The ''Chicago Times'' was a
newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...
in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
from 1854 to 1895, when it merged with the ''Chicago Herald'',
to become the ''Chicago Times-Herald''. The ''Times-Herald'' effectively disappeared in 1901 when it merged with the ''Chicago Record'' to become the ''
Chicago Record-Herald
The ''Chicago Record-Herald'' was a newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois from 1901 until 1914. It was the successor to the '' Chicago Morning Herald,'' the ''Chicago Times Herald'' and the ''Chicago Record''.
H. H. Kohlsaat, owner of the '' ...
''.
The ''Times'' was founded in 1854
by James W. Sheahan, with the backing of
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
and attorney
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which wa ...
, and was identified as a pro-slavery newspaper. In 1861, after the paper was purchased by Democratic journalist
Wilbur F. Storey
Wilbur Fisk Storey (December 19, 1819 – October 27, 1884) was an American journalist and newspaper publisher who was instrumental in the growth of the ''Detroit Free Press'' and the ''Chicago Times''. During the American Civil War, Storey pur ...
, the ''Times'' began espousing the
Copperhead
Copperhead may refer to:
Snakes
* ''Agkistrodon contortrix'', or copperhead, a venomous pit viper species found in parts of North America
* ''Austrelaps'', or Australian copperhead, a genus of venomous elapids found in southern Australia and Tas ...
point of view, supporting
Southern Democrats
Southern Democrats, historically sometimes known colloquially as Dixiecrats, are members of the U.S. History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party who reside in the Southern United States. Southern Democrats were generally mu ...
and denouncing the policies of
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
. During the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, General
Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Everett Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was an American army officer and politician who became a senior Union general in the Civil War and three times Governor of Rhode Island, as well as being a successful inventor ...
, head of the
Department of the Ohio
The Department of the Ohio was an administrative military district created by the United States War Department early in the American Civil War to administer the troops in the Northern states near the Ohio River.
1st Department 1861–1862
Genera ...
,
suppressed the paper in 1863 because of its hostility to the Union cause, but Lincoln lifted the ban when he received word of it.
Storey and
Joseph Medill
Joseph Medill (April 6, 1823March 16, 1899) was a Canadian-American newspaper editor, publisher, and Republican Party politician. He was co-owner and managing editor of the ''Chicago Tribune'', and he was Mayor of Chicago from after the Great Ch ...
, editor of the Republican-leaning ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'', maintained a strong rivalry for some time. In 1888, the newspaper saw the brief addition of
Finley Peter Dunne
Finley Peter Dunne (born Peter Dunne; July 10, 1867 – April 24, 1936) was an American humorist, journalist and writer from Chicago. In 1898 Dunne published ''Mr. Dooley in Peace and in War'', a collection of his nationally syndicated Mr. Dooley ...
to its staff. Dunne was a columnist whose
Mr. Dooley satires won him national recognition. After just one year, Dunne left the ''Times'' to work for the rival ''Chicago Tribune''.
In 1895, the ''Times'' became the ''Chicago Times-Herald'' after a merger with the ''Chicago Herald'',
[About The Chicago times-herald. (Chicago, Ill.) 1895-1901](_blank)
chroniclingamerica, Retrieved 24 April 2013 a newspaper founded in 1881 by
James W. Scott
James W. Scott (1849–1895) was an American newspaper editor who was the publisher and principal owner of the Chicago Times-Herald and Chicago Evening Post. He served four terms as President of the American Newspaper Publishers Association and wa ...
. After Scott's sudden death in the weeks following the merger,
H. H. Kohlsaat took over the new paper. He changed its direction from a "democratic" publication to an "independent republican" one. It supported "
sound money
In macroeconomics, hard currency, safe-haven currency, or strong currency is any globally traded currency that serves as a reliable and stable store of value. Factors contributing to a currency's ''hard'' status might include the stability and r ...
" policies (against
free silver
Free silver was a major economic policy issue in the United States in the late 19th-century. Its advocates were in favor of an expansionary monetary policy featuring the unlimited coinage of silver into money on-demand, as opposed to strict adhe ...
) in the
1896 election.
Kohlsaat bought the ''Chicago Record'' from ''
Chicago Daily News
The ''Chicago Daily News'' was an afternoon daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, published between 1875 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois.
History
The ''Daily News'' was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Dougherty ...
'' publisher
Victor F. Lawson in 1901 and merged it with the ''Times-Herald'' to form the ''
Chicago Record-Herald
The ''Chicago Record-Herald'' was a newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois from 1901 until 1914. It was the successor to the '' Chicago Morning Herald,'' the ''Chicago Times Herald'' and the ''Chicago Record''.
H. H. Kohlsaat, owner of the '' ...
''. Frank B. Noyes acquired an interest in the new newspaper at the time and served as publisher, with Kohlsaat as editor.
See also
*''
Chicago Record-Herald
The ''Chicago Record-Herald'' was a newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois from 1901 until 1914. It was the successor to the '' Chicago Morning Herald,'' the ''Chicago Times Herald'' and the ''Chicago Record''.
H. H. Kohlsaat, owner of the '' ...
''
References
Further reading
*Sanger, Donald Bridgman. "The ''Chicago Times'' and the Civil War." ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'' 17, no. 4 (1931): 557–580.
* Patricia B. Swan and James B. Swan. "James W. Sheahan: Stephen A. Douglas Supporter and Partisan Chicago Journalist." ''Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society'' (2012) 105#2-3 pp 133–16
in JSTOR* Walsh, Justin E. "To Print the News and Raise Hell: Wilbur F. Storey's Chicago Times." ''Journalism Quarterly'' 40, no. 4 (1963): 497–510.
Defunct newspapers published in Chicago
1854 establishments in Illinois
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