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Open Dissertation Final.Pdf The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of the Liberal Arts “BREAKING OVER THE BOUNDARIES OF THE PARTY:” THE ROLE OF PARTY NEWSPAPERS IN DEMOCRATIC FACTIONALISM IN THE ANTEBELLUM NORTH, 1845-1852 A Dissertation in History by Matthew Isham © 2010 Matthew Isham Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2010 The dissertation of Matthew Isham was reviewed and approved* by the following: Mark E. Neely, Jr. McCabe-Greer Professor in the American Civil War Era Dissertation Advisor Chair of Committee Anthony E. Kaye Associate Professor of History Matthew Restall Edwin Earle Sparks Professor of Colonial Latin American History, Anthropology and Women‟s Studies J. Ford Risley Associate Professor of Communications Carol Reardon Director of Graduate Studies George Winfree Professor of American History *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School. ii ABSTRACT In the first half of the nineteenth century partisan newspapers performed a crucial function in the creation and maintenance of the Democratic Party. Partisan newspapers sprang up rapidly throughout the country in large cities and small towns, coastal ports and western settlements. For many of their readers, these newspapers embodied the party itself. The papers introduced readers to the leaders of their parties, disseminated party principles and creeds, and informed them of the seemingly nefarious machinations of their foes in other parties. They provided a common set of political ideals and a common political language that linked like- minded residents of distant communities, otherwise unknown to each other, in a cohesive organization. In the North, the focus of this dissertation, these newspapers interpreted regional economic development and local political issues within the context of their partisan ideals, providing guidance to readers as they confronted the parochial issues of their community. Ironically, these same partisan newspapers also undermined their party‟s message and even sowed the seeds of dissent. Because partisan newspapers were independent businesses affiliated with a party, not operated by it, they retained a large degree of autonomy. Democratic leaders thus exerted imperfect and incomplete control of their most important tool for spreading the party message and communicating with voters. These papers often embodied the individual thoughts and opinions of their owner-editors as much as they represented the expressions of the party. These editors were inveterate boosters for their community, and they often bucked party principle when promoting the peculiar parochial needs of their community and customers. Though the party helped supply newspapers with much-needed customers, editors viewed their position as a public trust beholden to the needs and wants of their community, not party leaders. Editors altered the party creed and willfully inspired rebellious factions within the party in pursuit of growth and economic development for their communities, as well as increased social standing for themselves. These and similar actions weakened some voters‟ ideological attachment to the Democracy and contributed to the rise of new organizations, culminating with the Republican Party, that would supersede the Democratic Party in the North by the late 1850s. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………………………….. vi INTRODUCTION: RECONSIDERING NORTHERN DEMOCRATS IN THE ANTEBELLUM PERIOD …………………………………………………………... 1 Sources and Method ……………………………………………………………... 4 CHAPTER 1: THE PARTY AND THE PRESS ….……………………………...…. 9 The Evolution of the American Press ...………………………………………... 14 Democrats and Whigs ...…………………………………………………….….. 33 Perceptions of the Partisan Press ...…………………………………………..… 38 Modernized Democracy in Maine ...…………………………………………… 42 Office-Seekers and Speculators in Upstate New York ...……..………………... 48 Independent Jacksonians on the Western Reserve ..…………………………… 54 Conclusion ...………………………………………………………………….... 60 CHAPTER 2: THE GO-AHEAD AGE ……………………………………………. 63 Expansion and Free Trade during the Polk Administration ……………………. 70 International Development and Provincial Anxiety in Maine …………………. 76 Equal Rights in the Western Reserve …………………………………………... 88 Violent Factionalism in Upstate New York …………………………………... 102 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………. 116 CHAPTER 3: THE MEXICAN WAR, THE WILMOT PROVISO, AND THE PROBLEM OF THE NORTHERN DOUGHFACE ……………………………... 119 Democratic Antislavery and Whig Abolitionism Clash on the Reserve ……… 125 Temperance and Corporate Rights in Maine …………………………………. 138 The Proviso Splits the New York Democracy ………………………………... 152 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………. 166 CHAPTER 4: THE HALF-HEARTED COMMITMENT TO FREE SOIL ……... 171 Democratic Unity in Maine …………………………………………………... 178 An Irreparable Breach in the New York Democracy? …………...…………… 196 Supporting Popular Sovereignty and the Proviso on the Western Reserve …... 213 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………. 227 iv CHAPTER 5: COMPROMISE AND COLLAPSE ………………………………. 230 The Compromise of 1850 …………………………………………….............. 230 Temperance Splits the Maine Democracy ......................................................... 236 Croswell‟s Decline Heals the New York Democracy ........................................ 247 Racism Consumes Western Reserve Democrats ............................................... 258 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 265 CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………………….... 268 Bibliography ............................................................................................................ 273 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Like every scholar who finishes a project of this magnitude, I had considerable assistance along the way. I first must thank the administration in the Department of History and Religious Studies itself for its forbearance as my project dragged on past the early deadlines I had set. Without their patience, I might not have been able to bring it to fruition. I had the wonderful good fortune to be a part of the George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center here at Penn State, which provided me both with needed research funding and numerous opportunities to broaden my scholarly experiences. I especially want to thank Center Director William Blair for the privilege of serving as his editorial assistant for the journal Civil War History. It was one of the most enriching experiences I have had in academia. Archival research for a dissertation can be a strange and dizzying experience. Thankfully, I had the help of many people in locating the materials I needed for my project. Eric Novotny, Penn State‟s Humanities Librarian, cheerfully answered all of my questions, no matter how ill- informed, and pointed me in fruitful directions as I searched for relevant materials. The staffs at the Fogler Special Collections Library at the University of Maine, the George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives at Bowdoin College, and the Ohio Historical Society all were universally welcoming and helpful in navigating their unique facilities. When it came time to write, I was fortunate to have the assistance of several friends and colleagues in critiquing my work. Mike Smith, Mary Faulkner, Jan Logeman, Jana Byars, Robert Faber, Christine Reese, and Russell Spinney all provided incisive critiques and helpful suggestions. Rachel Moran, whom I met late in the dissertation process and who found my subject dreadfully boring, nevertheless listened to me blather on about it and provided selfless encouragement as I neared completion. These good friends (and many others at Penn State too numerous to mention) made graduate school a much more enjoyable experience than it otherwise might have been. Lastly, I must single out Mike Smith for special thanks in this regard. His support of my scholarship and his friendship are one of the highlights of my experiences here at Penn State. In addition to the helpful critiques of fellow graduate students I must thank the members of my committee, Tony Kaye, Matthew Restall, and Holloway Sparks for their guidance through vi my comprehensive exams and, along with Ford Risley, their encouragement of this project. Two other members of the Department of History bear special mention. Carol Reardon was an unfailing source of support throughout my tenure here, and I can honestly say I could not have completed the program without her help. My advisor, Mark Neely, was gracious and patient throughout the writing process and offered me thorough, exacting, and penetrating critiques at every step. As an advisor and mentor, I could not have asked more of him, and I am fortunate and proud to call myself his student. He sets a consistent example of rigorous, engaged scholarship that I can only hope to emulate. Without my family‟s support and guidance, I would not have developed the intellectual interests that led me to graduate studies in History. I am especially fortunate to have parents who were educators and instilled in me a love of learning and helped to stoke my intellectually curiosity. Finally, I want to thank Michelle Isham and our son, Owen. Michelle is a tremendously supportive and dear friend and an excellent mother. Owen reminds me on a daily basis that my most important and rewarding role in life is being his dad. He is a fisherman, musician, gymnast, martial artist, scientist, chef, and cereal designer. I realized not too long ago that if he can do all those things surely
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