The American Newsboy

"Extra! Extra! Read all about it!" The famous cry was heard on city streets throughout the country. Beginning in the 1830s, newsboys, and a few newsgirls, stood on the street corners in New York City and other major cities shouting headlines in an effort to sell newspapers. Their popularity spread, and by the late 1800s, newsboys appeared as characters in books. Decades later they were even featured in movies. "Newsies," as they were called, became famous, but the newsboys' lives were far from glamorous.