Beschreibung:

GRANT, Ulysses S. Autograph letter signed ("U.S. Grant") as President, to Postmaster General John A. Creswell (1828-1891), Washington, 24 June 1874. 1¾ pages, 4to (9¾ x 7 11/16 in.), Executive Mansion stationery, boldly penned on rectos only of two sheets, first page with imprinted heading "Executive Mansion," imperceptible mat-burn . [With:] CRESSWELL, John A. Autograph letter signed to Grant, Washington, 24 June 1874. 2 pages, 4to . GRANT ACCEPTS THE RESIGNATION OF POSTMASTER GENERAL CRESWELL: "THE LAST OF THE ORIGINAL MEMBERS OF THE CABINET NAMED BY ME" An excellent Grant letter as President, accepting the resignation of a member of his first-term cabinet and expressing high regard for the Postmaster General. Creswell had proven himself one of Grant's most efficient and reliable administrators despite initial concerns about his Radical Republican background. During his tenure, he improved the mail service and initiated changes that made the system less expensive, but after five years in office, Creswell decided to resign, possibly reflecting his concern about the scandals that had rocked the Grant administration. In his June 24 letter, he explains to Grant that "I am constrained by a proper regard for my private interests to resign the office of Postmaster General" but he thanks Grant for the opportunity to serve: "I shall not attempt to express the full measure of my gratitude." Grant's response to Creswell reflects the President's sense of loss: "when you tendered your resignation of the office of Postmaster General, it is with the deepest regret to me that you should have felt such a course necessary. You are the last of the original members of the Cabinet named by me as I was entering upon my present duties, and it makes me feel as if old associations were being broken up that I had hoped might be continued through my official life." Grant expresses his hope that he will find an equal to replace Creswell: "In separating officially I have but two hopes to express: First, that I may get a successor who will be as faithful and efficient in the performance of the duties of the office you resign; second, a personal friend that I can have the same attachment for." He concludes: "Your record has been satisfactory to me and I know it will so prove to the country 'at large'." After Creswell's departure, three other men would serve as Postmaster General before Grant's troubled presidency ended two and a half years later. As president, Grant wrote relatively few letters and of those, most are brief, and of mundane content. This is one of the few interesting Presidential letters offered in recent years.