Letter from Oliver Johnson, New York, [N.Y.], to William Lloyd Garrison, Jan[uary] 17, 1873

Oliver Johnson assures William Lloyd Garrison that he should not want for "liberal offers" for the publication rights to his autobiography should he choose to undertake the work, and advises him to consult a selection of quality autobiographical works so as to capture "something of their spirit and style" prior to commencing the writing of his own. Johnson defends his previous declaration of criticism of Garrison's positions on Horace Greeley, arguing that Greeley no more represented the "incarceration of the spirit of American compromise" than many of the figures routinely praised by Garrison, including Giddings, Lincoln, Wilson, and Sumner. Johnson elaborates on the nature of Greeley's opposition to compromise as relayed by Garrison, offering several examples from American political history.
Courtesy of Boston Public Library