Hezekiah Niles (October 10, 1777 – April 2, 1839), was an American editor and publisher of the

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-based national weekly news magazine, ''Niles' Weekly Register'' (aka ''Niles' Register'') and the ''

Weekly Register The ''Weekly Register'' (also called the ''Niles Weekly Register'' and ''Niles' Register'') was a national magazine published in Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fo ...

''. Niles was born in

Chester County, Pennsylvania Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially known as Chesco, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the Delaware Valley region of the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53 ...

, to a

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family, although his father quit the church to fight in the

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. In 1777, the family fled from

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Unami language, Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North ...

, ahead of the

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army to the home of James Jefferis on the east side of the Brandywine Creek near Jefferis' Ford. Niles later asserted in the ''Weekly Register'' that a Hessian mercenary threatened to bayonet his mother while pregnant with him. The family returned to Wilmington and after the war his father rejoined the Quakers. At 17, Niles apprenticed with a

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

printer for three years. He then worked in Wilmington for several years, attempting to establish a printing business that went bankrupt in 1801. In 1805 he published a short-lived literary magazine called the ''Apollo''. Later in 1805, he moved to

, where until 1811 he edited a daily broadsheet, the ''Baltimore Evening Post'', associated with the

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. In 1811, he issued the prospectus for the ''Weekly Register'' and had 1,500 subscribers before the first issue had been published. His book ''Principles and acts of the Revolution in America'' was first published in 1822. Niles edited and published the ''Weekly Register'' until 1836, making it into one of the most widely circulated magazines in the United States and himself into one of the most influential journalists of his day. The ''Niles' Weekly Register'' covered not only politics, but economics, science, technology, art, and literature. In the Register's discourse of politics, Niles used what he called "magnanimous disputation", trying to present the arguments of both sides fairly and objectively, a policy which has made the paper an important source for the history of the period. Later in life, Niles was afflicted by a paralytic condition and retired to

, where he died in 1839.

Peacemaking efforts between the North and South

Hezekiah foresaw the possibility of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

as early as 1820, and published articles in the Register which suggested efforts the South could make in modernizing their economy to a form which was not fully dependent on slavery, publishing efforts which he hoped would help avoid conflict between the North and South. Southern states largely rejected these suggestions that sought to alter their economic dependence on slavery.

Legacy

Niles, Michigan Niles is a city in Berrien and Cass counties in the U.S. state of Michigan, near the Indiana border city of South Bend. In 2010, the population was 11,600 according to the 2010 census. It is the larger, by population, of the two principal cit ...

and Niles, Ohio are named for him.

Niles, Illinois Niles is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located in the townships of Maine and Niles, directly neighboring the City of Chicago's far northwest border. Per the 2020 census, the population was 30,912. The current mayor of Niles ...

may also be named for him, but circumstances are unclear concerning the naming of the surrounding township in 1850.

Bibliography

* W.H. Earle. "Niles' Register, 1811-1849: Window on the World," ''Journal of the War of 1812 and the Era 1800 to 1840,'' Fall, 1996 (volume I, no. 5)
online version
* Kovarik, William, "To Avoid the Coming Storm: Hezekiah Niles Weekly Register as a Voice of North-South Moderation, 1811 - 1836," ''American Journalism,'' Summer, 1992
online version
* Kovarik, William, "Niles Register," Encyclopedia of American Journalism History" (Routledge, 2006)
online version
* Luxon, Norval. ''Niles Weekly Register: News Magazine of the Nineteenth Century'' (Louisiana State University Press, 1947) * Stone, Richard G. ''Hezekiah Niles as an Economist, ''(Johns Hopkins Press, 1933)

References

External links

* Frederick N. Rasmusse
Hezekiah Niles: A Patriotic News Magazine Editor in the 19th Century
Baltimore Sun, Sept. 4, 2011.
Biographical Sketch of Hezekiah Niles
from ''The History of Chester County'' by Futhey and Cope (1881)
Niles Weekly Register
fulltext * David D. Fowler
Niles' Florida
A five-volume compilation of news articles, personal letters, and anecdotes from early 19th century Florida. Thirty-eight years of Florida’s history between 1811 and 1849 from the Niles’ Weekly Register.
Hezekiah Niles
on

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''Principles and Acts of the Revolution in America; or an attempt to collect and preserve some of the speeches, orations and proceedings, with sketches and remarks on men and things, and other fugitive or neglected pieces of the revolutionary period.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Niles, Hezekiah 1777 births 1839 deaths American Quakers American publishers (people) American newspaper editors Businesspeople from Baltimore People from Chester County, Pennsylvania Writers from Philadelphia Writers from Wilmington, Delaware Journalists from Pennsylvania