Excerpt from Memoirs of James Gordon Bennett and His Times The author of these pages has sought no person's coun sel upon his theme or its mode of treatment. Neither Mr. Bennett, nor any one connected with him, has been consulted, either directly or indirectly, with respect to the writing or publication of these Memoirs. In truth, the execution of the work is a spontaneous act of literary justice, which it is hoped will carry along with it internal evidence of this fact, and not a few valuable lessons. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This is a biography of Bennett, the founder, editor and publisher of the New York Herald. After many failed attempts at starting a newspaper, Bennett began the Herald in May 1835. Bennett was known for a lot of journalism "firsts," including the pay-in-advance policy for advertisers, adding illustrations produced from woodcuts, and, in 1839, being granted the first exclusive interview with a United States President, Martin Van Buren. While the Herald was officially independent in its politics, Bennett endorsed William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, James K. Polk, Franklin Pierce, and John C. Frémont. He supported James Buchanan as tensions rose over slavery and endorsed John C. Breckinridge for the 1860 presidential campaign, then shifted to John Bell. He promoted George B. McClellan in 1864. Bennett favored the Union, although he opposed Abraham Lincoln, he later took the lead to turn the president into a martyr after his assassination. He favored most of Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction proposals. By the time Bennett turned control of the Herald over to his son James Jr. in 1866, it had the highest circulation in America. However, under the younger Bennetts' stewardship, the paper declined, and, after his death, it was merged with the New York Tribune.