The following is an announcement from DigitalNC:

Over 2000 issues of The Commonwealth, a paper published in Scotland Neck, are now on DigitalNC.  The issues span 40 years, from 1882 to 1922, adding a lot of coverage in our newspaper collection from the coastal region of the state. The very first issue, published August 24, 1882, is included in this batch, stating it was an “uncompromising Democratic journal.” The paper had a definite editorial stance supporting the Democrats both statewide and nationally and attacking the Republican party, which was the party of Black and white in North Carolina, while the Democrats were against any efforts at integration.  This editorial stance continues into the 20th century, with an interesting gap in publication the week of the coup in Wilmington in 1898, but the following week had an editorial in support of the actions taken by the white supremists in the city.  By the 1920s, more of a focus on news and less of an editorial bent seems evident, with their tagline being “All the News in a Nutshell.”

To view more newspapers on DigitalNC, visit our North Carolina Newspapers collection.  

Digitization of this newspaper is made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.