Journalism in the United States from 1690 to 1872

800 Pages·1873·39.372 MB·English

by  Frederic Hudson

JOURNALISM
IN THE
UNITED
STATES,
FROM 1690 TO 1872.
BY FREDERIC HUDSON.
NEW YORK:
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,
FRANKLIN SQUARE.
1873.
THE
PRESS,
The Argus of the World, the Ear-Gallery of the Globe, the Reporter of
the Universe.
EnteredaccordingtoActofCongress,intheyear1872,by
HARPER &. BROTHERS,
In the Office of the Librarian ofCongress, at Washington.
THESE SKETCHES
ARE
RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED
TO THE
JOURNALISTS
OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

NOTE.
THE reader will find various styles of typography and various
modes of spelling proper names and words on the pages ofthis
work. Ourpurposehasbeento followthe fashion ofprintingwhich
prevailed atthe timethe newspapers,fromwhich extractshavebeen
taken,were printed, and also to adhere to the orthography ofthose
journals as indulged in during the whole ofthe eighteenth century.
This will be particularly observable in the advertisements of the
almanacswhichappearedtowardsthe closeofthatcentury,inwhich,
aswell as in otherinstances,wehave endeavoredto give anidea of
the manner ofdisplay prevalent at the time.
A

CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION Page xv
OUR OWN OPENING xxi
THE FIRST NEWSPAPERS IN THE WORLD.
The Proof-Sheet. News Circulars and Letters. The Newspaper. The first
in theWorld. The first in America. The Prospectus. The Official Organ.
TheJournal. Advertisements. ThePenny Press. News-boys. Nowand
Then. xxviii
..
NEWSPAPERS IN AMERICA.
FIRST ERA.
1690 IWk.
THE BEGINNING IN MASSACHUSETTS.
CHAPTER
I.
THE INITIAL NEWSPAPER.
Harris's Publick Occurrences in Boston. Its Editor and Publisher. Its Con-
tents. ItsoneDay'sExistence. ThereprintedLondonGazetteinNewYork,
byWilliamBradford 43
SECOND ERA.
170U VIA.
THE COLONIAL PRESS.
CHAPTER
II.
THE EARLY PRESS OF BOSTON AND PHILADELPHIA.
The Boston News-Letter. Dependence ofPrinters on the Authorities. John
Campbell. His News Circulars. The early Postmasters the first Editors.
Circulation oftheNews-Letter. The first Reporting. Home Intelligence.
AppealstoSubscribers. BostonGazetteandPhiladelphiaMercury. William
Brooker. JamesandBenjamin Franklin. AndrewBradford. Conflictswith
the governing Classes. The first NewspaperWar. BusyBody. The Orig-
inalJenkins. Fashions. Troubles with the Clergy. Increase and Cotton
Mather. ImprisonmentofJames Franklin,etc 51
CHAPTER
III.
THE FIRST NEWSPAPER IN NEW YORK.
The Gazette. Its Commencement by William Bradford. The Bible. Premi-
ums for Subscribers. New England Weekly Journal. Samuel Kneeland.
TheMails. DifficultiesincirculatingNewspapers. StyleofWriters,etc.. 72
iv Contents.
CHAPTER IV.
REAPPEARANCE OF THE FRANKLINS.
TheWayBenjamin Franklinstarteda Paperin Philadelphia. Samuel Keimer.
ThePennsylvaniaGazette. TheFleetsinBoston. MotherGooseMelodies.
The Fashions. MoreTroublewiththeAuthorities. BostonEvening Post.
Zenger's New YorkJournal. Arrest ofZenger. The first Libel Suit in
America. Andrew Hamilton's great Speech. The popularVerdict. The
JoyofthePeople. TheDawn ofLiberty. TheNewYorkGazette. William
Bradford. The Post-Boy. James Parker. Personal Description ofan early
NewYorkEditor. JamesFranklinin Newport. The Rhode IslandGazette.
Newport then and now,etc "..Page 77
CHAPTER V.
THE PRESS AT THE SOUTH.
Commencementin SouthCarolina. The Gazette. ThefirstNewspaperinVir-
ginia. The Gazette. Boston Weekly Post-Boy. Ellis Huske. The Brad-
fords ofPennsylvania. The Stamp Act. Indignation in Printing-offices.
John Hughes,the StampCommissioner. Carriers'Addresses. The first Pa-
perinMaryland. TheGazetteagain. ToujoursPerdrix. VeryoldPrinting-
press. The Beginningofthe GermanNewspapers,etc 96
THIRD ERA.
171.8 1783.
THE REVOLUTIONARY PRESS.
CHAPTER VI.
THE PRE-REVOLUTIONARY NEWSPAPERS.
Our Patriotic Editors and Publishers. The Sons ofLiberty. Who Wrote for
theNewspapers. OpeningoftheRevolutionaryBall. TheBostonIndepend-
ent Advertiser. Samuel Adams. New York Mercury. Hugh Gaine's Ga-
zette. PhilipFreneau,thePoet. TheAdamses,Warrens,andQuincys. Bos-
ton Gazette. Shed's Grocery-store. Boston Massacre. Throwing the Tea
overboard. Imprisonment ofDaniel Fowle. Newport (R.I.) Mercury.
JamesFranklin,Jr. AnnFranklin. The FranklinPrinting-presses. Impris-
onment ofAlexanderM'Dougall,etc. 102
CHAPTER VII.
SPREAD OF THE REVOLUTIONARY SPIRIT.
The Connecticut Courant. Scarcity ofRags for Paper-mills. Appeals for old
Cotton and Linen. Curiosities of the old Rag Shops. History repeating
itself. TheAmericanRag-bag. The MarylandGazette. CharlesCarroll,of
Carrollton. The Virginia Resolutions. Mottoes and Devices. Opinions of
SirWilliam Berkeley and HenryA.Wise. NewYorkJournal. Alexander
M'Dougall. RoyalGazetteer. JamesRivington. AttackonRivington'sOf-
fice. AlexanderHamilton. BostonChronicle. JohnMein. SalemGazette.
HarvardCollege. NathanielWillis,etc 113
CHAPTER VIII.
THE REVOLUTIONARY CRISIS.
The Massachusetts Spy. IsaiahThomas. The British Organ. Massachuset-
tensis. Join or Die. Paul Revere's Midnight Ride. The Concord Fight.
Worcester Spy. Rivington's RoyalGazette. Curious InterviewwithColonel
Ethan Allen. MajorAndre andtheCow Chase. Freneau's Satires,etc. 127
Contents.
CHAPTER IX.
CLOSE OF THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.
Increase ofNewspapers. The IndependentChronicle. DeathofGeneralWar-
ren. William Gordon,the Historian. Publication ofHistories and Geogra-
phies. -NewYorkPacket. Samuel Loudon. Death ofJames Otis. News-
papers in NewJersey. The first NewYork Directory. The Greenbacks of
the last Century. NumberofPapersprinted atthe closeoftheRevolutionary
Struggle, etc Page 136
FOURTH ERA.
1783 1832.
THE POLITICAL PARTY PRESS.
CHAPTER X.
ORGANIZATION OF THE GREAT POLITICAL PARTIES.
After the Revolution. The Beginningofthe Federal andRepublican Parties.
Metternich's Opinion. StampActs. NamesofCliques. Contributorstothe
Press. Newspapers inExistence. Independent Gazette. American Citizen.
JamesCheetham. StateofSociety. AaronBurr's SuitagainsttheCitizen.
TheatreinNewYork. "VivatRespublica." Box8s.,Pit6s.,Gallery4^-.
Massachusetts Centinel. MajorBenjamin Russell. Shay's Rebellion. Fed-
eral Constitution. Real andimaginary Processions. The War ofEditors.
King Louis Philippe. The Black Cockade. Death of the Federal Party.
Gerrymandering. New Hampshire Gazette. Connecticut Courant 141
CHAPTER XL
THE NEWSPAPERS ON THE PENDING QUESTIONS.
The RestorationoftheToriestoCitizenship. SocietyofCincinnati. TheAlien
and Sedition Laws. Virginia Resolutions. Prosecutions of Newspapers.
Law ofLibel in Massachusetts. The Common Law ofEngland "the Birth-
right ofeveryAmerican." Benjamin Austin andThomas O. Selfridge. As-
sassination ofCharles Austin. The Massachusetts StampAct. Tax on Ad-
vertisements. Benjamin Edes and IsaiahThomas. Worcester Spy. Ameri-
can Titles. The Rise and Fall ofNewspapers. The first Express. Salem
Register and Salem Gazette. ChiefJustice Story on Newspaper Personal-
ities 158
CHAPTER XII.
THE FIRST DAILY NEWSPAPERS.
TheAmericanDailyAdvertiserofPhiladelphia. ZachariahPoulson. TheNew
YorkDailyAdvertiser. WashingtoninNewYork. Freneau. ThePortland
Daily Courier. Junius and the Federalist. When and where published.
Interesting Incidents. NewYork Gazette. John Lang. Shipping News.
OldLang'sSign. UnitedStatesGazette andNorthAmericanofPhiladelphia.
JohnFenno. Joseph R.Chandler. Newspaper Enterprise. TenJournals
inone. ImpartialIntelligencer 175
CHAPTER XIII.
NOTABLE JOURNALS.
National Gazette ofPhiladelphia. The celebrated Philip Fr'eneau. Organ of
Thomas Jefferson. Violent Attacks on Washington. His Complaints in
Cabinet Council. NewYorkTime-piece. Matthew L. Davis. Newspapers
inNewJersey. MassachusettsMercury. "ImmutablyImpartial." Harry
Blake,the Ship-news Compiler. Incidents in his Life. Topliff'sNews-room
vi Contents.
in Boston. Noah Webster. NewYorkCommercial Advertiser. Colonel
William L. Stone. Anecdote ofJames G. Percival. Thurlow Weed and
Hugh Hastings 185
CHAPTER XIV.
THE PRESS AT THE WEST.
TheCentinel ofthe NorthwesternTerritory. FirstJournalistofthe Northwest.
Posmasters as Publishers. Western Spy and Sol.Smith. Newspapers in
Cincinnati. The Gazette. Charles Hammond. The first daily Paper. In-
troductionofSteam Presses. Symmes'sHole. Horse Expresses. Cash Re-
ceiptsofNewspapers. CincinnatiCommercial. MuratHalsted. TheThom-
ases inJournalism. Cincinnati Chronicle and Times. Ohio Statesman.
Newspapers in Indiana and Missouri. St.Louis Republican. Sale ofthe
Democrat. Journalism in Chicago. War with the Blondes. The Press in
Wisconsin. ThurlowWeedandWilliamL.Stone. NewspapersinKansas.
The FrontierIndex,etc Page 195
CHAPTER XV.
TWO REMARKABLE NEWSPAPERS.
ThePhiladelphiaAurora. BenjaminFranklinBacheandWilliamDuane. Sav-
ageAttackonWashington. Curious IncidentinIndia. ExpulsionofDuane.
TheAlienandSedition Laws. TrialsandConvictionsofEditors. Serious
Riots in Philadelphia. Alexander Hamilton's Libel Suit against the New
York Argus. New York Evening Post. William Coleman. Extraordinary
Duel. InterestingCoincident. TheodoreDwight. Fitz Greene Halleckand
John Rodman Drake. William Cullen Bryant and William Leggett. The
FoodofanEditor. TheBeeandColumbian. NewspaperCirculation. Gales
and Seaton. James Montgomery,the Poet. The Lay Preacher,etc 210
CHAPTER XVI.
THE OFFICIAL ORGANS IN WASHINGTON.
The Organs oftheWorld Thefirst NewspaperintheNational Capital. Na-
tional Intelligencer. Gales and Seaton. Organs of the Government.^-Con-
gressional Printing. NationalJournal. Advent ofJackson. The United
States Telegraph and DuffGreen. The Quarrel ofJackson and Calhoun.
ThomasH.Benton. The Globe. Francis P.BlairandAmos Kendall. John
C.Rives. The Spectator and Constitution. Intrigues and Incidents. The
Union. ThomasRitchie. Congressional Globe. InterestingReminiscences.
TheNullificationProclamation. The Madisonian. The Republic. News-
papersofTo-day,etc 230
CHAPTER XVII.
THE DEMOCRATIC TRIUMVIRATE.
The Charleston (S.C.) Courier,James Gordon Bennett's Newspaper Cradle.
Morning Chronicle ofNewYork. Washington Irving andCharles Dickens.
Jonathan Oldstyle andBoz. SingularDuel. HarryCroswell,ofthe Hud-
sonBalance. SuitagainsthimforanAttackonJefferson. OpinionsofAlex-
ander Hamilton. TheTriumvirate. Richmond Enquirer. Thomas Ritchie.
AndrewJacksonon Ritchie. TragicalDuelbetweenJohn H.Pleasantsand
ThomasRitchie,Jr. NewHampshirePatriotandIsaacHill. "Origin"ofthe
War on the United States Bank. TheAlbany Register and Solomon South-
wick. NathanielH.Carter. MobbingtheBaltimoreRepublican. TheAlba-
ny ArgusandEdwinCroswell. Public Printing. The Regency. Judge Kent
onNewspapers. James Gordon Bennettandthe CourierandEnquirer.. 262