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Early Republic1800-1844
The Early Republic, 1800-1844A period of population growth and territorial expansion, with events such as the Louisiana Purchase, War of 1812 and the opening of the Erie Canal. A sampling of the significant titles in our collection from this era:
- Daily National Intelligencer (Washington, D.C.): The official publication for congressional reports; its government news was shipped to editors across the country.
- Evening Post (New York City): First published by Alexander Hamilton in 1801 as a Federalist broadside, it remains today the oldest continuously published daily in the country. It gained national fame under the editorship of poet and abolitionist William Cullen Bryant.
- Massachusetts Spy (Boston and Worcester): Co-founded by Isaiah Thomas, one of the most successful and colorful journalists of the 18th century and founder of the American Antiquarian Society, the Spy remained powerful well into the 19th century, covering the onset of the Industrial Revolution.
- Richmond Enquirer (Richmond, Virginia): A leading newspaper of the South and one of the nation's most powerful regional weeklies; Thomas Jefferson said of it in 1818: “It is long since I have ceased to read any newspaper but yours, and I shall continue to read no other.”
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Civil War Era1845-1877
Civil War: Antebellum to Reconstruction, 1845-1877
Our Civil War collection features uncensored eyewitness correspondents providing on-the-spot military reporting, as well as wide-ranging news stories, editorials and advertisements. A sampling of the significant titles in our collection from this era:
- Frederick Douglass' Paper (Rochester, New York): Deciding the country needed a separate black press, Douglass founded this paper's highly influential predecessor, the North Star, in 1847. Both papers, included in our collection, were powerful anti-slavery newspapers.
- New York Herald (New York City): Founded by legendary publisher James Gordon Bennett, it was one of the two most powerful American newspapers in the second half of the 19th century. This paper provides Civil War coverage, including front-line reporting by the largest team of war correspondents in the country.
- Philadelphia Inquirer (Pennsylvania): Rising to national prominence during the Civil War, it 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.
- 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.
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Gilded Age / Prog. Era1878-1913
Gilded Age to the Progressive Era, 1878-1913
Covers a period from booming population growth and wealthy industrialists and financiers, to an age of reform. A sampling of the significant titles in our collection from this era:
- San Jose Mercury News (California): One of the earliest Western newspapers still being published today, it covers California's explosive growth in the late-19th century.
- Springfield Republican (Massachusetts): Known for its cultural leadership, national opinion-making and high literary quality, it circulated widely throughout the U.S. in the 19th century.
- Sun (Baltimore, Maryland): Its history is one of the longest and most distinguished in American journalism. Founded in 1837, it has long been considered the region's newspaper of record.
- Times Picayune (New Orleans, Louisiana): Established in 1837, it has long been the most prominent newspaper in New Orleans, which for much of the 19th century was the largest city in the South.
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WW I / Great Depression1914-1938
World War I to the Great Depression, 1914-1938
Covers such global events as W.W.I, the Influenza Epidemic of 1918, Hitler's Rise to Power, and the Great Depression. A sampling of the significant titles in our collection from this era:
- Aberdeen Daily News (South Dakota): This collection of the Aberdeen Daily News chronicles 115 years of local, national and international events, from 1885 to 2000.
- Bellingham Herald (Washington): In 1900, the Herald purchased the first Linotype machine on the West Coast, accelerating its influential coverage of the Pacific Northwest's timber and fishing industries during the early 20th century.
- Hobart Republican (Oklahoma): The Republican reflects conservative middle-American views on such events as World War I, the Russian Revolution, and more.
- Marietta Journal (Savannah, Georgia): This collection of the Marietta Journal covers almost the entire 20th century, from 1900 to 1998.
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WW II / Information Age1939-2000
World War II to the Information Age, 1939-2000
Covers such events as W.W.II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, the moon landing, and the development of the Internet. A sampling of the significant titles in our collection from this era:
- Augusta Chronicle (Augusta, Georgia): Described as “The South's Oldest Newspaper,” this award-winning paper has long covered local and national news, sports and business. Launched as a weekly in the 18th century, it captured the evolution of Augusta—Georgia's second largest city—into a center of medicine, biotechnology and military training.
- Dallas Morning News (Dallas, Texas): Famous for its broad state and regional coverage, it has been a leading source of news in the Southwest since 1885. Chronicling decades of local history and capturing Dallas's transformation from an agricultural center to an industrial city, it covers the area's oil discovery, manufacturing expansion and real estate boom.
- Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio): The nation's fifth largest city in the 1920s and '30s, Cleveland has long benefited from The Plain Dealer, winner of numerous awards in widely respected newspaper competitions. These issues of Ohio's largest daily paper chronicle attempts to energize the region after the Great Depression, the local boom after World War II, and the election in 1967 of the first black mayor of a major U.S. city.
- Times (Trenton, New Jersey): For more than 100 years, it has been a major source of news and community information for the capital region of Trenton. With a strong focus on the New Jersey government, this daily has documented the Garden State's rapid growth in the 20th century.
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