The ''Chicago Times'' was a
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 poli ...
in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
from 1854 to 1895, when it merged with the ''Chicago Herald'',
to become the ''Chicago Times-Herald''. The ''Times-Herald'' effectively disappeared in 1901 when it merged with the ''Chicago Record'' to become the ''
Chicago Record-Herald''.
The ''Times'' was founded in 1854
by James W. Sheahan, Daniel Cameron, and
Isaac Cook with the support of
Democrat and attorney
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) ...
, and was identified as a pro-slavery newspaper. In 1861, after the paper was purchased by Democratic journalist
Wilbur F. Storey, the ''Times'' began espousing the
Copperhead point of view, supporting
Southern Democrats
Southern Democrats are members of the U.S. Democratic Party who reside in the Southern United States.
Before the American Civil War, Southern Democrats mostly believed in Jacksonian democracy. In the 19th century, they defended slavery in the ...
and denouncing the policies of
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 ...
. During the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, General
Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Everts Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was an American army officer and politician who became a senior Union general in the American Civil War and a three-time Governor of Rhode Island, as well as being a successfu ...
, head of the
Department of the Ohio
The Department of the Ohio was an administrative military district created by the United States War Department early in the American Civil War to administer the troops in the Northern states near the Ohio River.
1st Department 1861–1862
Gene ...
,
suppressed the paper in 1863 because of its hostility to the Union cause, but Lincoln lifted the ban when he received word of it.
Storey and
Joseph Medill
Joseph Medill (April 6, 1823 – March 16, 1899) was a Canadian-American newspaper editor, publisher, and Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician. He was co-owner and managing editor of the ''Chicago Tribune'', and he was M ...
, editor of the Republican-leaning ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'', maintained a strong rivalry for some time. In 1888, the newspaper saw the brief addition of
Finley Peter Dunne to its staff. Dunne was a columnist whose
Mr. Dooley satires won him national recognition. After just one year, Dunne left the ''Times'' to work for the rival ''Chicago Tribune''.
In 1895, the ''Times'' became the ''Chicago Times-Herald'' after a merger with the ''Chicago Herald'',
[About The Chicago times-herald. (Chicago, Ill.) 1895-1901](_blank)
chroniclingamerica, Retrieved 24 April 2013 a newspaper founded in 1881 by
James W. Scott. After Scott's sudden death in the weeks following the merger,
H. H. Kohlsaat took over the new paper. He changed its direction from a "democratic" publication to an "independent republican" one. It supported "
sound money" policies (against
free silver) in the
1896 election.
Kohlsaat bought the ''Chicago Record'' from ''
Chicago Daily News'' publisher
Victor F. Lawson in 1901 and merged it with the ''Times-Herald'' to form the ''
Chicago Record-Herald''. Frank B. Noyes acquired an interest in the new newspaper at the time and served as publisher, with Kohlsaat as editor.
See also
*''
Chicago Record-Herald''
References
Further reading
*Sanger, Donald Bridgman. "
The ''Chicago Times'' and the Civil War." ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'' 17, no. 4 (1931): 557–580.
* Patricia B. Swan and James B. Swan. "James W. Sheahan: Stephen A. Douglas Supporter and Partisan Chicago Journalist." ''Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society'' (2012) 105#2-3 pp 133–16
in JSTOR* Walsh, Justin E. "To Print the News and Raise Hell: Wilbur F. Storey's Chicago Times." ''Journalism Quarterly'' 40, no. 4 (1963): 497–510.
Defunct newspapers published in Chicago
1854 establishments in Illinois
Newspapers published in Illinois
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