Hezekiah Niles
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (May 2008) |
Hezekiah Niles | |
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Born | Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States | October 10, 1777
Died | April 2, 1839 Wilmington, Delaware, United States | (aged 61)
Resting place | Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery Wilmington, Delaware, United States |
Occupation | Journalist, editor, publisher |
Hezekiah Niles (October 10, 1777 – April 2, 1839), was an American editor and publisher of the
Life and career
Niles was born in
The family returned to Wilmington and after the war his father rejoined the Quakers. At 17, Niles apprenticed with a
Niles edited and published the Weekly Register until 1836, making it into one of the most widely circulated magazines in the United States and himself into one of the most influential journalists of his day. The Niles' Weekly Register covered not only politics, but economics, science, technology, art, and literature. In the Register's discourse of politics, Niles used what he called "magnanimous disputation", trying to present the arguments of both sides fairly and objectively, a policy which has made the paper an important source for the history of the period.[3]
Later in life, Niles was afflicted by a paralytic condition and retired to Wilmington, Delaware, where he died in 1839.
Peacemaking efforts between the North and South
Niles foresaw the possibility of the American Civil War as early as 1820, and published articles in the Register which suggested efforts the South could make in modernizing their economy to a form which was not fully dependent on slavery, publishing efforts which he hoped would help avoid conflict between the North and South. Southern states largely rejected these suggestions that sought to alter their economic dependence on slavery.[3][4]
Legacy
Niles, Michigan and Niles, Ohio are named for him. Niles, Illinois may also be named for him, but circumstances are unclear concerning the naming of the surrounding township in 1850.
Bibliography
- W.H. Earle. "Niles' Register, 1811-1849: Window on the World," Journal of the War of 1812 and the Era 1800 to 1840, Fall, 1996 (volume I, no. 5). online version
- Kovarik, William, "To Avoid the Coming Storm: Hezekiah Niles Weekly Register as a Voice of North-South Moderation, 1811 - 1836," American Journalism, Summer, 1992. online version
- Kovarik, William, "Niles Register," Encyclopedia of American Journalism History" (Routledge, 2006). online version
- Luxon, Norval. Niles Weekly Register: News Magazine of the Nineteenth Century (Louisiana State University Press, 1947)
- Stone, Richard G. Hezekiah Niles as an Economist, (Johns Hopkins Press, 1933)
References
- ^ Niles, Hezekiah, ed. (March–September 1823). Niles' Weekly Register. Vol. 24. Baltimore: William Ogden Niles.
- ^ "Centennial offering. Republication of the Principles and acts of the revolution in America". United States Library of Congress.
- ^ ISBN 9781628924787.
- ^ Kovarik, Bill. "The editor who tried to stop the Civil War".
External links
- Frederick N. Rasmussen Hezekiah Niles: A Patriotic News Magazine Editor in the 19th Century, Baltimore Sun, Sept. 4, 2011.
- Biographical Sketch of Hezekiah Niles from The History of Chester County by Futhey and Cope (1881)
- Niles Weekly Register fulltext
- David D. Fowler, Niles' Florida. A five-volume compilation of news articles, personal letters, and anecdotes from early 19th century Florida. Thirty-eight years of Florida’s history between 1811 and 1849 from the Niles’ Weekly Register.
- Hezekiah Niles on Find a Grave
- [1] Principles and Acts of the Revolution in America; or an attempt to collect and preserve some of the speeches, orations and proceedings, with sketches and remarks on men and things, and other fugitive or neglected pieces of the revolutionary period.