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Journals & Newspapers in the 1896 Campaign

All the cartoons and much of the commentary on this website appeared in newspapers and journals during 1896. These journals had widely varying circulations and influence, a fact you should keep in mind when viewing them. Some newspapers received funds from the political parties; as a result, those that supported the well-funded Republicans tended to be more financially stable and influential than those with Democratic or, especially, Populist leanings. You will notice that the color cartoons on this site--from expensive-to-print journals such as the previously Democratic Puck, which published a few pages in color, are all anti-Bryan.

Some journals advertised themselves as "independent"—though almost all endorsed one candidate or another by the end of the campaign. Such journalism was a new, unfamiliar idea in the U.S., since political parties and newspapers had been mutually dependent during most of the nineteenth century. The 1896 campaign clearly showed the tensions between the passions of an important national election and the desires of some journalists for new, "objective" reporting standards.

Newspapers often reflected the local concerns of their constituents, from sheep ranching in California to Caribbean affairs in New Orleans. For more information on two of the country's most powerful newspapermen—who were engaged in a bitter circulation war in 1896—see the background page on Pulitzer and Hearst.

Little is known about many of the cartoonists whose work appears on this site. Some are anonymous. Historian Jim Zwick has compiled a great deal of information on the Web about the history of U.S. political cartoons in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. By far the most famous cartoonist of 1896 was Homer Davenport (described in this link, from Zwick's site, in a 1912 obituary from the magazine Review of Reviews). Davenport's cartoons appeared in the New York Journal, and he became increasingly famous in subsequent campaigns for his caricatures of Mark Hanna and the trusts. The influence of Davenport is evident in many silver Democratic cartoons on this site—some of which acknowledge this with a scribbled note, and many of which portray Hanna, as Davenport did, in a checked business suit with a motif of dollar signs (for example, September 12) .

Circulation figures on this page are derived from N.W. Ayer & Son, The American Newspaper Annual (New York, 1897) and should be treated with caution. Some newspapers reported their "average" circulation for the year, though readership rose sharply between the summer doldrums and the fall election season. Ayer published his annual listing to help businessmen locate likely markets for their products and to identify journals that served those markets through purchased advertising. Thus, managers and editors had reason to inflate their circulation figures, or at least to offer the highest possible estimate.

L’Abeille de Nouvelle Orleans (The Bee), New Orleans, Louisiana

Democratic, founded 1827

Bee Publishing Co.

Weekday mornings, circ 12,800

Saturdays, circ 10,000

American Nonconformist and Kansas Industrial Liberator, Winfield, Kansas

Populist, founded 1879

C. Vincent, editor and publisher

Weekly (Thursdays), circ 30,000

The Arena, Boston, Mass.

Literary, founded 1889

Arena Publishing Co.

Monthly, circ 35,000

Arkansas Gazette, Little Rock

Democratic, founded 1819

J. N. Smithe, editor; Gazette Publishing Co.

Mornings except Mondays, circ 5,100

Sundays, circ 7,000

Atlanta Constitution, Georgia

Democratic, founded 1868

Constitution Publishing Co.

Mornings, circ 17,500

Sundays, circ 7,000

Birmingham State Herald, Alabama

Democratic, founded 1887

AGE-Herald Publishing Co.

Mornings except Mondays, circ 5,000

Sundays, circ 7,500

Boston Globe, Massachusetts

Independent, founded 1877

Globe Newspaper Co.

Mornings, 188,247

Sundays, circ 257,453

Charleston News & Courier, South Carolina

Democratic, founded 1803

News & Courier Co.

Mornings, circ 8,000

Sundays, circ 7,500

Chicago Record, Illinois

Independent, founded 1866

Victor F. Lawson, editor and publisher

Weekly (Saturdays), circ 6,660

Chicago Times, Illinois

Independent, founded 1854

Chicago Herald Co.

Mornings, circ 70,000

Sundays, circ 110,000

Chicago Tribune, Illinois

Republican, founded 1846

Mornings, circ 110,000

Sundays, circ 175,000

Cleveland Gazette (Colored), Ohio

Republican, founded 1883

H. C. Smith, editor and publisher

Weekly (Saturdays), circ 5,000

The Coming Nation, Cave Mills, Tenn.

Political Reform, founded 1894

Ruskin Cooperative Association, editors and publishers

Weekly (Saturdays); no advertising accepted; no circulation information

The Critic, New York, N.Y.

Literary, founded 1856

J. B. and J. L. Gilder, editors

Weekly (Saturdays), circ 5,500

Denver News, Colorado

No information available

Deseret News, Salt Lake City, Utah

Mormon, founded 1867

Deseret News Publishing Co.

Mornings, circ 4,400

Emporia Gazette, Kansas

Republican, founded 1890

W. A. White, editor and publisher

Weekly (Thursdays), circ 1,400

Harper’s Weekly, New York, N.Y.

Literary, founded 1856

Harper & Bros.

Weekly (Saturdays), circ 80,000

Idaho Statesman, Boise

Republican, founded 1864

Statesman Printing Co.

Mornings, circ 1,452

Inter Ocean, Chicago, Illinois

Republican, founded 1872

Mornings, circ 75,000

Judge, New York, N.Y.

Humorous (Republican), founded 1881

Weekly (Saturdays), circ 85,000

Labor Advocate, Birmingham, Alabama

Populist/Labor

Daily

Leslie's Weekly, New York, N.Y.

Literary, founded 1852

John Y. Foster, editor; Arkell Weekly Co.

Weekly (Tuesdays), circ 65,000

Los Angeles Times, California

Independent Republican, founded 1881

Times-Mirror Co.

Mornings, circ 18,388

Sundays, circ 23,500

Louisville Courier-Journal, Kentucky

Democratic, founded 1868

Louisville Courier-Journal Co.

Mornings, circ 22,000

Sundays, circ 30,000

National Bimetallist, Denver, Colorado

No information available

National Reflector (Colored), Wichita, Kansas

Republican, founded 1895

G. Wesley White, editor and publisher

Weekly (Saturdays)

No circulation information available

Nevada State Journal, Reno

Silver Party, founded 1872

E. D. Kelley and William Webster, editors and publishers

Mornings, circ 1,200

Saturdays, circ 700

New Road, Denver, Colorado

Independent Silver, founded 1884

Herbert George, editor; Road Publishing Co.

Weekly (Sundays), circ 7460

New York Advertiser, New York

No information available

New York Journal, New York

Democratic, founded 1882

W. R. Hearst, publisher

Daily; no circulation information available

New York Times, New York

Democratic, founded 1851

New York Times Publishing Co.

Mornings, 75,000

Sundays, 80,000

New York Tribune, New York

Republican, founded 1841

Whitelaw Reid, editor; Tribune Publishing Co.

Mornings, 60,000

Sundays, 100,000

New York World, New York

Democratic, founded 1860

Press Publishing Co.

Mornings, circ 370,000

Sundays, circ 568,000

Overland Monthly, San Francisco, California

Literary, founded 1868

Rousevelle Wildman, editor; Overland Monthly Publishing Co.

Monthly, circ 10,000

People’s Advocate, Columbiana, Alabama

Silver Democratic

Weekly (Thursdays)

People’s Party Paper, Atlanta, Georgia

Populist, founded 1891

Our Publishing Co.

Weekly (Fridays), circ 14,000

Poughkeepsie Eagle, New York

Republican, founded 1828

Platt & Platt, editors and publishers

Mornings except Sundays, circ 2,900

Public Opinion, New York, N.Y.

Eclectic, founded 1886

Public Opinion Co.

Weekly (Thursdays), circ 18,740

Puck, New York, N.Y.

Humorous (Democratic), founded 1877

Keppler & Schwarzmann, publishers

Weekly (Wednesdays), circ 89,700

Raleigh News and Observer, North Carolina

Democratic, founded 1872

News & Observer Publishing Co.

Mornings, circ 3,600

Weekly edition (Thursdays), circ 14,000

The Ram’s Horn

See detailed circulation information on The Ohio State University Ram’s Horn site

The Representative, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Populist, founded 1893

Ignatius Donnelley, editor

Representative Publishing Co.

Weekly (Wednesdays), circ 7,000

Review of Reviews, New York, N.Y.

Literary, founded 1890

Albert Shaw, editor; Review of Reviews Co.

Monthly, circ 90,833

Rock Springs Miner, Wyoming

Republican, founded 1881

Robert Smith, editor and publisher

Weekly (Thursdays), circ 750

Rocky Mountain News, Denver, Colorado

Independent, founded 1859

Thomas M. Patterson, editor; RMN Printing Co.

Mornings, circ 25,189

Sundays, circ 32,159

St. Louis Globe-Democrat, Missouri

Republican, founded 1852

Globe Printing Co.

Mornings, circ 69,835

Sundays, circ 78,463

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Missouri

Independent, founded 1851

Charles H. Jones, editor; Pulitzer Publishing Co.

Evenings except Sundays, circ 78,289

Sundays, circ 83,642

St. Paul Pioneer Press, Minnesota

Republican, founded 1854

J. A Wheelock, editor; Pioneer Press Co.

Mornings, circ 25,775

Weekly edition (Thursdays), circ 28,300

Salt Lake Tribune, Utah

Independent Republican, founded 1868

C. C. Goodwin, editor; Tribune Publishing Co.

Mornings, circ 8,196

Sundays, circ 11,869

Salt Lake Utahnian, Utah

Free Silver, founded 1896

P. Donan, editor; Utahnian Publishing Co.

Weekly (Saturdays); no circulation information

San Francisco Examiner, California

Independent, founded 1865

W. R. Hearst, editor and publisher

Mornings, circ 75,930

Sundays, circ 88,498

Scientific American, New York, N.Y.

Science and Mechanics, founded 1845

Munn & Co.

Weekly (Saturdays), circ 47,500

Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Washington

Republican

Post-Intelligencer Company

Mornings, circ 12,000

Sundays, circ 14,000

Sound Money, Massillon, Ohio

Populist, founded 1895

Jacob S. Coxey, publisher

Weekly (Thursdays); no circulation information available

Union Signal, Chicago, Illinois

Temperance, founded 1871

Frances E. Willard, editor

Woman’s Temperance Publishing Assoc.

Weekly (Thursdays), circ 87,486

The Verdict

No information available

Woman’s Journal, Boston, Mass.

Woman Suffrage, founded 1869

Henry B. and Alice Stone Blackwell, editors and publishers

Weekly (Saturdays), circ 4,500

Women’s Exponent, Salt Lake City, Utah

Mormon, founded 1882

Emmeline B. Wells, editor and publisher

Semi-Monthly, circ 700

Woman’s Tribune, Washington, D.C.

Woman Suffrage, founded 1883

Clara Bewick Colby, editor and publisher

Weekly (Saturdays), circ 4,000

© 2010 Rebecca Edwards, author of New Spirits: Americans in the Gilded Age, 1865-1905 by Rebecca Edwards, Oxford University Press