The Provincial Freeman

Fernmother: trying to italicize the title lol

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'''''The Provincial Freeman''''' was a [[Canada|Canadian]] weekly [[Abolitionism|anti-slavery]] newspaper founded by [[Mary Ann Shadd]] that published from 1853 through 1857. The paper's motto was "Devoted to anti-slavery, temperance and general literature."<ref name=":0"></ref>

== Founding and history ==
Mary Ann Shadd was born in Wilmington, Delaware in 1823. After the passing of the [[Fugitive Slave Act of 1850]], Shadd emigrated to Canada with her brother, Isaac.<ref name=":1"></ref>

''The Provincial Freeman''<nowiki/>'s first issue was published on in [[Windsor, Ontario]] on March 24, 1853. It was the second newspaper in Canada to present the views and concerns of the Black community.<ref></ref> Cary lectured throughout Canada and the United States to increase subscriptions, as well as raise funds to support runaway slaves.<ref name=":1" />

By founding the paper, Shadd became both the first Black female newspaper publisher in North America and Canada's first female publisher.

Shadd was aware that her name would affect the number of people reading it, because of the gender expectations of the 19th century society. So, she persuaded [[Samuel Ringgold Ward]], a black abolitionist who published several abolitionist newspapers, including ''Impartial Citizen,'' to help her publish it.<ref name=":1" /><ref></ref><ref name=":2"></ref> She also enlisted the help of Rev. Alexander McArthur, a white clergyman. Their names were featured on the masthead, but Mary Ann was involved in all aspects of the paper. Shadd left her full name off the masthead as both writer and editor, to hide her involvement.<ref name=":0" /> Shadd identified herself on the masthead with only her first two initials and by listing herself as "publishing agent."<ref name=":2" />

Isaac Shadd, Mary Ann's brother, managed the daily business affairs of the newspaper. Isaac was a committed abolitionist, and would later host gatherings to plan the raid on [[Harper's Ferry]] at his home.<ref name=":2" />

In 1854, Mary Ann Shadd changed the masthead to feature her own name, rather than McArthur and Ward. She also hired her sister to help edit the paper. There was intense criticism of the change, and Mary Ann was forced to resign the following year.<ref> Encyclopedia.com|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/applied-and-social-sciences-magazines/provincial-freeman|access-date=2020-12-13|website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref>

The Provincial Freeman published in [[Windsor, Ontario]] between 1853 and 1854, in [[Toronto]] between 1854 and 1855, and in [[Chatham-Kent|Chatham, Ontario]] from 1855 to 1857.<ref name=":2" />

The paper's final issue was published on September 20, 1857.<ref name=":2" />

=== Feminism ===
Feminism was a founding principle of The Provincial Freeman — Shadd wrote a column on women's rights for the paper.<ref name=":2" />

== Legacy ==
The impact of African-American newspapers from 1850–1860 was significant in the abolitionist movement. However, it was challenging to sustain publication. Publishers like Shadd undertook their work because of a commitment to education and advocacy, and used their newspapers as a means to influence opinion. They had to overcome financial, political and social challenges to keep their papers afloat.<ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref><ref name=":3">Conaway, Carol B., "Racial Uplift: The Nineteenth Century Thought of Black Newspaper Publisher Mary Ann Shadd Cary." Paper presented at the National Communications Association's Annual Convention, Chicago, Ill., November 15–17, 2007.
</ref><ref>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (given 1, expected 2)</ref>

Carol B. Conaway writes in "Racial Uplift: The Nineteenth Century Thought of Black Newspaper Publisher Mary Ann Shadd Cary" that these newspapers shifted the focus from whites to blacks in an empowering way. She writes that whites read these newspapers to monitor the dissatisfaction level of the treatment of African Americans and to measure their tolerance for continued slavery in America.<ref name=":3" />

Black newspapers often modeled their newspapers on mainstream white publications. According to research conducted by William David Sloan in his various historical textbooks, the first newspapers were about four pages and had one blank page to provide a place for people to write their own information before passing it along to friends and relatives. He goes even farther to discuss how the newspapers during these early days were the center of information for society and culture.<ref>Rhode, Jane, "Race, money, politics and the Antebellum Black Press," ''Journalism History'' 20, no. 3/4 (1994): 95.</ref><ref>Lechner, Zachary J., "Black Abolitionist Response to the Kansas Crisis, 1854–1856." ''Kansas History'' 31, no. 1 (2008): 14.</ref><ref>Rhodes, Jane. "Race, Money, Politics and the Antebellum Black Press," Journalism History 20 no. 3/4: 21–43. 1994.</ref><ref>Sloan, Wm. David. "The Revolutionary Press 1765–1783." In The Media In America A History, 149–51. Northport, AL: Vision Press, 2011.</ref><ref>Sloan, Wm. David. "The Antebellum Press 1827–1860." In Andrew, Thomas (ed.), ''Perspectives on Mass Communication History'', Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1991, pp. 152–71.</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Abolitionism#Abolitionist publications|Abolitionist publications]]

== References ==


[[Category:African-American newspapers]]
[[Category:Abolitionist newspapers]]
[[Category:Newspapers published in Canada]]
[[Category:Defunct newspapers published in Canada]]

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