Early+Journalism+in+Moline

Original Author: Caressa Clearman, A&S195 SP11
 * Early Journalism in Moline, Illinois **

The years prior to the Civil War were a turbulent time all across the United States of America. The young nation was not only struggling to make its place internationally, but also internally forming its democratic government, developing its industries, settling its lands, coming to terms with the issue of slavery, and trying to truly unite all of its regions.

During this time the city of Moline, Illinois was establishing itself, and its first official newspaper, the //Moline Workman,// offers some insight as to the top issues, opinions, and events of the day. The paper was launched by a man named Amos Smith on August 21, 1854. Originally from Lambertsville, New Jersey, Mr. Smith edited and published the weekly newspaper out of Moline, Ill (“The past and present of Rock Island County” 197).

According to vol. 4 of the Illinois Historical Collections, the //Workman// was “An Independent family newspaper devoted to news, literature, agriculture, mechanics, commerce, and home interests.” Its political opinions were Republican (equal to the Democratic party of today), and it printed firm anti-slavery views (Scott 244). Perhaps due to his upbringing in the North, Mr. Smith’s “paper fairly bristled with abolition arguments, and he had much to do with forming the anti-slavery sentiment of Moline” (Ulrich 34).

Other political issues covered by the //Workman// focused on the Mississippi river. Although several bridges span the river today, this was not the case in the 1850’s. Many steamboats and ships traveled the waterways, carrying goods and providing the livelihood of many local citizens. The idea of a bridge was not welcomed. Bridges were seen as menacing and were thought to present safety issues for water traffic as well as produce competition for steamboats by giving trains the ability to cross the Mississippi. September 1, 1854 saw the start of construction of the first bridge to connect Davenport, Iowa and Rock Island, Illinois. It would serve the Chicago and Rock Island railroads. The bridge was met with protest and deemed “unconstitutional, an obstruction to navigation, [and] dangerous” (Meese 46).

The debate came to the forefront when “On the morning of May 6, 1856, fourteen days after the first train had chugged across the newly completed bridge, the steamer Effie Afton passed under the bridge’s draw… its starboard paddle wheel inexplicably stopped, and the boat turned, swung back and crashed into one of the bridge’s piers” (Patterson 156). The boat subsequently caught fire, and the fire quickly spread to the bridge. The Effie Afton sank into the Mississippi, and the bridge was severely damaged (Patterson 157).

An article by Lisa Dwyer found on qconline.com stated, “Those who supported river interests were thrilled. ``The Moline Workman reported, ``After the span fell, the other steamboats on the river sounded a long and loud note of what seemed to be delight. One steamboat even carried a banner proclaiming, ``Mississippi Bridge Destroyed - Let All Rejoice.''

One of the owners of the boat, J.S. Hurd, sued the owner of the bridge (Hurd et al vs. Railroad-Bridge Company). The case was tried in Chicago and Abraham Lincoln served as legal representation for the bridge company. Lawyers for the steamboat argued “[one,] that the Mississippi River was the great waterway for the commerce of the entire Mississippi valley and it could not be legally obstructed by a bridge. And two, the bridge… was so situated in the river’s channel at that point that it constituted a peril to all water craft… and formed an unnecessary obstruction to navigation” (Patterson 157).

Lincoln’s response was that “one man had as good a right to cross a river as another had to sail up or down it.” He equated it with the right of any person to “cross a street or highway” (Patterson 157). The case turned somewhat scandalous. The insinuation was made that the captain of the vessel accepted a bribe and purposefully drove the boat into the bridge. The bridge was eventually taken down and rebuilt up the river (Patterson 158).

Although the case gained national attention, the //Workman// also maintained Moline’s status as a civil community. Many of Moline’s founders were from New England, and it was said they brought with them “a stern work ethic and controlled civic life” (Our Family Tree, gurganus.org). Moline was not just another river town with crime and rampant violence. In fact, “an article in the //Moline Workman// in 1854 noted that a “much duller town could not be scared up this side of Sleepy Hollow” (Our Family Tree, gurganus.org).

Despite the dullness, the city of Moline continued to grow as industry took hold of the nation. New factories and mills appeared along the river. The city of Rock Island continued to grow as well, and the two cities “ran up against one another’s borders relatively quickly” (Our Family Tree, gurganus. org). There was talk of consolidating the two towns and creating the largest city in the state of Illinois. The //Workman// featured several articles representing the arguments for and against “consolidation.” Rock Island, as the older community, wanted to absorb Moline, and Moline did not want to lose its name, “being more prosperous and better known nationally” (Our Family Tree, gurganus.org). In addition, the two towns held differing political ideologies. As mirrored in the //Workman’s// publications, Moline, settled by northerners, favored the views of the North, and Rock Island, settled by southerners, “remained sympathetic to the Confederate cause throughout the Civil War” (Our Family Tree, gurganus.org). The //Workman,// however, was short-lived. It ran for only three years and was not in print during the Civil War. Amos Smith sold the paper on February 18, 1857. Robert H. Graham and Alfred Webster purchased it and changed the name to the //Moline Independent.// The //Independent// was published until 1862. Other papers published in the area were the //Moline Citizen// from 1858 to 1859, the //Moline Republican// from 1865 to 1867, the //Moline Review// from 1870 to 1880, the //Skandia,//(a Swedish Republican paper) from 1876-1878, and finally, the current local Moline newspaper publication, the //Daily Dispatch// from 1878 to present (Scott 244-245). The //Moline Review// is the oldest newspaper (on microfilm) currently residing at the Moline Public Library. On July 4, 1873, the //Review’s// front page offered “An Annual Poem”, most likely in honor of Independence Day. The poem that was printed was written by a woman named Emily Huntington Miller. The //Review// stated that the poem “abounds in sterling patriotism and is highly spoken of by the press of this and other States” (Review 1). The poem is called “A Woman’s Logic”. A short excerpt follows:

The little bird sits in the sunshine And sings when the morning is red; <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The arrow flies swift from the archer, <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The blith little singer is dead; <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">So small, not the tenderest lover <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Could miss its glad note at the dawn <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Yet the father will number his treasures //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">One less //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> for the sparrow that’s gone.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">We see when a star in its glory <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Shoots out into blackness profound, <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">He sees when in terror unheeded <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The sparrow falls down to the ground <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Do you think I am less than the sparrow <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">That He should sit still on his throne, <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">With never a thought for my trouble, <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">And never a word for my moan?

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">“An Annual Poem.” //The Moline Review// [Moline, Illinois] 4 July 1870: 1. Print
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Works Cited **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Dwyer, Lisa. //Lincoln defended right to build first bridge across Mississippi at// //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> Rock Island //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">. Qconline, February 14, 2003, Web. 6 April 2011. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">[|http://qconline.com/progress2003/prog display.cgi?pr3!id!144576]

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Gurganus, Ray. //Our Family Tree.// Gurganus, November 4, 2010. Web. 6 April <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">2011. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">[]

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Meese, William A. //Abraham Lincoln on Waterways.// Moline, IL: Desaulniers & <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> Co., 1908. Print.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Patterson, Benton Rain. //The Great American Steamboat Race.// Jefferson, <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> NC: McFarland & Company Inc., Publishers, 1929. Print.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Scott, Franklin William. //Illinois Historical Collections Vol. VI Newspapers and// //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> Periodicals of Illinois 1814-1874. //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> Chicago: R.R. Donnelley & Sons, Co., <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> 1910. Print.

//<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The past and present of Rock Island County, Ill. //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Chicago: H.F. Kett & Co., 1877. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> Print.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Ulrich, Barton Adolphus. //Abraham Lincoln and Constitutional Government.// <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> Chicago: Chicago Legal News. 1919. Print

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