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Chronicling America
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Newspaper The Farmers' Vindicator (Jackson, Miss.) 1873-1???

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About The Farmers' Vindicator (Jackson, Miss.) 1873-1???

After the Civil War, several national organizations, such as the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry established in 1867 in Washington, D.C., were formed to promote agrarian interests, particularly against railroads and other large corporations.  Appealing to poor, white small-farm owners struggling to recover from the ravages of war within the crop-lien system that had replaced slavery, the Grange grew quickly in Mississippi, from four local chapters in 1871 to over 600 chapters by 1875.

Several pro-Grange newspapers were published in the state during this period. TheFarmer’s Vindicator (1873-76), an eight-page weekly in Jackson, called itself the “Official Journal of Patron of Husbandry, [Mississippi].” Another pro-Grange paper, thePatron of Husbandry began as an eight-page, monthly journal in Columbus in 1873. Two years later, Patron editor William H. Worthington, former publisher of the Columbus Democrat (1834-76), changed the format to a four-page, weekly newspaper (1875-83). When the Co-operative News Company bought the Vindicator in 1876 and moved it to New Orleans, the Patron declared itself the official newspaper of Mississippi’s Grange and subsequently also sometimes claimed to be the official state journal of the Grange in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Tennessee. Additionally, since the Mississippi Grange endorsed two other newspapers, the Southern Homestead (1872-81?) and the Star of Pascagoula (1873-78), all four publications carried official proceedings and notifications. As elsewhere in the United States, however, when Grange membership declined in the mid-1880s, Grange-only newspapers became no longer viable in Mississippi.

The Farmer’s Vindicator and the Patron of Husbandry, both enthusiastically promoted the agrarian agenda of the late 19th-century farmer’s movement. While they overlapped in news coverage, such as the proceedings of annual state meetings, and both had elaborate depictions of agriculture and industry in their mastheads, the two publications had distinctive presentations and promoted different aspects of the national Grange. The Vindicator focused on local and state activities and strived to educate and improve the lives of individual readers. It included regular columns on scientific methods in agriculture, horticulture, and stock-raising, which covered topics such as crop diversification, home-made fertilizer, breaking colts, and care of sheep; its fireside column contained house-keeping tips and recipes. In contrast, the Patron focused on national and regional Grange news and promoted business cooperatives and the election of farmer-friendly candidates. For example, the September 4, 1880 issue of the Patron published the Grange’s “Declaration of Purpose” and included an article on the establishment of a cooperative cotton warehouse in Aberdeen, Mississippi. The Patron also endorsed candidates such as Hernando DeSoto Money, United States Representative (1875-85, 1893-97), and supported his efforts to enlarge the power and duties of the United States Department of Agriculture.

Provided By: Mississippi Department of Archives and History

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Farmers' Vindicator (Jackson, Miss.) 1873-1???

Names

  • National Grange

Dates of Publication

  • 1873-1???

Created / Published

  • Jackson, Miss. : [s.n.]

Headings

  • -  Jackson (Miss.)--Newspapers
  • -  Mississippi--Jackson
  • -  United States--Mississippi--Hinds--Jackson

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Began in 1873?
  • -  "A weekly newspaper: devoted to the industrial interests of the South, the Granges, and the fireside."
  • -  "Official journal, Patrons of Husbandry, Mi."
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Description based on: Vol. 1, no. 45 (Aug. 7, 1874).

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn87090126

OCLC Number

  • 15152056

ISSN Number

  • 2469-4886

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 Farmers' Vindicator Jackson, Miss. -1???. (Jackson, MS), Jan. 1 1873. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn87090126/.

APA citation style:

(1873, January 1) The Farmers' Vindicator Jackson, Miss. -1???. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn87090126/.

MLA citation style:

The Farmers' Vindicator Jackson, Miss. -1???. (Jackson, MS) 1 Jan. 1873. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn87090126/.