Hooker, Joseph (1814-1879) to Aaron F. Perry
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02310 Author/Creator: Hooker, Joseph (1814-1879) Place Written: Brevoort House, New York Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 21 October 1870 Pagination: 6 p. ; 20.6 x 12.5 cm. Order a Copy
Congratulates Perry on winning his Congressional election and praises him as "honest, true, and capable." Declares, "I have always been for a free tariff, and I believe that that is all the country requires now, to fulfil its mission. My idea of government is, that that is the best one, which has the fewest officers, morally, and physically. The evil of evils of the present day is the desire for office. It is degrading our people and our nation." Comments negatively upon President Ulysses S. Grant's administration, particularly on the President's unfair treatment of Secretary of the Interior Jacob D. Cox. Suspects that Secretary of the Treasury George S. Boutwell will be Grant's next victim, but declares him "incorruptible": "It is said he is becoming too prominent to suit Grant in the discharge of his duties." Recounts a story about Simon Cameron's corruption during the Civil War and talks about how Cameron has become Grant's chief advisor. Declares, "I do hope our next President, may possess ordinary information, and at least may have the instincts of a gentleman."
Joseph Hooker was a Major General in the Union Army during the Civil War. Aaron F. Perry was a Congressman from Cincinnati, Ohio. Simon Cameron was a Secretary of War under Lincoln before being forced to resign due to corruption in 1862.
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