 In 1844, Scammon founded the city's first newspaper, the "Chicago Journal", a Whig-leaning newspaper that eventually became a Republican newspaper.Several years later, in 1861, Scammon sued the Democratic "Chicago Democrat" for libel after publisher John Wentworth published a cartoon which depicted Scammon as a wildcat banker.Scammon dropped the quarter million dollar suit only after Wentworth closed his paper, giving the subscription list to the "Chicago Tribune."