The Appeal's May 22nd, 1897 paper on the Bay Islands

My latest read is The Appeal's May 22nd, 1897's paper. The piece on the left-end opens with a look at how the Mosquito Coast used to be one of the most talked-about regions in Central America. For centuries, Spain and England fought over it, with newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic treating it like a place full of conflict, beauty, and political drama. They explain how the territory eventually fell out of fashion, even though the land itself never lost its appeal.

I'll share a few articles about what I've learned from this paper but first, let's learn about the paper itself. The Appeal was originally the "Western Appeal", a weekly newspaper published from the year 1885 to the year 1923. It was one of the most successful African American newspapers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This paper was founded in St. Paul, Minnesota and it was published in six separate editions in cities across the United States at the height of its popularity. In 1889 the newspaper changed its name to The Appeal to reflect its expanded geographic scope.

Eight years after it's name change it published this weekly edition that not only spoke about the Mosquito Coast but also about the fight between the Spanish and the English over the Bay Islands which we will discuss tomorrow.

As the 20th century progressed, The Appeal got smaller and smaller, eventually closing its regional offices; their last office in Chicago closed in 1913. It continued publishing in St. Paul, and Adams remained its editor until his passing on 1922. Adams's son, John Jr, took over, hired a young graduate, Roy Wilkins, as editor in 1923. The Appeal struggled and was sold to a competitor, the Northwestern Bulletin. Both papers were merged into the Northwestern Bulletin-Appeal until it went out of business in 1925. This gives it all the more reason to admire it, as it's no longer around.