The Oregon Spectator, was a newspaper

Newspaper

A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

 published from 1846 to 1855 in Oregon City

Oregon City, Oregon

Oregon City was the first city in the United States west of the Rocky Mountains to be incorporated. It is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon...

 of what was first the Oregon Country

Oregon Country

The Oregon Country was a predominantly American term referring to a disputed ownership region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from...

 and later the Oregon Territory

Oregon Territory

The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries , the region was...

 of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The Spectator was the first American newspaper to be published west of the Rocky Mountains

Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...

 and was the main paper of the region used by politicians for public debate of the leading topics of the day. The paper’s motto was Westward the Star of Empire takes its way.

History

The Oregon Printing Association published the first issue on Thursday, February 5, 1846. The Association consisted of William G. T'Vault

William G. T'Vault

William Green T'Vault was a pioneer of the Oregon Country and the first editor of the first newspaper published west of the Missouri River. T'Vault led a wagon train of 300 that arrived in Oregon in 1845, after traveling on the Meek Cutoff, a branch of the Oregon Trail...

, James W. Nesmith

James W. Nesmith

James Willis Nesmith was an American politician and lawyer from Oregon. Born in Canada to American parents, he grew up in New Hampshire and Maine...

, John P. Brooks, George Abernethy

George Abernethy

George Abernethy was an American pioneer, notable entrepreneur, and first governor of Oregon under the provisional government in what would become the state of Oregon in the United States...

, John H. Couch

John H. Couch

John Heard Couch was an American sea captain and pioneer in the Oregon Country in the 19th century. Often referred to as Captain Couch, he became famous for his singular skill at navigation of the mouth of the Columbia River. He is one of the early residents and founders of Portland,...

, Robert Newell

Robert Newell (Oregon politician)

Robert "Doc" Newell , was an American politician and fur trapper in the Oregon Country. He was a frontier doctor in what would become the U.S. state of Oregon. A native of Ohio, he served in the Provisional Government of Oregon and later was a member of the Oregon State Legislature...

, and John E. Long with T'Vault serving as president and the first editor of the paper. For the first four years the owners did not allow sectarian political discussions in the paper. The first edition was only four tabloid pages, printed on a hand press which was purchased in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and shipped by sailing vessel around Cape Horn

Cape Horn

Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...

. Henry A. G. Lee

Henry A. G. Lee

Henry A. G. Lee was a soldier and politician in Oregon Country in the 1840s. A member of Virginia’s Lee family, he was part of the Fremont Expedition and commanded troops during the Cayuse War in what became the Oregon Territory...

 was the second editor of the paper with George Law Curry

George Law Curry

George Law Curry was a United States political figure and newspaper publisher predominately in what became the state of Oregon. A native of Pennsylvania, he published a newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri, before traveling the Oregon Trail to the unorganized Oregon Country...

 as the third editor taking over with the 18th edition. Aaron E. Waite

Aaron E. Waite

Aaron E. Waite was an American judge and politician. He was the 4th Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court serving from 1859 to 1862. He was the first chief justice after Oregon became a state on February 14, 1859...

 succeeded Curry as the last editor of the paper. Oregon City's position being eclipsed by that of nearby Portland

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

 as the center of commerce and Salem

Salem, Oregon

Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...

 for politics, the paper's fortunes faltered, and publication ceased in 1855.

Controversies

As the main newspaper in the region, the Spectator was often used to inform the populace of current topics, such as the debate over banning the manufacturing and sale of ardent spirits by law of the Provisional Legislature

Provisional Legislature of Oregon

The Provisional Legislature of Oregon was the single-chamber legislative body of the Provisional Government of Oregon. It served the Oregon Country of the Pacific Northwest of North America from 1843 until early 1849 at a time when no country had sovereignty over the region...

 where Samuel Parker

Samuel Parker (Oregon politician)

Samuel Parker was an American pioneer of the Oregon Country, in what was to become the state of Oregon. Parker would later participate in the legislatures of the provisional, territorial, and state governments of Oregon.-Early life:...

 and James Douglas

James Douglas (Governor)

Sir James Douglas KCB was a company fur-trader and a British colonial governor on Vancouver Island in northwestern North America, particularly in what is now British Columbia. Douglas worked for the North West Company, and later for the Hudson's Bay Company becoming a high-ranking company officer...

 debated the proposed law. Parker accused Douglas and the Hudson’s Bay Company of selling rum at Fort Vancouver

Fort Vancouver

Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Columbia District...

 with Douglas asserting the sovereignty of the HBC over its own people, but pledging to enforce any laws of the Provisional Government

Provisional Government of Oregon

The Provisional Government of Oregon was a popularly elected government created in the Oregon Country, in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It existed from May 2, 1843 until March 3, 1849. Created at a time when no country had sovereignty over the region, this independent government...

 against all other parties.

Under Curry’s editorship, the paper attacked Jesse Quinn Thornton

Jesse Quinn Thornton

Jessy Quinn Thornton was an American settler of Oregon, active in political, legal, and educational circles. He served as the 5th Supreme Judge of the Provisional Government of Oregon, presented Oregon's petition for official territorial status to Congress, served in the Oregon Legislature, and...

 when Thornton was sent to Washington, DC. He had been sent as a representative of the government, but Curry accused Thornton of actually trying to secure favorable federal appointments for himself and his political allies.