The Campaign Newspaper Title Quiz: The Answers

Last week we asked readers to figure out which five from a list of thirty nineteenth-century campaign newspaper titles were fake. Here are the answers. How did you do?

  1. Sober Second Thought (Hartford, CT), 1841

CT_Hartford_SoberSecond

A Democratic newspaper supporting Martin Van Buren.

  1. Castigator (Middletown, CT), 1840

CT_Middletown_Castigator

Another Democratic newspaper supporting Martin Van Buren.

  1. A Kick in the Pants – Fake
  1. Hard Cider Press (Chicago, IL), 1840

5000_0001

This is the first campaign newspaper published in Chicago.  It was a Democratic paper.

  1. The Old Soldier (Springfield, IL), 1840

IL_Springfield_OldSoldier

This is one of the earliest campaign newspapers known from Springfield, Illinois. It was a Whig newspaper supporting the election of William Henry Harrison. Abraham Lincoln may have worked on this publication.

  1. Tippecanoe Banner and Spirit of Democracy (New Albany, IN), 1840

Tippecanoe banner

A Whig newspaper supporting William Henry Harrison.

  1. Cabinet Maker (Boston, MA), 1860

MA_Boston_CabinetMaker

This is a Democratic newspaper supporting Stephen Douglas.  Like the Rail Splitter supporting Abraham Lincoln, the title of this paper is based on the trade Douglas was taught as a young lad. The aim was to present him as a candidate of the working class.

  1. My Worthless Opponent – Fake
  1. Rough and Ready (Boston, MA), 1848

MA_Boston_RoughReady

A Whig newspaper supporting Zachary Taylor.

 

  1. Give ‘Em Jessie! (Groton, MA), 1856

MA_Groton_GiveEmJesse

A People’s Party newspaper. The phrase “We strike for freedom but not with a cane!” refers to the incident when Preston Brooks of South Carolina beat Charles Sumner with a walking cane in the Senate chambers over a speech Sumner gave attacking slaveholders.

  1. Harry of the West (Lexington, MO), 1844

MO_Lexington_HarryWest

A Whig paper supporting Henry Clay.

  1. The Slasher (St. Louis, MO), 1844

MO_StLouis_Slasher

A Democratic paper supporting James K. Polk.

  1. Rough and Ready (Concord, NH), 1846-1848

NH_Concord_RoughReady
A Democratic Republican paper published in opposition to the Tough and Steady (see number 15 below).

  1. The Cane Mutiny – Fake
  1. Tough and Steady (Concord, NH), 1847

NH_Concord_toughandsteady

An independent newspaper in opposition to the Rough and Ready (see number 13 above).

  1. Whip & Spur (Newport, NH), 1839-1856

This is a Whig newspaper that appeared during various elections between 1839 and 1856.  Here are three mastheads used in 1839, 1840, and 1844.

NH_Newport_WhipSpur01 NH_Newport_WhipSpur02 NH_Newport_WhipSpur03 

  1. The Hare Splitter – Fake
  1. The Polk-er, and Young Hickory Advocate  (Hamilton, NY), 1844

NY_Hamilton_Polk-er

A Democratic newspaper supporting James K. Polk (as if you couldn’t guess from the title).

  1. The Thrasher (Hudson, NY), 1840

NY_Hudson_Thrasher

A Democratic newspaper supporting Martin Van Buren.

  1. Barnburner (New York, NY), 1848

6345_0001

A Free Soil newspaper supporting Martin Van Buren.

  1. New-York Must be Redeemed! (Rochester, NY), 1840

6802_0001

A Democratic newspaper supporting Martin Van Buren.

  1. That Ball! (Rochester, NY), 1840

NY_Rochester_ThatBall

A Whig paper supporting William Henry Harrison.

  1. The Giraffe (Cincinnati, OH), 1842

OH_Cincinnati_Giraffe

A Whig newspaper supporting the election of Thomas Corwin as governor.  This is an example of a campaign newspaper printed for a local rather than national election.

  1. Mother’s Favorite! – Fake
  1. Scott Soup Bowl (Cleveland, OH), 1852

7503_0001

A Whig newspaper supporting Winfield Scott.

  1. That Same Old Coon (Dayton, OH), 1844

OH_Dayton_ThatSameOldCoon

This is a Whig newspaper supporting Henry Clay. The symbol of the Whig party was the raccoon. This newspaper included an image of a raccoon in the masthead, and the pages were bordered by images of raccoons as well.

  1. Coon Dissector  (Dayton, OH), 1844

OH_Dayton_CoonDissector

A Democratic newspaper supporting James K. Polk.  The symbol of the Democratic party at the time was a rooster.  Instead of incorporating their own symbol into the campaign newspaper, they decided to attack their local opponent seen above in number 26.  They used an image of a dead raccoon with a knife in its chest and decorated the borders with dead raccoons hanging by the neck.

  1. The Magician (Harrisburg, PA), 1840

PA_Harrisburg_Magician

A Democratic newspaper supporting Martin Van Buren.

  1. The Dirty Shirt (Philadelphia, PA), 1840

PA_Philadelpiha_DirtyShirt

A Democratic newspaper supporting the election of Martin Van Buren.

  1. Old Granny, That Delivered the American Frontier from the British Proctor and His Army (Pittsburgh, PA), 1840

5065_0001

A Whig newspaper supporting William Henry Harrison.

Published by

Vincent Golden

Curator of Newspapers and Periodicals, American Antiquarian Society

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