The Cleveland Leader was created in 1854 by Edwin Cowles, who merged a variety of abolitionist, pre-Republican Party titles under the Leader. From a program celebrating the opening of the Leader Building in 1913, "In 1847 an anti-slavery Whig paper which had been published for about a year in Olmsted Falls, now, as then, a small village, was moved to Cleveland and changed from a weekly to a daily, retaining the name of "True. Democrat." That event is commonly reckoned the beginning of the Cleveland Leader..."[1]
The Leader's initial editorial bias was reflective of the antebellum period in Ohio; pro-Union, anti-slavery, but also according to several sources, virulently anti-Catholic. The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History notes, "Cowles was as outspoken a nativist as he was a Republican, heading the Cleveland chapter of the anti-Catholic Order of the American Union, and carrying on an editorial war with Manly Tello, editor of the Catholic Universe."[2]
The Leader was explicitly political from its founding. Cowles' March 5, 1890 New York Times obituary claims, "In the Winder [sic] of 1854-5 the germ of the Republican Party was formed in the Leader editorial rooms as a meeting was held there which resulted in the first Republican Convention, which was held at Pittsburg. Col. R. C. Parsons, Joseph Medill, John C. Vaughn, Judge R. P. Spaulding, and J. F. Keeler, were at the meeting, which resulted in the consolidation of the Know-Nothing, Whig, and Free Soil Parties into the Republican Party."[3]
The Leader quickly became the most influential newspaper in Ohio. "By 1875 its circulation of 13,000 was double that of the Herald and 5 times that of the Plain Dealer. Cowles kept the paper technologically up to date, importing Cleveland's first perfecting press in 1877 and pioneering the use of electrotype plates in Ohio."[4]
After Cowles' death in 1890, the Leader began a swift decline, as competition from the Plain Dealer and other newspapers took advantage of the huge void left by Cowles personal control. Many examples of the Leader's poster art from the period immediately after Cowles' death in the 1890s are included in a collection at the New York Public Library as some of the finest examples of late Victorian American poster art.[5] Despite the marketing efforts, the Leader continued its decline. Charles Otis began a consolidation of local newspapers with the Cleveland World in 1904, and the Leader in 1905.[6] Through Otis, ownership of the Leader passed through various hands in the famous Hanna family, via Marcus Hanna's son-in-law Medill McCormick, married to Ruth Hanna McCormick, then to Daniel R. Hanna,[7] Marcus Hanna's son.[8] By 1917, the Leader had been sold to the Plain Dealer, just four years after moving into the Leader Building in 1913.
Media related to The Cleveland Leader at Wikimedia Commons
January 01, 1970
cleveland, leader, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, septembe. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources The Cleveland Leader news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2015 Learn how and when to remove this message The Cleveland Leader was a newspaper published in Cleveland from 1854 to 1917 The Cleveland Leader1895 advertising posterFounder s Edwin CowlesFounded1854 1854 LanguageEnglishCeased publication1917 1917 CityClevelandCountryUnited StatesMedia of the United StatesList of newspapersHistory editThe Cleveland Leader was created in 1854 by Edwin Cowles who merged a variety of abolitionist pre Republican Party titles under the Leader From a program celebrating the opening of the Leader Building in 1913 In 1847 an anti slavery Whig paper which had been published for about a year in Olmsted Falls now as then a small village was moved to Cleveland and changed from a weekly to a daily retaining the name of True Democrat That event is commonly reckoned the beginning of the Cleveland Leader 1 The Leader s initial editorial bias was reflective of the antebellum period in Ohio pro Union anti slavery but also according to several sources virulently anti Catholic The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History notes Cowles was as outspoken a nativist as he was a Republican heading the Cleveland chapter of the anti Catholic Order of the American Union and carrying on an editorial war with Manly Tello editor of the Catholic Universe 2 The Leader was explicitly political from its founding Cowles March 5 1890 New York Times obituary claims In the Winder sic of 1854 5 the germ of the Republican Party was formed in the Leader editorial rooms as a meeting was held there which resulted in the first Republican Convention which was held at Pittsburg Col R C Parsons Joseph Medill John C Vaughn Judge R P Spaulding and J F Keeler were at the meeting which resulted in the consolidation of the Know Nothing Whig and Free Soil Parties into the Republican Party 3 The Leader quickly became the most influential newspaper in Ohio By 1875 its circulation of 13 000 was double that of the Herald and 5 times that of the Plain Dealer Cowles kept the paper technologically up to date importing Cleveland s first perfecting press in 1877 and pioneering the use of electrotype plates in Ohio 4 After Cowles death in 1890 the Leader began a swift decline as competition from the Plain Dealer and other newspapers took advantage of the huge void left by Cowles personal control Many examples of the Leader s poster art from the period immediately after Cowles death in the 1890s are included in a collection at the New York Public Library as some of the finest examples of late Victorian American poster art 5 Despite the marketing efforts the Leader continued its decline Charles Otis began a consolidation of local newspapers with the Cleveland World in 1904 and the Leader in 1905 6 Through Otis ownership of the Leader passed through various hands in the famous Hanna family via Marcus Hanna s son in law Medill McCormick married to Ruth Hanna McCormick then to Daniel R Hanna 7 Marcus Hanna s son 8 By 1917 the Leader had been sold to the Plain Dealer just four years after moving into the Leader Building in 1913 References edit Page 1 Cowles Edwin W Case Western Reserve University Retrieved 25 May 2017 Wikisource The New York Times Edwin Cowles Cleveland Leader Case western Reserve University Retrieved 25 May 2017 Newspaper posters NYPL Digital Collections Otis Charles Augustus Jr Case Western University Retrieved 25 May 2017 Hanna Daniel Rhodes 11 May 2018 Cowles Edwin W 11 May 2018 External links edit nbsp Media related to The Cleveland Leader at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Cleveland Leader amp oldid 1065966409, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
