''The Independent'' was a weekly magazine published in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

between 1848 and 1928. It was founded in order to promote

Congregationalism Congregationalist polity, or congregational polity, often known as congregationalism, is a system of ecclesiastical polity in which every local church (congregation) is independent, ecclesiastically sovereign, or "autonomous". Its first articulat ...

and was also an important voice in support of abolitionism and

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 ...

. In 1924 it moved to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts.

Publication history

Beginnings

From its founding in 1848 until 1861 ''The Independent'' was edited by a team of three prominent Congregational ministers:

Joseph Parrish Thompson Joseph Parrish Thompson (1819–1879) was an abolitionist and Congregationalist minister. He was pastor of the Broadway Tabernacle Church in New York from 1845 to 1871, (also known as Broadway United Church of Christ and Second Free Presbyterian C ...

Richard Salter Storrs Richard Salter Storrs (August 21, 1821 – June 7, 1900) was an American Congregational clergyman. Biography Storrs was born in Braintree, Massachusetts. He bore the same name as his grandfather (1763–1819), pastor at Longmeadow, Massachusett ...

, and

Leonard Bacon Reverend Leonard Bacon (February 19, 1802 – December 24, 1881) was an American Congregational preacher and writer. He held the pulpit of the First Church New Haven and was later professor of church history and polity at Yale College. Biograp ...

. It was published and financed by a group of New York businessmen led by Henry C. Bowen of the silk wholesaling firm Bowen & McNamee. The editorial policy was strongly antislavery, which hurt the magazine's circulation initially, but it improved through the 1850s to reach 35,000 by the beginning of the

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

. In 1861 Harriet Beecher Stowe's brother

Henry Ward Beecher Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery trial. His r ...

, who had been a regular contributor to the magazine, became its editor. His assistant editor was

Theodore Tilton Theodore Tilton (October 2, 1835 – May 29, 1907) was an American newspaper editor, poet and abolitionist. He was born in New York City to Silas Tilton and Eusebia Tilton (same surname). On his twentieth birthday, October 2, 1855, he married ...

, who succeeded Beecher as editor in 1863 and remained in the position until 1870. During Tilton's tenure, ''The Independent'' took up the cause of women's suffrage. It also published poetry and literary contributions by authors including Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Harriet Beecher Stowe,

Emma Lazarus Emma Lazarus (July 22, 1849 – November 19, 1887) was an American author of poetry, prose, and translations, as well as an activist for Jewish and Georgist causes. She is remembered for writing the sonnet " The New Colossus", which was inspire ...

, John Greenleaf Whittier and

James Russell Lowell James Russell Lowell (; February 22, 1819 – August 12, 1891) was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the fireside poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets that ...

. It reached its highest circulation of 75,000 in 1870, the year in which Tilton retired as editor.

Trends

Tilton was succeeded by Henry C. Bowen, who continued as both editor and publisher until his death in 1896, when

William Hayes Ward William Hayes Ward (June 25, 1835 – August 28, 1916) was an American clergyman, editor, and Orientalist. Biography William Hayes Ward was born in Abington, Massachusetts on June 25, 1835. After attending Berwick Academy in Maine, adjacent t ...

became editor. Thereafter the magazine devoted less attention to religious affairs, and contained more political coverage and illustrations. This trend continued under the editorship of

Hamilton Holt Hamilton Holt (August 18, 1872 – April 26, 1951) was an American educator, editor, author and politician. Biography Holt was born on August 18, 1872 in Brooklyn, New York City to George Chandler Holt and his wife Mary Louisa Bowen Holt. His ...

(Bowen's grandson), a strong proponent of the

League to Enforce Peace The League to Enforce Peace was a non-state American organization established in 1915 to promote the formation of an international body for world peace. It was formed at Independence Hall in Philadelphia by American citizens concerned by the outbr ...

and later the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

. During the second decade of the twentieth century ''The Independent'' absorbed three other magazines: ''The Chautauquan'' (1914), ''

Harper's Weekly ''Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization'' was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor, ...

'' (1916), and ''Countryside'' (1917). A printers' strike in 1919 was damaging to the magazine, which struggled with rising costs and changed hands several times during the 1920s. In 1924 its last owners moved it to Boston but it remained unsuccessful. In 1928 ''The Independent'' was merged with ''The Outlook'' to form ''The Outlook and Independent''.

Footnotes

External links

* ''The Independent'' at the HathiTrust
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Coverage begins with vol. 30, 1878. {{DEFAULTSORT:Independent, The 1848 establishments in New York (state) 1928 establishments in Massachusetts Abolitionism in the United States Defunct political magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1848 Magazines disestablished in 1928 Magazines published in Boston Magazines published in New York City Weekly magazines published in the United States