The ''Delaware Straight-Out Truth Teller'' was an American semi-monthly

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 ...

based in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

. It was founded in 1872 by William Dean and John A. Brown in response to political dissension in relation to the

United States presidential election The election of the president of the United States, president and Vice President of the United States, vice president of the United States is an indirect election in which citizens of the United States who are Voter registration in the United ...

of that year. The paper supported the

Straight-Out Democratic Party "Straight-Out Democratic Party" (or "Straightout Democratic Party") is the name used by three minor American political parties between 1872 and 1890. The first Straight-Out Democratic Party played a minor role in the U.S. presidential election of ...

presidential candidate Charles O'Conor and was a strong opposer of Liberal Republican Party candidate

Horace Greeley Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and newspaper editor, editor of the ''New-York Tribune''. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congres ...

. Its motto was "O'Conor & Adams; Honesty, Patriotism and Statesmanship." The paper appears to have ceased publishing after the election ended.

History

The ''Delaware Straight-Out Truth Teller'' was founded in

, in 1872, by William Dean and John A. Brown. It was formed due to a national political dissension related to the

1872 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 5, 1872. Incumbent President of the United States, President Ulysses S. Grant, the Republican Party (United States), Republican nominee, easil ...

. At the 1872 National Convention, the Republican Party was divided because of a dispute relating to the running mate of incumbent president

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 ...

. A group of Republicans, "disturbed by accusations of corruption," left to create the Liberal Republican Party and endorsed

for president. At the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

, held in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

, the Democrats decided to endorse Greeley rather than nominate their own candidate. Democrats who opposed Greeley formed a separate party referred to as the

and nominated Charles O'Conor for president with

John Quincy Adams II John Quincy Adams II (September 22, 1833 – August 14, 1894) was an American politician who represented Quincy in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1866 to 1867, 1868 to 1869, 1871 to 1872, and from 1874 to 1875. Adams served as ...

as his running mate. William Dean and John A. Brown founded the ''Truth Teller'' to oppose Greeley and promote O'Conor and Adams. Editors of the paper argued that the Democrats who supported Greeley were leaving their traditional principles and expressed frustration with them, writing "How stands the Democratic party today? The rank and file completely bewildered and lost, at seeing so many of their former leaders joining hands with that hater and vilifier of everything Democratic—the negro-worshiping Horace Greeley." The newspaper suggested strongly against voting for Greeley, stating that voting for him was similar to voting for Grant, writing "Every Democratic vote for Greeley is a vote to wipe out the impress of Democratic principles from American politics, and to confirm every one of those dangerous and fatal doctrines which the Democratic party has steadily opposed for more than two thirds of a century." The first issue of the ''Truth Teller'' appeared on October 10, 1872, with 5,000 copies being printed and given free of charge on the following Saturday. The '' Wilmington Daily Commercial'' reported that its first issue "proves to be a vigorous and entertaining sheet." A second issue of the ''Truth Teller'' was published on October 30. The second issue of the paper demanded that "Greeley be thrown overboard and O'Conor substituted, at the head of the regular State and County tickets." The '' Delaware State Journal'' reported that the second issue of the ''Truth Teller'' was "very interesting, positive in its support for the Louisville candidates, and earnest in its advocacy of Democratic Country and State ticket." The paper appears to have ceased publishing after Grant won the presidential election in November; it was not listed in the 1873 publication of Rowell's newspaper directory. The paper's headquarters were located at 243 Tatnall Street in Wilmington. Its motto was "O'Conor & Adams; Honesty, Patriotism and Statesmanship."

References

External links

''Delaware Straight-Out Truth Teller''
on

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. It is owned by The ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delaware Straight-Out Truth Teller 1872 establishments in Delaware 1872 disestablishments in the United States Semi-monthly newspapers Newspapers published in Delaware Political newspapers Wilmington, Delaware Newspapers established in 1872 Newspapers disestablished in the 1870s 1870s disestablishments in Delaware

History

See also

References

External links