Henry Raymond stepped into New York journalism at a time when newspapers, screaming socialism from one sector and sensationalism from another, needed the pen of an adroit political observer and a voice of reasoned moderation. Raymond's ambition, however, carried beyond the editor's desk into the political forum itself. Though he was often accused of wavering on specific legislation, Raymond's firm commitment to Republican principles eventually cost him all political influence, though he held the reigns of editorial leadership until his early death.

Henry Jarvis Raymond was born in Lima, New York, the eldest child of a farming family, and one of only three of Jarvis and Lavinia Brockway Raymond's six children to live past infancy. Raymond gave early evidence of superior intellectual skills: it is said that he could read by the age of three and deliver speeches when he was five. He enrolled at age twelve in...