milwaukee journal sentinel obituary archives

#Milwaukee journal sentinel obituary archives free#

The Sentinel editorialized its opposition to the Fugitive Slave Act and the Kansas-Nebraska Act and its support for reversal of pro-slavery legislation, especially the Missouri Compromise.

#Milwaukee journal sentinel obituary archives free#

The newspaper had been anti-slavery since its founding, with King’s editorials supporting the effort to free fugitive slave Joshua Glover in 1854. Rufus King, editor from 1845 through 1861, promoted its Whig ties then led it to the Republican camp. įormer Sentinel staffer Robert Witas, in his 1991 biography of the Sentinel, said its record “provides a profile of a fighting newspaper which, with rare exceptions, has lived up to the publication’s name.” From its start, the Sentinel was openly partisan, reflecting its times openly Democrat the first year, then switching to Whig, then shifting its allegiance to the new Republican Party. Within six months, he died of tuberculosis, setting the stage for a tumultuous first 50 years that saw 37 different editors, 27 changes of ownership, and 11 different names, all of which included the word “Sentinel.” O’Rourke was replaced by another strong editor, Harrison Reed, who is credited with strong leadership both editorially and financially, keeping the Sentinel going through tough early years, including a panic that almost took the paper under. Its owner of record was John O’Rourke, who became its first editor. It was founded on Jwith financial backing of Solomon Juneau, the founder of Milwaukee who would become its first mayor. The long history of their political rivalry, different approaches to journalism, and eventual joint ownership and merger, has shaped Milwaukee print media for 150 years.

Both predecessor publications date from the nineteenth century. It is published daily in print and continuously in digital format (The current publication is itself a result of the 1995 merger of two separate newspapers, the Milwaukee Sentinel, a morning paper, and the Milwaukee Journal, an afternoon paper. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is Wisconsin’s largest and most influential newspaper.