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"C" is for the Charleston Mercury

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"C" is for the Charleston Mercury. Established in 1821 as a literary journal, the Charleston Mercury developed into one of the state’s most radical and combative newspapers. In 1823 Henry Laurens Pinckney purchased the newspaper and transformed it into a partisan organ for John C. Calhoun. By 1830, the Mercury had become a strong proponent of nullification.

Although its ownership changed several times in the 1840s and 1850s, its editorial tone remained aggressive. In 1857 the Rhett family purchased the newspaper and Robert Barnwell Rhett, Jr. assumed complete control. The Mercury called loudly for secession. When that was achieved, the paper turned it attention to criticizing the Confederate government. The newspaper’s press was moved to Columbia where it was destroyed in February 1865. After the war, Rhett restarted the Charleston Mercury, but it failed in 1868.

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Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.