Soon after this conversation, Robert Hannegan shocked the convention by releasing the letter he claimed Roosevelt had given him aboard the Ferdinand Magellan days earlier. (“You have written me about Harry Truman and Bill Douglas . . .”) The letter sparked a feeding frenzy among the press. Justice Douglas was not at the convention; he was hiking in the Wallowa Mountains of Oregon and had no idea what was happening in Chicago. More important, the authenticity of the letter was instantly attacked by Wallace supporters, who questioned among other things the date (the letter was dated the
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