It was published by William W. Clapp and edited by Horatio Biglow; [3] in March 1814, it was purchased by journalist Nathan Hale.

Under Hale's supervision, the paper was first Federalist in politics, then Whig, and finally Republican, and it became very influential.

It opposed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, and was the first paper to recommend the free colonization of Kansas.

The principle of editorial responsibility, as distinct from that of individual contributions, was established in its columns.

[5] The paper was purchased by William Randolph Hearst in 1917, became an illustrated tabloid in 1921, and ceased publication in 1929.