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Newspaper American Watchman (Wilmington, Del.) 1814-1822

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About American Watchman (Wilmington, Del.) 1814-1822

The American Watchman was first published on January 11, 1822, by James Wilson in Wilmington, Delaware. Published every Tuesday and Friday, Wilson changed the name of the newspaper to the American Watchman and Delaware Advertiser with the March 15th issue. The newspaper included information such as notices of property for sale and rent, notices to debtors of estates, rewards for runaway slaves, as well as listing slaves for sale. The paper also included news of meetings of the Grand Lodge and of the shareholders of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.

The American Watchman and Delaware Advertiser included foreign news. A report from Sierra Leone noted that “The slave trade is still carried on with great activity under French, Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch flags.” The article also noted that the American Colonization Society had suggested the creation of a colony for free blacks on the Gold Coast.

The newspaper included national news such as reports on the activities of an auditor in Ohio, the legislature of North Carolina, and the Virginia Board of Public Works. In addition, it reprinted an article from a Detroit newspaper describing the execution of two Native Americans for the murder of a white man. The American Watchman and Delaware Advertiser also covered news of the election by Delaware’s legislature of Caesar Rodney to the United States Senate, the theft of mail between New York City and Philadelphia, and various state congressional actions.

The American Watchman and Delaware Advertiser was published through January 15, 1828, and on January 18 its title was changed to Delaware Patriot and American Watchman. Published and printed by J. F. Clement, the newspaper’s motto was “The Safety of the People is the Supreme Law.” Clement stated that the newspaper would be Democratic Republican in nature and founded on Jeffersonian principles. It included scientific and literary information as well as legislative proceedings and debates. In addition, the Delaware Patriot and American Watchman advocated for domestic manufacturers and internal improvements. Clement declared his support for Andrew Jackson for the presidency.

The Delaware Patriot and American Watchman remained in publication until December 5, 1828, after which it merged with the Delaware Gazette to become the Delaware Gazette and American Watchman.

Provided By: University of Delaware Library, Newark, DE

About this Newspaper

Title

  • American Watchman (Wilmington, Del.) 1814-1822

Names

  • Wilson, James, 1764-1841
  • Osborn, Selleck, 1783-1826

Dates of Publication

  • 1814-1822

Created / Published

  • Wilmington, Del. : J. Wilson, 1814-1822.

Headings

  • -  Wilmington (Del.)--Newspapers
  • -  New Castle County (Del.)--Newspapers
  • -  Delaware--New Castle County
  • -  Delaware--Wilmington
  • -  United States--Delaware--New Castle--Wilmington

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Semiweekly
  • -  Vol. 6, no. 460 (Jan. 1, 1814)-v. 9, no. 809 (July 16, 1817) ; new ser., v. 1, no. 1 (July 18, 1817)- ; v. 1, no. 1 (Jan. 11, 1822)-v. 1, no. 18 (Mar. 12, 1822).
  • -  Publisher varies: Selleck Osborn, July 19, 1817-
  • -  Not published Dec. 21, 1821.
  • -  Available on microfilm and microopaque from Readex Microprint Corp.
  • -  American watchman and Delaware advertiser 2576-7445 (DLC)sn 82014894 (OCoLC)8794858

Medium

  • volumes

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper 7280
  • AP2.A2 A63

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn82014895

OCLC Number

  • 8795074

ISSN Number

  • 2576-7437

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Succeeding Titles

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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 Watchman Wilmington, Del. -1822. (Wilmington, DE), Jan. 1 1814. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn82014895/.

APA citation style:

(1814, January 1) American Watchman Wilmington, Del. -1822. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn82014895/.

MLA citation style:

American Watchman Wilmington, Del. -1822. (Wilmington, DE) 1 Jan. 1814. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn82014895/.