The Indianapolis Journal was a newspaper published in Indiana during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The paper published daily editions every evening except on Sundays when it published a morning edition. The paper was established in the 1823 as a pro-Whig newspaper. M.B. Martindale purchased the paper in the 1850s and was and early supporter of the Republican Party. During the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 the paper's editor was the brother-in-law of Indiana Governor Oliver P. Morton, and published columns and propaganda on behalf of Morton. The Democrat and southern sympathetic Indianapolis Sentinel saw a decline in its daily readership due to interference and shutdowns enforced by Morton.

In 1880 Martindale sold the paper to John C. New, a banker, attorney, and leading figure in the local Republican Party in the Indianapolis

Indianapolis

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

 area. New's leadership helped the paper excel, dramatically increasing its readership. The Democrat Other rival papers, including the Indianapolis Mirror went out of business leaving the Journal as the only daily newspaper in the Indianapolis metropolitan area.

The paper featured regular columns from famous writers and figures including James Whitcomb Riley

James Whitcomb Riley

James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer, poet, and best selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the Hoosier Poet and Children's Poet for his dialect works and his children's poetry respectively...

, Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...

, and Eugene V. Debs

Eugene V. Debs

Eugene Victor Debs was an American union leader, one of the founding members of the International Labor Union and the Industrial Workers of the World , and several times the candidate of the Socialist Party of America for President of the United States...

. The poem Little Orphant Annie

Little Orphant Annie

"Little Orphant Annie" is an 1885 poem written by James Whitcomb Riley and published by the Bowen-Merrill Company. First titled "The Elf Child", Riley changed the name to "Little Orphant Allie" at its third printing, however a typecasting error during printing renamed the poem to its current form...

, by Riley, was first published in the paper in 1885. During most of its history, it carried eight 31x45 inch pages and at its peak had a circulation of 11,000.

The paper commonly supported Republican candidates for office, and published editorials supporting Republicans positions. During the late nineteenth century competition from the Indianapolis Star began a decline in the Journals readership. The Star eventually took a majority readership in the region and the Journal eventually closed because of financial difficulties in 1904.