Timeline
1830 Newspaper Competition
On March 31, the Arkansas Gazette lost its monopoly on printing when the first issue of
the Arkansas Advocate appeared. Charles Pierre Bertrand, 21 years of age, began the
Advocate four months after completing his indentured apprenticeship with William E. Woodruff
and the Gazette. Bertrand, stepson of Dr. Matthew Cunningham, became a spokesman for Robert
Crittenden. By the end of the year, Woodruff reported competition from the Advocate had helped
to expand the Gazette's subscription list by 20 percent.
Though the Indians had lost their lands in Arkansas Territory, it was not until May 28 that
Congress officially adopted an Indian removal policy for those tribes east of the Mississippi
River. Congress established the area west of Arkansas as the repository for the Indian nations.
Sam Houston, living there among his Cherokee friends, wrote a series of letters to the Gazette
complaining of the poor treatment of the Indians.
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