Although it does not identify political affiliations, Brigham's invaluable bibliography of early American newspapers includes all known names of editors and publishers. Some cross-referencing of relevant names might help associate particular papers with political orientations. In the case of the Centinel of Liberty, edited by Samuel Hanson, both the Madison Papers and Jefferson Papers indicate that the paper was Federalist. I'll add as well that many editors spoke in a lower key than the Callenders, Cobbetts, Duanes, and Freneaus of the early American press, so some attention to a particular paper's tone might be useful.

Hope this helps,

Bland Whitley
Jefferson Papers

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From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of John Ragosta [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, October 28, 2015 10:47 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [VA-HIST] Newspaper Political Affiliation

Friends:

I am interested in the political affiliation of early newspapers, in particular the Centinel of Liberty published in Georgetown from about 1796 to 1800. Was it primarily associated with Federalists or Democratic-Republicans?

Short of reading all the available back editions, I am curious as to whether there is a secondary source publishing a list of newspapers w/ their general affiliation.

Thanks,
John Ragosta

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