Chronicling Public Interest

Get it out there

Mar 26, 2025

bundle of newspaper on table — Photo by Mr Cup / Fabien Barral on Unsplash

Do you know that in the United States, newsletters and newspapers have been a means to fight for rights and garner national support for protection against abuse for more than one hundred years using a collective voice?

Specifically, the first/earliest known:

Student-owned newspaper, The Dartmouth, was founded in 1799 at Dartmouth College;
Hispanic-owned and Spanish-language newspaper, El Misisipí, was published in New Orleans between 1808 and 1810;
Black-owned and operated newspaper, Freedom's Journal, was founded by John Russwurm and Samuel Cornish in 1827;
Native American-owned newspaper, The Cherokee Phoenix, was established in 1828, and published in both English and Cherokee;
Asian-owned newspaper, the Chinese-language Golden Hills' News (金山日新录) was first published around 1852;
Major newspaper owned by a woman was inherited by Eliza Jane Nicholson when ownership of the New Orleans Daily Picayune transferred after her husband died in 1876; and
The first LGBTQ+ newspaper, Come Out!, started publication in 1969.

Newsletters and newspapers don’t just keep people informed, they also cover activities, events, and legislation affecting basic human rights, including but not limited to the following Substacks:

America, America, hosted by Steven Beschloss