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Newspaper The State Rights Democrat (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900 Publication statements for 1887 June 24- have title: Democrat

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About The State Rights Democrat (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900

Drawing on the pro-slavery ideology associated with Civil War Democrats,the State Rights Democrat of Albany, Oregon, was one of Linn County’s most vociferous political papers.  Its forerunners, the Oregon Democrat and Albany Inquirer, were both suppressed for political reasons, the former by General Wright of the U.S. Army’s Department of the Pacific. The State Rights Democrat originated in 1865 with James O’Meara as editor. O’Meara was no stranger to suppression of the press, having been forced out as owner and editor of the Oregon Sentinel by Republican sympathizers in 1861.

A number of owners and editors worked on the Democrat after O’Meara’s departure in 1866. Charles Bellinger, of the Salem Oregon Arena and later the Portland News, co-owned the State Rights Democrat for a time, leaving in 1870. Bellinger, like other figures associated with the paper, pursued a career in local politics that would draw him away from publishing. Fred P. Nutting had a hand in the enterprise from 1882 to 1912, changing the paper’s name to the Albany Democrat after he joined. The paper would later be consolidated with the Albany Evening Herald, eventually becoming the Albany Democrat-Herald in 1925.

The State Rights Democrat featured ads for lawyers, notaries, various stores, and a few breweries among other goods and services. Advertisements appeared next to articles of a partisan nature. One article proclaimed, “We need to commit to the Democracy” in order to correct “abolition rule.” Although the paper was quick to denounce Republicans, it also criticized Democrats. In an attack on previous editor O’Meara, the Democrat drew attention to factionalism within Oregon’s Democratic Party, warning, “He will do anything and everything to create and foster dissensions in the Democratic household.”

The partisan tone of the paper often resulted in disputes with nearby editors from papers such as the Daily American Unionist and the Oregon Statesman, the latter being dismissed as an “abolitionist” organ. Charges in such disputes ranged from misinformation to embezzlement and outright fraud, rarely producing calm discourse between the respective editors.

However, the Democrat‘s content was not confined to parochial political disagreements. Moving beyond the local stage, the paper ran an article titled, “Grant’s Indian Policy,” which suggested that President Ulysses S. Grant’s Peace Policy and employ of Quaker agents were ineffective in maintaining non-violent control of tribes throughout the country. Writing in reference to violence in Oklahoma at Fort Sill, the paper concluded, “In our own unfortunate Territory, men, women and children have been roasted to death; impaled upon thorny plants and trees, but the Fort Sill affair is one of the most horrid we have ever described.” Another piece recounted a lecture given by Reverend Robert Patterson, who sought to discredit Darwinism by arguing that humans have always been civilized and never could have evolved from “monkeys.” Lighter pieces focused on topics such as the importance of naps, Oregon’s healthful climate, and the need of farmers to combat weeds.

Provided By: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The State Rights Democrat (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900

Other Title

  • Publication statements for 1887 June 24- have title: Democrat

Dates of Publication

  • 1865-1900

Created / Published

  • Albany, Linn County, Oregon : Jas. O'Meara, -1900.

Headings

  • -  Albany (Or.)--Newspapers
  • -  Oregon--Albany
  • -  United States--Oregon--Linn--Albany

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Began in 1865.
  • -  -v. 35, no. 37 (Apr. 20, 1900).
  • -  "Oldest Democratic paper in Oregon."
  • -  Publisher varies.
  • -  Also issued on microfilm from University of Oregon.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Daily eds.: Albany evening democrat, 1875-1876, and: Daily Albany democrat, 1876, and: Daily evening Albany democrat, 1888, and: Albany daily democrat, 1888-1900.
  • -  Description based on: Vol. 1, no. 2 (Aug. 21, 1865).
  • -  Albany democrat (Albany, Or. : 1900) (DLC)sn 96088449 (OCoLC)36010836

Medium

  • 35 volumes ; 65 cm

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn84022644

OCLC Number

  • 10519187

ISSN Number

  • 2470-9085

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:

The State Rights Democrat Albany, Linn County, Oregon -1900. (Albany, OR), Jan. 1 1865. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn84022644/.

APA citation style:

(1865, January 1) The State Rights Democrat Albany, Linn County, Oregon -1900. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn84022644/.

MLA citation style:

The State Rights Democrat Albany, Linn County, Oregon -1900. (Albany, OR) 1 Jan. 1865. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn84022644/.