Topics
Newspapers changed what they printed, and the digitised corpus changed which newspapers it holds. This page separates the two from any change in how people were written about.
Table view
| Topic | 1900-15 | 1918-30 | 1933-45 | 1948-63 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local personals & visits | 78% (n=18,796) | 86% (n=23,519) | 90% (n=25,485) | 91% (n=38,101) |
| Weddings & engagements | 83% (n=9,966) | 88% (n=8,748) | 84% (n=9,477) | 80% (n=6,721) |
| Club & meeting announcements | 58% (n=982) | 79% (n=1,964) | 81% (n=2,244) | 79% (n=2,240) |
| Obituaries & funerals | 55% (n=2,424) | 68% (n=2,342) | 75% (n=3,040) | 79% (n=6,355) |
| Church & religion | 44% (n=1,540) | 56% (n=1,254) | 68% (n=1,782) | 68% (n=2,526) |
| Education & schools | 51% (n=1,319) | 60% (n=1,588) | 63% (n=1,914) | 60% (n=3,238) |
| Retail advertising | 46% (n=546) | 56% (n=487) | 61% (n=605) | 68% (n=737) |
| Organisations & officer elections | 33% (n=1,965) | 63% (n=2,285) | 67% (n=3,347) | 60% (n=4,685) |
| Patent-medicine advertising | 50% (n=1,235) | 58% (n=408) | 39% (n=179) | 27% (n=171) |
| Probate & legal notices | 31% (n=209) | 45% (n=110) | 44% (n=89) | 35% (n=123) |
| Trustee-sale notices | 33% (n=287) | 44% (n=121) | 42% (n=98) | 22% (n=195) |
| County government & land notices | 23% (n=1,833) | 33% (n=1,164) | 36% (n=923) | 38% (n=1,571) |
| Real-estate classifieds | 35% (n=137) | 40% (n=142) | 27% (n=280) | 21% (n=1,050) |
| National datelines | 30% (n=1,595) | 31% (n=1,166) | 32% (n=1,367) | 29% (n=1,255) |
| Fiction & general prose | 28% (n=4,398) | 34% (n=3,296) | 33% (n=2,943) | 26% (n=1,707) |
| Courts & crime | 25% (n=2,932) | 31% (n=1,927) | 32% (n=1,537) | 24% (n=1,876) |
| City & local incidents | 25% (n=3,147) | 28% (n=1,627) | 28% (n=1,200) | 25% (n=1,132) |
| German-language text / OCR noise | 27% (n=168) | 21% (n=71) | 25% (n=51) | 26% (n=62) |
| Automobile classifieds | 29% (n=268) | 21% (n=429) | 22% (n=528) | 19% (n=900) |
| Spanish-language text | 14% (n=104) | 24% (n=121) | 27% (n=113) | 9% (n=43) |
| Sports | 13% (n=1,438) | 15% (n=1,624) | 23% (n=2,753) | 17% (n=2,953) |
| War & foreign affairs | 13% (n=2,176) | 18% (n=2,051) | 20% (n=2,709) | 16% (n=2,786) |
| Markets & prices | 13% (n=793) | 14% (n=547) | 9% (n=370) | 11% (n=476) |
| Politics & Congress | 6% (n=3,804) | 11% (n=2,101) | 12% (n=2,472) | 10% (n=4,153) |
AmericanStories (Dell et al. 2023, CC-BY-4.0), built on Chronicling America (Library of Congress). 10,000 sampled articles per year, 22 years.
Table view
| Topic | 1900-15 | 1918-30 | 1933-45 | 1948-63 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local personals & visits | 30.3% | 39.8% | 38.9% | 44.8% |
| Weddings & engagements | 16.1% | 14.8% | 14.5% | 7.9% |
| Club & meeting announcements | 1.6% | 3.3% | 3.4% | 2.6% |
| Obituaries & funerals | 3.9% | 4.0% | 4.6% | 7.5% |
| Church & religion | 2.5% | 2.1% | 2.7% | 3.0% |
| Education & schools | 2.1% | 2.7% | 2.9% | 3.8% |
| Retail advertising | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 0.9% |
| Organisations & officer elections | 3.2% | 3.9% | 5.1% | 5.5% |
| Patent-medicine advertising | 2.0% | 0.7% | 0.3% | 0.2% |
| Probate & legal notices | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Trustee-sale notices | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| County government & land notices | 3.0% | 2.0% | 1.4% | 1.8% |
| Real-estate classifieds | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 1.2% |
| National datelines | 2.6% | 2.0% | 2.1% | 1.5% |
| Fiction & general prose | 7.1% | 5.6% | 4.5% | 2.0% |
| Courts & crime | 4.7% | 3.3% | 2.3% | 2.2% |
| City & local incidents | 5.1% | 2.8% | 1.8% | 1.3% |
| German-language text / OCR noise | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Automobile classifieds | 0.4% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 1.1% |
| Spanish-language text | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| Sports | 2.3% | 2.7% | 4.2% | 3.5% |
| War & foreign affairs | 3.5% | 3.5% | 4.1% | 3.3% |
| Markets & prices | 1.3% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 0.6% |
| Politics & Congress | 6.1% | 3.6% | 3.8% | 4.9% |
AmericanStories (Dell et al. 2023, CC-BY-4.0), built on Chronicling America (Library of Congress). 10,000 sampled articles per year, 22 years.
Composition or change?
Table view
| Component | pp | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| topic: total change | +12.98 | 95% CI +11.90 to +14.05 |
| topic: composition | +5.50 | 95% CI +4.73 to +6.21 |
| topic: within-group | +7.49 | 95% CI +6.85 to +8.21 |
| section: total change | +12.98 | 95% CI +11.90 to +14.05 |
| section: composition | +5.50 | 95% CI +4.78 to +6.22 |
| section: within-group | +7.48 | 95% CI +6.82 to +8.12 |
| Evening Star vs other papers: total change | +12.98 | 95% CI +11.90 to +14.05 |
| Evening Star vs other papers: composition | −5.18 | 95% CI −6.04 to −4.41 |
| Evening Star vs other papers: within-group | +18.16 | 95% CI +16.76 to +19.57 |
AmericanStories (Dell et al. 2023, CC-BY-4.0), built on Chronicling America (Library of Congress). 10,000 sampled articles per year, 22 years.
Table view
| Component | pp | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| topic: total change | +13.71 | 95% CI +11.79 to +15.62 |
| topic: composition | +2.13 | 95% CI +1.26 to +2.84 |
| topic: within-group | +11.58 | 95% CI +9.88 to +13.22 |
| section: total change | +13.71 | 95% CI +11.79 to +15.62 |
| section: composition | +2.17 | 95% CI +1.33 to +2.90 |
| section: within-group | +11.54 | 95% CI +9.84 to +13.25 |
| Evening Star vs other papers: total change | +13.71 | 95% CI +11.79 to +15.62 |
| Evening Star vs other papers: composition | −7.05 | 95% CI −8.87 to −5.25 |
| Evening Star vs other papers: within-group | +20.76 | 95% CI +18.03 to +23.42 |
AmericanStories (Dell et al. 2023, CC-BY-4.0), built on Chronicling America (Library of Congress). 10,000 sampled articles per year, 22 years.
Table view
| Specification | Slope (pp/decade) | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| raw · all newspapers | +3.11 | 95% CI −0.86 to +7.08 |
| topic FE · all newspapers | +1.86 | 95% CI +0.43 to +3.28 |
| newspaper FE · all newspapers | −0.93 | 95% CI −4.74 to +2.89 |
| topic + newspaper FE · all newspapers | +0.47 | 95% CI −1.33 to +2.27 |
| + page position · all newspapers | +0.34 | 95% CI −1.57 to +2.25 |
| raw · excluding Evening Star | +5.76 | 95% CI +4.79 to +6.73 |
| topic FE · excluding Evening Star | +2.82 | 95% CI +2.15 to +3.49 |
| newspaper FE · excluding Evening Star | +3.05 | 95% CI +0.68 to +5.42 |
| topic + newspaper FE · excluding Evening Star | +2.09 | 95% CI +0.83 to +3.35 |
| + page position · excluding Evening Star | +2.07 | 95% CI +0.84 to +3.30 |
| raw · news only (no ads, notices, fiction) | +3.01 | 95% CI −0.81 to +6.82 |
| topic FE · news only (no ads, notices, fiction) | +1.99 | 95% CI +0.59 to +3.40 |
| newspaper FE · news only (no ads, notices, fiction) | −1.12 | 95% CI −4.91 to +2.67 |
| topic + newspaper FE · news only (no ads, notices, fiction) | +0.51 | 95% CI −1.32 to +2.34 |
| + page position · news only (no ads, notices, fiction) | +0.38 | 95% CI −1.58 to +2.33 |
AmericanStories (Dell et al. 2023, CC-BY-4.0), built on Chronicling America (Library of Congress). 10,000 sampled articles per year, 22 years.
Table view
| Specification | Slope (pp/decade) | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| raw · all newspapers | +3.08 | 95% CI −0.73 to +6.89 |
| topic FE · all newspapers | +2.53 | 95% CI +0.27 to +4.79 |
| newspaper FE · all newspapers | −0.82 | 95% CI −3.81 to +2.17 |
| topic + newspaper FE · all newspapers | −0.10 | 95% CI −2.02 to +1.82 |
| + page position · all newspapers | −0.31 | 95% CI −2.37 to +1.75 |
| raw · excluding Evening Star | +6.42 | 95% CI +5.35 to +7.50 |
| topic FE · excluding Evening Star | +4.60 | 95% CI +3.83 to +5.38 |
| newspaper FE · excluding Evening Star | +3.28 | 95% CI +1.08 to +5.49 |
| topic + newspaper FE · excluding Evening Star | +2.60 | 95% CI +0.76 to +4.44 |
| + page position · excluding Evening Star | +2.60 | 95% CI +0.68 to +4.52 |
| raw · news only (no ads, notices, fiction) | +3.11 | 95% CI −0.83 to +7.05 |
| topic FE · news only (no ads, notices, fiction) | +2.61 | 95% CI +0.29 to +4.93 |
| newspaper FE · news only (no ads, notices, fiction) | −0.91 | 95% CI −3.91 to +2.09 |
| topic + newspaper FE · news only (no ads, notices, fiction) | −0.12 | 95% CI −2.05 to +1.81 |
| + page position · news only (no ads, notices, fiction) | −0.35 | 95% CI −2.43 to +1.74 |
AmericanStories (Dell et al. 2023, CC-BY-4.0), built on Chronicling America (Library of Congress). 10,000 sampled articles per year, 22 years.
The topic model
NMF with 24 components on TF-IDF of article text, fitted on a year-balanced subsample of 55,000 articles and three random seeds. Components are matched across seeds by Hungarian assignment on topic–term cosine. Mean matched cosine is 0.89; article-level assignment agreement across seeds is 0.76, 0.77. Labels were assigned by reading top terms, and they are interpretive. Unstable topics (cosine below .75) are flagged in config/topic_labels.json, and the coarse section grouping is the more robust unit.
| # | Label | Seed stability | Top terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Fiction & general prose | 0.99 | man time know just like little said good did don |
| 1 | Local personals & visits | 0.93 | mrs home spent week sunday daughter guests son family visited |
| 2 | Probate & legal notices | 1.00 | estate deceased notice said persons probate day claims given court |
| 3 | Real-estate classifieds | 1.00 | bath room rooms brick large baths house kitchen heat garage |
| 4 | Club & meeting announcements | 0.99 | meeting club held members meet evening night clock program annual |
| 5 | Church & religion | 1.00 | church sunday rev pastor service services morning evening baptist worship |
| 6 | Spanish-language text | 1.00 | que ell los del por las para una esta sus |
| 7 | Sports | 1.00 | game team league games ball play second season won score |
| 8 | Trustee-sale notices | 1.00 | sale trustees trust deed premises terms district recorded land columbia |
| 9 | German-language text / OCR noise | 1.00 | der die bon uno ben ser nit unb cine bic |
| 10 | City & local incidents | 0.93 | city street south north west east company police avenue miles |
| 11 | Markets & prices | 0.74 | cent year market prices stock cents steady lower wheat higher |
| 12 | War & foreign affairs | 0.91 | united states war american army world british german government today |
| 13 | Education & schools | 0.99 | school high schools college teachers education students class university board |
| 14 | Obituaries & funerals | 1.00 | funeral cemetery died services home years held interment wife burial |
| 15 | National datelines | 1.00 | new york boston chicago philadelphia louis today brooklyn washington detroit |
| 16 | Weddings & engagements | 0.04 | miss mary john william bride wedding daughter james george charles |
| 17 | Courts & crime | 0.98 | court judge case said attorney jury trial defendant district police |
| 18 | County government & land notices | 1.00 | county state office land board notice farm clerk acres day |
| 19 | Automobile classifieds | 0.92 | car ave good sedan motor tires ford sale phone condition |
| 20 | Organisations & officer elections | 0.55 | president secretary vice officers elected treasurer board association john directors |
| 21 | Retail advertising | 0.59 | white sizes black blue water floor red green size add |
| 22 | Patent-medicine advertising | 0.97 | cure remedy stomach drug medicine kidney use cured bottle sold |
| 23 | Politics & Congress | 0.90 | committee senator senate house republican congress state democratic vote government |