|
The July 13, 1872 issue of Harper’s Weekly contains a small Nast plate
in the supplement after the end of the regular section. It shows Greeley
hunched over a steaming bowl of “My Own Words and Deeds,” doing his best to
choke them down. Although there is no direct evidence, it seems likely that
Nast availed himself of the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee’s file
of Greeley’s speeches and writings. Organized by Senators James Edmunds and
Zachariah Chandler, up to 300 staff members and funds of $30,000 were allocated
toward searching through 30 years of Greeley materials to find the former
editor’s inflammatory statements and frequent self-contradictions. The
Edmunds-Chandler task force adopted the technique of the modern press agent,
publishing a monthly magazine and a pamphlet called “The Greeley Record,” as
well as distributing a “clip sheet” of damning information to newspapers across
the country. |
|
Home
Background: 1859 - 1871
