Early American Newspapers: Series 7, 1773-1922

(Updated July 2016)

Early American Newspapers, Series 7, includes more than 160 significant 18th-, 19th- and 20th-century newspapers from every region of the United States. Drawing from the acclaimed newspaper collections of the American Antiquarian Society, Kansas Historical Society, the Library of Congress, Wisconsin Historical Society and other institutions, Series 7 further expands the political, geographical and chronological depth of Early American Newspapers, Series 1 to 6. Key titles include:

California Farmer and Journal of Useful Sciences (San Francisco) 

• Featuring early natural history writing—both popular and scientific—this publication offers landmark discourses on topics from agriculture to ornithology to tectonics. 
• Includes 332 issues published between 1857 and 1876. Early American Newspapers, Series 12, includes 10 issues published between 1862 and 1876.

Charleston Mercury (South Carolina) 

• A strong supporter of the Confederacy and of slavery, the Mercury collapsed not long after the defeat of the South. 
• Includes 933 issues published between 1860 and 1868. Early American Newspapers, Series 3, includes 1,208 issues published between 1854 and 1859; Series 10 includes 327 issues published between 1831 and 1868; and Series 11 includes 394 issues published between 1822 and 1852.

Cincinnati Daily Gazette (Ohio)

• In addition to extensive local and regional reporting, the Daily Gazette was known for its editorials on national issues. 
• Includes 909 issues published between 1835 and 1845. Early American Newspapers, Series 5, includes 4,953 issues published between 1867 and 1883.

Courier de la Louisiane (New Orleans) 

• This bilingual French and English paper offers both general reporting and a glimpse into Creole culture of the mid-19th century. 
• Includes 51 issues published between 1823 and 1824. Early American Newspapers, Series 4, includes 94 issues published between 1821 and 1822.

Daily Eastern Argus (Portland, Maine)

• This long-running weekly argued for Maine’s independence from Massachusetts. 
• Includes 2,135 issues published between 1863 and 1888.

Evening Post (New York City)

• First published by Alexander Hamilton in 1801 as a broadside, the Post remains today the oldest continuously published daily in the country. It gained national fame under the editorship of poet and abolitionist William Cullen Bryant. 
• Includes 15,718 issues published between 1821 and 1876. Early American Newspapers, Series 1, includes 6,090 issues published between 1801 and 1821.

Frederick Douglass’ Paper (Rochester, New York)

• Including its predecessor the North Star, this powerful anti-slavery newspaper had a circulation of 4,000 readers worldwide. 
• Includes 105 issues published between 1852 and 1860. Early American Newspapers, Series 5, includes 132 issues published between 1847 and 1860.

Jackson Citizen Patriot (Michigan)

• The Citizen Patriot covers the rise of manufacturing and the automobile industries in the region. 
• Includes 15,581 issues published between 1865 and 1922.

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 2,110 issues published between 1821 and 1876. Early American Newspapers, Series 1, includes 989 issues published between 1801 and 1820; Series 2 includes 166 issues published between 1825 and 1827; and Series 12 includes 78 issues published between 1857 and 1864.

Ohio Monitor (Columbus) 

• Filled with useful farming and business advice and pro-democratic opinions, the Monitor was Ohio’s principal newspaper for much of the 19th century. 
• Includes 383 issues published between 1820 and 1835.

Oregonian (Portland) 

• The longest-running newspaper on the West Coast, the Oregonian was the voice of the region’s business-minded Republicans in the 19th and early-20th centuries. 
• Includes 15,582 issues published between 1861 and 1907.

Pensacola Gazette and West Florida Advertiser

• This paper covers the Florida Territorial Period—including the Second Seminole War—and the effects of railroads on the state’s economy and population. 
• Includes 354 issues published between 1824 and 1856. Early American Newspapers, Series 10, includes 14 issues published between 1821 and 1823.

Philadelphia Inquirer (Pennsylvania)

• Rising to national prominence during the Civil War, the Inquirer has long been one of the most significant big-city newspapers in the United States. 
• Includes 8,777 issues published between 1829 and 1860. Early American Newspapers, Series 2, includes 13,193 issues published between 1860 and 1900.

Savannah Republican (Georgia) 

• This prominent Southern paper was one of the few that managed to publish throughout the Civil War. One of its reporters, Peter Wellington Alexander, was one of the foremost Confederate war correspondents. He wrote front-line accounts of the battles of Manassas, Antietam, the Wilderness and Gettysburg. 
• Includes 873 issues published between 1807 and 1835. Early American Newspapers, Series 3, includes 922 issues published between 1849 and 1851; Series 10 includes 22 issues published between 1817 and 1819; and Series 11 includes 20 issues published between 1861 and 1866. 

Southern Illustrated News (Richmond, Virginia)

• Providing amusement, entertainment and news to the people of the South, this newspaper served as the Confederacy’s answer to such Northern titles as Frank Leslie’s Illustrated News. At its peak, the Southern Illustrated News had 20,000 subscribers captivated by its wish to help “establish a separate nationality.”
• Includes 56 issues published between 1862 and 1864

Times Picayune (New Orleans, Louisiana) 

• Established in 1837, the Times Picayune has long been the most prominent newspaper in New Orleans, which for much of the 19th century was the largest city in the South. 
• Includes 8,068 issues published between 1901 and 1922.