New York Courier and Enquirer
Encyclopedia
The New York Courier and Enquirer, properly called the Morning Courier and New-York Enquirer, was a daily broadsheet newspaper
published in New York City
from June 1829 until June 1861, when it was merged into the New York World
. Throughout its life it was edited by newspaper publisher James Watson Webb
. It was closely connected with the rise and fall of the United States Whig Party
, and was noted for its careful coverage of New York Harbor shipping news and its close attention to speeches and events in the United States Congress
.
. After Webb purchased the Enquirer in 1829, he merged the two Manhattan-based news sheets together to form the Morning Courier and New-York Enquirer, usually called simply the Courier and Enquirer. At that time a partisan supporter of newly-elected President Andrew Jackson
, Webb ran his newspaper in the interest of what was becoming the Democratic Party
. He hired young journalist James Gordon Bennett, Sr.
to be his associate editor.
By the 1830s, Bennett's and Webb's Courier and Enquirer had developed a crack reportorial system for gathering news from New York-based ships and from Washington, D.C. Although the young newspaper cost only 6¢ per copy, the paper was able to compile the resources necessary to set up a pioneering pony express
system to carry dispatches from the U.S. Capitol. In one 1830 coup, the Courier and Enquirer obtained the text of Jackson's annual message to Congress
in only 27.5 hours.
However, New York's growing business community
felt increasing dislike for Jackson's populism
. As a member of this class and social network, Webb was pulled away from his old ties -- and attracted towards the political circle around Webb's new friend, federal senator Henry Clay
. Clay, although he was from Kentucky
, was taking the lead in defense of New York's growing banking sector
against attacks from Jacksonians
.
Newspaper competition played a role in the accelerating movement of the Courier and Enquirer away from Jacksonianism. One of its chief rival papers, the New York Evening Post
, was edited by Webb's rival William Leggett. Leggett, who was allied with Jackson's New York political lieutenant Martin Van Buren
, edited the Evening Post to be hostile to banks and the New York financial sector. Webb and the Courier and Enquirer sensed an opportunity to create an anti-Jackson newspaper with a national reach. In a key sign of this split, in 1832 associate editor Bennett left the Courier and Enquirer to start his own Democratic paper, the New York Herald
.
By 1834 Webb, Clay, and the East Coast financial industry had joined hands to form a new, nationwide political party. While its party machinery was based on Clay's National Republican Party, the new name for the political gathering, the Whig
Party, was coined by Webb, who became the young party's chief media proprietor
. The Courier and Enquirer thus became a key element in the United States's Second Party System
, in which the Democratic Party and the Whig Party confronted each other during the decades prior to the American Civil War
. A standard history of New York states that during the 1830s, the Courier and Enquirer was "the largest and most powerful paper in the United States."
Democrats considered Webb to be a disloyal traitor to their side, and responded to the Courier and Enquirer's news coverage with great bitterness. In 1837-1838, Democrats in Congress
made floor speeches that attacked the Courier and Enquirer with such ferocity that one of Clay's Kentucky allies, congressman William J. Graves
, challenged a critic of the Courier and Enquirer, Maine Democratic lawmaker Jonathan Cilley
, to a duel
. Their personal combat, which began with editorials in the Courier and Enquirer and speeches on the U.S. House floor
, ended with Cilley's death.
The successful operation of an American electrical telegraph in 1844 created a paradigm shift
in American newspapering. Soon the Morse lines reached New York City, and Webb's competitors, headed by rival Whig editor Horace Greeley
, proved to be more adept in adapting to the new technology and publishing daily newspapers filled with fresh news
. Webb grew increasingly uninterested in his journalistic duties, and began, starting in 1849, to trawl for appointment as a United States ambassador
or to some other post that would grant him the social status he wanted.
As the Courier and Enquirer ceased to be a cutting-edge newspaper, the Whig Party also declined. In line with the ties of many New York merchants to the U.S. South and its slaveholding community, the Courier and Enquirer had always supported American slavery. The paper's coverage of African-Americans was extremely hostile, marked by prejudice and bigotry
. While this kind of coverage was little problem for the newspaper in the 1830s and 1840s, the growth of free soil and even abolitionist sentiment throughout the Northern states in the 1850s made the Courier and Enquirer look archaic. Meanwhile, the Whigs, torn apart by the growing slavery crisis, could not field a candidate for the U.S. presidency in 1856. Many New York Whigs joined the new Republican Party
.
In 1861, Webb's fellow former Whig, Abraham Lincoln
, became U.S. President; but the new chief executive had little use for the aging newspaper. Lincoln appointed Webb first to be U.S. minister to Turkey
, which he declined, and then minister to Brazil
, an appointment that he accepted. Both countries were far away from New York City. The newly named diplomat consolidated the Courier and Enquirer into the new, rival newspaper, the New York World, which carried on the Courier and Enquirer's racist
coverage. As the World was a Democratic paper, the partisan history of the Courier and Enquirer had revolved through a full circle. As former editor Webb sailed southward in 1861 to take on his new job, the Courier and Enquirer ceased publication forever.
, and Daniel Webster
, is credited with enlarging the reputation of these three men into key figures of the Second Party System or antebellum period of U.S. history, and eventually to their reputation as members of the Great Triumvirate
.
A microfilm file of the New York Courier and Enquirer from its June 16, 1829 startup until its June 29, 1861 dissolution can be found on the shelves of the New York State Library
under the title Morning Courier and New-York Enquirer.
A similar file, marked "incomplete", can be found in the New York Public Library
under the title Morning Courier and New York Enquirer.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
published in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
from June 1829 until June 1861, when it was merged into the New York World
New York World
The New York World was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers...
. Throughout its life it was edited by newspaper publisher James Watson Webb
James Watson Webb
General James Watson Webb was a United States diplomat, newspaper publisher and a New York politician in the Whig and Republican parties.-Biography:...
. It was closely connected with the rise and fall of the United States Whig Party
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
, and was noted for its careful coverage of New York Harbor shipping news and its close attention to speeches and events in the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
.
Growth
The Courier and Enquirer was based upon the merger of two pre-existing newspapers, editor Webb's New York Morning Courier (1827) and another paper, Mordecai Noah's New-York EnquirerNew York Enquirer
The New York Enquirer has been the name of two unrelated newspapers published in New York City.-19th century New York Enquirer:The New York Enquirer was founded in 1826 by Mordecai Noah. According to the masthead, it was "published every Tuesday and Friday at No. 1 Williams St., New York, New York"...
. After Webb purchased the Enquirer in 1829, he merged the two Manhattan-based news sheets together to form the Morning Courier and New-York Enquirer, usually called simply the Courier and Enquirer. At that time a partisan supporter of newly-elected President Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
, Webb ran his newspaper in the interest of what was becoming the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. He hired young journalist James Gordon Bennett, Sr.
James Gordon Bennett, Sr.
James Gordon Bennett, Sr. was the founder, editor and publisher of the New York Herald and a major figure in the history of American newspapers.-Biography:...
to be his associate editor.
By the 1830s, Bennett's and Webb's Courier and Enquirer had developed a crack reportorial system for gathering news from New York-based ships and from Washington, D.C. Although the young newspaper cost only 6¢ per copy, the paper was able to compile the resources necessary to set up a pioneering pony express
Pony Express
The Pony Express was a fast mail service crossing the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the High Sierra from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, from April 3, 1860 to October 1861...
system to carry dispatches from the U.S. Capitol. In one 1830 coup, the Courier and Enquirer obtained the text of Jackson's annual message to Congress
State of the Union Address
The State of the Union is an annual address presented by the President of the United States to the United States Congress. The address not only reports on the condition of the nation but also allows the president to outline his legislative agenda and his national priorities.The practice arises...
in only 27.5 hours.
However, New York's growing business community
History of New York City (1784-1854)
The history of New York City started with the establishment of the city as the capital of the new United States under the Congress of the Confederation from January 11, 1785 to Autumn 1788, and then under the United States Constitution from it's ratification in 1789 until moving to Philadelphia in...
felt increasing dislike for Jackson's populism
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
. As a member of this class and social network, Webb was pulled away from his old ties -- and attracted towards the political circle around Webb's new friend, federal senator Henry Clay
Henry Clay
Henry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
. Clay, although he was from Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, was taking the lead in defense of New York's growing banking sector
Bank of New York
The Bank of New York was a global financial services company established in 1784 by the American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. It existed until its merger with the Mellon Financial Corporation on July 2, 2007...
against attacks from Jacksonians
Jacksonian democracy
Jacksonian democracy is the political movement toward greater democracy for the common man typified by American politician Andrew Jackson and his supporters. Jackson's policies followed the era of Jeffersonian democracy which dominated the previous political era. The Democratic-Republican Party of...
.
Newspaper competition played a role in the accelerating movement of the Courier and Enquirer away from Jacksonianism. One of its chief rival papers, the New York Evening Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
, was edited by Webb's rival William Leggett. Leggett, who was allied with Jackson's New York political lieutenant Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....
, edited the Evening Post to be hostile to banks and the New York financial sector. Webb and the Courier and Enquirer sensed an opportunity to create an anti-Jackson newspaper with a national reach. In a key sign of this split, in 1832 associate editor Bennett left the Courier and Enquirer to start his own Democratic paper, the New York Herald
New York Herald
The New York Herald was a large distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between May 6, 1835, and 1924.-History:The first issue of the paper was published by James Gordon Bennett, Sr., on May 6, 1835. By 1845 it was the most popular and profitable daily newspaper in the UnitedStates...
.
By 1834 Webb, Clay, and the East Coast financial industry had joined hands to form a new, nationwide political party. While its party machinery was based on Clay's National Republican Party, the new name for the political gathering, the Whig
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
Party, was coined by Webb, who became the young party's chief media proprietor
Media proprietor
A media proprietor is a person who controls, either through personal ownership or a dominant position in any media enterprise. Those with significant control of a public company in the mass media may also be called "media moguls", "tycoons", "barons", or "bosses".The figure of the media proprietor...
. The Courier and Enquirer thus became a key element in the United States's Second Party System
Second Party System
The Second Party System is a term of periodization used by historians and political scientists to name the political party system existing in the United States from about 1828 to 1854...
, in which the Democratic Party and the Whig Party confronted each other during the decades prior to the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. A standard history of New York states that during the 1830s, the Courier and Enquirer was "the largest and most powerful paper in the United States."
Democrats considered Webb to be a disloyal traitor to their side, and responded to the Courier and Enquirer's news coverage with great bitterness. In 1837-1838, Democrats in Congress
25th United States Congress
-House of Representatives:-Leadership:- Senate :* President: Richard Mentor Johnson * President pro tempore: William R. King - House of Representatives :* Speaker: James K. Polk -Members:This list is arranged by chamber, then by state...
made floor speeches that attacked the Courier and Enquirer with such ferocity that one of Clay's Kentucky allies, congressman William J. Graves
William J. Graves
William Jordan Graves was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky.Graves was born in New Castle, Kentucky, and pursued an academic course early in life, choosing to study law. He was admitted to the bar and practiced law in Kentucky before serving as member of the State house of representatives in 1834...
, challenged a critic of the Courier and Enquirer, Maine Democratic lawmaker Jonathan Cilley
Jonathan Cilley
Jonathan Cilley was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine. He served part of one term in the 25th Congress. He died in office at Bladensburg, Md. as the result of being challenged to fight a duel with Congressman William J. Graves, a colleague from Kentucky...
, to a duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
. Their personal combat, which began with editorials in the Courier and Enquirer and speeches on the U.S. House floor
National Statuary Hall
National Statuary Hall is a chamber in the United States Capitol devoted to sculptures of prominent Americans. The hall, also known as the Old Hall of the House, is a large, two-story, semicircular room with a second story gallery along the curved perimeter. It is located immediately south of the...
, ended with Cilley's death.
Decline
Like other United States newspapers of the era, the Courier and Enquirer was not founded as a provider of up-to-the-minute information. Its pages tended to be filled with the texts of letters written on paper and physically delivered to the editor from distant locations (from where we get our word for a newspaper reporter, "correspondent"), and partisan editorials.The successful operation of an American electrical telegraph in 1844 created a paradigm shift
Paradigm shift
A Paradigm shift is, according to Thomas Kuhn in his influential book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions , a change in the basic assumptions, or paradigms, within the ruling theory of science...
in American newspapering. Soon the Morse lines reached New York City, and Webb's competitors, headed by rival Whig editor Horace Greeley
Horace Greeley
Horace Greeley was an American newspaper editor, a founder of the Liberal Republican Party, a reformer, a politician, and an outspoken opponent of slavery...
, proved to be more adept in adapting to the new technology and publishing daily newspapers filled with fresh news
New York Tribune
The New York Tribune was an American newspaper, first established by Horace Greeley in 1841, which was long considered one of the leading newspapers in the United States...
. Webb grew increasingly uninterested in his journalistic duties, and began, starting in 1849, to trawl for appointment as a United States ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
or to some other post that would grant him the social status he wanted.
As the Courier and Enquirer ceased to be a cutting-edge newspaper, the Whig Party also declined. In line with the ties of many New York merchants to the U.S. South and its slaveholding community, the Courier and Enquirer had always supported American slavery. The paper's coverage of African-Americans was extremely hostile, marked by prejudice and bigotry
Anti-abolitionist riots (1834)
The Anti-abolitionist riots of 1834, also known simplistically as the Farren Riots, occurred in New York City over a series of four nights, beginning on July 7, 1834...
. While this kind of coverage was little problem for the newspaper in the 1830s and 1840s, the growth of free soil and even abolitionist sentiment throughout the Northern states in the 1850s made the Courier and Enquirer look archaic. Meanwhile, the Whigs, torn apart by the growing slavery crisis, could not field a candidate for the U.S. presidency in 1856. Many New York Whigs joined the new Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
.
In 1861, Webb's fellow former Whig, Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, became U.S. President; but the new chief executive had little use for the aging newspaper. Lincoln appointed Webb first to be U.S. minister to Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, which he declined, and then minister to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, an appointment that he accepted. Both countries were far away from New York City. The newly named diplomat consolidated the Courier and Enquirer into the new, rival newspaper, the New York World, which carried on the Courier and Enquirer's racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
coverage. As the World was a Democratic paper, the partisan history of the Courier and Enquirer had revolved through a full circle. As former editor Webb sailed southward in 1861 to take on his new job, the Courier and Enquirer ceased publication forever.
Today
The Courier and Enquirer's close coverage of three U.S. Senate opponents of Andrew Jackson, namely Henry Clay, John C. CalhounJohn C. Calhoun
John Caldwell Calhoun was a leading politician and political theorist from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century. Calhoun eloquently spoke out on every issue of his day, but often changed positions. Calhoun began his political career as a nationalist, modernizer, and proponent...
, and Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster was a leading American statesman and senator from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England shipping interests...
, is credited with enlarging the reputation of these three men into key figures of the Second Party System or antebellum period of U.S. history, and eventually to their reputation as members of the Great Triumvirate
Great Triumvirate
The Great Triumvirate is a term that refers to the three statesmen who dominated the United States Senate in the 1830s and 1840s: Henry Clay of Kentucky, Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina...
.
A microfilm file of the New York Courier and Enquirer from its June 16, 1829 startup until its June 29, 1861 dissolution can be found on the shelves of the New York State Library
New York State Library
The New York State Library is part of the New York State Education Department. The Library and its sister institutions, the New York State Museum and New York State Archives, are housed in the Cultural Education Center...
under the title Morning Courier and New-York Enquirer.
A similar file, marked "incomplete", can be found in the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
under the title Morning Courier and New York Enquirer.