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| The Colored American | |
|---|---|
| Name | The Colored American |
| Type | Weekly newspaper |
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Foundation | 1837 |
| Ceased publication | 1842 |
| Headquarters | New York City |
| Language | English |
The Colored American was a 19th-century African American weekly newspaper published in New York City that advocated for abolitionism, civil rights, and African American uplift. It operated amid antebellum debates involving figures such as Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Sojourner Truth, Maria Stewart, and organizations like the American Anti-Slavery Society and the American Colonization Society. The paper connected local events in New York City, national controversies in Congress, and international developments in Haiti and Great Britain.
The Colored American emerged during a period shaped by the aftermath of the Missouri Compromise, the rise of the Second Great Awakening, and activism from institutions such as the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the New York Vigilance Committee. Its pages reported on legal battles like the Prigg v. Pennsylvania legacy and legislative disputes over the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 and later debates that culminated in the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. The newspaper chronicled events including municipal contests in New York City and national elections involving figures like Martin Van Buren and William Henry Harrison.
The periodical was established by a coalition of African American leaders, ministers, and businessmen who included members of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and reformers associated with the American Anti-Slavery Society. Financial backers and editors drew on networks linked to activists such as David Ruggles, James W.C. Pennington, Peter Williams Jr., and merchants connected to abolitionist supply chains in Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Printed on a broadsheet press in New York City, the paper circulated to readers in urban centers including Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, and ports interacting with the Caribbean and Liverpool.
Editorially, the paper combined abolitionist argumentation with appeals for moral reform, religious instruction, and economic self-help. Its columns debated strategies promoted by William Lloyd Garrison and the American Anti-Slavery Society versus proponents of emigration and colonization such as supporters of the American Colonization Society who referenced Liberia and diasporic projects connected to Haiti. The newspaper published sermons by clergy like Richard Allen and Lemuel Haynes, legal analyses regarding cases influenced by the Dred Scott precursors, poetry and essays from writers in the tradition of Phillis Wheatley and contemporary pieces comparable to work by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper. Coverage included reports on abolitionist conventions featuring speakers like Charles Lenox Remond and organizational minutes from groups such as the Colored Conventions Movement.
Editors, correspondents, and contributors combined ministers, educators, and activists. Notable figures who wrote for or were associated with the enterprise included James McCune Smith, Frederick Douglass (as correspondent and interlocutor in the public debate sphere), Martin R. Delany, Paul Cuffe (in diaspora and emigration discussions), Samuel Cornish-aligned leaders, and emerging intellectuals who later connected to institutions like Howard University and Wilberforce University. Visual artists and lithographers in the paper’s production worked in networks tied to printers who had previously produced material for John Brown sympathizers and Anti-Slavery Society publications. Women contributors included activists in the vein of Sojourner Truth and Maria Stewart, and educators connected to schools founded by figures like Mythilda Jackson and other unnamed local teachers.
Contemporary reception ranged from praise among African American churches, mutual aid societies, and conventions of the Colored Conventions Movement to criticism from pro-slavery newspapers in Charleston, South Carolina and Richmond, Virginia. The paper influenced the development of later black press ventures such as those associated with Frederick Douglass’s own publications and periodicals in Boston and Philadelphia. It played a role in mobilizing voters around municipal contests tied to figures like Gerrit Smith and stimulated debates in national fora where orators like William Lloyd Garrison and Charles Sumner weighed in on strategies for emancipation and citizenship.
Publication ceased in the early 1840s amid financial strain, internal debates over strategy between abolitionist factions, and competition from other reform journals in New York City and Boston. Its legacy persisted through alumni who advanced in political life, law, education, and clerical leadership, contributing to institutions including Howard University, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and the organizing that preceded the Civil War. Historians link the paper’s archival fragments to the lineage of the African American press that culminated in later 19th-century titles and reform movements involving leaders like Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, and W. E. B. Du Bois.
Category:African-American newspapers Category:Defunct newspapers of New York City