Editing History of Missouri (section)

===Schools and the press===
The small historically French settlements that became part of the United States in 1803 had limited schooling. Small schools were established in several Missouri towns; by 1821, they existed in the towns of St. Louis, St. Charles, Ste. Genevieve, Florissant, Cape Girardeau, Franklin, Potosi, Jackson, and Herculaneum, and in rural areas in both Cooper and Howard counties. They were proprietary schools run by itinerant teachers who catered to boys of families who could pay small stipends, and usually provide room and board for the teacher. A few coeducational schools existed in some rural areas by the 1830s. Eleven schools for girls also operated during the territorial period, but these focused on basic literacy and homemaking practices.<ref>Duane G. Meyer, ''The Heritage of Missouri'' (3 ed. 1982) pp 138–42.</ref>

In the decades after statehood, Missouri experienced rapid growth in newspaper and book publishing. From 1820 to 1860 the number of newspapers in the state expanded from 5 to 148, with the greatest growth coming during the 1850s. But early newspapers suffered the perennial problem of slowness, a problem only resolved with the arrival of the telegraph in 1847. Newspapers often included lengthy didactic lectures, poetry, and serial narratives and clippings from other papers. After 1847 the newspapers provided news within one day from across the country.<ref>Meyer, ''The Heritage of Missouri'' (1982) pp 268–72.</ref>

After 1825 most Missouri newspapers began to side openly either in favor of or against President [[Andrew Jackson]] and his policies. Two significant newspapers from the period were the ''Missouri Statesman'', published in Columbia by [[William Switzler]], and the ''[[St. Louis Globe-Democrat|Missouri Democrat]]'', published in St. Louis. The ''Statesman'' was a powerful political force in central Missouri, and it strongly advocated for the Whig Party, while the ''Democrat'' supported Jacksonian Democratic politics until the 1850s, when it switched its support and advocated for the nascent Republican Party. Democratic papers rallied to [[Thomas Hart Benton (senator)|Thomas Hart Benton]], including the ''St. Louis Union'' and the ''Jefferson City Enquirer''. The ''[[Hannibal Courier-Post|Hannibal Journal]]'', which employed [[Samuel Clemens]] as a typesetter. The ''[[St. Louis Observer]]'', which was the press of [[Elijah Lovejoy]], an early abolitionist.<ref>Meyer, ''The Heritage of Missouri'' (1982) pp 269–70.</ref>

A few primarily St. Louis-based papers printed in German or French. Among the earliest of these was the ''[[Anzeiger des Westens]]'', a German publication begun in 1835 that supported Benton's politics. Other influential publications included the German-language ''[[Westliche Post]]'', which began publishing in St. Louis in 1857, the Hermann ''Volksblatt'', begun in 1854, and the French-language ''La Revue de l'Ouest'', which began in St. Louis in 1854.<ref name="Meyer, 1982 pp 272">Meyer, ''The Heritage of Missouri'' (1982) pp 272.</ref>

Literature in Missouri often took the form of nonfiction travelogues and biographies, or of collections of fictional short stories centered on life on the frontier. Thomas Hart Benton's biography of thirty years in government was popular, and [[Henry Boernstein]]'s ''The Mysteries of St. Louis'' was reviewed in local publications.<ref name="Meyer, 1982 pp 272"/>