''The New Northwest'' was an American weekly

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, 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 p ...

published in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

from 1871 to 1887 by Abigail Scott Duniway, and for another two years by O. P. Mason. One of the first newspapers in the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...

to champion the cause of women's rights, during its 16-year run, ''The New Northwest'' emerged as a vigorous voice for

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

and for liberalization of marriage law and property rights for women. The newspaper's

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

was ''Free Speech, Free Press, Free People''. In addition to news reports, ''The New Northwest'' included topical essays, travel correspondence, and serialized fiction, much of which was written by the prolific Duniway herself.

History

Establishment

''The New Northwest'' was launched on May 5, 1871, by Abigail Scott Duniway (1834–1915). Together with her younger brother, the future chief editorialist of the Portland ''Oregonian'' Harvey W. Scott (1838–1910), Abigail Scott had become a pioneer to the

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. O ...

in 1852, losing her mother to cholera en route on the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what is now the state of Kans ...

. G. Thomas Edwards, ''Growing Good Seeds: The Northwest Suffrage Campaigns of Susan B. Anthony.'' Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society Press, 1990; pg. 16. The future editor had married and begun a family of six children shortly after arriving in the state, moving to

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

early in 1871, just in time to launch her weekly newspaper. Duniway was moved to a life of political activism and publishing by a deep sense of moral outrage over the control of women's lives by the laws and traditional practices of men.Edwards, ''Growing Good Seeds,'' pg. 11. She sought to open debate about a wide array of issues important to women through her weekly broadsheet, including not just news of the day but discussions of

divorce law This article is a general overview of divorce laws around the world. Every nation in the world allows its residents to divorce under some conditions except the Philippines (though Muslims in the Philippines have the right to divorce) and the Vati ...

, and the economic conditions facing women in frontier-era

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

. The launch of Duniway's newspaper is regarded by contemporary historians as the first significant event launching the

women's movement The feminist movement (also known as the women's movement, or feminism) refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for radical and liberal reforms on women's issues created by the inequality between men and women. Such is ...

in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...

Political campaigns

Duniway was instrumental in bringing

Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony (born Susan Anthony; February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Born into a Quaker family committed to s ...

to Oregon late in the summer of 1871, having the previous year written a letter to invite either her or Elizabeth Cady Stanton to tour the state speaking on behalf of the right to vote for women. Duniway managed a statewide tour for Anthony in succeeding weeks before sending her back to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and overland return to the East. The pair were at the time optimistic about early victories for the suffrage movement in the states of the Pacific Coast, California and Oregon, as well as the

Washington Territory The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

, which was finally incorporated into the United States in 1889. The hopes of Duniway and Anthony were not to be rapidly rewarded in Oregon, however, as male voters five times rejected proposals to expand voting rights to women, voting down initiatives in 1884, 1900, 1906, 1908 and 1910.Jason Stone
"''New Northwest,'' Portland, Oregon, 1871-1887,"
''Historic Oregon Newspapers,'' University of Oregon Libraries. Greater success was realized in the field of property rights for women, however, with Duniway and ''The New Northwest's'' efforts credited for helping to pass the Married Women's Property Act of 1878 in Oregon, allowing women the right to their wages and to property under state law for the first time. Only in 1912, long after the 1887 demise of ''The New Northwest,'' did Oregon pass its women's suffrage initiative—an event which Governor

Oswald West Oswald West (May 20, 1873 – August 22, 1960) was an American politician, a Democrat, who served most notably as the 14th Governor of Oregon. He was called "Os West" by Oregon writer Stewart Holbrook, who described him as "by all odds the mo ...

marked by seeking out the ailing Abigail Scott Duniway and asking her to author and sign the state's official proclamation of suffrage.

Business operation

''The New Northwest'' was a family business for the Duniway family, with Abigail's husband Benjamin C. Duniway — permanently disabled since an accident involving a runaway horse team in 1862 — acting as business manager and several of the couple's five sons assisting with the printing of the paper.Jean M. Ward
"Abigail Scott Duniway (1834-1915),"
''The Oregon Encyclopedia,'' www.oregonencyclopedia.org/ Duniway's sister, Catherine Coburn, served for a time as editor. The paper prominently bore an assertive motto, "Free Speech, Free Press, Free People," which Duniway attempted to make a hallmark of the paper. Brother Harvey W. Scott contributed occasionally to the publication following his departure from the ''Oregonian''.

Termination

Duniway sold the ''New Northwest'' to O. P. Mason in 1887. Mason dropped the paper's political content, and refashioned it as a purely literary publication for two more years.

References

External links

''The New Northwest'' back issues (1871-1881)
University of Oregon. —PDF files
"Abigail Scott Duniway,"
''The Oregon Experience,'' Oregon Public Broadcasting System. Broadcast Date: Oct. 23, 2006. —Video {{DEFAULTSORT:New Northwest, The Publications established in 1871 Publications disestablished in 1889 1871 establishments in Oregon 1889 disestablishments in Oregon Newspapers published in Portland, Oregon Defunct newspapers published in Oregon Defunct weekly newspapers Feminist newspapers