The United States' Telegraph was a newspaper published in Washington, D.C., in the early 19th century. It was first published in 1814 as the Washington City Gazette by Jonathan Elliot and two associates, but ceased publication the same year due to the burning of Washington during the War of 1812. It was revived the following year as the Washington City Weekly Gazette, and advocated strongly for William H. Crawford's 1816 candidacy for presidency. The unsuccessful Crawford was appointed as Secretary of War, and granted Elliot lucrative printing contracts, allowing funding for its reissue as a daily publication titled the City of Washington Gazette.
In 1826, Elliot sold the paper to John Silva Meehan, acting on behalf of a coalition of Andrew Jackson supporters seeking a friendly newspaper in Washington. Meehan renamed the paper the United States' Telegraph, and begun issuing it in daily, triweekly, and weekly editions.Although Meehan was strongly opposed to the administration of President John Quincy Adams, Jackson's allies considered him incapable of mounting a serious challenge to the administration. Missouri Jacksonian Duff Green was appointed as editor, and gradually took control of the paper over the remainder of 1826. Duff adopted an intensely partisan stance, incorporating crude humor and vehement attacks and accusations against Jackson's opponents. The Telegraph saw wide circulation both in Washington and across the United States, serving as a key component of the nationwide network of pro-Jackson papers. Despite this expansion, funding remained a persistent worry for Green and the Telegraph.
Following his election in 1828, the Telegraph briefly became the primary organ of Jackson's administration. The paper continued its attacks against Anti-Jacksonians, including various opposition newspapers and former Secretary of State Henry Clay. Green, a staunch supporter of John C. Calhoun, followed the Vice President into opposition against Jackson in 1831. The paper took an increasingly enthusiastic pro-slavery position over the course of the 1830s, with pro-slavery advocacy becoming a primary focus of the paper by 1835. Green left active editorship in favor of other business concerns, and appointed Richard Kenner Crallé as chief editor in 1836. Citing "indispensable engagements", Green cancelled the paper in February 1837. It was succeeded by Crallé's triweekly The Reformer, which itself ceased publication several months later, publishing its last issue on April 29, 1837.
Gazette (1814–1826) The Washington City Gazette was founded by English-born printer Jonathan Elliot alongside two associates in December 1813. It was first published in January 1814, with Elliot serving as editor and printer. It saw only a brief run before its printing press was destroyed by the British sack of Washington in August 1814, during the War of 1812. Elliot later revived the paper as the Washington City Weekly Gazette, first published on November 25, 1815. During the 1816 United States presidential election the paper threw its support behind Georgia senator William H. Crawford's campaign for the Democratic-Republican nomination. Crawford was ultimately defeated by James Monroe, but was awarded a cabinet post as Secretary of War. Crawford awarded Elliot lucrative printing contracts in reward for his campaign support, giving him the funds to switch his paper to a daily publication, renaming it the City of Washington Gazette.
During the 1824 presidential election, Elliot offered the Gazette's support for John Quincy Adams' campaign in exchange for printing contracts, although this was rejected by Adams due to unreasonably high prices. In response, Elliot threatened to sink Adams' presidential campaign, and the paper returned to rallying support for Crawford. This campaign ultimately collapsed after Crawford suffered a stroke, forcing him to withdraw. Elliot largely retired from journalism, and sold the paper, its machinery, and subscription list in early 1826.
Telegraph (1826–1837) Following his narrow loss in a House contingent election after the 1824 presidential election, Tennessee senator Andrew Jackson and his former running mate John C. Calhoun sought a supportive newspaper in Washington, D.C. Jackson allies William B. Lewis and John Eaton arranged the purchase of the Gazette for the campaign in 1826. Although John Silva Meehan had ostensibly purchased the paper, the purchase was likely directed by Eaton using notes endorsed by John Peter Van Ness. Meehan, previously the editor and publisher of the Baptist Columbian Star, became the chief editor of the Telegraph. Each issue of the Telegraph was four pages, with each page consisting of six columns. The first page was primarily advertisements, including for land and slave auctions. Advertisements for local schools, books, hotels, boardinghouses, and merchants were often included, as were schedules and routes for stagecoach and steamboat lines. While Congress was in session, the second page of the Telegraph was mainly dedicated to reports of congressional proceedings. Out of session, the paper printed excerpts from speeches and treatises, as well as reprinting articles from other newspapers.
The editorial section began at the end of the second page or the top of the third. It featured a headline column or open letter, followed by various shorter editorial columns. Many of these included rebuttals or attacks on rival newspapers, although some were responses to public letters. Occasionally, a section headlined "Foreign Intelligence" featured major events in Europe. Also included on the third page were ship arrival and departures, the prices of various agricultural products, marriages, obituaries, births, and notices for local events. The final page featured additional advertisements, although the majority were dedicated to supposed medical remedies and miracle cures.
Three editions of the Telegraph were available to consumers. Subscribers could order the daily paper, the thrice-weekly Country Telegraph, or a weekly edition for $10, $5, or $2.5 per year respectively. These rates were considered affordable in comparison to other papers, and allowed for circulation among a wider class of readers.
Meehan's editorship The first issue of the Telegraph was published on February 6, 1826. The paper was strongly opposed to the election of President Adams and the appointment of Secretary of State Henry Clay, declaring it in violation of "the most sacred principles of the Constitution", and adopting the motto "Power is always stealing from the many to the few". Jackson himself wrote favorably of the Telegraph in a statement reprinted by the paper. Meehan frequently took a conspiratorial tone against the administration, alleging that Adams was attempting to suppress media opposition to his presidency. This staunch opposition almost immediately brought the paper into conflict with pro-Adams press.
Following the deaths of Thomas Jefferson and Adams' father John Adams on July 4, 1826, the paper was placed into a period of "extended mourning". Columns were bordered in black, and featured almost exclusively various eulogies and political treatises in support of Jefferson. Only a scant few references were made to Adams during this period. Deaths of other important political figures were simply memorialized by the addition of black borders to columns, without expansive eulogies in the text.
Although Meehan was recognized for his strong advocacy against John Quincy Adams through the Telegraph, the ownership of the paper grew uncomfortable with his perceived inability to mount an effective response against the administration. The lack of transparency around the formation of the Telegraph invited allegations of conspiracy. The Richmond Whig described the paper as "edited by nobody knows whom, supported, nobody knows how".
Green and the 1828 election
Duff Green was summoned to Washington by prominent Jacksonians to serve as the paper's editor, publisher, and owner. He had been the editor of the St. Louis Enquirer since 1824, and had adopted a policy of intense support for John C. Calhoun. Green shifted his support to Jackson when Calhoun was chosen as his running mate. He was seen as a particularly aggressive and dedicated anti-Adams editor, later stating that Jackson himself had chosen him to take control of a Washington paper. Green gradually took control of the paper from Meehan, becoming the head of the editorial department in April. Eaton, alongside ten members of Congress (including James K. Polk), pooled a significant amount of funds to allow Green to assume leadership of the paper. An official deal between Meehan and Green was reached in early June, and the last issue of the paper published under Meehan's name was issued on October 17, 1826. No official statement regarding the change of ownership was made in the paper.
Like much of the American press in the lead-up to the 1828 presidential election, the Telegraph was ardently partisan. Employees of the paper could be terminated for taking opposing political stances. It collaborated with a network of other pro-Jackson papers via the exchange system, copying and reprinting articles and columns in papers across a wide geographical area. Shortly after its foundation in 1826, it was subscribed to an exchange list including over other 163 papers. The Telegraph was particularly vital to nationwide pro-Jackson exchange networks, functioning as a "national bulletin board" for political intelligence, reprinting columns from a massive pool of other papers. During the peak campaign season of September & October 1828, the Telegraph copied political sources from 119 newspapers. The Telegraph's political articles were correspondingly copied among many other pro-Jackson papers.
Green was consistently noted for his aggressive attacks against Adams, his administration, and pro-Adams press outlets. He was nicknamed "Rough Green" for the frequent hyperbolic language, crude humor, and innuendo in his writing. Typical in an era of high-profile and personalized editors, the Telegraph was so connected to Green's editorship that it was often referred to as "Green's Telegraph". He was particularity vehement in his attacks on Henry Clay, describing him as an embezzler and traitor, writing in the Telegraph that his "days were spent in a gambling house, and his nights in a brothel", and that his electoral defeat would leave him a destitute outcast. He denounced President Adams as aristocratic, referring to him as "King John II". In response to claims that Rachel Jackson was a bigamist and adulteress, he began to spread rumors that the President and Louisa Adams had engaged in premarital sex. His attacks on the First Lady were considered exceptionally vulgar, leading to condemnation even from other pro-Jackson outlets. Jackson himself dissuaded Green from continuing these attacks in personal correspondence, writing that "I never war against females".