Basic Information
Name: Horace Greeley
Nickname: Horace "Go West" Greeley
Born: February 3, 1811
Died: November 29, 1872
Nationality: American
Hometown: Amherst, New Hampshire
WORK & EDUCATION
Occupation: Editor of the New York Tribune, Congressman
Education: Local schools all over the place, apprentice to Amos Bliss of the Northern Spectator
FAMILY & FRIENDS
Parents: Zaccheus Greeley, Mary Greeley
Siblings: Unknown
Spouse: Mary Cheney Greeley
Children: Unknown
Friends: George Henry Evans
Foes: William Seward
Analysis
"Go West, young man!"
We're willing to bet you've heard this line. It's pretty crazy-inspiring. It's pithy. It's a great way to respond to a tourist asking directions on the street. And pop culture (the Village People, the Marx Brothers, etc.) continues to reference it, misquote it, and allude to it.
But what does it actually mean…and how does it relate to the Homestead Act?
The whole quote is "Go West, young man, and grow up with the country." We have no idea who actually said it first—maybe it was by the great poet Anonymous—but you can bet Horace Greeley used it a lot in his newspaper.
Because who doesn’t love a snappy catchphrase?
Greeley was a strong, and loud, supporter of settling the western territories. He was also rabid about emancipation and soft Reconstruction policies that didn’t punish the former Confederacy. Those might seem like polar opposite positions, but Greeley stuck to his six-shooters.
In fact, he bailed Confederate President Jefferson Davis out of jail, so that shows which side he finally came down on. (More Shmoopy details on Greeley here.)
While he didn’t have a whole lot to do with the Homestead Act himself, you can bet your boots (and your mule, and your covered wagon) that it helped having a powerful newspaper editor backing the idea.