William Duane, who succeeded Benjamin Franklin Bache as editor of the Aurora in Philadelphia, was one of the central figures in the Republican party's attempts to wrest political power from the Federalists. Party adherents in the early Republic believed that the United States' political system required that parties appeal to public opinion, with newspapers being the most important medium for reaching the public. Among Republican newspapers, the most prestigious and consequential was the Aurora. It was considered the leading spokesman of the Republican national leadership and was looked to for guidance on Republican stands on major issues. When Duane died in 1835, the New York Star declared that "no man had in his time more influence."

Duane was born on 17 May 1760 near Lake Champlain, New York, where his parents, John and Anastasia Sarsfield Duane, natives of Ireland, had settled in 1755. His father died when William was five years of...