 Greeley used it to promote the Whig and Republican parties, as well as anti-slavery and other reform movements.Greeley, who during the secession crisis of 1861 had espoused a hard line against the Confederacy, became a voice for the Radical Republicans during the war, in opposition to Lincoln's moderation.By 1864 he had lost much of his control over the newspaper, but wrote an editorial expressing defeatism regarding Lincoln's chances of reelection.