Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-06-19

and its battles were renewed with increased
hope and determination.
l74S opened the campaign for iTT6.
From that period the press was revolution
ary in its tones. At that time began to
gather.and Crystalline those moral elements
that finally eliminated in open rebellion
against the mother country. Boston, New
York, Philadelphia, Annapolis, Charleston
and all points where newspapers had
gained foothOld, became the revolution
airy centerS of America The press, though
still in tlIEaldon, was we'll prepared to ed
ucate the people TO believe that they had
higher destiny than that of political slavery.
Bold, fearless men entered the ranks Of
journalism. The Boston Gazette, estab-
lished In 1775, was worth more TO the
struggling colonists than all their other
leaders combined. Its office became the
general rendezvous OF the leading spirits of
the day. Here was planned the secret
modes of attack and defense against the
asurpation of authority. The Boston mas
sacre in ITO, the destruction Of the tea in
Boston haIbor in ITS, the odious stamp
act and all other public events were faith
fully recorded in It's columns, and furnished
themes for many an appeal 10 the people.
Every issue was like an exploding she'll in
the enenIy's camp. Thus were the
masses slowly but surely aroused,
and the fires of their patriotism
never again slumbered until indie
pendence was achieved. As new journals
sprang into existence imbued withthe spirit
of the age the unbridled rage Of their perse
cutors ran higher, and became more malig
nant and deep-seated. In addition to- all
this, Ignorance and toryism were to be con-
fronted at every step. a few years previous
the good Governor of Virginia, who of
coUise belonged TO a first family, thanked
God that in his State there were no free
schools nor printing offices, and kJped that
they would not appear FOR centuries to
come. Is IL at all unreasonable to suppose
that some OF me illustrious Governors de-
scendan.s settled in Tennessee and trans
mitted his theories to posterily? As we be
fore stated, brave spirits came to the rescue
81 the press and of The country. Nearly all
the leading men of the day became editors,
and many of these were afterwards
Generals in the army. Three years
before the first gun of the war was
fired at Concord, the following startling
language appeared in the Massachusetts
spy ''ShCuld the liberties of the press be
DESTROYED, farewell to the remainder vi our
invaluable rights and privileges. We
might next expect padlocks on our lips, fet-
tiers on eur legs and only our hands lett to
slave Tor our worse than Egyptians task
masters, orr fight our lcdy TO coRstitu-
ttoRal freedom That was The spirit which
eventuated in open war and caused the
crowned heads of Europe 10 hemble for
the security of their thrones During the
seven years conflict, the press never slum-
bered. Its patriotism never abated. But
we pass over the fires Gfthe revolution, and
hasten TO brief consideration of the pOliti-
cal party press, which was established soon
after peace was declared. Editors noloag-
er feared the pillory, prison, or
whipping post. Unfortunately. however,
they had emerged from one state OF slavery
only to enter another They actually be-
Lon7ei to the politicians, and the impecu-
niOus editor who dared 10 question his
allegiance to party was considered either
fanatic or traitor. Here was created that
spirit which fingers around our institu-
tiOns, prescribing the editor who dreams
that he may dispute the arrogant claims of
patty. Il is treason tSo dark to mention,
except with ba.ei breath, TO intimate that
the party does not embOty the quintessence
OF Immaculate purity, or TO deny, for mo-
ment, that il is the only medium through
which the country can ever be saved. Il
is all the same whether the party be black
ened with Tammany frauds, Credit Mo-
biiier schemes, or back-salary grabs. The
party, 1t nust, 1t shall be preserved,
even if the country be ruined. Hence,
in the period under consideration, editors
were forced to pass through an ordeal
trying and humiliating. In addition to be-
I. I Il Il.
party, they were compelled to bear the
brJlnt Of every campaign. They Were often
burned out bv the torch Ofthe midnight in
cendiaIy, beaten by hired rutiians and muir
dered by aSSsSsiPs, They fought duels,
sustained libel suits without limit, we've
meanly supported and were compelled 10
toll Ike slaves. With them the warfare
WIS never over. In the great political bat
ties waged between The Federalisis, under
the leadership Uf Alexander Hamilton, and
the Democrats, with Thomas jefferson as
| their standard bearer, the press was ever
where the fight was the thiCkest and con-
stituted the moral batteries that no
power could silence. To this period news
papers and periodicals increased with
marvellous rapidity. Among the various
| classes of journalism that sprung into
| life the religious press was conspicuous.
| In 1876 Nathaniel Willis and Sidney
| Edwards Morse started the first religious
| journal of America and of the world. Ii
| was called the Boston Record, and boosted
| at the outset of five or six hundred sub
| ScriberS. Without following the history of
| the religious press it will suffice to state
| that every religious denomination in the
| world has one or more organs, and in the
| United States l0O,OO0,OO0 copies of period
| icals Of this class are annually circulated
| among the people. While on the subject
| of organs il may be proper to note the sig
/ nificant, not to say dangerous fact, that
! every Congressman, Governor. Senator and
leading politician is supported by an organ.
| Jefferson, Madison, Clay, Calhoun, Web
| ser, Polk, Adams, Buchanan, Lincoln,
| Grant, all have had their organs. Wash
| ington, alone, of all the Presidents had no
organ. The Theirs and Commune Govern
ments were respectively represented by
/ organs in 1870. Austria, Russia, Italy,
| England. Spain, Turkey, have their official
| organs, and even China is represented by
the Pekjn Gazette, the oldest paper in the
world.
During the first quarter of the present
| century journalism oyerdid itself in many
of the leading cities Of the Union. Blanket
sheets came into fashion, and as a conSe-
| queBce many papers were carried beneath
the surface by the cUmbrous weight Of their
over-pretenSiOns. They failed because,
like too many journals of tine present day,
they assumed style and appearance rot
| in proportion TO their means and patronage.
In 1892 the transition epoch began.
| Cheap papers Of a modest size made their
| appearance. The blanket sheets were kept
| alive by the aid of politicians and patron
age from the Government. The cheap press
was sustained by neither, and consequently
il was forced to a position of Independence.
Il was treated with suspicious contempt by
the politicians, who TeligiOusly believed that
no species of journalism could succeed
| without their sanction and assistance. But
the success of this class of the press was so
great that it attracted the attention of the
enterprising portiHh of the profession, and
| in 1885 the crowDing period of
American journalism was inaugurated.
II was the period which gave
| freedom TO the press and relic ed
it, forever, We trust, from its CALLING
Shackles. 1t was a glorious revolution, in
which the manacles that had so long
dxarfed its intellect were broken in pieces.