SOURCE: Crowley, Frances G. “Sarmiento, the Publicist.” In Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, pp. 106-28. New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1972.

[In the following essay, Crowley argues that early examples of social and political promotional strategies exist in Sarmiento's works.]

Sarmiento was a born publicist, aided by those two essentials dear to Hyppolite Taine, the historical moment and the opportunity. It is ironic that his exile in Chile proved to be of immense value for his later development, for his adoptive country was at the time culturally better equipped than his own to partake of his personal and political drama. Its presidential candidate Montt was to become a close personal friend of our author, a solid backer and teacher, eminently endowed with the art of gentle persuasion. When Sarmiento arrived in Chile, he was rough from years of battling and raw feuding. Friends like Montt and some of his fellow journalists taught him the need for finesse, a quality he never completely acquired.

The historical moment which helped Sarmiento achieve the status of political spokesman, the cause which transformed an everyday reporter into a maker of presidents was the dictatorship of Rosas. Our author's opponent Juan Bautista Alberdi accused him of waging war against tyranny in each of his works, even after it had been overcome. Sarmiento was ready to admit this. To him a man was as good as his cause and his cause lasted forever. Perhaps therein lies the strength and weakness of his whole concept of writing. During the battles against Rosas, when courage and the heroism of a few were needed to inspire the many, during the battle of Caseros when unification was of the essence, in the United States where history was in the making, a vigorous, forward-looking outlook could not help but promote the Sarmiento ideology and build for him the image of a great innovator. For this reason, Campaign of the Great Army, The Hundred and One, Both Americas, and above all, his personal correspondence belong to the best and foremost examples of political and social publicity of the period preceding the formulation of modern advertising techniques. A grateful nation will elect him president, after reading his articles and publications. However, the same nation will temporarily abandon him to listen to other young voices, tired of seeing him fight Rosas after Rosas no longer exists, for what to others is a presence to Sarmiento is a symbol. Freedom is not attained by wearing a red belt, nor by obeying a dictator's orders, but by waging war with the pen and the sword, the only guarantees of liberty, which it behooves the free man to protect forever. The works of this chapter represent a successful campaign for change. Important for its impact on the population and because it records his activities against Rosas is Campaign of the Great Army.

I CAMPAIGN OF THE GREAT ARMY

Campaign of the Great Army records Sarmiento's personal reactions towards the power struggle of the post-Rosas period, as well as his official bulletins directed at the population. Of interest is the contrast between his private and public opinions. When Sarmiento returned with many other refugees from Chile, he was filled with enthusiasm. The battle seemed won, Rosas had lost his prestige, and Urquiza's armies were taking over. Urquiza to many was the man of the moment, the only one capable of stabilizing a country of many divided interests, which for years had been ruled by an iron fist. As our author came to know the general better throughout 1853, as he marched with the armies to Caseros, as he was to see the crowning moment of his aspirations approach, when a beaten Rosas would leave the country and choose the path of exile, he found that not much had been won, because he saw Urquiza as another less impressive but equally menacing Rosas. What worried him most was that none of his friends seemed to be aware of the similarities, that they thought the conflict was caused by jealousy and the contempt of an army man for one with a more literary bent. The truth may well lie somewhere in the middle.

Among the problems which his country must solve to establish itself more competitively on the Latin-American market is a drastic reduction of levies and punitive taxes on agricultural products. A mule hauling produce from Argentina to Bolivia costs more than its worth in excises. Sarmiento is also concerned with questions of freedom and individual liberty. In a letter to the British diplomat Mr. Southern Sarmiento expresses the hope that Urquiza will honor the ways of freedom, the right of “habeas corpus” and the will of the people. In the publication South America, under dateline of April 17, 1851, Sarmiento is optimistic, “The Argentine republic has at last found its man … General Urquiza's call to arms shall find a tremendous clamor in his support.”¹ In a letter to Sarmiento of June 23, 1851, Urquiza is confident that a peaceful settlement can be reached. However, the motto, “Long live the republic! May the enemies of the national organization perish!” (p. 31) is far from conciliatory.

Revolutionary leaders writing in the same magazine are concerned over repeated incidents of expediency prevailing over liberty. Among those so concerned are José María Paz and Sarmiento's former fellow student Rawson, who is especially anxious about the growing power of Benavídez. The voices of concern raised here and there across the land are silenced by the firm faith of the many in Argentina and abroad who are certain that Urquiza is the best man for the job. The emperor of Brazil is ready to support him against Rosas. This support is especially reassuring to Sarmiento and helps to dispel his rising personal doubts, because the young monarch is one of the admirers who likes his works.

Of political significance in the light of later events is the book's dedication to the lawyer, writer, and patriot, Juan Bautista Alberdi. In this dedication, dated November 12, 1852, Sarmiento praises Urquiza and Alberdi. Significant also is the author's reference to a mutual agreement not to discuss their correspondence, nor to refer to current problems. Alberdi's later denials of the existence of any such agreement make the reader wonder about the people and the times.

The letters from Montevideo show that circumstances were chaotic. Refugees from Chile were pouring in without knowing whether they would be welcome, uncertain as to who was in charge. Their delight was immediate when they discovered that Urquiza had complete control.

The emotions of those days surpass every description. … In defiance of orders, the population came out in mass. … When the election returns were announced they began touching themselves to prove they were awake.

(p. 85)

Rosas had ceased to exist as a political power. At long last the day of liberation had come for the refugees and with it the problems of readjustment.

Not unlike his fellow refugees, Sarmiento was to find what should have been a triumphal return to the forces of liberation less than easy. His problem was Urquiza. Or perhaps his problem was Purvis, Urquiza's massive hound, whom the general kept for protection and who had the ominous reputation of biting all approaching outsiders. In view of the fact that Purvis had even taken a bite at the general's own son, Sarmiento's assignment as public relations specialist of the Great Army was complicated by the need to establish improved canine relations. His friend Paz, well aware of the situation about which he had learned from experience, greeted Sarmiento on his return to Buenos Aires with an amused, “Didn't Purvis, the hound, bite you?” The author's repartee was immediate, “You see me here, because he could not bite me. I held the point of my lance between him and me.” (p. 100)

Most of Sarmiento's friends were aware of his true feelings for Urquiza, whose actions he viewed with ill-concealed distrust. Dr. Alsina, concerned lest his outlook be noticed, urged the journalist from San Juan to work with the general, ignore Purvis, and pretend a friendship he might be far from feeling. López was waiting for him at home, ready to urge caution. His friends encouraged Sarmiento to accept the assignment with the Great Army and to follow it to Entre Ríos. Urquiza was thus assured of Sarmiento's backing and that of other good men, such as Andrés Lamas, the Argentine representative in Brazil, with whose help he was able to bring Oribe to terms and gain valuable ground in his struggle against Rosas.

Sarmiento is delighted by his Entre Ríos assignment. He compares the territory to the German Rhineland. He is especially attracted by the beauty of the island of Calypso, which he hopes will someday be his home. “The Plata is so wide and majestic” (p. 121), he exclaims joyfully, as he passes Martin García on his way to advancing armies. He sees the goals espoused in Argirópolis close at hand, because a few miles ahead the same Urquiza, to whom he has dedicated his book, is about to defeat Rosas.

It takes only one encounter with the general to dampen the enthusiasm aroused by the splendor of the surrounding scenery. He finds him self-centered: “It was necessary to reduce oneself to zero in his presence.” (p. 121) To Sarmiento this was slow death. “It was essential not to have ever thought, done, or said anything in his presence that did not come from him, that was not inspired, directly or indirectly, through mediation or without it, by him.” (p. 26) It surprised and dismayed the author of Facundo to find his information and suggestions interrupted by a casual, “Yes, I said it, I saw it, I did it.” Sarmiento admits having praised the general “with a modesty that isn't mine.” (p. 126) Well aware of his limitations as a modest man, the author found himself swimming under water.

No one knows, no one can ever appreciate the tortures I suffered, the self-control I had to impose upon myself to reconcile my will with that man's. It cost me an effort to speak to him, to point out how his interests could best be served …

(p. 127)

Urquiza's patience was sorely tried by his employee's failure to don a red belt, the wearing of which to him and to many was a symbol of Rosasism.

In spite of Urquiza's obvious distrust for the patriot from San Juan, the general, nonetheless, offered him the position of chief of press relations, with the specific assignment of writing daily bulletins and press releases. Sarmiento was happy to accept the assignment. In it he performed so well that he could be called Latin America's first and foremost public relations man. This earned him the praise of his friends, the condescension of his enemies, and, at times, the vituperation of both.

After a preface in which he questions Urquiza's judgment, Sarmiento introduces the bulletins and army communiqués in which he praises it. The first newsletter hails from general headquarters at Diamante. Dated December 11, 1851, it stresses Rosas' weaknesses, the demoralization of his troops, and the fact that an ever-increasing number of men is defecting to the ranks of the Great Army. Such tactics could not fail to attract men in ever larger quantities.

The third bulletin, dated Christmas Day, depicts Urquiza's crossing of the Paraná and the simultaneous surrender of Santa Fe and Rosario. In his conclusion Sarmiento cannot resist the opportunity of patting himself on the back.

I embark on the Blanco with my pamphlet—printing press which, balanced upon the river, had already issued six bulletins, some of which at Pillado's request bear the dateline “on board the steamer ‘Uruguay.’”

(p. 157)

The fourth bulletin of the same day starts with a victorious, “Events are precipitating. The flag of liberation flutters already over the towers of Santa Fe.” (p. 158)

On the way down the river to Rosario, Sarmiento saw for the first time the Pampa he had described in Facundo. Finding it so similar to what he had imagined it to be, he began running along it, like a boy in the wake of a discovery. In the course of the same trip he encountered six unknown riders from Rosario. When he asked them where he could put up the government presses, they inquired whether he was Mr. Sarmiento. At his affirmative answer, they doffed their hats, changing from an … indifferent countenance to one of manifest sympathy and enthusiasm.” (p. 159) They promised to take care of everything. Their word was well kept, as the next day he was greeted by Rosario's leading citizens. They reassured him that Argirópolis was well known among them and that his “gazette” was read by every man in the army. They considered it Rosas' worst enemy. Sarmiento happily sped on to his general, eluding the watchful dog Purvis, and was complimented for his work. Their relations were cordial, as Sarmiento juggled the figures of men fighting on either side to confuse Rosas, even while Urquiza teased him for his stiff European uniform with French kepi, rain gear, and tent, which in the long run proved to be of advantage to the publicist and his presses.

Not everything was war, however. Urquiza loved to dance and have parties. During one of these, as the populace was looking forward to Urquiza's arrival, Sarmiento was greeted by shouts of “Long live Colonel Urquiza, the liberator of the Argentine federation! Long live Colonel Sarmiento, Rosario's friend, the defender of the people's rights!” (p. 163)

This sudden demonstration filled Sarmiento with delight. He exuberantly thanked his admirers and celebrated with them. His happiness was to be short-lived, as the very next day he was to hear ominous rumors concerning him and the duration of his job. The general was furious at his nerve in accepting the ovation as his personal tribute, and the publicist hastened to explain that he had done his utmost to promote good public relations for the anti-Rosas forces. Urquiza was not easily moved. Still angry, he withheld authorization for a cart to transport the presses. Sarmiento found himself forced to send his friend Albarracín to headquarters with another message of apology. Reluctantly, the general granted his authorization for the cart. Sarmiento's problems had only begun. After a stormy meeting with Urquiza and his hound Purvis, whom he dreaded more than the general, he was told that the twelfth bulletin was not to be issued. The pamphleteer went home and did a public relations job worthy of the twentieth century. He added a paragraph in praise of Urquiza's sweeping takeover of Rosas' forces and his desire to reorganize and aggrandize the republic without seizure of cattle and property. Urquiza, who a few hours before refused publication with a decisive

“No, that will not be published, because it ridicules me as head of the Army,”

now is impressed and allows the release of the bulletin. (p. 168)

For a public relations man, Sarmiento was not always tolerant of the opinions of others. He was unwilling to consider the general's concern for the secrecy of certain transactions. In a civil war the untimely release of classified news, such as the defection of Aquino's soldiers and their plundering of the civilian population, could have had disastrous effects upon the campaign. However, in fairness to Sarmiento, it may be added that Urquiza was glad to be rid of Aquino, that he was referring to Rosas as a savage Unitarian, and that at times when referring to Unitarians he was looking pointedly at the fiery campaigner from San Juan.

By January First, the Great Army had already occupied the western shore of the Paraná and Sarmiento could proclaim, “the fall of the tyrant is an accomplished fact.” (p. 187) Such a statement in the ninth bulletin is followed by an inaccurate count of Rosas' forces in the tenth with the intimation that the dictator was telling the truth when he declared himself ready to resign thirty-six times, but that a battle was necessary to make him do it. This inflammatory oratory against Rosas prepared the people to receive Urquiza with favor. Indeed, it proved most effective, as army contingents surrendered to the Urquiza forces daily, encouraged by Sarmiento's fiery oratory.

Soldiers of the Great Army! Beneath the torrential rains, or amid the camp fires, whether burned by the January sun, or defying the storm's lightning, let “On to Palermo” be our war cry. On to Palermo!

(p. 198)

The message hails from “the pamphlet-printing presses of the Great Army, as it marches on.” (p. 198)

Sarmiento's style soars, even as his spirits rise. He is not far from home. “The road to San Juan, if I could only follow it to the east, to my family and my home. I could get there in two weeks …” (p. 201) His is the serviceman's recurring, sweet, impossible dream, as the troops move on through the Pampas which, viewed at night, inspire “a certain solemn majesty that seduces and attracts, imposing fear and sadness.” (p. 201)

The tides of the war are turning. Urquiza and his fellow general Virasoro have issued new orders according to which Rosas' defectors are no longer to be wooed and incorporated into the Great Army, but are instead to be immediately disarmed and sent home The eighteenth bulletin announces the arrival of Urquiza's army of liberation. The next report is marked “sixteenth day.” A diary ensues, showing Sarmiento's daily reactions to his environment. On the seventeenth day, the author deplores the lack of population between Santa Fe and Buenos Aires. What a territory for his colonies of workers that could be! The eighteenth day marks the passing of the Rubicon, symbolized by the Great Army's arrival in Buenos Aires. The blue flag flies over the city.

During this period of general rejoicing, Sarmiento has difficulties with his press releases. Urquiza has caught Sarmiento deliberately juggling with numbers of recruits. (Sarmiento changed numbers whenever convenient for propaganda purposes.) He is reluctant to give credit where credit is due. On seeing certain people eulogized in bulletins and reports, the general is downright angry, exploding that all Unitarians form a mutual admiration society. When Sarmiento looks chagrined, he softens the blow by adding, “Oh, I don't say it to offend you, man! I am your friend. I told everyone that you are an honored patriot. I like you very much.” (p. 232) The ambitious publicist is moved, that is, until a half hour later, when one of the chiefs comes by and tells him that the general has just referred to him, exclaiming, “There is the pamphleteer, writing whatever goes through his head. Those savage Unitarians aren't worth a dime.” (p. 232) Another visitor is told, “Give the pamphleteer a big hug. In case you don't know who he is, his name is Mr. Sarmiento.” (p. 232) This might well be Urquiza's idea of a joke, but Sarmiento is in no mood for it.

The battle of Caseros represents Rosas' last stand. The dictator's house has finally been taken over, more than a hundred men have given their lives, and the country has been liberated. As he writes about the event, Sarmiento seems rather casual, although later he will often refer to his bravery at Caseros and his role in its liberation. However, in his notes for the third day, he admits having worked with Mitre to make up the twenty-sixth bulletin, “a most interesting novel, which we had the honor to compose.” (p. 236) He adds that he did not participate in the action, except that toward the end he went to hunt for cavalry men he never managed to find.

It is in discrepancies like the above that Sarmiento's enemies find a credibility gap between the younger writer, amused at the nonexistent exploits of a minor campaign, and the older Sarmiento who, carried away by the heat of his own propaganda, begins to talk about himself in the halls of Congress as one of the heroes of Caseros. In spite of such obvious contradictions, the pamphlets are generally considered his major contribution to the war effort. Of these there were twenty-five in multiple editions, not a small feat with portable presses and under all kinds of weather.

With the end of the campaign, Sarmiento's official assignment comes to an end. Out of curiosity he follows General Virasoro to Palermo, the home of the infamous Rosas, with its gardens and columns simulating chimneys. Rosas has left and most of his followers have been forgiven. Urquiza reassures the population that there will be no reprisals. He declares public amnesty for all Federalists and former Rosas partisans, admitting a pronounced distrust for Unitarians. Since most of these avowed foes of Rosas are still lingering in foreign exile, not many people, except his former pamphleteer, seem to catch the true implication of Urquiza's message. The general tells the crowds assembled in Palermo to congratulate him:

I have not done anything. I came here to discover the writers from Chile and Montevideo did it all. The savage Unitarians won a victory over Rosas. … I find that here no one wants to wear a red belt.

(p. 246)

Urquiza's insistence on the red belt is offensive to Sarmiento as a dyed-in-the-wool Unitarian. On the other hand, the general has made it clear that the pamphleteers have hogged too much of his glory and that he is not going to stand for their doing it any longer. This includes Sarmiento. After the long years spent in exile, the author from San Juan is discouraged. Much blood has been shed, the name of the general has changed, but censorship is still prevalent, even the role of allies such as the brave Brazilians in the vicissitudes of battle has been silenced to serve the interests of what promises to be another dictatorship.

Unaware of these behind-the-scenes developments, a triumphant Buenos Aires makes preparations to receive its victorious general. All the windows are decked with light blue flags. Women and children wearing blue crowd the streets. The recollection of the event is so vivid that Sarmiento finds it beyond description: “This day Buenos Aires was sublime.” (p. 268) There is a long review of troops. Urquiza is conspicuously absent. Rumor has it that the general is annoyed at the population's failure to wear red belts. His son Diógenes tries to explain to our author his father's reasons for this attitude: “What my father wants is a uniform opinion” (p. 272), only to receive the quick rejoinder: “Don't you see that by requiring uniform hats he brings about divided opinions?”

It seems to Sarmiento that only foreigners and Spaniards have gained some advantages in the recently liberated country. They work in comparative safety at exorbitant salaries, while the local population has to flee to the country and grab unskilled jobs to eke out a living. Taking stock of the situation, he finds that it is not to his liking and decides to leave for Montevideo. On the boat he is notified that Urquiza is furious and that should he set foot in Argentina, he will be shot. Old General Paz, who had paid tribute to Urquiza and intended to go back, is likewise warned that there might be an attempt on his life. He is supposed to have said:

Those who give me this kind of advice do not know what eternal exile means to an old man burdened with children, without fortune, who … has lost his wife.

(p. 292)

From Montevideo Sarmiento sails for Rio de Janeiro aboard the “Prince,” where he meets Rosas' brother-in-law, General Mansilla, and his family. Ironically, Sarmiento has befriended many members of Rosas' entourage who inform him, tongue-in-cheek, that Urquiza's ill-will towards him is based on jealousy, an explanation our author is only too glad to accept.

In Rio de Janeiro his friends urge him to reconsider. About to return to Buenos Aires, he reads the most recent news and immediately changes destination, embarking for Chile. Meanwhile the constitutional assembly is being held. Elections are called. Sarmiento's name has been on the lists,

but as soon as the legal representatives of the province were appointed in the Congress, orders were received from Urquiza to elect Carril, Rawson, and Doctor Antonio Aberastain deputies …

(p. 319)

Sarmiento is bitter. He continues, “as can be seen, only I was eliminated from the first list, I who had withdrawn without opposition, I who had kept quiet, I who had not even written my family.” All his friends who shared his beliefs, Mitre, Aberastain, Alsina, are in power, even the rebellious Alsina who has finally agreed to wear the red belt. Sarmiento is bitter at not being chosen, bitter because Benavídez is in control of San Juan, bitter because all his friends seem to make common cause with Urquiza, except for one gentle and firm legislator, Vélez Sarsfield.

Not unlike Rosas, Urquiza resigns and his cabinet gives up. Then, using a recondite section of the law, Urquiza reinstates himself, naming a cabinet formed by Rosas followers. Comments Sarmiento:

If Argentine liberty succumbs, that is to say, if bossism triumphs again, I too will have succumbed along with my people and the same dust will cover Civilization and Barbarism, The Chronicle, Argirópolis, and Campaign of the Great Army, which are chapters of the same book.

(p. 354)

Reiterated here is the contention made in this volume that all of Sarmiento's works are interrelated in defense of similar principles. The Campaign of the Great Army ends, as it began, with a note of controversy, as Mitre defends Sarmiento from an alleged article in Diario de la Tarde, signed by John Mur, entitled “Frustrated Murder and Flight of the Assassin.” Instead of furnishing the reader with more details of what could be a modern mystery, the editor includes extraneous materials, such as a list of political refugees receiving asylum in Argentina, to complete the text.

II EVALUATION OF CAMPAIGN OF THE GREAT ARMY

Campaign of the Great Army cannot and should not be evaluated for its literary merits. It is a masterpiece in the fields of journalism and public relations and should be considered as such by those who place it among the works of its time. It was Sarmiento's assignment to cover the campaign, stir up mounting enthusiasm, and persuade the population that Urquiza was truly the leader of the moment.

Sarmiento complied, defying the rigors of weather and an uneven terrain with his travelling presses. He developed the kind of lightning journalism that characterizes the modern foreign correspondent in war zones. Urquiza's obvious jealousy and the immense popular recognition awarded him are significant measures of his success. What, however, makes Campaign a unique piece of blow-by-blow journalism is the inner play, laying bare the underlying conflict between the intellectual aspirations of Sarmiento and the somewhat growling ambitions of Urquiza. Characterizations of statesmen and generals are vivid, at times humorous, and often unforgettable as is the ever-present hound, Purvis, of whom many were more afraid than of his master.

Writes María Emma Carsuzán:

Campaign of the Great Army belongs to the period of Sarmiento's literary plenitude, it is at the same level as Travels and Recollections of a Province.²

Leopoldo Lugones gives the work political, rather than literary impact, as he comments,

… There emerged something Urquiza could not expect, the critical history of war in one of Sarmiento's most notable books, Campaign of the Great Army.³

III THE MAGAZINE BOTH AMERICAS AND THE PUBLICITY VALUE OF PERSONAL AND OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE

One of Sarmiento's most amazing accomplishments was his in absentia election to the presidency of Argentina. It is an enduring testimonial to his ability as a publicist and political journalist. There is no question about the effectiveness of his intercontinental communications, especially his correspondence. His letters range from official to personal, from powerful persons in the capital to journalists in the backwoods. His message varies yet remains the same: educate, populate, liberate. It is this human concern for both North and South Americans, for both whites and Negroes, whose quest for knowledge he admires, for both men and women, whom he accepts as intellectual equals, that makes him transcend his period and reach into our times.

Both Americas contains interesting excerpts of the magazine by the same name, which Sarmiento edited and which he hoped would be co-sponsored by all Latin-American nations and by friends in North America.⁴ Although the venture only lasted a few issues, its importance in establishing cordial relations between the two continents can hardly be denied. More voluminous and of greater impact on future generations of readers, as well as on his contemporaries, were the letters written by Sarmiento in support of his publication and the ideas it represented.

The reader of his letters finds in them the same happy enthusiasm for the United States which permeated his Travels. In a letter to Mrs. Aurelia de Vélez Sarsfield, bearing the dateline New York, May 20, 1865, Sarmiento exclaims:

If you were a Yankee, you would see railroads, boats, hotels, streets filled with single young women, travelling alone like birds in the skies, secure, joyful, happy.

(p. 27)

Already impressed by the freedom of the American woman, he wishes for his Latin-American friends to share this great feeling of independence. How exciting a life Aurelia could lead, instead of the uneventful existence Latin-American mores based on Spanish ideals foist on women at home. Her perspective would change if she could come for a while to the United States, whose big cities rival Paris and London. She would witness events of great historical moment. Lincoln has been assassinated and Sarmiento, back in London, is about to meet Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan.

His subsequent letter of June 6 suffers from excessive haste, which even then seemed to pervade life in the United States. “It is a year of life accumulated in hours like the delirium of a fever.” (p. 28) From New York, whose Fifth Avenue Sarmiento compares to an American “faubourg de Saint Germain,” our author travels on to Washington, where he attends a military review of two hundred thousand for members of the diplomatic corps. He is impressed by the parade and by the presence of President Johnson, as well as that of Generals Sherman, Grant, Mead, and Slocum.

Sarmiento views the parade as a delighted spectator. His reaction is joyfully enthusiastic.

A unique spectacle in history. A river of men, horses, cannon, and guns which passed in review during two days … the armies having been instructed to bring rations.

(p. 129)

Not only the parties and parades, but every phase of Washington's busy official life intrigues him. Spanish is spoken at most ministries. He has delightful conversations with the ministers of France, Russia, Prussia, Brazil, and of course, with representatives of Latin-American delegations. He has decided to seek a home in Baltimore, conveniently located between Washington, Philadelphia, and New York, because here life is truly exciting. Enthusiastically he asks Mrs. Aurelia de Vélez Sarsfield,

Have you read Paris in America? Reality is all that and much more. One can feel oneself live, one is invaded by life, moved by it, carried away by it, a life of material and intellectual pleasures in continuous motion.

(p. 31)

His correspondence to Aurelia is among the author's most revealing. He is close enough to be sincere, he wants to be both interesting and entertaining, and he knows that she will not be the only reader of his missives. A letter from New York, dated August 6, 1865, reveals Sarmiento as an early riser, whose preferred time is 5:00 A.M., engaged in the writing of two books and the translation of others. He refers specifically to the Life of Lincoln and El Chacho. Important in this connection is our author's comment proving that El Chacho is part of a trilogy:

I shall not retouch my juvenile Facundo with an oldster's tremulous hand in order to please you, whose judgment and affectionate tutelage I respect and admire. I intend, however, to add a supplement, Thirty Years Later, the War, or Insurrection of El Chacho, in which the author of Facundo does away with the last movement of barbarism.

(p. 47)

It is obvious that the infighter against barbarism has no qualms about El Chacho's death. Let those who criticize his judgment in this matter read Life of Lincoln. Not unlike Lincoln, Sarmiento has presidential aspirations and the tenacity to pursue them. He may never become president, but he will not stop hoping! He knows very well that Aurelia is in a position to relay his message to those among their friends who can shorten the duration of the dream and transform it into reality.

Her ability to help him politically may well be one of the reasons for which his letters to Aurelia always strike a successful, optimistic note. On October 15, he writes from Boston, exuberant about “the beautiful, the great, the useful” aspects of his trip. (p. 65) Foremost among these is the meeting with Mrs. Horace Mann, Mrs. Peabody, and Ralph Waldo Emerson in that beloved New England of his, “where all men are brothers.” (p. 65) As the reader of Travels already knows, his fondness for New England is to a great extent the result of Mary Mann's warm hospitality. She symbolizes intellectuality, femininity, international understanding; as he sums it up, “Mary Mann is my old angel.” (p. 66)

If many Latin Americans have not as yet read Facundo, he implies that most North Americans of importance have. As he writes it, Facundo has become a visiting card. It has introduced him to Emerson and Ticknor, both of whom have received him. In Harvard he meets Longfellow who knows about his work and with whom he converses in Spanish. He is impressed by the faculty, the president, and the “temple as a library.” (p. 67) He has difficulty tearing himself away from two days of jolly banqueting to attend a teachers' meeting in New Haven where two hundred colleagues seem to know him.

He is genuinely elated at the friendliness of his reception. In Cambridge he is asked to sign the visitors' book with a pen used by Jérôme Bonaparte and Ulysses Grant. He is definitely liked in the United States. Aurelia must come. She would love it here. Meanwhile, she must not forget to encourage backers for a new observatory, the same one he campaigns for in Travels. His is a clever way to use a letter in order to further an idea.

His next letter from New England goes to his erstwhile paper, El Zonda. Sarmiento's enthusiasm is still the greatest:

In New England, Europe contemplates a manufacturing future which will supplant its own. In New England, Massachusetts, in Massachusetts, Boston.

(p. 71)

Massachusetts is his spiritual home, the territory of Emerson and Horace Mann, whose widow he is about to visit. This is the place where ideas are born and nurtured. Here our author is instrumental in the foundation of the Society for Social Sciences, of which his friend Horace, who always insisted “something can still be done,” would certainly approve. (p. 74)

The article to El Zonda was written to prepare the ground for a teachers' exchange, as suggested in the article “Teachers' Migration,” sent to the editor of La Patria of Valparaíso from New York, October 1, 1865. Here he contends that if Boston has sent seven hundred teachers to the State of Washington to prepare it for its role in the new republic, it could equally well send seven hundred more to Chile and Argentina. He urges, “Give honor and hospitality to those saintly women as they pass.” (p. 78) With the help of American-trained teachers, Argentina will bridge the gap overcome by its friends to the north. New teachers must be brought in, more funds must be allocated, the inns of the country can and should be asked to open their doors to the visiting teachers at reduced rates.

A previously unpublished article, signed “Anacharsis,” follows with a description of New England towns and outlooks. Typical is the comment of a shopkeeper who, queried whether he was worried about coeducation, answered,

We haven't dared yet to teach God how to improve things. He has created men and women in society. Why separate them for two years of the seventy they must spend together?

(p. 81)

Sarmiento shares the old-timer's viewpoint. He is impressed by the high standards for women, by their equality and dedication to the needs and aspirations of a great country, great not only because it is endowed with tremendous economic resources, but mainly because of the democratic ways of men like Emerson, Longfellow, and Mann, leading simple, meaningful lives and contributing to the betterment of their communities. With this image of the United States before the Latin-American public, Sarmiento urges newspapers and his fellow-countrymen, to open their doors wide to the immigration of young teachers from Massachusetts.

In a letter to Juana Manso, a fellow teacher, whom he admires and who has campaigned for many of his innovations and introduced a few of her own, he writes on October 1, that he is shocked at the lack of enthusiasm for education on the part of Chile and Argentina, whose total outlay does not compare with that of Massachusetts. By this method of repeating his ideas to various media, public and private, Sarmiento promotes a platform from the United States that hits at the very heart of his country.

The same techniques are used to enhance the image of his friends to the press. Dated April 6, 1866, Sarmiento's report to El Zonda contains an account of President Andrew Johnson's declaration of the end of hostilities. He compares peacetime in the United States with what might be defined as the same condition in Latin America, where friends of barbarism such as El Chacho fomented constant unrest. Having driven home the point that barbarism need not be a way of life, that it is not in North America, our author reminds his readers of the second edition of Lincoln's Life and of Juana Manso's excellent verses in honor of the fallen American president. Since the article is signed Semper, he inserts a hint that Mr. Sarmiento's Schools, Foundations of Prosperity in the United States has been recently published in Spanish by Appleton with illustrations of Horace Mann's statue and of Sarmiento's school in San Juan, which is supposed to be “the largest in South America.” (p. 120) Such modest advertising was bound to bring results, and it did.

Not only did Sarmiento like the verses of Juana Manso, whose poetry he discussed with both Longfellow and Mrs. Mann, he also admired her keen spirit of intellectual competition and her eagerness to learn, write, and teach. In a letter to her of June 11, 1967, he writes, “What will America say upon reading in Both Americas what a man and woman from the same country feel and write about the library …, the people” and other matters of common concern? (p. 206) Whereas in the United States women generally join men in conventions and debates, women public speakers in Latin America have to meet the opposition of critics, not because of their thoughts, but because of their role as women. Sarmiento identifies recent attacks on Juana's presence as a speaker with a general contempt for weakness, whether it be of nations, or of the feminine sex. In Argentina, the transition from the gauchesque adoration of brute strength to preference of spiritual over physical power will not be immediate. The contrast here between the United States and Argentina is striking. What, for instance, would American teachers think of San Juan and of the violence of local politics? Would they like to write Inside the Latin-American Republic? (p. 211) It will take time for things to change, as today's rebels are tomorrow's leaders, “the names of people change, the resistance is the same.” (p. 214) Sarmiento's letter to Juana Manso of October 15, 1867, also deals with the relationship of the intellectual woman to society. Juana has again been heckled in no less a place than in our author's own model community. His Chivilcoy has come of age with public speakers and critical audiences. Sarmiento suggests the American means of protection for free speech. Policemen could guard the speaker's right to be heard and that of his opponent at the proper time. However, he assumes that it is part of the Spanish heritage of Latin America to criticize self-expression on the part of a woman, “a thinking woman is a scandal and you have shocked a whole race. With your sorrow may you also have much joy.” (p. 217)

The subject of much criticism and heckling, Sarmiento understands Juana's doubts about herself and her role in society. In contrast to his letters for Mrs. de Vélez Sarsfield, which are written in a joyfully optimistic vein, his missives to Juana are gently comforting and persuasive. He informs her about Mrs. Horace Mann's admiration for her, then, to raise her sagging spirits as a struggling teacher, he reminds her that President Fillmore's daughter refused to join her father in the White House because she wouldn't abandon her teaching post. This gentle understanding of the woman's yearning for things cultural will win him the admiration of women from both continents.

In an intimate communication to his friend Pepe Posse, dated February 27, 1866, Sarmiento expresses happiness at the success of his letters. (p. 222) He is also proud that in the United States he has come to be liked for himself, rather than only as the plenipotentiary minister from his country. He hopes that his activities have helped to improve United States-Argentine relations and that his books and speeches have brought the consciousness of Latin America and its problems to many to whom the continent was not too familiar. He suggests that Posse help him in this project of better intercontinental relations by coming to the United States, while preparing to be a Senator, and learning English. Throughout the banter which animates his letters to Posse run two themes, the progressiveness of the United States, which Argentina must emulate, and Sarmiento's own loneliness for his friends whom he must join soon.

When Sarmiento is happy his exuberance crosses a continent, communicating itself to the reader. From Chicago, Sarmiento writes Juana such a letter, August 18, 1866. He is excited about the broad streets, the opera, the well-shaved men (no man wearing a beard was born in Chicago), the fact that it is a “true capital of arts, sciences, and commerce.” (p. 144) Chicago is so new and wide awake that New York becomes old by comparison. Imbued by the vitality of the Midwest, he cannot wait to go on to Kansas City, the focal meeting point of East and West.

Chicago, indeed, has fired his imagination. In an article to the Correo del Domingo sent from Lake Oscawana, September 22, 1866, Sarmiento compares the prairies of Chicago with those of Buenos Aires. He feels that his travels from Pittsburgh to Ohio and from Columbus to Indianapolis have enabled him to compare the United States culture with that of his own country and have prepared him to draw valid conclusions. During his travels in the Midwest, he has met school superintendents from St. Louis and Minnesota and presidents from various universities. As usual, he is delighted at the meeting of the minds, sparked by delegates from various areas, gathered in a central location. Inspired by the mood of the convention, he exclaims:

Does any one, by any chance, see in Europe or in Asia, on the shores of the Rhine, or by the Bosphorus, such a spectacle as the convocation of hundreds of men from everywhere gathered to one end of the state to bring the lifegiving flame of thought and illuminate the will, so that light may be spread?

(pp. 183-84)

Currently Europe encourages national and international conventions, but in Sarmiento's time America definitely led the way with meetings and planning conferences, which were to set the pace for a new nation. It is very likely that the enthusiasm for such gatherings by men of our author's caliber may have helped to spread them to Latin America and other continents.

Among the highlights of his American stay are moments of the Douglas-Johnson debate, recorded in an article to La Tribuna, sent from Washington, February 14, 1866. To him Johnson bears the stature of a Roman who has passed from the lower to the higher levels of administration with great skill. “Johnson, as one can see, is a second edition of Lincoln.” (p. 236) In his opinion Lincoln is “the noblest figure of modern times” (p. 236), and Bancroft the historian most capable of evaluating him. He considers himself privileged for having heard Bancroft's speech in honor of Lincoln before the House and the Senate assembled, as the President of the United States are the world's diplomatic corps “gave the scene a grandiose character to be understood only in the presence of those places, personages, and spectators.” (p. 237)

No one else has brought the Argentine public such a vivid image of Abraham Lincoln, such a deep love for what he represented. Sarmiento's activities did not only encompass the area of politics, but he was equally well versed in literary matters. Indeed, his article on Dickens should be available to every English teacher, as it is delightful for both narrative style and gentle humor. After repeatedly poking fun at the United States, Dickens has come to deliver readings from his works. To those asking what is in a reading, Sarmiento gives a simple tongue-in-cheek answer, “but to read, nothing more than a reading? That is the trick of it, the reading.” (p. 241)

The thought alone that Dickens was coming had people saying, “That Dickens, that scoundrel of a Dickens, who dared to face a public he had made fun of?” (p. 204) All it took was a courteous “Ladies and Gentlemen,” and Boston began to applaud. Sarmiento heard him in New York's Steinway Hall, spelled by him “Stenway,” at the time one of the largest in the city. Attired simply in white tie, occasionally scratching his beard, Dickens gradually came to life, until he brought the house down with his true-to-life rendition of the Pickwick Papers. So successful were the readings, that the next day Dickens had earned twenty thousand dollars from bookings and admissions, while lines of ticket buyers stretched from Fourteenth to Fifteenth Streets with ever-new reinforcements to join the crowd. The tickets, originally priced at five dollars, actually sold for ten and twenty as the lines grew.

A fragment entitled “Puritanism and Drunkenness” (p. 250)⁵ had been written to describe the Puritan role of non-drinking and to defend some sort of indulgence of the spirits by the occasional drinker. Mischievously, Sarmiento queries, “What is drunkenness? It is simply a way to contrive happiness, to arouse the spiritual enjoyment that exterior and real fact do not justify. A man who is drunk is a poet.” (p. 251) It is significant that Sarmiento, the Plenipotentiary Ambassador, on second thought decided not to publish this article, which might infuriate all good Puritans and wreck Argentine-American relations. Thoughts like the following might have elicited stormy reactions from certain quarters at the time this was written:

If one could mix in the proper proportions the joyful spirit of the drinker with the somber tone of ideas, man would emerge as God made him and not as the Puritans made him over.

(p. 251)

This article was found among Sarmiento's papers after his death and reveals the thoughts of the man, later to be repudiated by the politician and publicist. Experience has taught him to become his own censor.

Finally the first issue of Both Americas appears in print, backed by an active campaign of lively correspondence. The prologue sets forth the journal's objectives, a new department of education for the United States and greater emphasis on learning in Latin America. Sarmiento also favors an inter-American exchange of ideas and news events. He congratulates the enthusiastic youth associations at work in the Latin-American republic for their whole-hearted cooperation and he wishes “to present to them this humble project of a definite, durable, and peaceful American Union. What a vast field of action, what sure and tangible results!” (p. 263)

In the field of international relations, Sarmiento was one of the principal advocates of the kind of intercontinental solidarity which was to contribute within the twentieth century to the main objectives of the Pan American Union. As one of the most steadfast advocates of such an idea, our author warns his fellow countrymen that should Latin America not be ready for unification behind a common idea it would reveal that it had not come of age politically. He foresaw that such immaturity would pave the way for internal strife and ever renewed discord. He founded Both Americas to bridge the gap between nationalism and internationalism. The first answer to his appeal brought successful reactions throughout Latin America and the venture was launched.

Sarmiento's success among North American friends can best be measured by reading Mary Mann's enthusiastic correspondence. It bears witness to her interest in inter-American solidarity and to her knowledge of the Spanish language, which she writes well. Her interest is more than academic. With the femininity that is bound to endear her to Sarmiento, she writes, “I will keep all your secrets, but I want to know them.” (p. 282) If she only were younger, she would go to Latin America and campaign for him. Inspired by the vigor of his outlook, Mary exclaims: “I believe that your book can awaken the dead.” (p. 282)⁶

In her enthusiasm Mrs. Mann writes Juana Manso, praising Sarmiento's work to her and asking her to back him, as if her support were not a foregone conclusion. Mary is presently working on his biography and cannot bear to let it come to an end, because she is so absorbed in her “delightful task” that she feels impelled to ask him and his friends a thousand questions “about himself, about his country,” about what makes him the person he is. (p. 287)

IV PUBLICITY VALUE OF SARMIENTO'S LETTERS AND OF BOTH AMERICAS

The various issues of Both Americas point to problems the reader is already familiar with, such as educational facilities, libraries, and insurance practices in North and South America. The more effective publicity and a circulation that far exceeded the printed issues were carried out through the constant flow of letters written by Sarmiento to his friends. They ranged from foreign ministers, like Chilean author Alberto Blest Gana, to schoolteachers like Juana Manso. These letters, written rapidly, in a down-to-earth, human style any time from 5:00 A.M. to midnight, narrating, pleading, threatening, urging his friends to reform, rejuvenate, educate, were to bring him the presidency. Whether these letters have literary value may remain an academic question. The important point is that they were effective, that they emphasized needs and brought about changes, and that they created a new form of political campaigning in absentia. Whether literary masterpieces or not, they certainly can be considered instrumental in clinching the political victory of an absent candidate. They are, indeed, representative of Sarmiento's ability as a publicist in the field of inter-American solidarity. In this area our author was for a long time his country's most outstanding pioneer, as he opened new spheres of interest for the Latin-American continent.

Notes

1. D. F. Sarmiento, Campaña en la Armada Grande, Works XIV, Buenos Aires, 1898, 30. Subsequent references are from this edition.

2. María Emma Carsuzán, Sarmiento, el escritor, Buenos Aires, 1949, p. 125.

3. Leopoldo Lugones, Historia de Sarmiento, Buenos Aires, 1945, p. 209.

4. D. F. Sarmiento, Ambas Américas, Works, XXIX, 7. Subsequent pages refer to this edition.

5. In the text the title appears in English.

6. Mary is writing about Facundo. In her postscript she adds: “have the kindness to return the proofs of Civilization and Barbarism as soon as you revise them,” p. 282.