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Chronicling America
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Newspaper The Weekly True Democrat (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1905-1912

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About The Weekly True Democrat (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1905-1912

The Tallahassee Weekly True Democrat was established on March 3, 1905, by John G. Collins. The “True Democrat”, as it briefly called itself, explained that its name showed dedication to the “true and tried doctrines of The Old Time Democracy…as distinguished from…mischievous fads and fallacies of the day.”

Though not intended, never more true words have been spoken on newspaper title changes! Milton A. Smith bought the Weekly True Democrat in 1908. In February 1912, the paper started publishing as the Semi-weekly True Democrat . In 1913, it reverted to a weekly again under the title of the Weekly True Democrat . On April 6, 1915, the newspaper became the Daily Democrat . Frequency of publication dictated another change of title later that year when the Daily Democrat became the Weekly Democrat .

Sometime thereafter, exact dates are not known, the Weekly Democrat became the paper of record for the state’s capital, and the title changed to the Weekly Democrat and Florida Record to reflect this development. If ever it was a record for Florida, it would have been a digest, since both the Florida House and Senate have maintained continuous and detailed recordings of their deliberations. Today, the same newspaper is known as the Tallahassee Democrat .

Because Tallahassee is the seat of Florida’s state government, the True Democrat has been quoted copiously in journal articles and theses. Of particular note is its usefulness in tracking Jim Crow behaviors in the early 20th century. During this period, African Americans constituted about 80 percent of the population in Leon County, and white supremacists felt particularly threatened.

The True Democrat, whatever its name, would come to influence–and some might argue, make mischief with–the State of Florida’s democratic processes and the deliberations of the legislature. While it may have shown leanings toward one party or another throughout its history, the newspaper has been affiliated with neither the Democratic nor Republican party but can be said to have exerted its influence on each.

Provided By: University of Florida

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Weekly True Democrat (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1905-1912

Summary

  • Established in Tallahassee, Florida, the state's capital, on March 3, 1905, by John G. Collins as the Weekly True Democrat [LCCN: sn95047417], Milton A. Smith bought the newspaper in 1908. A weekly, the newspaper published under that name until mid-February, 1912, when it began publishing as the Semi-weekly True Democrat [LCCN: sn95047418]. In 1913, it reverted to a weekly again under the title the Weekly True Democrat [LCCN: sn95047419]. On April 6, 1915, when the newspaper began daily publication, its name changed again, this time simply to the Daily Democrat [LCCN sn96027226]. The new name lasted only for a brief time. Frequency of publication would yet again dictate a change of title. So, in 1915 as well, the newspaper became the Weekly Democrat [LCCN: sn95047420]. Sometime thereafter, exact dates are not known, the newspaper became the paper of record for the state's capital and the title changed yet again briefly to reflect. Now the newspaper carried the title, the Weekly Democrat and Florida Record [LCCN: not known to exist]. If ever it was a record for Florida, it would have been a digest as both the Florida House and Senate have maintained continuous and detailed recordings of their deliberations. Lloyd C. Griscom, became owner in 1929, when again the newspaper became known as the Daily Democrat [LCCN sn96027229]. The newspaper retained this title for twenty years. In 1949, it became the Tallahassee (FL) Democrat [LCCN sn83005708]. And on March 1, 1965, the Tallahassee Democrat was purchased by Knight Newspapers, Inc. The newspaper retains the title Tallahassee Democrat to this day (ca. 2008). All of this might have been simplified had the newspaper stuck to the alternate title that it used in Volume 1, Issue number 1. The "True Democrat", as it then briefly called itself, explained that its name showed dedication to "true and tried doctrines of The Old Time Democracy ... as distinguished from ... mischievous fads and fallacies of the day." Though not intended, never more true words have been spoken on newspaper title changes! The True Democrat, whatever its name, would come to influence, and some might argue, make mischief with, the State of Florida's democratic processes and the deliberations of the legislature. While it may have shown leanings toward one party or another throughout its history, the newspaper has been affiliated with neither the Democratic nor Republican party but can be said to have exerted its opinions on each. Because Tallahassee is the seat of Florida's state government, the True Democrat has been quoted copiously in many journal articles and theses. Of particular note is its usefulness in tracking Jim Crow behaviors in the early 20th century. During this period the Black population in Leon County was about 80% and the white supremacists felt threatened. Three works lend themselves to such analyses: Ortiz, Paul. Emancipation Betrayed: The Hidden History of Black Organizing and White Violence from Reconstruction to the Bloody Election of 1920. American Crossroads Series. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2005. Willis, Lee L. The Road to Prohibition: Religion and Political Culture in Middle Florida, 1821-1920. Dissertation. Florida State University, 2006. Kennedy, Arthur. "The Democrat" [Tallahassee newspaper]. Florida Historical Quarterly, Vol. 37, no. 2 (Oct. 1958), pp. 150-155.--E. Kesse, University of Florida Digital Library Center.

Dates of Publication

  • 1905-1912

Created / Published

  • Tallahassee, Fla. : John G. Collins, 1905-1912.

Headings

  • -  Tallahassee (Fla.)--Newspapers
  • -  Leon County (Fla.)--Newspapers
  • -  Florida--Leon County
  • -  Florida--Tallahassee
  • -  United States--Florida--Leon--Tallahassee

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 1, no. 1 (Mar. 3, 1905)-v. 7, no. 52 (Feb. 16, 1912).
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format as part of the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Semi-weekly true Democrat (DLC)sn 95047418 (OCoLC)33933864

Medium

  • 7 v.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn95047417

OCLC Number

  • 33933863

ISSN Number

  • 1946-6110

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 Weekly True Democrat Tallahassee, Fla. -1912. (Tallahassee, FL), Jan. 1 1905. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn95047417/.

APA citation style:

(1905, January 1) The Weekly True Democrat Tallahassee, Fla. -1912. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn95047417/.

MLA citation style:

The Weekly True Democrat Tallahassee, Fla. -1912. (Tallahassee, FL) 1 Jan. 1905. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn95047417/.