CHAPTER I
DECEMBER 1865–APRIL 1866

The correspondence in this chapter documents Olmsted’s role as associate editor of the Nation. The letters to Charles Eliot Norton reveal Olmsted’s aspirations for that journal and its editor, E. L. Godkin. They also cast light on Olmsted’s relationship with stockholders and potential contributors. Particularly notable is the assessment of James Russell Lowell contained in the letter of January 12, 1866.

Education is another important theme in these writings. The letter to Henry Lee, Jr., illustrates some of the changes in military education that Olmsted advocated, while that of April 26, 1866, to Charles Eliot Norton compellingly expresses Olmsted’s hope that the Morrill Act establishing agricultural and industrial colleges would promote the democratization of institutions of higher learning. These letters are the first formulation of many of the ideas Olmsted would develop more fully as he was given the opportunity to design college campuses.