The Spirit of Democracy (Woodsfield, Ohio)
Historic newspapers carry the language, views and graphic reporting of their time, including racist content. They are shown to teen and adult profiles.
2,107 issues from 1844 to 1886, published in Woodsfield, Ohio, digitised for Chronicling America.
On March 1, 1844, James R. Morris published the first issue of the Spirit of Democracy from Woodsfield, Ohio, the seat of Monroe County, with equipment purchased at an auction in Washington, D.C., that had originally been used to publish the Spirit of Democracy in Leesburg, Virginia. Morris’s prospectus, printed in the March 8, 1844 issue of the Spirit of Democracy stated his intention to “advocate the measures of the Democratic Party”; print “the most important News of the day, both Foreign and Domestic [and provide] the usual entertaining and instructive variety”; and “guard the interest of the Farmers, Mechanics, and Working men generally, in relation to their rights and the duties they owe to themselves and posterity.”
Because political affiliation was an important part of the paper’s identity, political news and editorials often filled the second page. Local news, advertisements, and poetry could be found on the other pages along with content related to the arts and sciences, education, and agriculture. Because it covered so many different subjects appealing to a variety of interests, the Spirit of Democracy called itself a “family newspaper.”
Morris was elected to the Ohio State Legislature in 1848, and, to pursue his political career and continue publication of the Spirit of Democracy, he hired Jeremiah Williams in 1854 to serve as his assistant. Williams became the paper’s editor and co-proprietor the next year. In 1861, Williams joined the army to fight in the…
- Genres
- News
- Published in
- Woodsfield, Ohio, 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