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Chronicling America
National Endowment for the Humanities

Newspaper The Free Press (Charleston, S.C.) 1868-186?

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About The Free Press (Charleston, S.C.) 1868-186?

The Charleston Free Press, a “weekly journal devoted to the interests of the Republic Party of South Carolina,” was one of a number of short-lived Republican newspapers published in the Low Country region of South Carolina during the Reconstruction era (1865-77). Strictly speaking, the Free Press was not an African American newspaper, but it clearly sought to influence African American voters. Only two issues, filmed at the request of the Committee on Negro Studies of the American Council of Learned Societies, are known to exist.  

Timothy Hurley, formerly with the Charleston South Carolina Leader, established the Free Press in 1868. He chose as its motto: “Justice to all men, regardless of race, color, or previous condition.” According to the American Newspaper Directory, published by George Presbury Rowell and Company, the Free Press circulated 2,000 copies.

An analysis of the two extant issues, dated April  4 and 11, 1868, indicates that the Free Press was very narrow in its scope. Contents include: a biographical sketch of African American legislator James Henry Harris, a leader in North Carolina’s Republican Party; a list of South Carolina Republican Party candidates running for office in 1868; a speech by Daniel Henry Chamberlain, Berkeley County delegate to the state constitutional convention (and later governor), on the invalidation of slave debts; and a defense of so-called carpetbaggers as “industrious, enterprising, and unexceptional in character.” The issues contain few advertisements and almost no domestic news coverage, excepting reports on the activities of Republican Party organizers around South Carolina.

In Republican Newspapers of South Carolina, Robert Woody suggests that Timothy Hurley only published the Free Press for the weeks leading up to the elections. William King, the author of Newspaper Press of Charleston, S.C., indicates that the Free Press had definitely ceased by October 1868. Hurley later served as Charleston County treasurer and representative (1870-74). Sometime thereafter, he made his way to Europe, perhaps to his father’s native country of Ireland.

Provided By: University of South Carolina; Columbia, SC

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Free Press (Charleston, S.C.) 1868-186?

Dates of Publication

  • 1868-186?

Created / Published

  • Charleston, S.C. : T. Hurley

Headings

  • -  African American newspapers--South Carolina
  • -  African Americans--South Carolina--Newspapers
  • -  Charleston (S.C.)--Newspapers
  • -  African American newspapers
  • -  African Americans
  • -  South Carolina
  • -  South Carolina--Charleston
  • -  United States--South Carolina--Charleston--Charleston

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Began with Mar. 28, 1868 issue.
  • -  Available on microfilm from the Library of Congress Photoduplication Service.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format as part of the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Description based on: Vol. 1, no. 2 (Apr. 5, 1868).
  • -  Latest issue consulted: Vol. 1, no. 3 (Apr. 11, 1868).

Medium

  • volumes

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn83025795

OCLC Number

  • 9803310

ISSN Number

  • 2166-1715

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:

The Free Press Charleston, S.-186?. (Charleston, SC), Jan. 1 1868. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn83025795/.

APA citation style:

(1868, January 1) The Free Press Charleston, S.-186?. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn83025795/.

MLA citation style:

The Free Press Charleston, S.-186?. (Charleston, SC) 1 Jan. 1868. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn83025795/.