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Chronicling America
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Newspaper The People's Advocate (Concord, N.H.) 1841-1844

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About The People's Advocate (Concord, N.H.) 1841-1844

The Abolition Standard was a short-lived abolitionist newspaper published weekly in Concord, NH between 1840 and 1844. It advocated for the abolition of chattel slavery, and later, as the People’s Advocate, became a local mouthpiece for the Liberty Party. The paper had its origin in the schism that occurred within the American abolitionist movement in the late 1830s.

In 1837, a group of radical abolitionists under the influence of William Lloyd Garrison (1804-1879), editor of the Boston Liberator and pioneering member of the New-England Anti-Slavery Society, had begun to advocate for the expansion of the abolitionist cause to include women’s liberation, anti-clericalism, and anti-state non-resistance. Conservative anti-Garrisonians were unhappy with women having formal roles in the movement, and they argued that the cause would be muddied by their inclusion. The issue came to a head in early 1840 when conservative leaders in the American Anti-Slavery Society attempted to bar Abby Kelley (1811-1887) from serving on the business committee. The resolution failed, and the conservatives walked out to form the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society.

This splintering based on the question of women’s rights rapidly proliferated throughout the abolition movement, and New Hampshire was no exception. Uneasy with the writings of Nathaniel Peabody Rogers (1794-1846), the Garrison-aligned editor of the Concord Herald of Freedom, conservative abolitionists led by Congregational Rev. Rufus Putnam (1791-1873) and Rev. Jonathan Curtis broke off from the New Hampshire Anti-Slavery Society to form the New Hampshire Abolition Society in 1840. With Putnam as editor, the Abolition Standard was published by the society, and it catered to conservative and moderate readers.

In its third issue, the Standard urged readers that “a little faithful exertion on the part of each would keep the standard up and cause its banner to wave in every part of the state… Let the groans of millions in this land quicken your exertions on their behalf.” Soon this effort was rewarded, and as subscriber numbers surged, the rival Herald of Freedom publicly acknowledged declining support. Not initially political, the New Hampshire Abolition Society grew increasingly aligned with the newly formed Liberty Party, and in 1841, the Abolition Standard reorganized as the People’s Advocate under editor Alanson St. Clair (1804-1877), a Massachusetts lecturer and Congregational minister. The Advocate was largely ineffective as a political instrument, in part due to St. Clair’s caustic tone and clerical ties. St. Clair relocated the paper to Hanover, NH in early 1843, and during the election of 1844, the Advocate promoted the Liberty Party ticket with James Birney (1792-1857) at its head. Never having garnered sufficient support to become sustainable, the Advocate folded in 1844, and the Liberty Party found a new local champion in the Concord (NH) Granite Freeman.

Provided By: Dartmouth College

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The People's Advocate (Concord, N.H.) 1841-1844

Dates of Publication

  • 1841-1844

Created / Published

  • Concord, N.H. : Brown & G.J.L. Colby

Headings

  • -  United States--New Hampshire--Merrimack--Concord
  • -  United States--New Hampshire--Grafton--Hanover
  • -  United States--Vermont--Washington--Montpelier

Genre

  • Anti-slavery newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Began with Aug. 12, 1841 issue.
  • -  -v. 3, no. 16 (Jan. 23, 1844).
  • -  Published later in Hanover, N.H.
  • -  Published simultaneously in Montpelier, Vt.
  • -  Description based on: Vol. 1, no. 2 (Aug. 19, 1841).

Medium

  • volumes

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper 8701-X

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn84020496

OCLC Number

  • 10940816

Preceding 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:

The People's Advocate Concord, N.H. -1844. (Concord, NH), Jan. 1 1841. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn84020496/.

APA citation style:

(1841, January 1) The People's Advocate Concord, N.H. -1844. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn84020496/.

MLA citation style:

The People's Advocate Concord, N.H. -1844. (Concord, NH) 1 Jan. 1841. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn84020496/.