Source Descriptions: Newspapers
Alienated American was a weekly newspaper based in Cleveland during the 1850s which
championed integration. It was the official newspaper of the Ohio Negro Convention
Movement. Its principal editor, William Howard Day (an Oberlin Colege graduate)
actively supported John Brown, and printed Brown’s constitution.
Colored American was published in Washington, D.C., from 1898 until 1904. There
were in fact three periodicals with this name: the first was published in New York in the
1840s, and the third was a magazine in the early twentieth century.
The Lunar Visitor was a Civil War-era literary magazine based in San Francisco,
devoted to the “spiritual, political, and literary elevation” of African Americans. Its
editor, Reverend (later Bishop) John Jameson Moore of First A.M.E. Zion Church, was a
leader in the Colored Convention of California and the Franchise League. Moore’s
congregation was the first “colored” church in the city.
The New National Era was a Washington, D.C. newspaper, founded in 1870. Frederick
Douglass was initially half-owner, but eventually bought full ownership and “turned it
over” to his sons Lewis and Frederick. Douglass claimed it was a venue to “which the
colored people are indebted for some of the best things ever uttered in behalf of their
cause.”
The Pennsylvania Freeman was founded in 1836 as the National Enquirer, by Quaker
Benjamin Lundy; its title was changed in 1838 when John Greenleaf Whittier assumed
the editorial reins.
The People’s Advocate was a Washington, D.C. black newspaper. One of its frequent
contributors in the 1880s was Mary Ann Shadd, educator and the second black woman in
the United States to earn a law degree.
The Pine and Palm was a weekly published from Boston and New York for sixteen
months, beginning in May, 1861. The journal was “devoted to the interests of freedom,
and of the colored races in America.” Its editor, a Scotsman named James Redpath,
extolled John Brown and called on blacks to take militant action to free themselves.
The Rights of All was a New York black newspaper which debuted in 1829, edited by
Samuel Cornish. Cornish opposed colonization and supported a militant anti-slavery
position.
The Weekly Advocate, later called the Colored American, began in 1837. With editions
released in both New York and Philadelphia, it was probably the first black newspaper to
operate in multiple cities. The paper presented middle class values, emphasizing
propriety and respectability, and strove to be a “model for black youth.”
The Weekly Anglo-African, 1859-1861, opposed colonization and sought instead “to
improve the lot of blacks in America.” Featuring news, poetry, and literary excerpts, the
paper was known for the quality of its journalism.
The Anti-Slavery Bugle, issued from Salem, Columbiana County, Ohio, was the journal
of the Western Headquarters for the Anti-Slavery Association based in Salem.
Cradle of Liberty was a weekly Boston-based paper, edited by William Lloyd Garrison,
which was published from 1839 to 1840. It was comprised of selections from the
Liberator.
American Citizen was a Philadelphia paper, produced from 1845-1846, and published by
the Acting Committee of The Liberty Party of Eastern Pennsylvania.
The Emancipator and Republican was published in New York and Boston by David
Tappan, president of the American Anti-Slavery Society. It was one of the most
important abolitionist newspapers.
The Fair Record of the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon was the journal of the
Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon and Hospital, reporting on that organization’s
works and activities.
The Free American (1839-1841), in its earlier incarnation as the Massachusetts
Abolitionist, had been the official paper of the Massachusetts Abolition Society. As the
Free American, the paper was the official party organ of the Liberty party. In December,
1841, it merged with the prestigious New York-based Emancipator.
Free State Rally and Texan Chain Breaker was a short-lived (1845-1846) Boston
periodical. It was the official paper of the Massachusetts State Anti-Texas Committee,
which was opposed to Texas’ entry into the Union as a slave state. Charles Sumner was
one of its editors, as well as the author of the Committee’s resolutions, and gave his first
political speech at a rally sponsored by the organization.
Freedom’s Journal, founded in New York in 1827, was the first African American
newspaper. Its editors, John Russworm and Samuel Cornish, favored abolition and
opposed colonization, but Russwurm –one of the first African American college
graduates –changed his position and later served as a colonial secretary of the American
Colonization Society, eventually becoming a governor in Liberia. Cornish continued to
oppose colonization as editor of a new paper The Rights of All, in 1829.
Friend of Man was a prominent abolitionist newspaper published in Utica, New York.
The Herald of Freedom was the journal of the New England Anti-Slavery Society,
edited by Nathaniel P. Rogers. It was the subject of an eponymous essay by Henry David
Thoreau in 1844.
The Model Worker was an abolitionist paper published in Utica, N.Y., by S.W. Green.
*The National Union Gazette was a series of Republican campaign broadsides released
in Philadelphia in 1864.
The New York Evangelist was founded in 1830. The founding editor was Noah C.
Saxton, who was soon replaced by Joshua Leavitt.
The North Star was published in Rochester, N.Y., by Frederick Douglass. Its articles
covered not only abolition but women’s suffrage and education concerns. Its motto was
“Right is of no Sex--Truth is of no Color--God is the Father of us all, and we are all
Brethren.”
Radical Abolitionist was the newspaper of the American Anti-Slavery Society. Its editor,
William Goodell, was a co-founder of that society, leader of the American Temperance
Society, and was the 1852 and 1860 presidential candidate of the Liberty Party, which he
had helped form in 1840.
The Rhode Island Freeman was an abolition newspaper which began publication in
Providence in 1853. Its motto was “Free soil, free speech, free labor, and free men.”
Southern Workman was the journal of Virginia’s Hampton Institute, which was founded
after the Civil War for the education of African Americans and American Indians. The
journal included articles about the education industry, and in particular about black
educators.
The Southern Letter was a newsletter released by the Tuskegee Institute. It was
primarily aimed at white northern readers, who were potential donors, detailing the
successes of Tuskegee. Booker T. Washington claimed in 1894 that the publication had
2,500 paying subscribers, aside from freely distributed copies.
The West Philadelphia Hospital Register was a “pretty little newspaper” printed in West
Philadelphia’s United States Military Hospital. Its editor was F. V. Hayden, a renowned
geologist temporarily service as a military surgeon, and was published “by and for the
soldiers.” Each patient received a free copy.
Zion’s Watchman was a New York newspaper edited by Methodist Episcopal radical
abolitionist LaRoy Sunderland. Sunderland was also the author of tracts such as the
Antislavery Manual and Testimony of God against Slavery; his newspaper presented
antislavery views which the Methodists’ official paper, the Christian Advocate, hesitated
to publish.