckled. “Greeley had this grand idea that Stephen Douglas had so pissed off Southern Democrats that the party would split into warring factions if Douglas won the nomination for president. To secure the 1860 Democratic presidential nomination, Douglas had to win the 1858 Senate race, so Greeley went against his party and supported Douglas against Lincoln.”
Douglass chuckled again. “Greeley’s strategy worked. The collapse of the Democratic Party made Lincoln president, but Lincoln kept a wary eye on Greeley for the rest of his life, despite Greeley’s ardent support for him after the Cooper Union address.”
“ Baldwin said the Cooper Union speech made Lincoln president.”
“ Well, it gave him the chance to become president. Prior to that, he was just another interesting regional politician. He developed a national reputation in the race against Senator Douglas, but during the debates he became renowned as a rube that entertained ignorant farmers with humorous stories. He also didn’t appeal to the radical abolitionist wing of the party, because he repeatedly promised not to interfere with slavery where it already existed.”
“ The professor says he was a racist.”
“ A seismic fault in her reasoning.” Douglass went into one of his brief reveries before
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