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''Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization'' was an American political magazine based in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Published by
Harper & Brothers Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship Imprint (trade name), imprint of global publisher HarperCollins, based in New York City. Founded in New York in 1817 by James Harper (publisher), James Harper and his brother John, the compan ...
from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor, alongside illustrations. It carried extensive coverage of the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, including many illustrations of events from the war. During its most influential period, it was the forum of the political cartoonist
Thomas Nast Thomas Nast (; ; September 26, 1840December 7, 1902) was a German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist often considered to be the "Father of the American Cartoon". He was a sharp critic of William M. Tweed, "Boss" Tweed and the T ...
.


History


Inception

Along with his brothers James, John, and Wesley,
Fletcher Harper Fletcher Harper (January 31, 1806 – May 29, 1877) was an American publisher in the early-to-mid 19th century. Biography Fletcher Harper was born January 31, 1806, in Newtown, New York. He was the youngest of four sons born to Joseph Henry H ...
began the publishing company
Harper & Brothers Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship Imprint (trade name), imprint of global publisher HarperCollins, based in New York City. Founded in New York in 1817 by James Harper (publisher), James Harper and his brother John, the compan ...
in 1825. Following the successful example of ''
The Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'', founded by Herbert Ingram and first published on Saturday 14 May 1842, was the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. The magazine was published weekly for most of its existence, switched to a less freq ...
'', Harper started publishing ''
Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...
'' in 1850. The monthly publication featured established authors such as
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
and
William Makepeace Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray ( ; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was an English novelist and illustrator. He is known for his Satire, satirical works, particularly his 1847–1848 novel ''Vanity Fair (novel), Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portra ...
, and within several years, demand for the magazine was great enough to sustain a weekly edition.Palmquist & Kailborn 2002, p. 279. In 1857, his company began publishing ''Harper's Weekly'' in New York City. By 1860, the circulation of the ''Weekly'' had reached 200,000. Illustrations were an important part of the ''Weeklys content, and it developed a reputation for using some of the most renowned illustrators of the time, notably Winslow Homer, Granville Perkins, Porte Crayon, and Livingston Hopkins. Among the recurring features were the
political cartoon A political cartoon, also known as an editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically co ...
s of
Thomas Nast Thomas Nast (; ; September 26, 1840December 7, 1902) was a German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist often considered to be the "Father of the American Cartoon". He was a sharp critic of William M. Tweed, "Boss" Tweed and the T ...
, who was recruited in 1862 and worked with the ''Weekly'' for more than 20 years. Nast was a feared caricaturist, and is often called the father of American political cartooning. He was the first to use an elephant as the symbol of the Republican Party. He also drew the legendary character of
Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...
; his version became strongly associated with the figure, who was popularized as part of Christmas customs in the late nineteenth century.


Civil War coverage

''Harper's Weekly'' was the most widely read journal in the United States during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
era of the mid-19th century. ''Harper's'' took a moderate editorial position on the issue of
slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
prior to the Civil War's outbreak in 1861, earning it the label "Harper's Weakly" by critics.


19th century

During the 1860 U.S. presidential campaign, the magazine supported
Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (né Douglass; April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. As a United States Senate, U.S. senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party (United States) ...
in his campaign against
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
. But as the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
broke out, the magazine fully supported Lincoln and the Union. A July 1863 article in ''The Weekly'' on the escaped slave Gordon included an illustration taken from a photograph of his back, severely scarred from whippings. The image provided many readers in the
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...
their first visual evidence of slavery's brutality. The image and story inspired many free blacks in the North to enlist in the Union Army. Many of the most important articles and illustrations in ''Harper's'' were related to the American Civil War. Besides illustrations by Homer and Nast, the magazine published illustrations by Theodore R. Davis, Henry Mosler, and the brothers Alfred and William Waud. Beginning in 1863 until his death in 1892, George William Curtis, one of the founders of the Republican Party, served as the magazine's political editor. His editorials advocated
civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...
reform, low
tariff A tariff or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...
s, and adherence to the
gold standard A gold standard is a backed currency, monetary system in which the standard economics, economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the ...
.


President maker

After the end of the Civil War, ''Harper's Weekly'' more openly supported the Republican Party in its editorial positions, and supported the presidential candidacy of
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...
in 1868 and again in 1872. It supported the Radical Republican position on Reconstruction. In the 1870s, the cartoonist Thomas Nast began an aggressive campaign in the journal against the corrupt New York political leader William "Boss" Tweed. Nast turned down a $500,000 bribe to end his attack. Tweed was arrested in 1873 and convicted of fraud. Nast and ''Harper's'' also played an important part in securing Rutherford B. Hayes' 1876 presidential election. Later on Hayes remarked that Nast was "the most powerful, single-handed aid ehad". After the election, Nast's role in the magazine diminished considerably. Since the late 1860s, Nast and George W. Curtis had frequently differed on political matters and particularly on the role of cartoons in political discourse. Curtis believed that mockery by caricature should be reserved for Democrats, and did not approve of Nast's cartoons assailing Republicans such as
Carl Schurz Carl Christian Schurz (; March 2, 1829 – May 14, 1906) was a German-American revolutionary and an American statesman, journalist, and reformer. He migrated to the United States after the German revolutions of 1848–1849 and became a prominent ...
and
Charles Sumner Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811March 11, 1874) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1851 until his death in 1874. Before and during the American Civil War, he was a leading American ...
, who opposed policies of the Grant administration. ''Harper's'' publisher Fletcher Harper strongly supported Nast in his disputes with Curtis. In 1877, Harper died, and his nephews, Joseph W. Harper Jr. and John Henry Harper, assumed control of the magazine. They were more sympathetic to Curtis' arguments for rejecting cartoons that contradicted his editorial positions. In 1884, however, Curtis and Nast agreed that they could not support the Republican candidate James G. Blaine, whose association with corruption was anathema to them. Instead they supported the Democratic candidate,
Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...
. Nast's cartoons helped Cleveland become the first Democrat to be elected president since 1856. In the words of the artist's grandson, Thomas Nast St Hill, "it was generally conceded that Nast's support won Cleveland the small margin by which he was elected. In his last national political campaign, Nast had, in fact, 'made a president. Nast's final contribution to ''Harper's Weekly'' was his Christmas illustration in December 1886. Journalist Henry Watterson said that "in quitting ''Harper's Weekly'', Nast lost his forum: in losing him, ''Harper's Weekly'' lost its political importance." Nast's biographer Fiona Deans Halloran says "the former is true to a certain extent, the latter unlikely. Readers may have missed Nast's cartoons, but ''Harper's Weekly'' remained influential." On January 14, 1893, ''Harper's Weekly'' became the first American magazine to publish a
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
story, " The Adventure of the Cardboard Box".


20th century

After 1900, ''Harper's Weekly'' devoted more print to political and social issues, and featured articles by some of the more prominent political figures of the time, such as
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...
. ''Harper's'' editor George Harvey was an early supporter of
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...
's candidacy, proposing him for the Presidency at a Lotos Club dinner in 1906. After that dinner, Harvey would make sure that he "emblazoned each issue of ''Harper's Weekly'' with the words 'For President—Woodrow Wilson. Roderic C. Penfield served as the managing editor of ''Harper's Weekly'' from 1912 to 1914. The magazine published its final issue on May 13, 1916.Mott 1938
p. 469
It was absorbed by ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', which in turn merged with '' The Outlook'' in 1928. In the mid-1970s, ''
Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...
'' used the ''Harper's Weekly'' title for a spinoff publication, which was published biweekly from its
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
headquarters and depended on contributions from readers for much of its content.


See also

*
Harper (publisher) Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins, based in New York City. Founded in New York in 1817 by James Harper and his brother John, the company operated as J. & J. Harper until 1833, when ...


Notes


References

* DeBrava, Valerie (2001). "The Offending Hand of War in ''Harper's Weekly,"'' ''American Periodicals,'' vol. 11, pp. 49–64
In JSTOR
* * Halloran, Fiona Deans (2012). ''Thomas Nast: The Father of Modern Political Cartoons''. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press. . * * * * * * * * Prettyman, Gib (2001). ''"Harper's Weekly'' and the Spectacle of Industrialization," ''American Periodicals,'' vol. 11, pp. 24–28
In JSTOR
*


External links

* Online Books Page
Weekly''
digitized issues, various dates
Virginia Civil War Archive
– online images including those illustrations in ''Harper's Weekly'' during 1861–1865 that relate specifically to the Commonwealth of Virginia and its part in the Civil War.

* Hathi Trust
''Harper's Weekly''
{{Authority control 1857 establishments in New York (state) 1916 disestablishments in New York (state) American Civil War magazines Defunct political magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1857 Magazines disestablished in 1916 Defunct magazines published in New York City New York (state) in the American Civil War Weekly magazines published in the United States