Antebellum

 Periodicals  Timeline  
 
There  were  a  number  of  newspaper  published  in  the  United  States  going  back  as  far  of  
1690  and  a  single  issue  of  Publik  Occurences,  Both  Foreign  and  Domestick,  but  the  timeline  
is  restricted  to  1827  –  1865  for  the  purposes  of  our  class.    
 
1827  
-­‐Freedom’s  Journal  became  the  first  African-­‐American  owned  and  operated  newspaper.  It  
became  The  Rights  of  All  in  1829.    
 
1830’s:  The  1830’s  saw  the  emergence  of  the  penny  press.  Charging  only  a  penny  was  
connected  to  the  creation  of  newspapers  for  expanded  audiences  at  this  time.  Examples  of  
newspaper  niche  markets  include  papers  for  women,  free  blacks,  and  immigrants.    
 
1830  
-­‐The  Boston  Evening  Transcript  began.  It  ran  until  1941.    
 
-­‐Godey’s  Lady’s  Book  started  publication.  It  enjoyed  a  68-­‐year  run  before  it  closed  in  1898.  
 
1831  
-­‐The  Liberator,  an  abolitionist  newspaper  published  by  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  was  
started.  The  Boston  paper  ran  through  1865.    
 
-­‐The  Boston  Post  was  founded.  It  folded  in  1956.    
 
1833  
-­‐Benjamin  Day's  New  York  Sun  starts  publication.  The  Sun,  a  penny-­‐press,  ran  until  1950.    
 
1834  
-­‐The  Southern  Literary  Messenger  began  publication.  It  ran  from  August  1834  –  June  1864.  
 
1835  
-­‐James  Gordon  Bennett  starts  the  New  York  Herald,  which  quickly  becomes  a  leading  
metropolitan  journal.  It  merged  with  the  New-­‐York  Tribune  in  1924.    
 
-­‐The  New  York  Sun  achieves  the  largest  circulation  in  the  world,  with  19,360  readers  a  day.  
 
1837  
-­‐The  New  Orleans  Picayune  was  started.  This  paper  gained  prominence  for  its  coverage  of  
the  Mexican-­‐American  War  of  1846-­‐48.  It  was  able  to  provide  eyewitness  coverage  because  
of  its  use  of  war  correspondents.    
 
-­‐Burton’s  Gentleman’s  Magazine  starts.  It  ran  until  1840.  
 
1840’s:  During  this  decade  newspaper  staffs  began  to  expand  as  papers  grew  in  size  and  
moved  to  specialized  positions.      
1840  
-­‐Graham’s  Magazine  got  its  start  in  1840.  It  ran  until  1858.    
-­‐The  Lowell  Offering  began  in  1840.  The  periodical  featured  the  writing  of  young  female  
textile  workers  until  it  stopped  publication  in  1845.  
 
1841  
-­‐Horace  Greeley  establishes  The  New-­‐York  Tribune.    
 
1842  
-­‐Benjamin  Day  Founds  Brother  Jonathan,  the  first  illustrated  weekly  in  America.  
 
1844  
Richard  Hoe  created  the  type  revolving  press,  the  first  rotary  to  be  based  on  this  principle.  
 
-­‐Littell’s  Living  Age  starts.  It  ran  until  1927.  
 
1845  
-­‐The  Broadway  Journal  starts.  It  produced  its  first  issue  on  January  4,  1845  and  its  last  on  
January  3,  1846.    
 
1847  
-­‐Frederick  Douglass  starts  The  North  Star,  an  anti-­‐slavery  newspaper,  in  Rochester,  NY.  The  
paper  merges  with  the  Liberty  Party  Paper  to  create  Frederick  Douglass’  Paper  in  1851.    
 
-­‐Richard  Hoe’s  invented  the  first  successful  rotary  printing  press,  after  improving  his  
earlier  type-­‐revolving  model.  The  rotary  printing  press  replaced  the  flatbed  press.    
 
1850’s:  Newspaper  began  to  feature  illustrations.  Political  newspapers  also  increased.    
 
1851  
-­‐The  New-­‐York  Daily  Times  starts.  The  paper  became  The  New  York  Times  in  1857  and  is  
still  being  printed  today.    
 
1855  
-­‐Fanny  Fern  column  first  appears  in  The  New  York  Ledger.  The  deal  was  the  “highest  price  
that  has  ever  been  paid  by  any  newspaper  publisher  to  any  author”  according  to  publisher  
Robert  Bonner.    
 
1860  
-­‐Douglass  Monthly,  a  newspaper  edited  by  Frederick  Douglass  starts  publication.    
 
-­‐The  New  York  Ledger’s  circulation  reaches  400,000,  which  was  an  unheard-­‐of  circulation  at  
the  time.  
 
-­‐There  were  approximately  3,000  newspapers  being  printed  in  the  United  States  in  1860.  
In  comparison,  there  were  only  200  newspapers  in  1800.    
1865  
William  Bullock  invented  the  roll-­‐fed  rotary  press.  It  featured  a  device  for  cutting  the  paper  
after  printing.