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Chronicling America
National Endowment for the Humanities

Newspaper American Telegraph (Washington [D.C.]) 1851-1851

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About American Telegraph (Washington [D.C.]) 1851-1851

On March 24, 1851, the American Telegraph was established on 7th St., NW in Washington, DC by the publishers Thomas C. Connolly, James Wimer, and Thomas McGill, who published the paper daily except Sunday. During its short life, the newspaper would undergo several changes in publishers and political affiliation. The American Telegraph was founded as a part of the penny press at a slightly higher price of 2 cents per issue. The content of the newspaper included local, national, and global news, with occasional notes from the editors, but specified that it would not engage in party politics. The newspaper served the localities of Washington, DC; Georgetown, at the time a separate municipality; and Alexandria, VA.

During the first months of publication, the American Telegraph remained mostly independent from politics. On December 15, 1851, T.C. Connolly became the sole publisher of thenewspaper. On December 22, 1851, Connolly renamed the paper the Daily American Telegraph with Democrat General Duff Green as the editor. Green announced the paper would become political and would provide a voice to “unite and consolidate the South.” In the December 24, 1851 issue, The Sun noted that he began publishing as a staunch state’s rights supporter and supported the Democratic Party nominee for President. Another Washington, DC newspaper, The National Era, noted the change, commending the neutrality of the American Telegraph on the issue of slavery during 1851, but lamenting its shift towards a pro-Southern attitude.

Although the Daily American Telegraph stated in its December 22, 1851 edition that it would support the Democratic nominee for President, the departure of Green in late January 1852 also meant the departure of the newspaper’s support for the Democratic Party. The January 28, 1852 issue of the newspaper featured another prospectus distancing the newspaper from politics, noting that T.C. Connolly was “assum[ing] the entire control” of thenewspaper. On February 3, 1852, John L. Smith became the junior publisher and specified that the newspaper would adopt a “liberal, independent, conservative spirit,” but would not align with a particular party.

In the article “Washington Newspapers,” Fred A. Emery describes the Daily American Telegraph as a “political organ” designed to help Whig Presidential Candidate General Winfield Scott. That identity of a Whig political newspaper became pronounced in June 1852. After the Whig convention, the Daily American Telegraph featured a column on the second page of most issues that supported General Winfield Scott for President. Although the newspaper had featured positive articles about Scott earlier, editions published after June 1852 expressed a clear endorsement of Scott. T.C. Connolly was a prominent Washington Whig himself, and on August 16, 1852, another Washington Whig named Joseph B. Tate replaced Smith as the junior publisher. The newspaper continued its staunch support of Scott throughout the election; however, Scott conceded defeat on November 3, 1852. The newspaper likewise admitted defeat, but commended the process of American democracy. Shortly after, following another change in publishers solely to Joseph B. Tate, the Daily American Telegraph published its last edition on November 18, 1852. No specific reason was offered for the closure. In the last issue, Joseph B. Tate stated his intentions of opening another cheap daily newspaper. After his brief tenure with the Daily American Telegraph, Joseph B. Tate started the Daily Evening Star, one of the most successful daily newspapers in Washington, DC.

Provided By: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

About this Newspaper

Title

  • American Telegraph (Washington [D.C.]) 1851-1851

Dates of Publication

  • 1851-1851

Created / Published

  • Washington [D.C.] : Connolly, Wimer & McGill, 1851.

Headings

  • -  Washington (D.C.)--Newspapers
  • -  Washington (D.C.)
  • -  United States--District of Columbia--Washington
  • -  United States--District of Columbia--Georgetown
  • -  United States--Virginia--Alexandria

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Daily (except Sunday)
  • -  Vol. 1, no. 1 (Mar. 24, 1851)-v. 1, no. 232 (Dec. 20, 1851).
  • -  Publishers: Connolly, Wimer & McGill, 1851; T.C. Connolly, 1851.
  • -  Published simultaneously at Washington, D.C., Georgetown, D.C., and Alexandria, Va., Mar. 24-May 6, 1851.
  • -  Also issued on microfilm from the Library of Congress, Photoduplication Service.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Daily American telegraph 2381-0181 (DLC)sn 82014593 (OCoLC)8786417

Medium

  • 1 volume

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn82014594

OCLC Number

  • 8786426

ISSN Number

  • 2381-0157

Succeeding Titles

Additional Metadata Formats

Availability

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety. Any newspapers in Chronicling America that were published less than 95 years ago are also believed to be in the public domain, but may contain some copyrighted third party materials. Researchers using newspapers published less than 95 years ago should be alert for modern content (for example, registered and renewed for copyright and published with notice) that may be copyrighted. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

American Telegraph Washington D.C. 1851 to 1851. (Washington, DC), Jan. 1 1851. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn82014594/.

APA citation style:

(1851, January 1) American Telegraph Washington D.C. 1851 to 1851. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn82014594/.

MLA citation style:

American Telegraph Washington D.C. 1851 to 1851. (Washington, DC) 1 Jan. 1851. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn82014594/.