Early American Newspapers: Series 2, 1758-1900

Featuring more than 250 significant 18th- and 19th-century newspapers from all regions of the United States, Early American Newspapers, Series 2, offers small-town weeklies, big-city dailies and many titles of particular historical importance. Notable titles include:

Albany Register (New York)

• One of the most successful and influential American newspapers of the late 18th and early 19th century, the Register was edited from 1808 to 1822 by the ardent anti-Federalist Solomon Southwick. 
• Includes 1,462 issues published between 1789 and 1822

Charlotte Observer (North Carolina)

• The Observer offers valuable local perspectives on such events as the decline of the state’s gold-mining industry, the Wright brothers’ first flight, segregation issues and Governor Charles B. Aycock’s educational reforms. 
• Includes 2,762 issues published between 1892 and 1900

Cherokee Advocate (Tahlequah, Oklahoma)

• This bilingual title—the official paper of Cherokee Nation and the first newspaper in Indian Territory—provides a Native American perspective on local and national news during a time of intense change. 
• Includes 738 issues published between 1871 and 1897

City Gazette (Charleston, South Carolina)

• The City Gazette provides extensive coverage of the culture and history of Antebellum South Carolina, including the invention of the cotton gin and the rise of slavery. 
• Includes 3,011 issues published between 1812 and 1826

Columbus Daily Enquirer (Georgia) 

• Founded in 1828, the Daily Enquirer played a central role in the region’s growth and direction. Coverage here reflects Southern attitudes on a wide range of national and international events, from Reconstruction to the Russian Revolution. 
• Includes 7,870 issues published between 1858 and 1900.

Dallas Morning News (Texas)

• One of the state’s premier newspapers from its inception, the Morning News chronicles a time of dramatic change in Texas, launched largely by the massive strike of “black gold” at Spindletop. 
• Includes 5,554 issues published between 1885 and 1900

Emancipator and Republican (Boston) 

• This important abolitionist newspaper was published by David Tappan, president of the American Anti-Slavery Society. Tappan incurred the wrath of slaveholders by his aid to fugitives and rescue of William Lloyd Garrison from imprisonment. 
• Includes 459 issues published between 1842 and 1850

Enquirer (Richmond, Virginia) 

• This influential southern newspaper was edited and published for 41 years by leading American journalist Thomas Ritchie. Of the Enquirer, Thomas Jefferson wrote:" I read but a single newspaper, Ritchie's Enquirer, the best that is published or ever has been published in America." Later issues of the Enquirer offer perspectives on the Confederacy’s reaction to Reconstruction. 
• Includes 173 issues published between 1838 and 1863

Georgia Gazette (Savannah)

• Georgia’s first newspaper, the Gazette provides a rich record of southern colonial life. 
• Includes 600 issues published between 1788 and 1802

Grand Forks Herald (North Dakota)

• This early Dakota Territory broadsheet covers the rapid growth and subsequent statehood of North Dakota, spurred by steamboat traffic and railroad trade. 
• Includes 5,979 issues published between 1879 and 1900

Idaho Statesman (Boise) 

• From its founding in 1864 to the early 20th century, the Statesman—known for its lively editorial page—provides an important frontier perspective. 
• Includes 7,873 issues published between 1864 and 1900

Kansas City Star (Missouri) 

• Founded in the late 1800s by Republican reformer William Rockhill Nelson, the Star was one of the best and most influential newspapers in the Midwest. 
• Includes 6,323 issues published between 1880 and 1900

Macon Weekly Telegraph (Georgia) 

• This extensive run chronicles the rise of the cotton industry and offers Civil War-era coverage from the city that served as the official arsenal of the Confederacy. 
• Includes 3,182 issues published between 1826 and 1895.

Morning Olympian (Olympia, Washington) 

• Launched to lead the crusade to make Olympia the state capitol, the Olympian earned a reputation as a fierce watchdog of Washington state government. 
• Includes 2,947 issues published between 1891 and 1900

National Aegis (Worcester, Massachusetts) 

• Offering a political counterpoint to Worcester’s Federalist paper, the Massachusetts Spy, the Aegis defended Jeffersonian Republicanism throughout its run. 
• Includes 166 issues published between 1825 and 1827

New-Hampshire Gazette (Portsmouth) 

• The first newspaper in the state of New Hampshire, the Gazette is also one the nation’s oldest existing papers. 
• Includes 415 issues published between 1836 and 1844

New York Herald (New York City) 

• Founded by legendary publisher James Gordon Bennett, the Herald was one of the two most powerful American newspapers in the second half of the 19th century. These issues provide Civil War coverage, including front-line reporting by the largest team of war correspondents in the country. 
• Includes 6,232 issues published between 1844 and 1874

The Northern Standard (Clarksville, Texas)

• This fiercely independent paper—which changed its name to the Clarksville Standard when editor Charles DeMorse became exasperated with the North—provides opinionated editorials and in-depth coverage of Texas history. 
• Includes 63 issues published between 1848 and 1849

Omaha Herald (Nebraska)

• William Jennings Bryan used his editorship of the nationally read Herald to advocate his support of popular democracy, defend his criticisms of banks and railroads, and further his own political agenda. 
• Includes 1,740 issues published between 1878 and 1889

Pennsylvania Gazette (Philadelphia) 

• Published by Benjamin Franklin, this prominent 18th-century newspaper contains not only in-depth articles on every aspect of Colonial America but also the full text of many seminal government documents, including the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Federalist Papers. 
• Includes 1,530 issues published between 1736 and 1775

Philadelphia Inquirer (Pennsylvania) 

• Rising to national prominence during the Civil War, the Inquirer supported the North, of course, but editor William Harding kept its coverage so neutral that it became a favorite news source in the South as well. 
• Includes 13,193 issues published between 1860 and 1900

Polynesian (Honolulu, Hawaii) 

• Published by the island’s government, the Polynesian was Hawaii’s principal newspaper in the mid-19th century. 
• Includes 174 issues published between 1840 and 1858

Providence Patriot (Rhode Island) 

• The Patriot, an influential and often eloquent paper, provides a local look at two early race riots: the 1824 Hardscrabble Riot and the 1831 Snow Town Riot in which working class whites attacked African American residents. Unable to control the violent mob, Providence officials requested that the Governor send in military troops. 
• Includes 1,192 issues published between 1814 and 1834

San Jose Mercury News (California)

• One of the earliest Western newspapers still being published today, the Mercury News covers California’s explosive growth in the late-19th and early 20th centuries. 
• Includes 56 issues published in 1900

Tombstone Epitaph Prospector (Arizona) 

• Offering a sympathetic view of Arizona’s Native Americans, the Epitaph was founded by John Clum, known as the “white chief of the Apaches.” Clum’s newspaper also covered the violent world that became the stage for the infamous gunfight at the OK Corral. 
• Includes 4,372 issues published between 1880 and 1899