Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Holden, William Woods (1818-1892) Semi-weekly standard. [Vol. 11, no. 44 (May 4, 1861)]

High-resolution images are available to schools and libraries via subscription to American History, 1493-1943. Check to see if your school or library already has a subscription. Or click here for more information. You may also order a pdf of the image from us here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05959.23.06 Author/Creator: Holden, William Woods (1818-1892) Place Written: Raleigh, North Carolina Type: Newspaper Date: 4 May 1861 Pagination: 4 p. ; 63.5 x 46.5 cm. Order a Copy

Maryland Must be Secured. An article discusses the importance of securing Maryland for the Confederacy. Speech excerpts by ex-president Franklin Pierce include insight on the secession crisis. Minutes from the South Carolina Legislature are printed here. Minutes from public meetings in Persons County, Alamance County, and Moore describe feelings of peril and sympathy in the current crisis. A proclamation by Lincoln explains blockades of certain Southern ports.

The Standard was established in 1834 by Philo White, a New Yorker who had come to North Carolina in 1820 and first worked as editor of the Western Carolinian, a strong Jacksonian paper. His political friends later urged him to start another newspaper, the Standard, which became an important Democratic paper. In November 1835 White employed Nathaniel O. Blake as a printer. In 1836 White sold the paper to Thomas Loring, of Massachusetts, a Democrat unsatisfactory for local Democratic leaders. In 1842 William Woods Holden (1818-1892) purchased the paper from Loring.

Holden, a native of Hillsborough, North Carolina, had learned the trade of the press when he worked as an apprentice at the offices of the Hillsborough Recorder. He attempted unsuccessfully to start the Oxford Kaleidoscope and Southern Republican in 1837, and later moved to Raleigh to work for the Raleigh Star. The Standard quickly became a popular, successful paper under Holden's leadership as a reform-minded, becoming the Democratic voice in North Carolina. Holden employed John Spellman, a renowned writer and printer. In 1850 the Standard announced a semi-weekly edition of its paper.

Holden, William Woods, 1818-1892

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources