On August 11, 1860, J. M. Cooper of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, published the first issue of the Pennsylvania Statesman, a newspaper dedicated to furthering the presidential candidacy of John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky, the dominant candidate in the South and also among Northerners who also demanded federal protection of slavery.  The Pennsylvania-based campaign newspaper supported the Southern Democrat, Breckinridge, because he was the current vice president under President James Buchanan of Pennsylvania.

The journal ran weekly through November 3, the eve of the national election.  Initially, it expended considerable space detailing the political positions that Breckinridge took on the issues of the day, particularly the controversial question of slavery in the Western territories, which had split the Democratic Party earlier that year.  In fact, the views of the various parties and factions on slavery were of paramount importance to the Statesman throughout its short lifespan.  . 

Besides affirming those it considered to be the party faithful, the Pennsylvania Statesman hoped to sway former Whigs to support Breckinridge, gubernatorial nominee Henry D. Foster, and other Democratic candidates in the state.  To demonstrate its loyalty to traditional American principles, letters to the editor appeared from historical figures, such as “Jefferson,” “Jackson,” and “Madison.”  Similarly, the newspaper published correspondence from President James Buchanan, a native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and his predecessor, Franklin Pierce, which endorsed Breckinridge.  It also printed excerpts from speeches of prominent Breckinridge supporters, such as Daniel Dickinson, Charles O’Conor, and William Yancey. 

Most of the Pennsylvania Statesman’s discussion of the candidacy of John Bell was confined to the “horserace” aspect of his and other candidates’ chances in swing states, such as New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee.  Correspondents offered differing opinions as to whether Bell’s men in Pennsylvania were backing Foster for governor.  At first, Bell was depicted as a man of good character, while the Constitutional Union platform on which he ran was chastised for not taking a clear stance on the central issue of slavery in the territories.  As the campaign heated up, Bell and his supporters (just like Douglas and Lincoln and their backers) were presented as disunionists, and contrasted with Breckinridge, who was deemed the only candidate of national unity and constitutional fidelity.

While the Pennsylvania Statesman made relatively little effort to attack Abraham Lincoln personally, the Republican Party was described pointedly as having gathered “under their black flag,” an assortment of “Abolitionists, Free Soilers, Factionists, and enemies of the Union and the Constitution.”  In contrast, each edition of the Breckinridge organ carried a bold-faced declaration affirming its allegiance to “The Constitution and the Union.”   In October, the journal marked the first anniversary of John Brown’s failed attempt to foment a slave rebellion at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, by painting the Republicans as revolutionary abolitionists.  A large image of a knife dramatically emphasized that point in several issues.  The journal also accused Republicans of encouraging racial equality.  A particular focus of the paper’s venom was directed toward John W. Forney, a newspaper editor from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who had earlier backed Senator Stephen Douglas in his dispute with President Buchanan, but campaigned for Lincoln and the Republicans in the 1860 contest.

However, the brunt of the political attack by the Pennsylvania Statesman was reserved for Breckinridge’s Democratic rival, Stephen Douglas, and his followers.  The publication played on Douglas’s affectionate nickname, “Little Giant,” by calling him, “Little Demogogue.”  The Douglas Democrats were viewed as heretics standing against the genuine principles of “the true National Democracy” represented by the Breckinridge camp.  Yet, the Statesman argued that the Democratic Party might be better off in the long run without the deserting Douglas faction.  At the very least, “it will be cleansed … from the taint of abolition.”  That statement underscored a key strategy of the newspaper:  to align the Douglas Democrats with efforts to end slavery.  The Breckinridge organ found it “a significant fact” that Douglas was well received during a campaign tour of New England states, “which are hopelessly swamped in Black Republicanism.”  Douglas’s stance allowing territorial voters to decide the matter themselves (“popular sovereignty”) was derided as “squatter sovereignty” and seen as a first step to abolition.  In its final issue, the Pennsylvania Statesmen urged readers to “Rush to the Rescue of the Imperiled Union” by voting the Breckinridge ticket.