The West Virginia Journal (Charleston, W. Va.)
Historic newspapers carry the language, views and graphic reporting of their time, including racist content. They are shown to teen and adult profiles.
128 issues from 1864 to 1869, published in Charleston, West Virginia, digitised for Chronicling America.
Charleston’s West Virginia Journal was the product of two Ohio brothers: Edward T. Moore and Samuel S. Moore. Both brothers possessed backgrounds in printing, and Edward had served in the 12th Ohio Infantry during the Civil War- a regiment that saw extensive service in West Virginia. Edward Moore’s time in the Mountain State was apparently impressive, for shortly after mustering out of the army in 1863, he and Samuel moved to Charleston. The following year, the brothers launched the West Virginia Journal, a four-page weekly paper published every Wednesday.
The Journal offered a variety of local and national news, poetry, short stories, advice columns, advertisements, and more. The most notable feature of the newspaper, however, was its politics. The Journal was the first Republican newspaper in Charleston and Kanawha County, and the Moore brothers were staunch supporters of Abraham Lincoln and Unionism. Moreover, the newspaper also served as a tool for Unionists seeking to disparage pro-Southern citizens in the Kanawha Valley region. The Journal continued its support for the Republican Party after the Civil War as well.
The West Virginia Journal underwent a number of ownership and editorial changes over the years and served as a springboard for future newspaper editors and Republican politicians. Several years after its founding, George W. Atkinson purchased a share of the Journal. A notable figure in West Virginia history, Atkinson would later serve as editor of the…
- Genres
- News
- Published in
- Charleston, West Virginia, 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