It was founded in 1839, though it could claim a lineage back to 1771, and published until 1925, when it was purchased by the owner of the rival Public Ledger.

The North American, a daily newspaper in Philadelphia, was first published on March 26, 1839, by S.C. Brace and T.R.

[6] Cummings soon departed over political differences, and Morton McMichael joined Graham as publisher in January 1847.

In July of that year, writer and playwright Robert Montgomery Bird was brought in as a one-third owner, and the paper was merged with the United States Gazette, another Whig paper in town and a descendant of the original Gazette of the United States first published in 1789.

After Bird died in 1854, McMichael continued as the sole owner until his death in 1879.