The various Christian Advocates came into existence for reasons which could be appreciated only as the conditions of the time of their establishment were recalled. All of the Christian Advocates were established either before the advent of the railroad or at a time when the railroad had not brought the sections of the country together to anything like the extent which prevailed later. In the 1830s and 1840s, the Methodists of the
Ohio Valley and westward could not be served by a newspaper published in
New York City. If the churches of the territory were to have the stimulation and unifying influence of a Methodist Church paper, it had to be published in the midst of that territory. When the number of Advocates was taken into account, there was also a tendency to consolidate some of them. Two non-official papers -the
Omaha Christian Advocate and the
Rocky Mountain Advocate- were combined with the
Central Christian Advocate in 1900; the
Northern Christian Advocate, after an existence of more than 60 years, was combined with the
New York Christian Advocate in 1917. In considering the history of the many different Advocates, a large part was played by The Methodist Book Concern. The existence and strength of the Book Concern made it possible to establish Church papers in different sections of the United States at a time when the local resources would not have permitted the establishment and self-support of the papers. Thus the Book Concern was able to strengthen the Church in the early years in a strategic way. Eighteen years after the establishment of the
Western Christian Advocate at
Cincinnati, the
Northwestern Christian Advocate was begun in
Chicago. Its establishment was necessary to the development of the Church in the opening of the west and northwest country. The
Central Christian Advocate was begun in 1856. It began its existence in the days which preceded the
Civil War. It was located in the center of the turmoil and discussion on the border between North and South. This paper rendered service not only to the Church but to the anti-slavery movement as well. During the war, all of the Christian Advocates were influential agencies, making for the support of the Union cause and the abolition of slavery. The General Conference of 1860 saw to it that strong anti-slavery editors were elected. In 1864, the circulation of the
Western Christian Advocate was 33,787; that of the
Northwestern Christian Advocate was 25,000; that of the
Central Christian Advocate was 8,204. In 1856, the
Pacific Christian Advocate, which had begun as an independent paper, was officially adopted by the General Conference. From 1880 to 1892, the paper was unofficial. Though the General Conference had withdrawn its support, it continued to be published. It served the special interest of the Conferences in the Pacific Northwest. The
Southwestern Christian Advocate was begun as an independent paper published in
New Orleans in the interest of the African American work of the Church. It was taken over by the General Conference in 1876. It was widely known as one of the best representatives of African American journalism. The
Southeastern Christian Advocate was first published in
Atlanta, Georgia and was adopted by the General Conference in 1868. After 1884, the paper was discontinued for a while and later resurrected and published in
Athens, Tennessee. The name for many years was
The Methodist Advocate Journal, which was changed to the later style in 1925.
Der Christliche Apologete was, since its establishment in 1839, a member in the family of Methodist Church papers. This paper was published in the interest of Methodists among the German people of the U.S. and also circulated to some extent in Germany. William Nast, the first editor, had one of the longest editorial careers in the history of the Church, being editor for 53 years, from 1839 to 1892. He was succeeded in 1892 by his son, A. J. Nast, who served until 1917. == Area, Conference, and personal organs not owned by the General Conference==