The editor of the paper was J. T. Shuften, who was ably assisted by Dr. James Lynch. Shuften was credited by _The New York World_ as having written the best article of the time on the “Negro Question.” The paper was short-lived and suspended February, 1866. [Sidenote: PRECURSORS IN SOUTHERN STATES] With the beginning of Negro Journalism in the South, papers sprung up in other states: _The Colored Tennessean_ and _The True Communicator_, of Baltimore, Md., being among the more noted ones. Many of the papers were short-lived; others changed hands and names frequently and continued for several years. [Sidenote: PAPERS GROW IN INFLUENCE AND CIRCULATION] The year 1868 saw the founding of _The Charleston Leader_, at Charleston, S. C. By 1870, the Negro press began to make itself felt. _The People’s Journal_, with a circulation of over 10,000 was being edited by Dr. R. L. Perry. In Mississippi, James J. Spellman and John Lynch began _The Colored Citizen_. December, 1870, marked the founding of _The New Orleans Louisianian_, by P. B. S. Pinchback[4], who in 1873 became governor of Louisiana, being the only Negro ever to hold this position. [Sidenote: EDITORS HIGHLY EDUCATED] August 1861, John J. Freeman started _The Progressive American_, in New York City, which existed for ten years. The one outstanding achievement of this paper is the fact that as a result of its fight for Negro teachers in the public schools twenty-three were appointed. Between 1865 and 1880, over 30 newspapers of more or less merit came into existence; Negro newspapers were being published in 21 states. The papers of the period were ably edited and were the product of some of the most highly educated Negroes. [3] Pinchback died in Washington, D. C., Dec. 22, 1921. [4] Afro-American Press. CHAPTER IV THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION (1880-1900) [Sidenote: NUMBER OF PAPERS INCREASES] The last twenty years of the nineteenth century were marked by an increase in the number of papers published. More than 150 papers were being published by Negroes in thirty different states before the dawn of the new century. To trace the history of all of these papers would be useless, if not well nigh impossible, as but few of them were long-lived or permanent. Most of them were started for the achievement of a single end, and having served the temporary need disappeared. There are, however, several papers which were established during this period that demand treatment because of their longevity and present existence. [Sidenote: PHILADELPHIA TRIBUNE] Among this group is _The Philadelphia Tribune_, founded by Christopher J. Perry in 1884. Perry, who was sole owner of his paper, had had much experience in Journalism before becoming a publisher. His work as editor of the Colored Department of _The Sunday Mercury_, had established his reputation as a journalist. [Sidenote: REMARKABLE SUCCESS UNDER PERRY]