Jonathan Elliot (historian)
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Jonathan Elliot (1784 – March 12, 1846) was an English-American printer, newspaper editor, and publisher of a series of historical document compilations. Immigrating to
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as an adolescent, he served as a foreign volunteer during the
Colombian War of Independence The Colombian War of Independence began on July 20, 1810 when the Junta (Spanish American Independence), Junta de Santa Fe was formed in Bogotá, Santa Fe de Bogota, the capital of the Spanish Empire, Spanish colonial Viceroyalty of New Granad ...
, before returning to the United States for a brief stint of service in the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
. He moved to
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, in 1813, where he began work as a newspaper publisher. After the publication of his daily '' Washington City Gazette'' was disrupted by the British sack of Washington, he revived the paper as the ''Washington City Weekly Gazette.'' After strongly supporting the unsuccessful presidential candidacy of
William H. Crawford William Harris Crawford (February 24, 1772 – September 15, 1834) was an American politician who served as U.S. Secretary of War and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. He later ran for U.S. president in the 1824 United States presidential electi ...
in 1816, Elliot was rewarded with a series of lucrative printing contracts, which allowed him to return to a daily publication. Following business conflict with
John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...
and another unsuccessful candidacy by Crawford in 1824, Elliot sold the paper to John Silva Meehan and largely exited the news industry. Later in his career, Elliot published a series of history books and compilations of historical documents. These included the ''Debates'', a three-volume overview of the state ratifying conventions of the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
, used as a reference text until the late 20th century, and his ''Resolutions'', detailing the
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions were political statements drafted in 1798 and 1799 in which the Kentucky and Virginia legislatures took the position that the federal Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional. The resolutions argued ...
, which he saw as "the most important statement of constitutional federalism". Little is known about Elliot's personal life, beyond that he married twice and had four children. He died in Washington D.C., in March 1846, a year after publishing his final work, ''The Funding System of the United States and of Great Britain''.


Biography

Jonathan Elliot was born near
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, England, in 1784. He emigrated to the United States in 1802, and began work as a printer in
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. Motivated by political zeal, he traveled to
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in 1810 to fight under
Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24July 178317December 1830) was a Venezuelan statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bol ...
in the
Venezuelan War of Independence The Venezuelan War of Independence (, 1810–1823) was one of the Spanish American wars of independence of the early nineteenth century, when independence movements in South America fought a civil war for secession and against unity of the S ...
, where he was severely wounded in combat. Following General
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's surrender to Spanish forces in 1812, he was taken prisoner, but was able to return to the United States in 1813. He enlisted within the
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upon his return, with the intent of serving in the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
, though it is unclear whether he saw combat.


News publications

After his military service, Elliot settled in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
He partnered with two other editors in December 1813 to produce the city's first daily evening newspaper, the ''Washington City Gazette''. The ''Gazette'' saw its first publication in January 1814, although it ceased publication following the destruction of his printing press during the British sack of Washington in August 1814. He revived the publication in November 1815 as the ''Washington City Weekly Gazette''. The paper heavily championed Georgia senator
William H. Crawford William Harris Crawford (February 24, 1772 – September 15, 1834) was an American politician who served as U.S. Secretary of War and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. He later ran for U.S. president in the 1824 United States presidential electi ...
's campaign for the
Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed l ...
nomination in the
1816 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States from November 1 to December 4, 1816. The Democratic-Republican Party, Democratic-Republican ticket of United States Secretary of State, secretary of stat ...
, although
James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...
was able to win both the nomination and the general election. Crawford, appointed by Monroe as
Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
, rewarded the paper with lucrative printing contracts with the Department of War (and following Crawford's transfer to Treasury Secretary, the Department of the Treasury.) The paper returned to daily status in 1817 as the ''City of Washington Gazette'', funded by increased patronage and government printing contracts. Although continuing to favor Crawford, Elliot offered support to Secretary of State
John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...
in the 1824 presidential election in exchange for printing contracts. Adams had previously hired Elliot for printing services, but refused further commissions due to high prices. Elliot threatened to sink Adams' campaign, claiming that he had previously prevented John C. Calhoun from becoming president, but Adams continued to reject his services. Adams later described Elliot as "having no character of his own—penurious and venal—metal to receive any stamp." Elliot once again rallied support for Crawford, but the campaign collapsed after Crawford suffered a
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.In early 1826, Elliot sold the paper to John Silva Meehan on behalf of backers William B. Lewis and John Eaton. Meehan renamed the paper the '' United States' Telegraph'' and pivoted its coverage towards a strong Jacksonian stance. Elliot largely retired from journalism, although briefly worked as an editor for ''We the People'', an anti-Jacksonian and pro-
Henry Clay Henry Clay (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seventh Spea ...
campaign paper published from March to November 1828.


History publications

Following his retirement from news publication, Elliot began publishing various history books and compilations of historical documents. His three-volume '' Debates'' (1827–1830), covering the adoption of the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
by state ratifying conventions, remained the sole scholarly source until the late 20th century, although faced later academic criticism for possible partisan bias. He may have published the work in order to support Calhoun, despite previously opposing the candidate. ''Elliot's Debates'' was republished in seven different editions, each varying slightly: as a result, the work was described by historian James H. Hutson "bibliographical brainteaser". Elliot apologized for any shortcomings in the preface to the first edition of the ''Debates'', writing "the sentiments they contain may, in some instances, have been inaccurately taken down." Such errors may have been exacerbated by inaccurate
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reporting during the conventions. Later in 1827, he published the ''Diplomatic Code of the United States of America''. An 1832 2nd edition of Elliot's ''Code'' was adopted by Secretary of State
Louis McLane Louis McLane (May 28, 1786 – October 7, 1857) was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware, and Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland. He was a veteran of the War of 1812, a member of t ...
as a standard text for the State Department. In 1830, Elliot published a history of
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, titled ''Historical Sketches of the Ten Miles Square Forming the District of Columbia''. His 1832 ''Resolutions'' included various excerpts related to the
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions were political statements drafted in 1798 and 1799 in which the Kentucky and Virginia legislatures took the position that the federal Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional. The resolutions argued ...
, which Elliot viewed as "the most important statement of constitutional federalism" and "the true principles of the constitution." In 1845, he published his final work, a compilation of American and British treasury reports and public debt debates entitled ''The Funding Systems of the United States and of Great Britain''.


Personal life and death

Little is known of Elliot's personal life, leading to his description as a "phantom" and "bibliographic abstraction" by the ''
Dictionary of American Biography The ''Dictionary of American Biography'' (DAB) was a multi-volume dictionary published in New York City by Charles Scribner's Sons under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). History The dictionary was first propo ...
''. An obituary described him as "frank, generous, warm-hearted". He married twice, and had four children. He died in Washington D.C., on March 12, 1846.


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* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Elliot, Jonathan American print editors 19th-century American historians 19th-century American newspaper founders 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) 1784 births 1846 deaths English emigrants to the United States