149-563: Francis Childs (1763–1830) was an American publisher and printer of The New York Daily Advertiser , founded on Thursday, March 1, 1785, who went on to be one of the printers for the newly established United States government. Childs, together with John Swaine, both established printers in New York City, printed the laws of the United States, beginning in 1789 shortly after the Constitution
298-508: A Presbyterian , who for a time became a Deist , then a non-denominational Protestant Christian, realized the value of printing and promoting overall religious values as a means of strengthening the social fabric and as a means of uniting the colonies in their opposition to British rule. Franklin ultimately published more religious works than any other eighteenth-century American printers. Thomas Dobson , who arrived in Philadelphia in 1754
447-431: A "noticeable reluctance". Newspapers in colonial America served to disseminate vital political, social and religious information that explicitly appealed to the colonist's growing sense of independence and unity with other Americans. This was a cause of great concern to the royal colonial governments among the colonies who feared that the mass dissemination of news and opinion undermined their authority. Colonial Boston
596-455: A Boston imprint, making eastern Massachusetts the literary and typographic center of colonial America. Colonial newspapers played an active role during the Christian revivalist controversy that occurred in the early 1740s. The controversy started in and centered around Boston, where Thomas Fleet was one of the most visible critics, using his Boston Evening Post to publish criticism against
745-630: A business partner and made him manager in charge of the Gazette , allowing Franklin the time to pursue his scientific and other interests. Upon the proposal of the Stamp Act, Hall warned Franklin that subscribers to their newspaper were already canceling their accounts in anticipation of the unpopular tax — not over an increase in the cost it would place on the newspaper, but on principle. After buying out Franklin in May 1766, Hall took on another partner and established
894-507: A cash crop. In 1632, King Charles I granted the charter for the Province of Maryland to Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore . Calvert's father had been a prominent Catholic official who encouraged Catholic immigration to the English colonies. The charter offered no guidelines on religion. The Province of Carolina was the second attempted English settlement south of Virginia, the first being
1043-454: A government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." In the beginning of the 18th century, there were twice as many printers in Boston as there were for in all the other colonies combined. There were only six American newspapers, where four of them were published in Boston. The majority of the books and pamphlets of the period bore
1192-480: A letter from Alexander Hamilton to Francis Childs' and The New York Daily Advertiser , dated July 12, 1787, Hamilton pointedly criticized New York Governor George Clinton for his opposition to the ratification of the proposed United States Constitution. On September 15, 1787, Hamilton again wrote to The New York Daily Advertiser in regards to a defense of Clinton which appeared in the July 21 issue of The Advertiser and
1341-433: A low subscription rate in its early days and attracted few advertisers. In an earnest effort to attract more advertising, Childs sold advertising space at the low rate of three shillings per ad. During the ratification debates over the proposed United States Constitution in 1788 and 1789, The New York Daily Advertiser featured essays, which came to be known as The Federalist Papers , in support of that constitution. In
1490-641: A new firm of Hall and Sellers , which printed the Continental paper currency issued by Congress during the American Revolutionary War . James Davis came to the North Carolina province in 1749, answering a call by their Assembly for an official printer to print their laws, legal journals and paper currency. He became the first printer to establish a print shop in that colony and in the process, founded and printed North Carolina's first newspaper,
1639-452: A pamphlet from the offices of Samuel Adams ' newspaper, The Independent Advertiser . The bill was derided as the " Monitor of Monitors," claiming that the Legislature was tartly handled. Immediately after the publication of Mayhew's sermon, it became the cause for alarm and consternation among the colonial authorities. David Fowle, the printer, brother of Zechariah Fowle , also a printer,
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#17330862283231788-525: A part of Massachusetts until achieving statehood in 1820. In 1685, King James II of England closed the legislatures and consolidated the New England colonies into the Dominion of New England , putting the region under the control of Governor Edmund Andros . In 1688, the colonies of New York, West Jersey, and East Jersey were added to the dominion. Andros was overthrown and the dominion was closed in 1689, after
1937-510: A prohibition against any exports to England. The articles in this Association were met with mixed reactions from the colonists, and from various American and British individuals in Britain, with letters for and against the measure appearing in colonial newspapers, with criticisms coming mostly from moderate or loyalist presses. On April 22, 1775, three days after the Battles of Lexington and Concord ,
2086-578: A proprietary colony of Quaker William Penn . The main population elements included the Quaker population based in Philadelphia, a Scotch-Irish population on the Western frontier, and numerous German colonies in between. Philadelphia became the largest city in the colonies with its central location, excellent port, and a population of about 30,000. The Pilgrims were a small group of Puritan separatists who felt that they needed to distance themselves physically from
2235-496: A settlement near Providence Plantations which they called Shawomet. However, Massachusetts Bay attempted to seize the land and put it under their own authority, so Gorton travelled to London to gain a charter from the King. Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick assisted him in gaining the charter, so he changed the name of the settlement to Warwick. Roger Williams secured a Royal Charter from the King in 1663 which united all four settlements into
2384-633: A war that served European interests more than their own. This dispute was a link in the chain of events that soon brought about the American Revolution. The British were left with large debts following the French and Indian War, so British leaders decided to increase taxation and control of the Thirteen Colonies. They imposed several new taxes, beginning with the Sugar Act of 1764. Later acts included
2533-450: Is today Canada . The Thirteen Colonies were separate entities under the Crown, but had similar political, constitutional, and legal systems, and each was dominated by Protestant English-speakers. The first of the colonies, Virginia, was established at Jamestown , in 1607. The New England Colonies, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, were substantially motivated by their founders' concerns related to
2682-641: The Boston Gazette and The Providence Gazette were among the most visible in publishing literature that fostered the idea of American independence, which now was receiving popular support among the colonies. The first magazine that appeared in American colonies, The American Monthly Magazine , was printed by Andrew Bradford in February 1741, edited by John Webbe. The first religious periodical published in America,
2831-671: The North-Carolina Gazette . In 1755 Benjamin Franklin appointed Davis as the first postmaster of North Carolina. The first newspaper established in Connecticut was The Connecticut Gazette in New Haven, on April 12, 1755, a weekly newspaper issued every Friday, by James Parker , in New Haven . As the premier newspaper in that colony, it functioned as a military record in reporting
2980-655: The American Revenue Act of 1764, the Stamp Act of 1765, the Boston Massacre , the Tea Act and other such issues that were widely considered impositions and injustices towards the colonies. With the passage of the Stamp Act in 1765, which imposed a tax on newspapers and advertisements, deeds, wills, claims, indentures, contracts and other such legal documents, printers began publishing highly polemic accounts challenging
3129-482: The Appalachian Mountains , as this was designated an Indian Reserve . Some groups of settlers disregarded the proclamation, however, and continued to move west and establish farms. The proclamation was modified and was no longer a hindrance to settlement, but the fact angered the colonists that it had been promulgated without their prior consultation. Parliament had directly levied duties and excise taxes on
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#17330862283233278-562: The Boston Tea Party in 1773 when the Sons of Liberty dumped thousands of pounds of tea into the water. Tensions escalated in 1774 as Parliament passed the laws known as the Intolerable Acts , which greatly restricted self-government in the colony of Massachusetts. These laws also allowed British military commanders to claim colonial homes for the quartering of soldiers, regardless of whether
3427-523: The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations . Other colonists settled to the north, mingling with adventurers and profit-oriented settlers to establish more religiously diverse colonies in New Hampshire and Maine . Massachusetts absorbed these small settlements when it made significant land claims in the 1640s and 1650s, but New Hampshire was eventually given a separate charter in 1679. Maine remained
3576-673: The Continental Army to fight the American Revolutionary War . In 1776, Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence as the United States of America and, asserting its sovereignty, the United States allied with Britain's enemy, France. Defeating British armies with its French ally, the former Thirteen Colonies had its sovereignty recognized by Britain in the Treaty of Paris in 1783. The Thirteen Colonies in their traditional groupings were:
3725-594: The Court approval and licensing had been repealed, but upon Johnson's return they were reinstated with Johnson specifically in mind. After several failed appeals to the Court, they finally conceded to his wishes, with a few restrictions in place, allowing Johnson in 1674 to become the first printer in the American colonies to operate his own press. Unfortunately Johnson died shortly thereafter that same year and never fulfilled that dream. John Foster bought Johnson's equipment and became
3874-565: The Currency Act of 1764 , the Stamp Act of 1765 , and the Townshend Acts of 1767. Colonial newspapers and printers in particular took strong exception against the Stamp Act which imposed a tax on newspapers and official documents, and played a central role in disseminating literature among the colonists against such taxes and the idea of taxation without colonial representation. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 restricted settlement west of
4023-589: The English Reformation fled England to the European continent or to the new world to escape religious and political prosecution under the reigns of King Henry VIII and Queen Mary I , both Catholics who were trying, unsuccessfully, to reverse the Reformation movement during their reigns. John Daye , who was printing and distributing Protestant literature and pamphlets, was a definitive example of this advent. At
4172-529: The Freeman's Oath , published in January 1639. It was at this press that printers got their training, and their books, pamphlets and broadsides helped to promote and sustain the enlightenment movement in New England. Printing presses, books and newspapers were primarily found in the northern colonies, as the southern colonies were either royal or proprietary and were not allowed to govern themselves as much as those in
4321-620: The French and Indian War , when the Parliament began imposing heavy taxes on the colonies for the debts Britain incurred during that war. By 1774, the idea for an independent union was not yet one of complete separation from the mother country in England and had assumed that the colonies would still be an essential component of the British Empire and still under the authority of the King and Parliament. By
4470-470: The Gazette Franklin announced that he had just printed and published the first edition of The Poor Richard , (better known as Poor Richard's Alamanack ) by Richard Saunders, Philomath. The almanack proved to be a huge success with a printing run that lasted more than twenty-five years. On June 19, 1744, Franklin took on David Hall , introduced by William Strahan while Franklin was in England, as
4619-638: The Glorious Revolution deposed King James II; the former colonies were re-established. According to Guy Miller, the Rebellion of 1689 was the "climax of the 60-year-old struggle between the government in England and the Puritans of Massachusetts over the question of who was to rule the Bay colony." In 1702, East and West Jersey were combined to form the Province of New Jersey . The northern and southern sections of
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4768-690: The New England Colonies ( New Hampshire , Massachusetts , Rhode Island , and Connecticut ); the Middle Colonies ( New York , New Jersey , Pennsylvania , and Delaware ); and the Southern Colonies ( Maryland , Virginia , North Carolina , South Carolina , and Georgia ). These colonies were part of British America , which also included territory in The Floridas , the Caribbean , and what
4917-585: The New England Confederation in 1643, and all New England colonies were included in the Dominion of New England (1686–1689). The Province of Carolina was initially chartered in 1629 and initial settlements were established after 1651. That charter was voided in 1660 by Charles II and a new charter was issued in 1663, making it a proprietary colony. The Carolina province was divided into separate proprietary colonies, north and south in 1712, before both became royal colonies in 1729. Earlier, along
5066-457: The New Haven , Saybrook , and Connecticut colonies. During the 17th century, the New Haven and Saybrook colonies were absorbed by Connecticut. Roger Williams established Providence Plantations in 1636 on land provided by Narragansett sachem Canonicus . Williams was a Puritan who preached religious tolerance, separation of Church and State , and a complete break with the Church of England. He
5215-693: The Plymouth Company and the London Company for the purpose of establishing permanent settlements in America. The London Company established the Colony of Virginia in 1607, the first permanently settled English colony on the continent. The Plymouth Company founded the Popham Colony on the Kennebec River , but it was short-lived. The Plymouth Council for New England sponsored several colonization projects, culminating with Plymouth Colony in 1620 which
5364-661: The Virginia Gazette reported that a large quantity of gunpowder in Williamsburg had been stolen during the night by order of Lord Dunmore . The news traveled quickly and was repeated in The Pennsylvania Evening Post . The news reports subsequently prompted Dunmore to pay for the gunpowder and for a time averted armed conflict in Virginia. The New-England Courant made its appearance on Monday, August 7, 1721, as
5513-595: The War of the Austrian Succession , but most colonists called it King George's War . In 1745, British and colonial forces captured the town of Louisbourg , and the war came to an end with the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle . However, many colonists were angered when Britain returned Louisbourg to France in return for Madras and other territories. In the aftermath of the war, both the British and French sought to expand into
5662-415: The 13 colonies. During the 1750s, the colonies began collaborating with one another instead of dealing directly with Britain. With the help of colonial printers and newspapers , these inter-colonial activities and concerns were shared and led to calls for protection of the colonists' " Rights as Englishmen ", especially the principle of " no taxation without representation ". Late 18th century conflicts with
5811-546: The 1690s. Despite the fact that the alleged cases almost always involved the truth, they were clearly on the rise in the colonies. Historian Larry D. Eldridge notes that there were 1,244 seditious speech prosecutions before the Zenger case, and has drawn from the court records of every colony that existed before 1700. During this time many writers accordingly felt it necessary to write under an assumed name for fear of prosecution and confiscation of their printing presses. As printing
5960-526: The 1740s, the Thirteen Colonies underwent the First Great Awakening . In 1738, an incident involving a Welsh mariner named Robert Jenkins sparked the War of Jenkins' Ear between Britain and Spain. Hundreds of North Americans volunteered for Admiral Edward Vernon 's assault on Cartagena de Indias , a Spanish city in South America. The war against Spain merged into a broader conflict known as
6109-478: The 1754 Albany Congress , Pennsylvania colonist Benjamin Franklin proposed the Albany Plan which would have created a unified government of the Thirteen Colonies for coordination of defense and other matters, but the plan was rejected by the leaders of most colonies. In the Treaty of Paris (1763) , France formally ceded to Britain the eastern part of its vast North American empire, having secretly given to Spain
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6258-483: The American civilians were willing or not to have soldiers in their homes. The laws further revoked colonial rights to hold trials in cases involving soldiers or crown officials, forcing such trials to be held in England rather than in America. Parliament also sent Thomas Gage to serve as Governor of Massachusetts and as the commander of British forces in North America. By 1774, colonists still hoped to remain part of
6407-557: The Atlantic coast supplied the Atlantic market with beaver fur and deerskins. America had an advantage in natural resources and established its own thriving shipbuilding industry, and many American merchants engaged in the transatlantic trade. Improved economic conditions and easing of religious persecution in Europe made it more difficult to recruit labor to the colonies, and many colonies became increasingly reliant on slave labor, particularly in
6556-555: The Boston Tea Party, the British responded with the Intolerable Acts that, among other things, closed down the busy port of Boston. Word of this incursion quickly spread in newspapers and broadsides and in response the various colonies, in support of Massachusetts whose trade had largely been halted, sent representatives to Philadelphia and formed the First Continental Congress . To assert pressure on England to repeal
6705-662: The British Empire, but discontentment was widespread concerning British rule throughout the Thirteen Colonies. Colonists elected delegates to the First Continental Congress , which convened in Philadelphia in September 1774. In the aftermath of the Intolerable Acts, the delegates asserted that the colonies owed allegiance only to the king; they would accept royal governors as agents of the king, but they were no longer willing to recognize Parliament's right to pass legislation affecting
6854-574: The British force at the April 1775 Battles of Lexington and Concord , then lay siege to Boston . By spring 1775, all royal officials had been expelled, and the Continental Congress hosted a convention of delegates for the Thirteen Colonies. It raised an army to fight the British and named George Washington its commander, made treaties, declared independence, and recommended that the colonies write constitutions and become states, later enumerated in
7003-485: The British government over taxes and rights led to the American Revolution , in which the Thirteen Colonies joined together for the first time to form the Continental Congress and raised the Continental Army , declaring independence in 1776. They fought the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) with the aid of the Kingdom of France and, to a much lesser degree, the Dutch Republic and the Kingdom of Spain . In 1606, King James I of England granted charters to both
7152-419: The Carolina colony operated more or less independently until 1691 when Philip Ludwell was appointed governor of the entire province. From that time until 1708, the northern and southern settlements remained under one government. However, during this period, the two halves of the province began increasingly to be known as North Carolina and South Carolina, as the descendants of the colony's proprietors fought over
7301-436: The Church of England, which they perceived as corrupted. They initially moved to the Netherlands, but eventually sailed to America in 1620 on the Mayflower . Upon their arrival, they drew up the Mayflower Compact , by which they bound themselves together as a united community, thus establishing the small Plymouth Colony . William Bradford was their main leader. After its founding, other settlers traveled from England to join
7450-509: The Crown considered to be sedition. While in England, Benjamin Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette had its publication suspended on October 31, 1765, in protest of the Stamp Act, after which Franklin's partner, David Hall, began printing the paper on un-stamped paper, without the masthead , so as to avoid any prosecution. The Sons of Liberty took an active role by intimidating those royal officials charged with its operation and collection of taxes. As newspapers continued to openly criticize
7599-411: The Daughters of Zion , written for the benefit of young women on appropriate dress and behavior. He became a controversial figure for his involvement in the events surrounding the Salem witch trials of 1692–1693. Jonas Green , a protégé of Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia, and member of the Green family, had been engaged in operating the presses of the Puritan colonies. For twenty-eight years Green
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#17330862283237748-504: The English population migrated to America after 1700, but the colonies attracted new immigrants from other European countries. These immigrants traveled to all of the colonies, but the Middle Colonies attracted the most and continued to be more ethnically diverse than the other colonies. Numerous settlers immigrated from Ireland, both Catholic and Protestant—particularly " New Light " Ulster Presbyterians . Protestant Germans also immigrated in large numbers, particularly to Pennsylvania. In
7897-471: The Great Lakes and Ohio valley. The French and Indian War took on a new significance for the British North American colonists when William Pitt the Elder decided that major military resources needed to be devoted to North America in order to win the war against France. For the first time, the continent became one of the main theaters of what could be termed a world war . During the war, it became increasingly apparent to American colonists that they were under
8046-409: The Lords combined their remaining capital and financed a settlement mission to the area led by Sir John Colleton . The expedition located fertile and defensible ground at Charleston , originally Charles Town for Charles II of England . Beginning in 1609, Dutch traders established fur trading posts on the Hudson River , Delaware River , and Connecticut River , seeking to protect their interests in
8195-458: The Ohio River valley. The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was the American extension of the general European conflict known as the Seven Years' War . Previous colonial wars in North America had started in Europe and then spread to the colonies, but the French and Indian War is notable for having started in North America and spread to Europe. One of the primary causes of the war was increasing competition between Britain and France, especially in
8344-434: The Peace for the County of Suffolk ..." On October 2, 1729, Samuel Keimer , the owner of The Pennsylvania Gazette in Philadelphia, who failed to make a success out of this newspaper, fell into debt and before fleeing to Barbados sold the Gazette to Benjamin Franklin and his partner Hugh Meredith . Under Franklin The Gazette became the most successful newspaper in the colonies. On December 28, 1732, through
8493-403: The Rights of British America in 1774, two years before he drafted the Declaration of Independence. Also in 1774, the Virginia Gazette reprinted the articles of the Continental Association , calling for a boycott on British goods, drafted and signed by members of the First Continental Congress , in response to the Intolerable Acts , which united the colonies in a boycott of British goods and
8642-450: The Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. These copies came to be known as the Dunlap broadsides . John Hancock sent a copy to General Washington and his Continental Army , who were in New York, with instructions that the Declaration be read aloud to Continental Army troops. The Pennsylvania Evening Post was a newspaper published by Benjamin Towne from 1775 to 1783 during the Revolutionary War. The Pennsylvania Evening Post
8791-438: The September 6 issue of The New-York Journal, and Weekly Register , where he continued his criticism of Governor Clinton. In this letter Hamilton referred to himself in the third person , but left instructions to Childs to reveal his name to anyone making inquiries as to the letter's author on behalf of the governor. Revolutionary poet Philip Freneau wrote political editorials for The New York Daily Advertiser , even though he
8940-478: The South. The population of slaves in America grew dramatically between 1680 and 1750, and the growth was driven by a mixture of forced immigration and the reproduction of slaves. Slaves supported vast plantation economies in the South, while slaves in the North worked in a variety of occupations. There were a few local attempted slave revolts, such as the Stono Rebellion and the New York Conspiracy of 1741 , but these uprisings were suppressed. A small proportion of
9089-430: The Stamp Act the often violent protests spread, causing many tax collecting commissioners throughout the colonies to quit their jobs. Benjamin Franklin, while serving as colonial agent in London, had warned the Parliament that the act would only serve to create animosity between the colonies and the British Crown. After much protest the act was repealed in 1766. Newspaper coverage of the Stamp Act, and public protests, marked
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#17330862283239238-404: The United States Congress, as follows: "We will engage to print the Laws of Congress on the following terms": "For every sheet of letter press, including six hundred copies, two dollars and a half," "The paper to be furnished at the expense of the United States". The Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House signed an agreement on June 29 that Childs and Swaine were to be jointly employed in
9387-421: The United States, though there is some debate on that status. Before the Stamp Act of 1765 there were twenty-four newspapers among the colonies, save New Jersey, whose news came from newspapers in neighboring Philadelphia and New York. By 1787 Thomas Jefferson expressed the sentiment now shared by many printers over the idea of freedom of the press when he said, "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have
9536-557: The acts, they formed the Continental Association , which called for a colony wide boycott of British goods. Considered by many historians as the first significant step towards colonial independence, this only served to infuriate King George III . Within months, he sent British troops to Boston, where they participated in the Lexington and Concord in April 1775, the first battles of the American Revolutionary War . The war caused many printers to flee Massachusetts and relocate their shops elsewhere or otherwise close down. Newspapers such as
9685-413: The area south of the Carolinas be colonized with the "worthy poor" of England to provide an alternative to the overcrowded debtors' prisons. Oglethorpe and other English philanthropists secured a royal charter as the Trustees of the colony of Georgia on June 9, 1732. Oglethorpe and his compatriots hoped to establish a utopian colony that banned slavery and recruited only the most worthy settlers, but by 1750
9834-410: The attention of colonial printers and royal colonial officials alike. Other examples included The Halifax Gazette , which also published a highly critical account, proclaiming that "The people of the province were disgusted with the stamp act." The damning paragraph gave great offense to the royal government of that province, and its publisher, Anthony Henry , was called to account for printing what
9983-400: The authority of the British Empire , as British military and civilian officials took on an increased presence in their lives. The war also increased a sense of American unity in other ways. It caused men to travel across the continent who might otherwise have never left their own colony, fighting alongside men from decidedly different backgrounds who were nonetheless still American. Throughout
10132-432: The base for extensive trade with the English colonies, and many products from New England and Virginia were carried to Europe on Dutch ships. The Dutch also engaged in the burgeoning Atlantic slave trade , bringing some enslaved Africans to the English colonies in North America, although many more were sent to Barbados and Brazil. The West India Company desired to grow New Netherland as it became commercially successful, yet
10281-424: The cities of Philadelphia, New York, and Boston had a population of more than 16,000, which was small by European standards. By 1770, the economic output of the Thirteen Colonies made up forty percent of the gross domestic product of the entire British Empire. As the 18th century progressed, colonists began to settle far from the Atlantic coast. Pennsylvania, Virginia, Connecticut, and Maryland all laid claim to
10430-528: The coast, the Roanoke Colony was established in 1585, re-established in 1587, and found abandoned in 1590. The first British colony was Jamestown , established on May 14, 1607 near Chesapeake Bay . The business venture was financed and coordinated by the London Virginia Company , a joint-stock company looking for gold. Its first years were extremely difficult, with very high death rates from disease and starvation, wars with local Indians, and little gold. The colony survived and flourished by turning to tobacco as
10579-556: The colonial seat of government in the major townships or in the remote countryside. Colonial law and news overall was therefore not available in comprehensive print form for the common colonist, whose only knowledge of these things was usually passed on by word of mouth from colonial officials or traveling couriers, or by means of a simple post in a town square . Religious literature was also scarce, and while many colonists possessed bibles, usually brought over from England, they were generally in short supply, while religious literature overall
10728-486: The colonies formed bodies of elected representatives known as Provincial Congresses , and colonists began to boycott imported British merchandise. Later in 1774, 12 colonies sent representatives to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia . During the Second Continental Congress , the remaining colony of Georgia sent delegates as well. Massachusetts Governor Thomas Gage feared a confrontation with
10877-475: The colonies of East and West Florida . In removing a major foreign threat to the thirteen colonies, the war also largely removed the colonists' need for colonial protection. The British and colonists triumphed jointly over a common foe. The colonists' loyalty to the mother country was stronger than ever before. However, disunity was beginning to form. British Prime Minister William Pitt the Elder had decided to wage
11026-407: The colonies' second newspaper, The Boston News-Letter , appeared. Printed by Bartholomew Green for John Campbell, proprietor and Postmaster in Boston, this newspaper was also published in Boston, but had government approval and remained in operation for 74 years until 1776, when the British occupied Boston. The Hartford Courant is considered to be the oldest continuously published newspaper in
11175-546: The colonies, bypassing the colonial legislatures, and Americans began to insist on the principle of " no taxation without representation " with intense protests over the Stamp Act of 1765 . They argued that the colonies had no representation in the British Parliament, so it was a violation of their rights as Englishmen for taxes to be imposed upon them. Parliament rejected the colonial protests and asserted its authority by passing new taxes. Colonial discontentment grew with
11324-455: The colonies. In the 18th century, the British government operated under a policy of mercantilism , in which the central government administered its colonies for Britain's economic benefit. The 13 colonies had a degree of self-governance and active local elections , and they resisted London's demands for more control over them. The French and Indian War (1754–1763) against France and its Indian allies led to growing tensions between Britain and
11473-552: The colonies. Most delegates opposed an attack on the British position in Boston, and the Continental Congress instead agreed to the imposition of a boycott known as the Continental Association . The boycott proved effective and the value of British imports dropped dramatically. The Thirteen Colonies became increasingly divided between Patriots opposed to British rule and Loyalists who supported it. In response,
11622-446: The colonists who relied on them for information prior to the revolution, and who considered the printed distribution of materials an essential means in keeping the overall community informed, while promoting the ideals of freedom they embraced. Newspapers would also play an important role in outlining public debates while the Constitution was being ratified in 1787–1788. The idea of an independent American union began to emerge after
11771-400: The colonists. In the early years of colonial settlement, communication between the various colonies, which were often hundreds of miles apart, was generally restricted to dispatches, hand-written one at a time, then carried by private carriers to their destinations. Prior to 1700, there were no newspapers in the colonies, so official news came slowly, especially to those who lived away from
11920-453: The colonists; he requested reinforcements from Britain, but the British government was not willing to pay for the expense of stationing tens of thousands of soldiers in the Thirteen Colonies. Gage was instead ordered to seize Patriot arsenals. He dispatched a force to march on the arsenal at Concord, Massachusetts , but the Patriots learned about it and blocked their advance. The Patriots repulsed
12069-561: The colony failed to attract the same level of settlement as the English colonies did. Many of those who did immigrate to the colony were English, German, Walloon , or Sephardim . In 1638, Sweden established the colony of New Sweden in the Delaware Valley . The operation was led by former members of the Dutch West India Company, including Peter Minuit. New Sweden established extensive trading contacts with English colonies to
12218-474: The colony remained sparsely populated. The proprietors gave up their charter in 1752, at which point Georgia became a crown colony. The population of the Thirteen Colonies grew immensely in the 18th century. According to historian Alan Taylor , the population was 1.5 million in 1750, which represented four-fifths of the population of British North America . More than 90 percent of the colonists lived as farmers, though some seaports also flourished. In 1760,
12367-407: The colony, dominating the rural areas between Manhattan and Albany, while people from New England started moving in as well as immigrants from Germany. New York City attracted a large polyglot population, including a large black slave population. In 1674, the proprietary colonies of East Jersey and West Jersey were created from lands formerly part of New York. Pennsylvania was founded in 1681 as
12516-624: The colony. More Puritans immigrated in 1629 and established the Massachusetts Bay Colony with 400 settlers. They sought to reform the Church of England by creating a new, ideologically pure church in the New World. By 1640, 20,000 had arrived ; many died soon after arrival, but the others found a healthy climate and an ample food supply. The Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies together spawned other Puritan colonies in New England, including
12665-464: The complete control and censoring of any religious, political or other literature they deemed seditious or otherwise questionable. Among other regulations, it forbade any literature that criticized the Church of England , the State, or the government. The decree bore hard upon all minority parties, but with special severity upon Catholics, Puritans, and separatists. The provisions also gave the authority for
12814-467: The context of each colony, or only lends itself to the mechanics of printing presses and typography, as does Lawrence Wroth in The Colonial Printer . According to Wroth, however, the overall subject of early American printing and publishing as it affected political and social issues in the colonies and how it ultimately led to a revolution, which is the focus of this article, has been pursued with
12963-736: The context of the American Revolution . In London, beginning in 1660, all colonies were governed through a state department known as the Southern Department , and a committee of the Privy Council called the Board of Trade and Plantations . In 1768, a specific state department was created for America, but it was disbanded in 1782 when the Home Office took responsibility. Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, and New Haven Colonies formed
13112-507: The controversy with the British Crown over taxation, freedom of the press and other such rights. A number of printers, including Goddard and Bradford, belonged to the Sons of Liberty and used their printing presses as a means of promoting colonial opposition to the Stamp Act and other royal legislation they deemed unfair to them as colonial Englishmen who lacked representation in the Parliament. The open criticism of such advents coming from
13261-649: The course of forty years, attracted some eleven hundred Indians to the Christian faith, and established fourteen reservations, or "praying towns" for his followers. Along with other religious works, he published what came to be known as the Eliot Indian Bible . Printed by Samuel Green it was the first Bible published in British-American colonies in an effort to introduce Christianity to the Indian peoples. Eliot's Bible
13410-510: The course of the war, British officers trained Americans for battle, most notably George Washington , which benefited the American cause during the Revolution. Also, colonial legislatures and officials had to cooperate intensively in pursuit of the continent-wide military effort. The relations were not always positive between the British military establishment and the colonists, setting the stage for later distrust and dislike of British troops. At
13559-426: The crown. His newspaper was welcomed and received enthusiastically by the colonists, however, it was not approved or well regarded by the colonial governor, especially since it had no official printing license, required by British law at that time. i.e."no person [was to] keep any printing-press for printing, nor [was] any book, pamphlet or other matter whatsoever" without "especial leave and license first obtained" from
13708-447: The direction of the colony. The colonists of Charles Town finally deposed their governor and elected their own government. This marked the start of separate governments in the Province of North-Carolina and the Province of South Carolina . In 1729, the king formally revoked Carolina's colonial charter and established both North Carolina and South Carolina as crown colonies. In the 1730s, Parliamentarian James Oglethorpe proposed that
13857-443: The edges, and often included articles that strongly derided the Stamp Act. Some newspapers printed a death's head with skull and bones where a royal stamp was supposed to appear. The passage of the act also caused many printers to suspend their publications rather than to pay what they strongly felt was an unfair tax and an imposition on their livelihood, subsequently uniting them in their opposition to its legislation. Newspapers were
14006-573: The end of 1773, after the Boston Tea Party , the idea of a colonial independent union with its own government began appearing and promoted in various newspaper articles and essays, most often written by anonymously newspaper editors for fear of reprisal and prosecution. They promoted the idea that there was a need for an “American Congress” that would speak on behalf of the Americans, and in no uncertain terms insisted that an independent American congress should have equal status with British authority. After
14155-459: The ensuing American Revolutionary War that established American independence. The first printing press in the British colonies was established in Cambridge, Massachusetts by owner Elizabeth Glover and printer Stephen Daye . Here, the first colonial broadside , almanack, and book were published. Printing and publishing in the colonies first emerged as a result of religious enthusiasm and over
14304-471: The established Clergy, along with the newspaper of Thomas Prince , The Christian History . Among the dozens of newspapers that existed before and during the American Revolution , many of them proved to be exceptionally noteworthy in terms of criticizing colonial government, promoting freedom of the press, and other freedoms, and furthering the cause for American independence. Newspapers easily accomplished these ends as they had already become indispensable to
14453-487: The events of the French and Indian War . Parker's partner was Benjamin Franklin who often helped printers in getting started. That year Parker also published 10 religious pamphlets, five almanacs and two New York newspapers. He rarely visited New Haven and left his junior partner, John Holt , as the editor of the newspaper. The Gazette had, for a time, a large circulation throughout the Connecticut Colony . The Gazette
14602-453: The failed attempt at Roanoke . It was a private venture, financed by a group of English Lords Proprietors who obtained a Royal Charter to the Carolinas in 1663, hoping that a new colony in the south would become profitable like Jamestown. Carolina was not settled until 1670, and even then the first attempt failed because there was no incentive for emigration to that area. Eventually, however,
14751-412: The first printer to produce a woodcut (of Richard Mather ) in the American colonies and began to produce work on a privately operated press. Before 1660, prosecutions involving seditious news accounts were virtually unknown in the colonies, but a pattern of change became evident in the latter 1600s. Prosecutions involving sedition climbed from a low of only 0.7 percent in the 1660s to 15.1 percent by
14900-592: The first serious colonial challenge to British rule over the colonies. Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America during the 17th and 18th centuries. Grievances against the imperial government led the 13 colonies to begin uniting in 1774, and expelling British officials by 1775. Assembled at the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia , after armed conflict had broken out in April, they appointed George Washington as commander-in-chief of
15049-622: The fur trade. The Dutch West India Company established permanent settlements on the Hudson River, creating the Dutch colony of New Netherland . In 1626, Peter Minuit purchased the island of Manhattan from the Lenape Indians and established the outpost of New Amsterdam . Relatively few Dutch settled in New Netherland, but the colony came to dominate the regional fur trade. It also served as
15198-518: The global British trading network, as the value tripled for exports from America to Britain between 1700 and 1754. The colonists were restricted in trading with other European powers, but they found profitable trade partners in the other British colonies, particularly in the Caribbean. The colonists traded foodstuffs, wood, tobacco, and various other resources for Asian tea, West Indian coffee, and West Indian sugar, among other items. American Indians far from
15347-406: The governor. As one historian put it, "the first newspaper published in America became the first to be suppressed by the authorities." In 1695, Harris returned to England where he was arrested for publishing his newspaper. The first successful newspaper in America was The Boston News-Letter , which appeared in 1704, and until 1719 it was the only newspaper published in the colonies. In 1704,
15496-600: The identity of the author. After being released, James resumed his printing practice. Franklin's newspaper had been current for only four months when it was ordered shut down, where he was "... strictly forbidden by this Court to print or publish the New-England Courant , or any other pamphlet or paper of the like nature, except it be first supervised by the Secretary of this Province; and the Justices of His Majesty's Sessions of
15645-573: The land in the Ohio River valley. The colonies engaged in a scramble to purchase land from Indian tribes, as the British insisted that claims to land should rest on legitimate purchases. Virginia was particularly intent on western expansion, and most of the elite Virginia families invested in the Ohio Company to promote the settlement of the Ohio Country . The British American colonies became part of
15794-491: The later 17th-century and into the 18th-century, and were mostly found in Puritan writings and publications, often resulting in charges of libel and sedition levied by the British Crown. The Puritans already had a history for being persecuted for printing and distributing their views in England, openly criticizing the Church of England . In 1637 King Charles passed a Star Chamber decree outlining 33 regulations that provided for
15943-463: The morality of the Act – an effort that often invited charges of sedition and libel from royal colonial authorities. Newspaper printers and publishers felt the new tax would greatly increase the costs of their newspapers and other publications, and would likely cause much of their readership to drop their subscriptions. Many newspaper editors protested the Stamp Act by printing editions with black boarders along
16092-547: The most visible and outspoken opponents of colonial taxation, whose voices were echoed in numerous colonial newspapers and pamphlets. Boston was at the center of rebellion before the revolution broke out into armed conflict. The Boston Gazette , established April 7, 1755, by Edes and Gill, was considered the "pet of the patriots". Its pages featured New England's editorial battles for American freedom and voiced opinion from men such as Samuel Adams , Joseph Warren , John Adams , Thomas Cushing , Samuel Cooper and others, over
16241-522: The north during their early histories. In 1752 Jonathan Mayhew , the founder of Unitarian Church in America, openly criticized the colonial government in Massachusetts. One of Mayhew's sermons, during an election, strongly promoted the Republican form of government. His sermon was published just after the colonial Assembly passed a bill imposing various custom duties. The bill was strongly attacked in
16390-465: The passage of the 1773 Tea Act , which reduced taxes on tea sold by the East India Company in an effort to undercut the competition, and Prime Minister North's ministry hoped that this would establish a precedent of colonists accepting British taxation policies. Trouble escalated over the tea tax, as Americans in each colony boycotted the tea, and those in Boston dumped the tea in the harbor during
16539-413: The practice of religion. The other colonies were founded for business and economic expansion. The Middle Colonies were established on the former Dutch colony of New Netherland . Between 1625 and 1775, the colonial population grew from 2 thousand to 2.4 million, largely displacing the region's Native Americans . The population included people subject to a system of slavery , which was legal in all of
16688-407: The press often brought accusations of printing libelous and seditious material. The plentiful historical accounts of the colonial period still have brought little investigation into how printers affected the religious, social and political growth in the colonies. Most scholarship on printers and publishing in the colonies confines itself to either an account of individuals such as Isaiah Thomas in
16837-459: The presses in the New England colonies, sometimes in an effort to counter the attacks made on Puritans by George Keith and others. Between 1724 and 1728 he printed sixty-three titles on colonial presses. He is noted for his Magnalia Christi Americana , published in 1702, which outlines the religious development of Massachusetts, and other nearby colonies in New England from 1620 to 1698. In an effort to promote Puritan ethics, he wrote, Ornaments for
16986-618: The printing of the Laws of Congress. On July 2 Childs and Swaine were also commissioned "to print the laws of the United States until further order of Government". Their printing contract with the government was promptly announced in the July 3 issue of their newspaper, The New York Daily Advertiser : ""Gentlemen who wish to be supplied with copies of the Laws of the United States, are requested to make their application to Francis Childs and John Swaine, printers in New York, who are entrusted, by Congress, with
17135-522: The printing of the same". The price of the laws was set at one dollar. The laws were to be printed on "fine paper and a new type". Early American publishers and printers Early American publishers and printers played a central role in the social, religious, political and commercial development of the Thirteen Colonies in British America prior to and during the American Revolution and
17284-577: The printing was conducted as privately as possible and bore the London imprint from which it was copied, to avoid prosecution and detection of the unauthorized printing. In the process Kneeland was printing the first Bible ever produced from the Boston Press. Cotton Mather was a Puritan minister in New England and a prolific author of books and pamphlets and is considered one of the most important intellectual figures in colonial America. Mather made free use of
17433-550: The punishment of unlawful publications in the colonies where such impositions were employed in an effort to silence the Puritans. Archbishop William Laud in particular was the most persistent in preventing and punishing unauthorized printing of religious, political and other material. By 1730, however, enforcing these provisions, in the colonies, which included the licensing of printing presses, prior approval of literature slated for publication, etc., became increasingly difficult. In 1663, English Puritan missionary John Eliot over
17582-598: The remainder of New Netherland. The 1667 Treaty of Breda ended the Second Anglo-Dutch War and confirmed English control of the region. The Dutch briefly regained control of parts of New Netherland in the Third Anglo-Dutch War but surrendered claim to the territory in the 1674 Treaty of Westminster , ending the Dutch colonial presence in America. The British renamed the colony of New Amsterdam to "York City" or "New York". Large numbers of Dutch remained in
17731-513: The same time there was a need for the General Assembly to establish a press and appoint an official printer to perform the printing of legislative acts in the colonies. With the invention of the printing press a powerful tool was given to the common class who naturally was inclined to publicly challenge monarchial authority. In relatively little time the potential influence of the printing press became evident in many countries and increased with
17880-503: The scarcity and subsequent great demand for bibles and other religious literature. By the mid-18th century, printing took on new proportions with the newspapers that began to emerge, especially in Boston . When the British Crown began imposing new taxes, many of these newspapers became highly critical and outspoken about the British colonial government, which was widely considered unfair among
18029-465: The south and shipped much of the tobacco produced in Virginia. The colony was conquered by the Dutch in 1655, while Sweden was engaged in the Second Northern War . Beginning in the 1650s, the English and Dutch engaged in a series of wars , and the English sought to conquer New Netherland. Richard Nicolls captured the lightly defended New Amsterdam in 1664, and his subordinates quickly captured
18178-499: The technology of printing saw little change from the middle of the seventeenth century to the end of the eighteenth, its usefulness broadened considerably during this time. The first printing press arrived in the colonies in 1638. It belonged to Elizabeth Glover and was operated by Stephen Daye and was part of the founding of Harvard University . This press was established to allow the printing of religious works without fear of interference from Parliament . Its first printing turned out
18327-640: The territory of Louisiana west of the Mississippi River the previous year. Before the war, Britain held the thirteen American colonies, most of present-day Nova Scotia , and most of the Hudson Bay watershed. Following the war, Britain gained all French territory east of the Mississippi River, including Quebec, the Great Lakes, and the Ohio River valley. Britain also gained Spanish Florida , from which it formed
18476-657: The third newspaper to appear in Boston and the fourth in the colonies. Founded in Boston by James Franklin , Benjamin Franklin's older brother, who was started in retaliation for losing his printing job at the Boston Gazette when its ownership changed hands and the printing was given to Samuel Kneeland. Writing under the assumed name of Silence Dogood , Benjamin Franklin wrote more than a dozen articles. One such article led to James Franklin's month long imprisonment in 1726 by British colonial authorities for printing what they considered seditious articles after he refused to reveal
18625-593: The time the only newspaper in Providence , was first published October 20, 1762, by William Goddard , and later with his sister Mary Katherine Goddard . The Providence Gazette was published weekly and passionately defended the rights of the colonies before the revolution and ably supported the cause of the country during the war. After American independence was established following the war it continued to promote federal republican principles . The Pennsylvania Chronicle , published by William Goddard, whose first edition
18774-442: The trial of John Peter Zenger who was tried for libel in New York in 1735 for allegedly libeling Governor William Cosby , but was freed on the basis that Zenger's account was true. The now landmark case proved to be an importance step toward establishing freedom of the press in the colonies. The British government subsequently felt that the printing and publishing trade as practiced in the colonies undermined their authority. While
18923-466: The trial of Thomas Maule in 1696, when he publicly criticized the conduct of Puritans during one of the Salem Witch Trials . For publishing his work, Truth Held Forth and Maintained , he was arraigned as the first person in the province to be prosecuted for the crime of libel. Maule was sentenced to receive ten lashings for saying that Rev. John Higginson "preached lies, and that his instruction
19072-418: The vehicle that asserted the greatest social and political pressure on the Stamp Act and were instrumental in its repeal less than a year later. The Constitutional Courant was a single issue colonial American newspaper published in response to the Stamp Act. Printed by William Goddard under the assumed name of Andrew Marvel, the newspaper vociferously attacked the Stamp Act in strong language, which caught
19221-431: The war in the colonies with the use of troops from the colonies and tax funds from Britain itself. This was a successful wartime strategy but, after the war was over, each side believed that it had borne a greater burden than the other. The British elite, the most heavily taxed of any in Europe, pointed out angrily that the colonists paid little to the royal coffers. The colonists replied that their sons had fought and died in
19370-451: The years, despite all the efforts at censorship by the ruling class. In 1660, Marmaduke Johnson was sent over from England to work with Samuel Green in the printing of a Bible translated into an Indian language by John Eliot . When this enormous task was completed Johnson returned to England, and within a year came back to the colonies with his own printing press with the intention of starting his own private enterprise. Laws requiring
19519-521: Was Samuel Loudon , Thomas Greenleaf , Archibald McLean, and John Fenno who all submitted applications for this important contract. Childs and Swaine submitted a joint petition to the House of representatives on May 15, 1789, and were awarded the contract. On June 9, 1789, Childs and Swaine jointly addressed Samuel Allyne Otis , Secretary of the United States Senate, and John J. Beckley , Librarian of
19668-655: Was a translation of the Geneva Bible into the Algonquian language commonly spoken by the Indians in Massachusetts. In 1752, Samuel Kneeland and his partner Bartholomew Green, commissioned by Daniel Henchman, printed an edition of the King James Bible that was the first Bible printed in America in the English language. As the British Crown owned the printing rights it was illegal to print this Bible in America. Subsequently,
19817-470: Was arrested and, for refusing to divulge the name of the writer of the newspaper article, was sent to jail and harsly interrogated for several days. Fowle became disgusted with the Government of Massachusetts and removed to Portsmouth and bought out New Hampshire Gazette , where he would publicly criticize the Stamp Act of 1765. Religious perspectives became prominent in colonial American literature during
19966-475: Was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony over theological disagreements; he founded the settlement based on an egalitarian constitution, providing for majority rule "in civil things" and "liberty of conscience" in religious matters. In 1637, a second group including Anne Hutchinson established a second settlement on Rhode Island , today called Aquidneck. Samuel Gorton and others established
20115-519: Was cause for great concern among many of the colonists who were already struggling financially and felt that they had already contributed heavily, with lives, property and money towards a war that was mostly fought on American soil. Before long colonial indifference turned into public protests and open revolt, while publishers and printers began turning out newspapers and pamphlets that pointedly expressed their anger and sense of injustice. Notable figures such as James Otis Jr. and Samuel Adams were among
20264-449: Was continued by Parker & Company till 1764, was briefly suspended, but was later revived by Benjamin Mecom. Its motto, printed on its front page read, "Those who would give up Essential Liberty, to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety". The Gazette , like other newspapers of that period, was highly critical of the Stamp Act. The Providence Gazette , at
20413-509: Was in great demand among the colonists. As the British Parliament continued imposing additional taxes, especially in 1765 with the Stamp Act , several colonial newspapers and pamphlets began openly editorializing against British policies and supporting the aims of the American Revolution . The most notable printers of the time included Benjamin Franklin , William Goddard , William Bradford and others, who were politically involved in
20562-541: Was looked upon by Puritan colonial authorities with a weary eye, requiring a license from the general assembly to operate, the printing trade emerged slowly. Salem was the third town in the Colonies, after Cambridge and Boston, to see the introduction of a printing press, and Newport soon followed. Many printers were accused of sedition and libel for publishing critical accounts of various colonial authority. The first such significant case of press censorship presented itself during
20711-523: Was not its editor and an anti-federalist. In the 1780s before Childs began printing for the government, he worked with Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia helping him set up his national network of printers. After ratification of the United States Constitution on June 21, 1788, the competition over the public printing contract for the newly established government became stringent among the leading printers in New York. Along with Childs, there
20860-571: Was published by Kneeland & Greene, with Thomas Prince Jr. , as editor and publisher, was issued regularly for two years, from March 5, 1743, to February 23, 1745. Prince authored other works, including his definitive 1744 work, An Account of the Revival of Religion in Boston in the Years 1740-1-2-3 . After the costly French and Indian War , Britain was heavily in debt and began taxing her colonies, without proper colonial representation in Parliament. This
21009-423: Was published on January 6, 1767, was the fourth newspaper to be printed in the English language established in Philadelphia, and the first newspaper in the northern colonies to have four columns to a page. John Dunlap was commissioned by the Second Continental Congress to print 200 broadsides of the Declaration of Independence , which was authored predominantly by Thomas Jefferson and unanimously adopted by
21158-414: Was ratified. They also published several works of the first Congress which met in 1791, in New York City. Childs was the printer and publisher of The New York Daily Advertiser , the third daily newspaper paper to appear in the United States. Its first issue was published on Thursday, March 1, 1785, with its final issue appearing on August 30, 1806. Since it was an independent upstart newspaper it realized
21307-451: Was settled by English Puritan separatists, known today as the Pilgrims . The Dutch, Swedish, and French also established successful American colonies at roughly the same time as the English, but they eventually came under the English crown. The Thirteen Colonies were complete with the establishment of the Province of Georgia in 1732, although the term "Thirteen Colonies" became current only in
21456-571: Was the Ein Geistliches Magazin , by Sower in 1764. In 1719, the Boston Gazette was established in Boston and the first newspaper in Philadelphia , The American Weekly Mercury , was founded by Andrew Bradford . In 1736, the first newspaper in to emerge in Virginia was the Virginia Gazette , founded by William Rind in Virginia. Rind was soon appointed public printer. This gazette printed Thomas Jefferson 's A Summary View of
21605-454: Was the doctrine of devils." With the 1727 arrival of James Franklin , Newport, Rhode Island became the fourth New England town with a printing press. Franklin had removed to the more liberal town of Newport from Boston because of the ordeals he had experienced when he criticized various official and religious dignitaries in his newspaper, The New-England Courant , which he was jailed for in 1722. Another definitive example involved
21754-589: Was the first newspaper to publish the Declaration of Independence and the first daily newspaper to be established in the United States. In 1740, there were 16 newspapers, all published weekly, in British America . By the time the American Revolutionary War commenced in 1775, the number had grown to 37 with most of them editorialized in support of the American patriot cause and independence from Britain . Many printers in England who were printing literature promoting
21903-574: Was the first printer in the United States to publish a complete Hebrew Bible . Robert Aitken , a Philadelphia printer who arrived there in 1769, was the first to publish the Bible and the New Testament in the English language in the newly formed United States. The Christian History , a weekly journal, featured various accounts of the revival and propagation of religion in Great-Britain and America. It
22052-469: Was the public printer to the province of Maryland. Joseph Galloway , a close friend of Franklin, opposed the Revolution as a Tory , and by 1778 had fled to England. Like many Tories he believed, as he asserted in this pamphlet, that the Revolution was, to a considerable extent, a religious quarrel, caused by Presbyterians and Congregationalists and the circular letters and other accounts they had printed and distributed. Benjamin Franklin, however, raised as
22201-621: Was where the American newspaper emerged, and where it was nurtured through its initial stages. Initially newspapers were delivered through the mails at no charge for postage until 1758. On September 25, 1690, the first newspaper to emerge in the British colonies in America was the Publick Occurrences Both Forreign and Domestick , printed and published in Boston by Richard Pierce for Benjamin Harris . Harris had fled England for fear of religious persecution and speaking out against
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