The Plaindealer

Edited by William Leggett


William Leggett (1801–1839)
William Leggett was a radical liberal who lived in the early nineteenth century.  He died in 1839 at the young age of thirty-eight.  He was known as a poet, a journalist, and a writer of fiction.  He was also known for his radical “locofoco” views.

Locofoco was a term used to describe liberal radicals within the Democratic Party.  Not surprisingly, the relatively conservative, big-government Whigs attempted to twist the term into a smear word, using it to describe the entire Democratic Party (and, presumably, anyone else who held true to the Jeffersonian ideal of limited government).  But the term arose in New York when radical elements within the Democratic Party found themselves being shut out by the Tammany Hall Democratic establishment.  After the conservatives tried to end the meeting by turning off the gaslights, the radicals continued their meeting using locofoco matches.  Hence, the name.

The locofocos went so far as to create their own party in 1936, which they called the Equal Rights Party.  And who was the leading intellectual behind this party?  William Leggett, of course.  The Locofocos opposed central banking, and supported hard money; opposed slavery; supported free trade; opposed monopolies, which they recognised to be the product of statist intervention into the economy; and supported (voluntary) labour unions.  Unfortunately, their party never saw any major victories.

Leggett served as a theatre critic for The New-York Mirror and assistant editor of the short-lived Merchants’ Telegraph.  In the summer of 1829, William Cullen Bryant invited Leggett to write for the New York Evening Post, where he began to write, in addition to literary and drama reviews, political editorials.  In 1831, Leggett became an owner and editor at the Post, and during a period between 1834 and 1835 when Bryant travelled to Europe, served as sole editor of the paper.

In 1836, Leggett founded The Plaindealer, a paper that, due perhaps to his controversial views, lasted less than a year.  He followed that up by founding the Examiner in 1837, but this venture also folded in short time.

All page numbers listed below refer to the edition contained in the Library of Princton University.

Excerpts


Volume 1, Number 1; December 3, 1836 (pp. 1–16)

Pages:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

The Political Plaindealer

Introductory Quote

Prefatory Remarks

Thanksgiving Day

True Friends of the Constitution

Breach of Privilege

Why is Flour So Dear?

The Slave Trade

Lamplight versus Moonshine

The Literary Plaindealer

The Theatrical Plaindealer

Park Theatre

The National Theatre

Edwin Forrest

Accidents, Offences, &c.

Loss of the Ship Bristol

Fatal Steamboat Accident

Disgraceful Assault on a Lady

Singular Robbery

Awful [???]

Steamboat Accident

Suicide

Freshet in James River, Virginia

Dreadful Death

Distressing Casuality

Robbery of the Oneida Bank

A Meeting House Burnt

Great Fire at Johnstown

A “Fair Business Transaction”

A Bit of a Mistake

Hydrophobia

Altered Bank Notes

A Turn-Out

Kidnapping in the North

Theatre

The Plaindealer

Spain

Smyrna

Pilot Laws

United States Bank

Indigent Females

Municipal Docks

Andrew Jackson

Bread Law


Volume 1, Number 2; December 10, 1836 (pp. 17–32)

Pages:  17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32


Volume 1, Number 3; December 17, 1836 (pp. 33–48)


Volume 1, Number 4; December 24, 1836 (pp. 49–64)


Volume 1, Number 5; December 31, 1836 (pp. 65–80)


Volume 1, Number 6; January 7, 1837 (pp. 81–96)


Volume 1, Number 7; January 14, 1837 (pp. 97–112)


Volume 1, Number 8; January 21, 1837 (pp. 113–128)


Volume 1, Number 9; January 28, 1837 (pp. 129–144)


Volume 1, Number 10; February 3, 1837 (pp. 145–160)


Volume 1, Number 11; February 11, 1837 (pp. 161–176)


Volume 1, Number 12; February 18, 1837 (pp. 177–192)


Volume 1, Number 13; February 25, 1837 (pp. 193–208)


Volume 1, Number 14; March 4, 1837 (pp. 209–?)


Volume 1, Number 15; March 11, 1837 (pp. ?–?)


Volume 1, Number 16; March 18, 1837 (pp. ?–256)


Volume 1, Number 17; March 25, 1837 (pp. 257–272)


Volume 1, Number 18; April 1, 1837 (pp. ?–?)


Volume 1, Number 19; April 8, 1837 (pp. 305–320)


Volume 1, Number 20; April 15, 1837 (pp. ?–?)


Volume 1, Number 21; April 22, 1837 (pp. 321–336)


Volume 1, Number 22; April 29, 1837 (pp. 337–352)


Volume 1, Number 23; May 6, 1837 (pp. 353–368)


Volume 1, Number 24; May 13, 1837 (pp. 369–384)


Volume 1, Number 25; May 20, 1837 (pp. 385–400)


Volume 1, Number 26; May 27, 1837 (pp. 401–416)


Volume 1, Number 27; June 3, 1837 (pp. 417–432)


Volume 1, Number 28; June 10, 1837 (pp. 433–448)


Volume 1, Number 29; June 17, 1837 (pp. 449–464)


Volume 1, Number 30; June 24, 1837 (pp. 465–480)


Volume 1, Number 31; July 1, 1837 (pp. 481–496)


Volume 1, Number 32; July 8, 1837 (pp. 497–512)


Volume 1, Number 33; July 15, 1837 (pp. 513–528)


Volume 1, Number 34; July 22, 1837 (pp. 529–544)


Volume 1, Number 35; July 29, 1837 (pp. 545–560)


Volume 1, Number 36; August 5, 1837 (pp. 561–576)


Volume 1, Number 37; August 12, 1837 (pp. 577–?)


Volume 1, Number 38; August 19, 1837 (pp. ?–608)


Volume 1, Number 39; August 26, 1837 (pp. 609–?)


Volume 1, Number 40; September 2, 1837 (pp. ?–?)


Volume 1, Number 41; September 9, 1837 (pp. ?–?)


Volume 1, Number 42; September 16, 1837 (pp. ?–672)


Volume 1, Number 43; September 23, 1837 (pp. 673–688)


Volume 1, Number 44; September 30, 1837 (pp. 689–704)