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Freedom's Journal and El Clamor Público: African American

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Freedom's Journal and El Clamor Público: African American Freedom’s Journal and El Clamor Público: African American and Mexican American Cultural Fronts in Nineteenth-Century Newsprint By Arturo Romero Nunez A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Marcial González, Chair Professor Donald McQuade Professor David Montejano Fall 2010 1 Abstract Freedom’s Journal and El Clamor Público: African American and Mexican American Cultural Fronts in Nineteenth-Century Newsprint by Arturo Romero Nunez Doctor of Philosophy in English University of California, Berkeley Professor Marcial González, Chair Both Freedom’s Journal and El Clamor Público represent nineteenth- century milestones because they historically demarcate the inception and terminal points of Manifest Destiny’s progress across the continental United States. As such, this project chronicles the cumulative effects of Anglo-based racism on African and Mexican American communities — a fact that remained not only consistent but also remarkably comparable in these two cases, even though each journal is separated by three thousand miles, twenty-six years, and a different language. Such similarities speak to the numerous and interconnected nineteenth-century practices that collectively undermined the agency and survivability of communities of color, including slavery, Anglo- based free labor, Southern and Southwestern lynching, and filibustering expeditions. Yet Freedom’s Journal and El Clamor Público are more than mere reflexive reactions to Anglo-based bigotry; they are historical manuscripts that reflect extraordinary self-determination, and this was revealed within the content of each journal through their coverage of militancy, assimilation-based strategies, and an ever-present insistence on authorial autonomy. Both journals represent what scholars today regard as the respective historic origins for African and Mexican American political and cultural consciousness, and are likewise surprisingly radical — even by today’s standards. By ceaselessly drawing attention to the United States Constitution’s guaranteed civil rights, Freedom’s Journal and El Clamor Público founded their radicalness on the instinctive supposition that such liberties extended equally and naturally to persons of color. It was this journalistic daring that mostly distinguishes Freedom’s Journal and El Clamor Público as not only ahead of their time, but also as relevant texts for the present — as contemporary reminders of how their struggle for civil rights remain as unresolved today as they did then. i Dedication I would not have been able to complete this degree without the assistance of the following individuals. First, I would like to reverentially acknowledge my original source of strength and guidance, Jesus Christ (Philippians 4:13). Second, I would like to recognize my wife, Karen Núñez, who has courageously supported my efforts throughout this process. She has read, edited, and graciously offered feedback on large portions of this manuscript. Without her, it would have been literally impossible to achieve this milestone. Karen: you are the sole reason for my success, in this, and in so many other areas of my life. And lastly, I would like to dedicate my doctorate to my little brother, Esteban Núñez. Although gone from this earth, he nonetheless remains a powerful inspiration for my family and me. Many years ago, I stepped onto this university for the first time, a few days after burying Esteban. Today, I step off this university, with Esteban’s memory close at hand. Together, we will both triumphantly walk across that stage, and someday, into God’s eternal hands. ii Table of Contents Introduction v Chapter 1 – Hard Print Voices: Evolving Self-Determination Part 1 – The Need for an Independent Voice: The History of the Black and Brown Press African American Nineteenth-Century Written Culture and Freedom’s Journal 1 Freedom’s Journal: The Voice of the Community 2 The Nineteenth-Century Alta California Press 4 El Clamor Público: the Voice of the Community 6 Part 2 – A Periodic Nemesis: The New-York Enquirer and the Los Angeles Star Freedom’s Journal vs. The New York Enquirer 9 The “Noah Thesis” 11 Countering Black Caricatures and Lampoons 13 El Clamor Público vs. the Los Angeles Star 15 Pro-Slavery Los Angeles: The Southern Chivalry Party and The Know-Nothings 17 Frémont vs. Buchanan 19 Part 3 – The Editors: Making History John B. Russwurm: One of America’s First African American College Graduates 21 Samuel E. Cornish: America’s First Ordained African American Presbyterian Minister 25 Francisco P. Ramírez: Organic Intellectual Extraordinaire 28 Chapter 2 – Destiny Manifested: Expressions of White Superiority and Control Part 1 – Cultural Boundaries: Defining Subaltern Social Spaces in Nineteenth-Century New York and Los Angeles Freedom’s Journal’s Response to Early Nineteenth-Century Slavery 34 Fear of a Free Black Populace: The Colonizationist Movement 36 Black Gold: African American Slaves and Freemen in the Gold Rush 38 The Mexican Class System in Pre-Conquest Alta California 40 The California Land Commission: Dispossessing the Mexican American Landed Gentry 42 iii Squatter’s Rights: Raiding Land Locked in Litigation 43 The Californio Working-Class and the Foreign Miner’s Tax 45 Part 2 – “Lynchocracia”: Black and Brown Inscribed Bodies African American Lynching: Southern and Northern Domestic Terrorism 47 Kidnapping in the North: Re-Selling Blacks into Slavery 50 Black Women: Dehumanization through Rape 52 A Hidden History: Mexican American Lynching in California 54 Judge Lynch: The Myth of Necessary Frontier Justice 56 Part 3 – Imperialist Desires: Nation Building through Slavery, Free Labor Competition, and Filibustering On the Backs of Slaves: Deconstructing the Economic Rationale for Slavery 59 On the Backs of Non-Slaves: Deconstructing the Economic Rationale in Favor of Free Labor 62 Land Grab: William Walker and the Pirates of the Caribbean 65 Chapter 3 – Colonization Schemes: Fleeing White Democracy and Benevolence Part 1 – Liberia, Africa: Voices For and Against Colonization The American Colonization Society: Origins and Rationale 70 Benevolent Societies: Preparing the Expatriates 73 Free African American Responses to the American Colonization Society 77 Part 2 – Sonora, Mexico: Retreating from “Liberal” America Misplaced Liberal Idealism 81 Anglo-based Democracy Defined 84 Challenges of a One-Man Editorship 86 Sonora-Bound 87 Part 3 – In-Country: Liberian and Sonoran Realities The Liberia Herald: John B. Russwurm, Editor 91 Natives and Pirates: Social Unrest in the Liberian Utopia 93 Liberia: When the Solution Re-creates the Problem 94 La Estrella del Occidente: Francisco P. Ramírez, Editor 97 Natives and Pirates: Social Unrest in the Sonoran Utopia 98 Sonora: The City of Lost Angels Re-visited 100 iv Chapter 4 – ‘If We Stay, Then What?’: Recourses for Surviving Nineteenth-Century America Part 1 – Black and Brown Militancy: David Walker and Juan Flores David Walker: Immediate Emancipation By Any Means Necessary 103 Redeeming Manhood and Community through Militancy 105 David Walker’s Multi-class Resistance 107 “A Strange Metamorphosis”: From Rural Peasant to Insurgent 109 The Rebel with a Cause: Juan Flores and his Multi-class Raiders 111 Momentary Multi-class Solidarity 112 Part 2 – Duplicitous Discursive Strategies: Black and Brown ”Double-Talk” Soft Militancy: Conduct-based Resistance 115 Behavioral Recalibration 116 The Limits of Conduct-based Militancy 117 Schizophrenic Renderings 119 Assimilation-based Double-Talk 121 Resistance-based Double-Talk 123 Part 3 – Owning Our Own Voice: The Enduring Legacy of Freedom’s Journal and El Clamor Público Freedom’s Journal: My Words, Not Yours 125 “The Man Struck is the Man to Cry Out”: Self-Determination on Our Terms 127 Educating the Masses: Creating a Medium for Cultural Awareness 128 From Bi-Cultural to Subcultural 129 Conclusion Resisting the Subordination Process: Rescuing Cultural Subjectivity 132 Reclaiming African American and Mexican American Narrative Subjectivity 133 Works Cited 136 Bibliography 145 v Introduction To say that both Freedom’s Journal and El Clamor Público were milestones in the early efforts for African American and Mexican American self- determination is somewhat of an understatement. Not only do these newspapers carry the historical distinction of being among the first minority- owned and-operated periodicals in New York and Los Angeles respectively, but the editorial tone and approach of each was also decidedly radical for its time — perhaps even by today’s standards. Appearing at a time when both cultures were experiencing historically-significant changes, both Freedom’s Journal and El Clamor Público represent a repository not only of their prevailing conditions and thoughts, but also of their collective responses to the critical challenges they both then faced — and other minority-owned publications continue to face today. My research proposes to connect these two cultural narratives discursively in ways that highlight their corresponding relation to the larger socioeconomic forces of Anglo-based Manifest Destiny of an emerging American empire. While each journal is indeed separated by twenty-six years, a different language, and three thousand miles, they nonetheless bridge both the inception and terminal points of Manifest Destiny’s progress across the continental United States — and the voices
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