The Republican Journal (Belfast, Me.) 1829-Current
Historic newspapers carry the language, views and graphic reporting of their time, including racist content. They are shown to teen and adult profiles.
2,832 issues from 1869 to 1922, published in Belfast, Maine, digitised for Chronicling America.
The Republican Journal was established in Belfast, Maine, the seat of Waldo County, following the demise of the Waldo Democrat (1828-29). The Democrat had backed John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson in the 1828 presidential election, and when Adams failed to win, the paper went out of business. Robert White, Jr. and Cyrus Rowe purchased the Democrat’s printing press. They began circulating the Republican Journal to 333 subscribers on February 6, 1829. White and Rowe staunchly supported President Andrew Jackson and the Democrats. The following year, Maine Working Men’s Advocate (1830-34) was formed to bolster the cause of Belfast’s Whigs.
The Republican Journal was a weekly four-page, five-column sheet. The following prospectus appeared on the front page of its first issue:
We propose to publish in Belfast a new paper of this name to be devoted to Political, Local, Moral, Religious, Literary and Agricultural Information… The political character of this paper shall be decidedly democratic, and we shall never hesitate to avail ourselves of every suitable opportunity to propagate republican sentiments…
Rowe and White worked diligently on the Republican Journal, which flourished with 1150 subscribers by 1837. White retired the following year. Benjamin Griffin of Boston partnered with Rowe, with Griffin serving as editor. Rowe sold his interest in the Journal in 1843 to Benjamin Griffin, who owned the Journal with his brother George. Two years later, the Griffins enlarged the…
- Genres
- News
- Published in
- Belfast, Maine, United States
- Language
- English
- Collection
- Chronicling America
- Licence or status
- None stated by the archive
- Rights
- The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety.
- Credit
- Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities
- Who can read it
- Teens profiles and older (placed by Invisible Network from what the archive says; archives give no ratings)
- Archive
- Library of Congress