Washington Union
City: Washington
State: District of Columbia
The Washington Union originated in May 1845 in the aftermath of James K. Polk's victory in the presidential election of 1844. Understanding the importance of having a newspaper sympathetic to his administration, Polk wanted to replace the Washington Globe, the official organ of the Jackson and Van Buren administrations, with a new newspaper. Polk was uniquely equipped for this task, having established the
Frederic Hudson, Journalism in the United States, From 1690 to 1872 (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1873), 241-42, 257, 258; Mark E. Byrnes, James K. Polk: A Biographical Companion (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio, 2001), 143; "About the Washington Union," Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, accessed July 3, 2019, (City of Washington, (D.C.), 1857-1859, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82006534/; Paul H. Bergeron, The Presidency of James K. Polk (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1987), 171-75.