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Louisville,
Octo. 17th 18661
My dear Mr Whitman;
Herewith you will three dollars, the price of the copy of Leaves of Grass2
which I have just received—I am greatly obliged
for this copy, but still more thankful to you for having written the Book.3 I know that the narrow minded of this world will
depreciate & condemn it,—let your consolation be that the world is growing
& will at last appreciate the great thoughts contained in it—
You say that every thing is going on in the office4 as
when I left—Have you not received a permanent place? I have deeply loc.01894.002_large.jpg regretted the
fact, that I did not know your place to be temporary till after my
resignation—I most earnestly desired Mr. Stanbery5 to give
you an office—
It is very agreeable to receive much kind remembrances from the gentlemen in the
office—I am sure that I have not more of their esteem and love than they have
of mine— Bee good enough to say so to them—
I will deliver your message to Charley6—He is hard at work
in a drug store with a very sore eye from careless handling of some acid—
The late elections in the Northern States 7 have loc.01894.003_large.jpg made a profound
& I trust an improving impression in Ky—
With kindness and friendship
I am most truly
James Speed
Walt Whitman, Esq.
Washington
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from James Speed
Oct. 17, 1866
Correspondent:
James Speed (1812–1887), was appointed
attorney general by Abraham Lincoln in 1864. He continued to serve during Andrew
Johnson's presidency, but resigned in July 1866, due to his opposition to Johnson's
Reconstruction policies.
Notes
- 1. This letter is addressed:
Walt Whitman | Atty gnral's office | Washington— It is postmarked:
LOUISVILLE | OCT | 17 | [illegible] |
KY.; DUE | 3; CARRIER | OCT | 19 | 7 P.M. [back]
- 2. The fourth edition of Leaves of Grass (1867) was issued by the New
York printer William E. Chapin. Often called the "workshop" edition, the volume
consisted of four separately paginated books stitched together (an edited
version of the 1860 Leaves of Grass, reissues of Drum-Taps and Sequel to Drum-Taps,
and a coda called Songs Before Parting) between two
covers. For more on the fourth edition, see Luke Mancuso, "Leaves of Grass, 1867 edition," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and
Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 3. Whitman had recently
sent a copy
of his new edition of Leaves of Grass
to the former Attorney General. See Whitman's letter to James Speed of October 13, 1866, in which Whitman requests three
dollars for the book. [back]
- 4. Whitman began working in the
Attorney General's office at the beginning of July 1865, during James Speed's
time as Attorney General. At the time of writing this letter, Speed had already resigned
his position in protest of President Andrew Johnson's
Reconstruction politics. Whitman remained at the Attorney General's office until
1872. [back]
- 5. Henry Stanbery
(1803–1881) was appointed Attorney General on July 23, 1866, and served
until March 12, 1868, when he resigned to serve as President Johnson's chief
counsel in the impeachment proceedings. When, at the conclusion of the trial,
Johnson renominated Stanbery, the Senate refused to confirm him. Failing
eyesight—to which Whitman referred in letters from November 13, 1866, and November 20,
1866—forced Stanbery to retire from legal practice in 1878.
Speaking to Horace Traubel in 1888, Whitman affirmed his fondness for Stanbery
(Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Friday, Novmeber 23, 1888). [back]
- 6. As yet we have no information about
this person. [back]
- 7. In the 1866 elections, Republicans gained thirty-seven seats
in the House of Representatives, with the Democrats losing nine. The Republicans
gained a clear majority in the House, holding 173 seats to the Democrats' 47.
With fellow border states Delaware and Maryland, Kentucky was one of only three
states to elect Democratic representatives; Democratic failure in the election
was due in no small part to the rise of Reconstruction politics and the waning
popularity of President Andrew Johnson, who stumped for several Democratic
nominees in the "Swing Around the Circle" speaking tour. [back]