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Published in 20 issues by the
Cleveland Plain Dealer from June 30 through November 17, 1860,
the Campaign Plain Dealer supported the presidential candidacy
of Democrat Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois and his vice-presidential
running mate, Herschel V. Johnson of Georgia.
The newspaper also referred to itself as the Pictorial Plain
Dealer, to emphasis its use of graphic material, although Campaign
Plain Dealer remained its masthead title. The editor-owner
and associate editor of both the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the
Campaign Plain Dealer were, respectively, Joseph William Gray and
Charles Farrar Brown (who wrote as a humorist under the pen name Artemus Ward; he added an “e” at the end of his family
name—Browne—around 1861).
Each issue had eight pages,
slightly larger than those of the illustrated weeklies, Leslie’s and
Harper’s, and was filled with a variety of news, cartoons,
verse, electoral vote projections, and editorials.
The anti-Lincoln material is milder than the invective against
Douglas’s rival claimant as the true representative of the
“National Democracy,” John C. Breckinridge, and his prominent
supporters, such as President James Buchanan (a longtime political foe
of Douglas’s) and Jefferson Davis.
For an interesting glimpse at
how the Campaign Plain Dealer handled Lincoln, see the cartoon
“Five Era’s in ‘Old Abe’s’ Life Illustrated”; a letter
from Charles Hanks, purportedly Lincoln’s cousin, concerning “The
early Life of Abe Lincoln”; and a poem entitled “Lincoln’s
Picture.” The letter is
allegedly a reply to one from Charles Hank’s brother, John, which
originally appeared in the Decatur Chronicle, and is a
front-page story in Lincoln’s campaign newspaper, The Rail
Splitter, of July 28, 1860, the same date as this issue of
Douglas’s campaign newspaper.
HarpWeek appreciates the
courtesy of Lincoln College (Illinois) in making this rare and
possibly unique set of Douglas campaign newspapers available.
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