The Commercialization of News in the Nineteenth Century

Chapter One. American Political Parties and the Press

Chapter One American Political Parties and the Press In the early 1830s, members of the Antimasonic party in Plymouth, Massachusetts, spent nearly two years trying to start a newspaper to promote their party and candidates. Few in number and lacking major financial resources, they struggled to raise enough money to buy a press and type, ensure 200 subscribers, and find a competent printer-editor who shared their views. Several times, they almost gave up. They persevered because a newspaper was the key to reaching voters and ultimately to winning elections. The appearance of W? The People and Old Colony Gazette, just two weeks before the 1832 election, was a major organizational victory for the Antimasons. It enabled them to compete with other parties for voters. 1 Such an ordeal in starting a newspaper was perhaps unusual in the Jacksonian era, when newspapers often seemed to spring up overnight to espouse political causes. Nonetheless, the Plymouth experience demonstrates the intimate relationship between party and press in the late 1820s and 1830s. American political parties saw the press as a vehicle to inform, propagandize, and exhort voters. William Henry Seward, one of the organizers of the Antimasonic party in the late 1820s, said that the press was the only channel to the people; without it, a party "never can gain the public favor."2 Jacksonian Era Politics and Press The close relationship between party and press wasn't new in the 1820s. The two had supported one another since the early days of the American Revolution. The relationship became more emphatic and extensive, however, in the 1820s and 1830s, when growing interest in presidential elections and changes in the political process dramatically increased voter participation. After 1800, presidential politics had lapsed into somnolence, because presidents chose their successors and the congressional caucus 11 12 American Political Parties and the Press rubber-stamped that choice. In 1824, however, the incumbent James Monroe refused to anoint a successor, and the ensuing factionalism discredited the caucus. In the first major battle for the presidency in a generation, no one obtained a majority of the electoral college votes, pushing the election into the House of Representatives. Amid charges, countercharges, and histrionics, the House elected John Quincy Adams, the runner-up in the popular vote, prompting charges of corruption by the supporters of Andrew Jackson, who led the popular vote.3 The result, other than mutual recrimination, was the formation of national political organizations to contest the next presidential election . No sooner had the House voted than the next campaign began. The Jacksonians pioneered in this organizational work. The growth of national political activity paralleled several changes in politics at the state level. The number of statewide (as opposed to county) elections dramatically increased. Earlier in the century, voters elected only state legislators, who in turn elected governors and other state officials. In 1800, presidential electors were subject to statewide popular vote in just two states; by 1832, all but South Carolina had adopted the popular vote for the position of presidential elector.4 Consequently, state political party organizations came into being in the late 1820s and early 1830s to nominate candidates and organize campaigns in statewide elections.5 More candidates were elected, rather than appointed, to office by the 1820s and 1830s. State constitutional revisions in the 1820s and the 1830s made many county-level positions, such as sheriff and clerk, subject to popular vote. Thus the populace elected more officials, while parties faced a greater task of recruiting, nominating, and supporting candidates.6 There were more people voting in the Jacksonian era. The population grew rapidly, doubling every 20 years. Suffrage requirements loosened by the 1820s, so that all adult white males could vote. 7 By 1826, 21 of the 24 states had adult white male suffrage or small poll taxes that were tantamount to adult white suffrage. Voter participation grew nationwide throughout the 1820s, rising from 9 percent of adult white males in 1820 to 57 percent by 1828.8 A ban on self-promotion by candidates made political organization all the more difficult. The era of stump speeches, press conferences, and public debates among candidates had not yet arrived. Tradition dictated a disinterested approach. As Robert V. Remini notes, the "accepted decorum of presidential candidates" was to keep "aloof American Political Parties and the Press 13 from the campaign." When Andrew Jackson attended a party barbecue in Lexington, Kentucky, the Washington...