The Statesman (Pittsburgh)
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''The Commonwealth'' was a weekly newspaper published in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
from 1805 to 1818, before continuing as ''The Statesman'' until 1836. It was the city's third newspaper, and one of several in the ancestral lineage of the ''
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...
''.


Origin

''The Commonwealth'' was born out of dissension in the ranks of the
Democratic-Republican Party The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...
in Pennsylvania. The conflict pitted a moderate "Constitutionalist" faction (called "
Quids The tertium quids (sometimes shortened to quids) were various factions of the Democratic-Republican Party in the United States from 1804 to 1812. In Latin, ''tertium quid'' means "a third something". Initially, ''quid'' was a disparaging term th ...
" by opponents), supporting Governor
Thomas McKean Thomas McKean (March 19, 1734June 24, 1817) was an American lawyer, politician, and Founding Father. During the American Revolution, he was a Delaware delegate to the Continental Congress, where he signed the Continental Association, the United ...
, against the "Friends of the People," who favored radical legal and judicial reform and sought to defeat the governor's re-election. Ephraim Pentland, a 20-year-old journalist who had been employed at the ''Aurora'' in
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. Sinc ...
, established the ''Commonwealth'' to give voice in Pittsburgh to the radical cause in opposition to the Quid-oriented '' Tree of Liberty'' and the
Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...
-leaning ''Gazette''. The paper first appeared on 24 July 1805 as a four-column folio sold at $3 per year. It adopted the Pennsylvania state motto — "Virtue, Liberty and Independence" — as its own.


Stewart-Bates duel

Pentland's columns teemed with personal abuse, which grew especially bitter following McKean's victory over
Simon Snyder Simon Snyder (November 5, 1759November 9, 1819) was the third Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, serving three terms from 1808 to 1817. He led the state through the War of 1812. Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Snyder established a ...
in the 1805 gubernatorial election. An editorial on Christmas Day bashed Tarleton Bates and Henry Baldwin, associates of the ''Tree of Libertys nominal publisher
Walter Forward Walter Forward (January 24, 1786 – November 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and politician. He was the brother of Chauncey Forward. Biography Born in East Granby, Connecticut, he attended the common schools. After moving with his father to ...
, as "despicable sycophants" and "two of the most abandoned political miscreants that ever disgraced the state." Bates struck back at his detractor on the street, with two or three lashes of a cowhide whip. Pentland some time later issued a challenge to a duel, which Bates declined. In publishing his account of the affair in the ''Tree of Liberty'', Bates gave offense to Thomas Stewart, a merchant who had carried Pentland's challenge to Bates. Stewart, after failing to receive an apology, challenged Bates, who fatefully accepted. In the duel Bates was killed on the second exchange of fire.


Pentland departure, successors

In 1810 Pentland left journalism to focus on his law practice and political career. The ''Commonwealth'' passed under the direction of Benjamin Brown, previously associated with the
Washington, Pennsylvania Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania. A part of the Greater Pittsburgh area in the southwestern part of the state, the city is home to Washington & Jefferson College and Pony League baseball. The populat ...
''Reporter''. Brown, whose political views were similar to Pentland's, remained with the paper until 1814. Following Brown's departure, a succession of others carried on the ''Commonwealth'' until 1818. Members of one publishing group, upon taking charge, complained that "They have found the establishment which has fallen into their hands sickening from the neglect of its former friends, and drooping from the desertion of its old patrons."


''The Statesman''

In 1818, Pentland re-established control of the paper with printer Silas Engles and renamed it ''The Statesman''. Pentland had by this time become less radical in his politics. Pentland's father-in-law, Senator
Abner Lacock Abner Lacock (July 9, 1770April 12, 1837) was an American surveyor, civil engineer, and politician from Rochester, Pennsylvania. He served in both houses in the state legislature and represented Pennsylvania in both the U.S. House and Senate. B ...
, who had regularly contributed columns to the ''Commonwealth'', used the ''Statesman'' as a political weapon and was sometimes suspected of writing for the paper under the alias "Hannibal." The ''Statesman'' passed through the hands of John W. Young, and was owned in 1824 by John C. and P. C. M. Andrews. Looking toward that year's presidential election, the latter editors came out for caucus candidate
William H. Crawford William Harris Crawford (February 24, 1772 – September 15, 1834) was an American politician and judge during the early 19th century. He served as US Secretary of War and US Secretary of the Treasury before he ran for US president in the 1824 ...
and against the popular
Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
. Opposition to Jackson was to be an enduring characteristic of the journal. An 1826 directory spoke of the ''Statesman'' as "in a more flourishing condition than it has been for many years, owing to the late improvement of its appearance and the addition to the editorial department." In the same year the paper announced a semiweekly edition with the title ''Statesman and Pittsburgh Public Advertiser'', which is not known to have lasted long.


Butler era

In July 1827, John B. Butler, formerly of the
Ravenna, Ohio Ravenna is a city in Portage County, Ohio, United States. It is located east of Akron. It was formed from portions of Ravenna Township in the Connecticut Western Reserve. The population was 11,323 in the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Por ...
''Western Courier'', bought the ''Statesman'' and assumed its management. Butler continued the paper's anti-Jackson stance, and during the presidential campaign of 1828, supposedly put out
Coffin Handbills The Coffin Handbills were a series of pamphlets attacking Andrew Jackson during the 1828 United States presidential election. Jackson was running against incumbent John Quincy Adams. The campaign was very dirty, with multiple attacks on the charac ...
attacking Jackson. Under Butler's direction the ''Statesman'' became a proponent of the nascent Whig Party. An active
Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
, Butler feuded editorially with the ''Times'' and the ''Gazette'', which in the 1830s were the local Anti-Masonic organs.


Consolidation

In 1836 the ''Statesman'' was sold to and consolidated with another Whig journal, the ''Advocate''. Published daily, the ''Advocate'' also issued a weekly edition, which, as the successor of the weekly ''Statesman'', was renamed the ''Weekly Advocate and Statesman''. The ''Advocate'' was eventually absorbed by the ''Gazette'', a predecessor of the ''
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...
''.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Commonwealth, The (Pittsburgh) Defunct newspapers published in Pittsburgh Defunct weekly newspapers Publications established in 1805 Publications disestablished in 1836 1805 establishments in Pennsylvania 1836 disestablishments in Pennsylvania