rival party became so energetic in the matter of gathering
news or in its ability to express more forcibly its editorial opin-
ions that it secured circulation among all parties. Such a paper
was The Phoenix, started in Providence, Rhode Island, on May
11, 1802, to help the organization of the Republican Party, then
under the leadership of Thomas Jefferson, and to assist the polit-
ical activities of the Honorable Theodore Foster, then United
States Senator from Rhode Island. This paper became so popu-
lar with the voters of Providence that The Gazette published a
complaint in its columns that The Phoenix had not only the
largest circulation, but also the largest advertising patronage in
spite of the fact that it was a Republican paper in a Federal
town.
NEWSPAPER DIVISION ALONG PARTY LINES
In 1810 Isaiah Thomas published, in his "History of Print- ing," a list of the American newspapers. His list of three hun- dred and sixty-six papers while not complete showed fairly well the relative distribution of papers along party lines. Of the twelve in New Hampshire, eight were Federal and two, Republican; of the thirty-two in Massachusetts, twenty were Federal and eleven, Republican; of the seven in Rhode Island, four were Federal and three, Republican; of the twelve in Con- necticut, ten were Federal and one, Republican; of the fifteen in Vermont, nine were Federal and six, Republican; of the sixty- seven in New York, twenty-nine were Federal and twenty- seven, Republican; of the eight in New Jersey, three were Federal and five, Republican; of the seventy-three in Pennsylva- nia, thirty-four were Federal and twenty-nine, Republican; of the three in Delaware, two were Republican; of the twenty-one in Maryland, nine were Federal and eleven, Republican; of the six papers in the District of Columbia, two were Federal and three, Republican; of the twenty-three in Virginia, seven were Fed- eral and fifteen, Republican; of the ten in North Carolina, five were Federal and three, Republican; of the ten in South Caro- lina, four were Federal and four, Republican; of the thirteen in Georgia, three were Federal and seven, Republican; of the seventeen in Kentucky, two were Federal and fourte
