Thirty Years with Calhoun, Rhett, and the Charleston Mercury: a Chapter in South Carolina Politics
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1971 Thirty Years With Calhoun, Rhett, and the Charleston Mercury: a Chapter in South Carolina Politics. John Stanford Coussons Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Coussons, John Stanford, "Thirty Years With Calhoun, Rhett, and the Charleston Mercury: a Chapter in South Carolina Politics." (1971). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 2042. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/2042 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 72-3478 COUSSONS, John Stanford, 1931- . THIRTY YEARS WITH CALHOUN, RHETT, AND THE CHARLESTON MERCURY: A CHAPTER IN SOUTH CAROLINA POLITICS. The Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, Ph.D., 1971 History, modern University Microfilms. A XEROXCompany. Ann Arbor, Michigan THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THIRTY YEARS WITH CALHOUN, RHETT, AND THE CHARLESTON MERCURYi A CHAPTER IN SOUTH CAROLINA POLITICS A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of History by John Stanford Coussons B.A., Louisiana College, 1951 M.A. Louisiana State University, 1958 August, 1971 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The author is grateful to Dr. T. Harry Williams for the patient and expert criticism which typified his supervision of this work. Mrs. Granville T. Prior, who first suggested the project, has also been re sponsible for invaluable assistance. Dr. William J. Cooper, Dr. John L. Loos and Dr. Anne C. Loveland have provided helpful criticism. Finally, the gracious assistance of Mrs. T. Harry Williams, Mrs. Gladys McNerney, and Messrs. Sinkler, Gibbes, Simons, and Guerard have con tributed materially to the completion of this study. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENT..................................................... il ABSTRACT............................................................. iv INTRODUCTION ....................................................... 1 Chapter I. THE FIRST LESSON ............................................. 9 II. THE FIRST BATTLE ............................................. 41 III. THE ONE GREAT C A U S E ........................................ 77 IV. HIGH TIDE........................................................ 123 V. IMPATIENT PRODIGAL ............................................. 156 VI. CROSS-FIRE ......................... 184 VII. THE STATESMAN OF THE AG E ....................................... 224 VIII. THE REVOLUTION OF 1848 ...................................... 263 IX. A GREAT CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT................................... 308 X. BADGE OF ORTHODOXY ..................................... 338 XI. THE VOICE OF THE L E A D E R ...................................... 378 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................398 VITA .................................................................. 407 iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT First published on January 1, 1822, The Charleston Mercury aspired to provide Charlestonians with a broad coverage of the general and cultural side of the news. In proclaiming his political neutrality the editor, William Morford, charged that political parties served "selfish ends." Branding the influence of such "factions" as per nicious, he endorsed a policy of "harmony and coalition." This approach did not satisfy Morford's readers. Subscrip tions declined and after eighteen months the editor sold the paper to Henry Laurens Pinckney. An attorney and a politician, Pinckney was a member of the legislature: Reversing Morford's policy of political restraint, he placed the Mercury squarely behind Calhoun. During Pinckney's eight years as editor, the paper became a primary spokesman for the Vice President. Advocating nullification, it followed Calhoun in his retreat from nationalism. This approach proved more popular and brought about an increase in both circulation and advertising. By 1830, the Mercury was widely read inside and outside the borders of South Carolina. In 1832 John Allan Stuart replaced Pinckney as editor. Another attomey-politician, Stuart, like Pinckney, was a member of the legislature. Along with his brother-in-law, Robert Barnwell Rhett, Stuart was also a follower of Calhoun. Under Stuart's direc tion the Mercury became the Calhoun-inspired champion of slavery and iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. a strong advocate of southern political unity. Calhoun's influence on the Mercury increased steadily during Stuart's years as editor. When Calhoun sought the presidency in 1844, the Mercury served as the principal spokesman for the campaign. Only a few months later, however, the Senator and the paper parted company. As an important financial backer of Stuart, Rhett exerted a strong force on the Mercury. Since he was a follower of Calhoun, his connection with Stuart initially strengthened the Senator's influence. But in 1844 Rhett lost faith in Calhoun's manner of promoting southern unity. Despairing of the South's willingness to act in concert, Rhett proposed that South Carolina act independently. This decision resulred in a break with Calhoun. Aware that "no public man in [South Carolina had] ever pitted himself in direct hostility to Cal houn who [had] not fallen for it," the Mercury nevertheless followed Rhett. When Calhoun crushed Rhett's effort, the Mercury accepted the consequences of its action. Stuart resigned as editor and Rhett be gan the long process of rebuilding his political prospects. John Milton Clapp became the new editor of the Mercury. Clapp, a professional journalist, was confronted with a difficult situation. Since the Rhett family had retained its finan cial interest in the paper, Clapp was pro-Rhett. Accustomed to thinking of the Mercury as the organ of Calhoun, his readers were dissatisfied with this situation. Hampered, then, by the results of a political rupture, Clapp was left to edit a paper without a mission. The resulting decline in subscriptions is indicative of his plight. V Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Clapp was relieved of his dilemma when John E. Carew bought the paper and became editor on February 1, 1845. An attorney and also a member of the legislature, Carew restored the paper to its former position in the Calhoun camp. Under Carew the Mercury established a national reputation for faithfully representing the views of the great Carolinian. Repenting of its former disposition to favor separate state action, the paper endorsed Calhoun's manner of promoting unity. It advocated cooperation with other southern states and hailed the Nashville Convention as the long awaited vindication of Calhoun's position. This return to the orthodox South Carolina stance was popular with readers. It resulted in an expanded subscription list and a generous increase in advertising. vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INTRODUCTION Ante-bellum politicians viewed the newspaper as the primary vehicle for conveying their ideas to the general public. This cir cumstance is especially discernible in South Carolina between 1820 and 1850. In an effort to build support for his program of southern unity, John C. Calhoun utilized a variety of papers to spread his views throughout both the state and the South. The Pendleton Messen ger, the Columbia South Carolinian, the Washington (D.C.) Telegraph, and the Washington (D.C.) Spectator periodically served in this ca pacity. But the Charleston Mercury furnishes the best example of a political newspaper. For more than twenty years it was published for little reason other than to provide Calhoun with steady and enthusi astic support. From the journalists's point of view, the Mercury was a charac teristic southern newspaper. Neither larger nor smaller than its com petitors, it was available at the same subscription rate. Unlike the New Orleans Picayune to whose direction the Mercury's last editor suc ceeded,^ the Charleston paper was responsible for no spectacular in novations in the world of journalism nor was it distinguished by su perior newsgathering. ^Fayette Copeland, Kendall of the Picayune (Norman, 1943), 20-41; Laura A. White, Robert Barnwell Rhett; Father of Secession (New York, 1931), 242. 1 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2 In line with conventional practice, the Mercury * s front page was given over to advertising. Advertisements extended onto other