Joseph Tinker Buckingham (December 21, 1779''Cyclopaedia of American literature''''Historical Magazine'' – April 10, 1861) was an American journalist and politician in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

. He rose from humble beginnings to become an influential conservative intellectual in

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 ...

Family and early life

Buckingham was born Joseph Buckingham TinkerKornblith, p.124 but christened Joseph Buckingham, with his mother's mother's surname, which he adopted legally in 1804. He was the youngest of nine surviving children of Nehemiah Tinker, a

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern t ...

-keeper in

Windham, Connecticut Windham is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. It contains the former city of Willimantic as well as the boroughs of Windham Center, North Windham, and South Windham. Willimantic, an incorporated city since 1893, was consol ...

, descended from Thomas Tinker, one of the

Pilgrim Fathers The Pilgrims, also known as the Pilgrim Fathers, were the English settlers who came to North America on the ''Mayflower'' and established the Plymouth Colony in what is today Plymouth, Massachusetts, named after the final departure port of Plymo ...

on the

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, r ...

. Nehemiah died in 1783, ruined by the devaluing of the Continental currency he received for supplying the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Tinker's widow, Mary ''née'' Huntington, soon became destitute, until friends offered the family a home in

Worthington, Massachusetts Worthington is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,193 at the 2020 census, up from 1,156 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Worthington is dis ...

. Joseph was

indentured An indenture is a legal contract that reflects or covers a debt or purchase obligation. It specifically refers to two types of practices: in historical usage, an indentured servant status, and in modern usage, it is an instrument used for commercia ...

to a farmer named Welsh, where he was kindly treated and got a basic education. After his term, he worked briefly as a

printer's devil A printer's devil was a young apprentice in a printing establishment who performed a number of tasks, such as mixing tubs of ink and fetching type. Notable writers including Ambrose Bierce, Benjamin Franklin, Walt Whitman, and Mark Twain served ...

at the ''Farmer's Museum'' in

Walpole, New Hampshire Walpole is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,633 at the 2020 census. The town's central village, where 573 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined as the Walpole census-designated place (CDP) and ...

, before become an

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

compositor and copy-editor at the ''Gazette'' in

Greenfield, Massachusetts Greenfield is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Greenfield was first settled in 1686. The population was 17,768 at the 2020 census. Greenfield is home to Greenfield Community College, the Pioneer Val ...

. In 1800 he moved to Boston as a

journeyman A journeyman, journeywoman, or journeyperson is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that fie ...

at Thomas & Andrews. In 1803 he played

summer stock In American theater, summer-stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock th ...

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

and

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

. In 1805, he married Melinda Alvord; they had thirteen children.

Journalism

While setting up as a

master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

printer in Boston, Buckingham started and edited several publications: '' The Polyanthos'', an illustrated monthly magazine, which ran from 1806 till September 1807, and 1812 to 1814; and ''The Ordeal'', which ran weekly from January 1809 for six months. These sided with the Federalist Party. He joined the

Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association The Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association (est.1795) of Boston, Massachusetts, was "formed for the sole purposes of promoting the mechanic arts and extending the practice of benevolence." Founders included Paul Revere, Jonathan Hunnewell, a ...

and became chairman in 1812;Kornblith, p.125 he was vice-president in 1830 and president in 1832.Kornblith, p.128 In 1815, he went

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

, both his publishing and printing businesses being hit by the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

. ''The New England Galaxy and Masonic Magazine'', started in 1817, was popular among the growing number of Freemasons in Boston.Kornblith, p.126 The reference to Freemasonry was dropped by 1820 after a backlash. The magazine supported Josiah Quincy from 1821, as part of the " Middling Interest" coalition after the

Panic of 1819 The Panic of 1819 was the first widespread and durable financial crisis in the United States that slowed westward expansion in the Cotton Belt and was followed by a general collapse of the American economy that persisted through 1821. The Panic ...

. In 1822, Quincy presided over a libel suit brought against Buckingham by John Newland Maffitt. On 2 March 1824, Buckingham founded the ''

Boston Courier The ''Boston Courier'' was an American newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded on March 2, 1824, by Joseph T. Buckingham as a daily newspaper which supported protectionism. Buckingham served as editor until he sold out complete ...

'', a daily newspaper which supported

protectionism Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulatio ...

. He sold his interest in the ''Galaxy'' in 1828, and edited the ''Courier'' till selling out in 1848. It supported the

National Republican The National Republican Party, also known as the Anti-Jacksonian Party or simply Republicans, was a political party in the United States that evolved from a conservative-leaning faction of the Democratic-Republican Party that supported John Qu ...

s, and later the Whig Party. In 1831, he started the monthly ''

The New-England Magazine ''The New-England Magazine'' was a monthly literary magazine published in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1831 to 1835. Overview The magazine was published by Joseph T. Buckingham and his son Edwin. The first edition was published in July 1831, a ...

'' with his son Edwin. Now considered "one of antebellum America's few worthwhile literary journals", its contributors included

Nathaniel Langdon Frothingham Nathaniel Langdon Frothingham (23 July 1793 – 3 April 1870) was an American Unitarian minister and pastor of the First Church of Boston from 1815 to 1850. Frothingham was opposed to Theodore Parker and the interjection of transcendentalism into ...

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely tran ...

Edward Everett Edward Everett (April 11, 1794 – January 15, 1865) was an American politician, Unitarian pastor, educator, diplomat, and orator from Massachusetts. Everett, as a Whig, served as U.S. representative, U.S. senator, the 15th governor of Mass ...

, and

Samuel Gridley Howe Samuel Gridley Howe (November 10, 1801 – January 9, 1876) was an American physician, abolitionist, and advocate of education for the blind. He organized and was the first director of the Perkins Institution. In 1824 he had gone to Greece to ...

, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. Edwin Buckingham died in 1833, aged 23, on a voyage to

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

to relieve his

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

. Joseph sold the Magazine in 1834 to Howe and John O. Sargent. He had to

mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any ...

his property in 1836 when business turned bad.Kornblith, p.133

Politics

Buckingham served in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

for Boston and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

in 1828, 1831–1833, 1836, and 1838–39, as a

, and later a Whig. He introduced a report in 1833 in favor of the suppression of

lotteries A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of ...

.Kornblith, p.131 He denounced the

Tariff of 1833 The Tariff of 1833 (also known as the Compromise Tariff of 1833, ch. 55, ), enacted on March 2, 1833, was proposed by Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun as a resolution to the Nullification Crisis. Enacted under Andrew Jackson's presidency, it was ...

, switching his allegiance from Henry Clay to

Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison ...

. He represented Middlesex County in the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

in 1847–48 and 1850–51. He leaned towards the

Conscience Whigs The Whig Party was a political party in the United States of America, United States during the middle of the 19th century. Alongside the slightly larger Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, it was one of the two Political partie ...

but was not an outright

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

, though he did oppose the Fugitive Slave Law in the

Compromise of 1850 The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850 that defused a political confrontation between slave and free states on the status of territories acquired in the Mexican–Am ...

Later life

After retiring from politics and journalism, Buckingham published two two-volume sets of memoirs, and edited the annals of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association.

References

Primary

* **At

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...

Volume 1Volume 2
**At

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Volume 1Volume 2
* **At

Volume 1Volume 2
*

Secondary

* * * ** ** * *

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Buckingham, Joseph T. 1779 births 1861 deaths People from Windham, Connecticut Massachusetts Federalists Massachusetts Whigs 19th-century American politicians Massachusetts state senators Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives 19th-century American newspaper editors Politicians from Boston 19th-century American people