Robert Carter (editor)
Encyclopedia
Robert Carter was a United States
editor
, historian
and author
. He was involved in the formation of the Republican Party
.
education, and passed one term in the Jesuit college of Chambly, Quebec
. At 15, he was appointed assistant to the state librarian, who was also his guardian, at the state library at Albany. He remained there until 1838. At this time he began to publish poems and sketches in the daily papers, his first contribution being a long poem, which he dropped stealthily into the editor's letterbox, and which appeared the next day with flattering comments, but so frightfully misprinted that he hardly knew it. This experience and a natural aptitude led him to acquire proof-reading as an accomplishment, at which he became very expert.
, where he formed a life-long friendship with James Russell Lowell
, and together they began The Pioneer, a Literary and Critical Magazine, a monthly magazine which the Cyclopædia of American Literature said was “of too fine a cast to be successful.” Nevertheless, its want of success was due, not to the editors, but to the publisher, who mismanaged it and failed when but three numbers had been issued. Among the contributors were Poe
, Hawthorne
, Whittier
, Neal, Barrett
(afterward Mrs. Browning), and the sculptor Story
. Carter began in its pages a serial novel entitled The Armenian's Daughter.
the historian
. His elaborate article on the character and habits of Prescott, written for the New York Tribune
just after the historian's death in 1859, was republished in a memorial volume issued by the Massachusetts Historical Society
.
in 1848, and in 1850 wrote for the Boston Atlas a series of articles in reply to Francis Bowen
's attack on the Hungarian revolutionists
. These articles were republished in a pamphlet as The Hungarian Controversy (Boston, 1852). They are said to have caused the rejection of Bowen's nomination as professor of history at Harvard
. At the same time Carter edited, with Kossuth
's approval, a large volume entitled Kossuth in New England (Boston, 1852).
From 1851 to 1852 he edited, at first as assistant of John G. Palfrey
and afterward alone, the Boston Commonwealth, the chief exponent of the free soilers. For two years he was secretary of the state committee of the Free Soil Party.
, 20 July, was so large that no hall could contain it, and held its session in the open air. A short platform drawn up by him was adopted, together with the name “Republican
,” and on his motion a committee of six was appointed to organize the new party, John A. Andrew being made its chairman.
the historian; in 1856 he edited the Atlas; and from 1857 to 1859 he was Washington correspondent of the New York Tribune. His next work was with George Ripley and Charles A. Dana
on the first edition of the American Cyclopædia (1859 to 1863), in which many important articles were from his pen, including “Egypt,” “Hindostan,” “Mormons,” and the history of the United States
. In January 1864, he was appointed private secretary of the treasury agent whose headquarters were at Beaufort, South Carolina
; and from July of that year until October 1869, he edited the Rochester, New York
, Democrat, doing such work for it as was seldom done on any but metropolitan journals.
When news came of the assassination of President Lincoln
, he wrote, without consulting any book or memoranda, an article giving a brief but circumstantial account, with dates, of every celebrated case of regicide. He was editor of Appletons' Journal from 1870 to 1873. And then he became associate editor for the revision of the American Cyclopædia, writing articles on “Jefferson Davis” and “The Confederate States of American”. In 1874 impaired health compelled him to discontinue his literary work, and in the next three years he made three tours in Europe
.
in New York City
, published handbooks of art and contributed to periodicals.
with biographical notes. He left unpublished memoirs, of which only the first volume was complete in manuscript.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
editor
Editor
The term editor may refer to:As a person who does editing:* Editor in chief, having final responsibility for a publication's operations and policies* Copy editing, making formatting changes and other improvements to text...
, historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. He was involved in the formation of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
.
Education
He received a common schoolCommon school
A common school was a public school in the United States or Canada in the nineteenth century. The term 'common school' was coined by Horace Mann, and refers to the fact that they were meant to serve individuals of all social classes and religions....
education, and passed one term in the Jesuit college of Chambly, Quebec
Chambly, Quebec
Chambly is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada, about to the south east of Montreal.- Geography :It sits on the Richelieu River in the Regional County Municipality of La-Vallée-du-Richelieu, at .-History:...
. At 15, he was appointed assistant to the state librarian, who was also his guardian, at the state library at Albany. He remained there until 1838. At this time he began to publish poems and sketches in the daily papers, his first contribution being a long poem, which he dropped stealthily into the editor's letterbox, and which appeared the next day with flattering comments, but so frightfully misprinted that he hardly knew it. This experience and a natural aptitude led him to acquire proof-reading as an accomplishment, at which he became very expert.
The Pioneer
In 1841 he went to BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, where he formed a life-long friendship with James Russell Lowell
James Russell Lowell
James Russell Lowell was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the Fireside Poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets who rivaled the popularity of British poets...
, and together they began The Pioneer, a Literary and Critical Magazine, a monthly magazine which the Cyclopædia of American Literature said was “of too fine a cast to be successful.” Nevertheless, its want of success was due, not to the editors, but to the publisher, who mismanaged it and failed when but three numbers had been issued. Among the contributors were Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
, Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...
, Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier was an influential American Quaker poet and ardent advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. He is usually listed as one of the Fireside Poets...
, Neal, Barrett
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the most prominent poets of the Victorian era. Her poetry was widely popular in both England and the United States during her lifetime. A collection of her last poems was published by her husband, Robert Browning, shortly after her death.-Early life:Members...
(afterward Mrs. Browning), and the sculptor Story
William Wetmore Story
William Wetmore Story was an American sculptor, art critic, poet and editor.-Biography:William Wetmore Story was the son of jurist Joseph Story and Sarah Waldo Story...
. Carter began in its pages a serial novel entitled The Armenian's Daughter.
William H. Prescott
He next spent two years in editing statistical and geographical works, and writing for periodicals. His story, “The Great Tower of Tarudant,” ran through several numbers of the Broadway Journal, then edited by Poe. In 1845 he became a clerk in the post office at Cambridge, and from 1847 to 1848 was private secretary to PrescottWilliam H. Prescott
William Hickling Prescott was an American historian and Hispanist, who is widely recognized by historiographers to have been the first American scientific historian...
the historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
. His elaborate article on the character and habits of Prescott, written for the New York Tribune
New York Tribune
The New York Tribune was an American newspaper, first established by Horace Greeley in 1841, which was long considered one of the leading newspapers in the United States...
just after the historian's death in 1859, was republished in a memorial volume issued by the Massachusetts Historical Society
Massachusetts Historical Society
The Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history...
.
Early politics
Carter joined the Free Soil PartyFree Soil Party
The Free Soil Party was a short-lived political party in the United States active in the 1848 and 1852 presidential elections, and in some state elections. It was a third party and a single-issue party that largely appealed to and drew its greatest strength from New York State. The party leadership...
in 1848, and in 1850 wrote for the Boston Atlas a series of articles in reply to Francis Bowen
Francis Bowen
Francis Bowen was an American philosopher, writer, and educationalist.-Biography:He was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts. He was educated at Mayhew School, Boston, Phillips Exeter Academy, and Harvard University, graduating from the latter in 1833...
's attack on the Hungarian revolutionists
Hungarian Revolution of 1848
The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 was one of many of the European Revolutions of 1848 and closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas...
. These articles were republished in a pamphlet as The Hungarian Controversy (Boston, 1852). They are said to have caused the rejection of Bowen's nomination as professor of history at Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. At the same time Carter edited, with Kossuth
Lajos Kossuth
Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva was a Hungarian lawyer, journalist, politician and Regent-President of Hungary in 1849. He was widely honored during his lifetime, including in the United Kingdom and the United States, as a freedom fighter and bellwether of democracy in Europe.-Family:Lajos...
's approval, a large volume entitled Kossuth in New England (Boston, 1852).
From 1851 to 1852 he edited, at first as assistant of John G. Palfrey
John G. Palfrey
John Gorham Palfrey was an American clergyman and historian who served as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts. A Unitarian minister, he played a leading role in the early history of Harvard Divinity School, and he later became involved in politics as a State Representative and U.S...
and afterward alone, the Boston Commonwealth, the chief exponent of the free soilers. For two years he was secretary of the state committee of the Free Soil Party.
Republican Party foundation
In the summer of 1854, he obtained the consent of the committee to call a convention, which he did without assistance, sending out thousands of circulars to men whose names were on the committee's books. The convention met in WorcesterWorcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
, 20 July, was so large that no hall could contain it, and held its session in the open air. A short platform drawn up by him was adopted, together with the name “Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
,” and on his motion a committee of six was appointed to organize the new party, John A. Andrew being made its chairman.
More editing
In 1855 Carter edited the Boston Telegraph, in conjunction with W. S. Robinson and HildrethRichard Hildreth
Richard Hildreth , United States journalist and historian, was born at Deerfield, Massachusetts, the son of Hosea Hildreth , a teacher of mathematics and later a Congregational minister....
the historian; in 1856 he edited the Atlas; and from 1857 to 1859 he was Washington correspondent of the New York Tribune. His next work was with George Ripley and Charles A. Dana
Charles Anderson Dana
Charles Anderson Dana was an American journalist, author, and government official, best known for his association with Ulysses S. Grant during the American Civil War and his aggressive political advocacy after the war....
on the first edition of the American Cyclopædia (1859 to 1863), in which many important articles were from his pen, including “Egypt,” “Hindostan,” “Mormons,” and the history of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In January 1864, he was appointed private secretary of the treasury agent whose headquarters were at Beaufort, South Carolina
Beaufort, South Carolina
Beaufort is a city in and the county seat of Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South Carolina, behind Charleston. The city's population was 12,361 in the 2010 census. It is located in the Hilton Head Island-Beaufort Micropolitan...
; and from July of that year until October 1869, he edited the Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, Democrat, doing such work for it as was seldom done on any but metropolitan journals.
When news came of the assassination of President Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, he wrote, without consulting any book or memoranda, an article giving a brief but circumstantial account, with dates, of every celebrated case of regicide. He was editor of Appletons' Journal from 1870 to 1873. And then he became associate editor for the revision of the American Cyclopædia, writing articles on “Jefferson Davis” and “The Confederate States of American”. In 1874 impaired health compelled him to discontinue his literary work, and in the next three years he made three tours in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Family
His first wife, Ann Augusta Gray, was a successful writer of poems and tales for the young. They married in 1846, and she died in 1863. He married his second wife, Susan Nichols, in 1864. She was principal of the women's art school at Cooper UnionCooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
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...
, published handbooks of art and contributed to periodicals.
Works
He was the author of A Summer Cruise on the Coast of New England (Boston, 1864), which passed through several editions. The 1888 edition has an introduction by Rossiter JohnsonRossiter Johnson
Rossiter Johnson was a United States author and editor.-Biography:Johnson received his early education in common schools, and later graduated from the University of Rochester in 1863, delivering the poem on class day. He received the degrees of Ph.D. and LL.D...
with biographical notes. He left unpublished memoirs, of which only the first volume was complete in manuscript.