The ''Courrier des Etats-Unis'' was a
French language
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...
newspaper published by French emigrants in
New York City. It was founded in 1828 by Félix Lacoste with the help of
Joseph Bonaparte (
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's older brother), who was living in
New Jersey.
The ''Courrier'' was the most famous French newspaper across North America, South America and the Caribbean. In 1850, it had more than 11,000 registered readers and was distributed from
Quebec to
Río de la Plata, and from New York to
San Francisco. It also had readers in France.
Bonapartist period (1828-1836)
Founded by Félix Lacoste, a close friend of Joseph Bonaparte, the ''Courrier'' took a
bonapartist line. Its readers were often bonapartists or republicans in exile, including Général
Lallemand,
Lakanal.
After the
Three Glorious Days in France (27, 28, 29 of July 1830), the ''Courrier'' attacked the new
monarchy and the new king
Louis-Philippe. It accused the monarchy of stealing the revolution's principles and forgetting what the French people had fought for. The newspaper argued that the Bonaparte family would be the best defender of the nation's will.
Orleanist period (1836-1848)
After 1836, the ''Courrier'' became the property of French librarian Charles de Behr. He was a supporter of Louis-Philippe and shifted the newspaper's line accordingly.
In 1839, Frédéric Gaillardet (1808–1882) bought the ''Courrier''. He stated that he wanted the ''Courrier'' to become the "''organe des populations franco-américaines"'' (newspaper for the Franco-American population).
Republican period (1848-1853)
When news of the
French Revolution of 1848
The French Revolution of 1848 (french: Révolution française de 1848), also known as the February Revolution (), was a brief period of civil unrest in France, in February 1848, that led to the collapse of the July Monarchy and the foundation ...
reached New York, Gaillardet returned to France to participate in the construction of the new republic and defend his conservative ideas. He sold the ''Courrier'' to Paul Arpin, a French translator for the Louisiana newspaper ''
L'Abeille de la Nouvelle-Orléans
''The New Orleans Bee'' (french: L’Abeille de la Nouvelle-Orléans) was an American broadsheet newspaper in New Orleans, Louisiana, founded on September 1, 1827, by François Delaup and originally located at 94 St. Peter Street, between Royal an ...
''. Arpin turned it into a republican newspaper, attacking the royalists of the
Parti de l'Ordre and
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte.
After the Republican period
After the Republican period, the history of the ''Courrier des Etats-Unis'' became obscure. From 1854 to 1861,
Régis de Trobriand was a joint editor.
During the
American Civil War it supported the South.
The newspaper switched from daily to weekly in 1937 and ceased publishing in 1938. It was restarted in 1941 and the weekly Amérique (started 1933) merged into it in 1943. It is still published today as the monthly France-Amérique.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Courrier Des Etats-Unis
French-American culture in New York (state)
French-language newspapers published in the United States
Non-English-language newspapers published in New York (state)