Horace Greeley was the founder and editor of the New York Tribune, probably the nation’s most influential newspaper in an era when most journals were either political “organs” or scandal sheets. Known familiarly as “Old Honesty,” Greeley was respected and trusted by readers who knew that he would always say exactly what he thought. He was also noted for the progressive causes he championed, such as women’s rights, labor unions, and opposition to slavery.

Opposition to slavery was undoubtedly the most important cause that Greeley embraced. Like most Americans in the North, he was at first willing to compromise on the issue, allowing slavery to continue where it was already legal, but opposing its further extension. He became a founder of the Republican Party and was decisively influential in the nomination and election of Lincoln. During the Civil War, like Lincoln, he came to accept that the restoration of the Union required complete abolition, and following the Union victory he strongly supported the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution.

In 1872, a breakaway faction of the Republican Party, the Liberal Republicans, selected Greeley as their candidate to oppose the reelection of President Grant, whose administration had been tainted by repeated scandals. The Democratic Party chose Greeley as well. But this coalition failed to win majority support, and Greeley was defeated in all but six states.

The end of the campaign was marked by a triple personal tragedy for Greeley. First, his wife, Mary, died a week before the election, following several years of chronic illness. Second, he suffered the humiliation of the decisive defeat in the election, although he was deeply relieved that the bitterly personal campaign was over. Third, and most crucially, he discovered when he returned to work at the Tribune that he had sold so many of its shares that he was no longer in control. He collapsed, mentally and physically, and died on November 29, at the age of 61.