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Democratic Papers

About This Item

  • Title: Democratic Papers
  • Date: 17 July 1857
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: per.01036
  • Source: Brooklyn Daily Times, 17 July 1857: 2. Our transcription is based on a digital image of a microfilm scan of the original issue. Microfilm of original issue held at Pennsylvania State University Libraries. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the journalism, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Editorial note: This piece is unsigned, as was the case for most of Whitman's journalism. However, this editorial is part of a series of texts that deal with a coherent theme that has been identified by the Whitman Archive journalism team as likely authored by Whitman. This decision is based on a combination of historical and (auto)biographical accounts, similarity to contemporary Whitman writings, a history of scholarly attribution, extant clippings retained by Whitman, computational stylometric analysis, and, in some cases, manuscript evidence in Whitman’s hand.
  • Contributors to digital file: Kaylen Michaelis Kevin McMullen Karie Cobb
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "Democratic Papers." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 16 July 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: per.01036.xml (TEI)
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DEMOCRATIC PAPERS.

Some people say that the New York Daily Times1 is squinting towards the position of a Democratic party organ. Well, some of its articles do have that look a little; but it may be because the writers are independent, and cheerfully give credit where they think credit due.

The Democrats have bad luck with their newspapers—also with their monthly magazines. A destiny seems to impend over them, to become in a short time the mere mouthpieces of cliques, without any freedom at all—the registers of “Committees” and of the little and large party platforms.

The Evening Post2 is the only democratic newspaper we know of that has saved itself from this profitless degradation—for it is sure to be profitless in the long run. The Democratic Review,3 which was started fifteen years ago, and continued in a high tone, with the very best literary qualifications, has long dwindled to be the tender of office-hunters, and a receptacle of dry verbosity.

We hope the New York Times will turn itself into a democratic organ. One is very much needed in the metropolis—a leading one, we mean. It is a shame that a strong and successful party has, year after year, no powerful and good principled advocate and expounder in a city like New York. Probably that is one reason the party has fallen into the hands of such persons as Fernando Wood4—fallen to be nothing better than “Dead Rabbits.”5

Notes:

1.  [back]

2. The New-York Evening Post was a well-respected daily newspaper, originally founded by Alexander Hamilton in 1801 and edited by poet William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878) between 1847 and 1879. For more information, see Ted Widmer, "New York Evening Post," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]

3. The United States Democratic Review was an American magazine published from 1837 to 1859. Whitman wrote several essays for this magazine and published an anonymous review of his 1855 Leaves of Grass. [back]

4. Fernando Wood (1812–1881), a Democrat, was mayor of New York City from 1855–1857 and 1860–1861. He was widely regarded as corrupt. During his time at the Brooklyn Daily Times, Whitman penned numerous fiery articles against "King Fernando." [back]

5. The Dead Rabbits were an Irish-American gang that operated in New York's Five Points neighborhood from the 1830s to 1850s. They were known for their clashes against rival nativist gangs, such as the Bowery B'hoys. [back]

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