Election
In 1829, Weed was an Anti-Masonic member of the New York State Assembly, and also started production of the Albany Evening Journal, the first number was issued on March 22, 1830. The Evening Journal was first the main Anti-Masonic newspaper, and from 1834 on the main Whig paper and had in the 1840s the largest circulation of any political newspaper in the United States. After 1856, it was one of the Republican newspapers. As the Evening Journal's editor, proof reader, political manager and main reporter, he was a vocal advocate for economic development, supporting new banking measures, internal improvements such as roads and railroads, and the rest of Henry Clay's American System.
Weed skillfully blamed the Panic of 1837 on Martin van Buren and the Democrats, and in 1838, he pushed his friend and fellow Whig Seward for the governor's race, and was largely credited with Seward's victory. Seward thus owed Weed favors throughout his governorship, which increased Weed's power in the state. Weed then put the power of the New York Whig party behind William Henry Harrison's presidential bid in 1840. By this time, Weed had the power to bend the Whig party to his will.
Read more about this topic: Thurlow Weed
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