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P'VJE 20 - PLAINDEALER-WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15. 1975 They made it happen . . . Colonial Newspapers forged The War of Independence By EDWIN EMERY Reprinted by Permission of Editor and Publisher On the night of April 18, 1775, the most skilled en­ graver in the American colonies, Paul Revere, joined in the midnight ride to Lex­ ington to shout the warning, 'The British are coming." A key assignment was to rout out of bed at a Lexington inn two of his associates in the group of patriots who made plans in the Boston Gazette office. Samuel Adams, dubbed the "Grand Incendi­ ary ol the Province" by Govern^ Thomas Hutchin­ son, would have been arrest­ ed by the British troops, along with his companion that night, John Hancock, who within a month was to become the president of the Second Continental Congress and eventual bold signer of the Declaration of Independence. The Colonial Press -- "they made it all happen"! One of the witnesses to the ill-fated April 19 British at­ tacks at Lexington and Con­ cord was the 26-year-old editor-publisher of the Massa­ chusetts Spy, Isaiah Thomas. He had printed his last issue in Boston April 6, hauled his press out of the city by wagon at night west to the safety of Worcester, aroused militia to go to battle, and finally re­ turned to Worcester to pub­ lish the Spy again May 3 with his uncompromising hymn of hate in the opening para­ graph: "AMERICANS! forever bear in mind the BATTLE of LEXINGTON! -- where British troops, unmolested and unprovoked, wantonly, and in a most inhuman man­ ner fired upon and killed a number of our countrymen, then robbed them of their provisions, ransacked, plun­ dered and humeri their houses! nor could the fears of defenceless women, some of whom were in the pains of childbirth, the cries of help­ less babes, nor the prayers of old age, confined to beds of sickness, appease their thirst for blood! -- or divert them from their DESIGN of MUR­ DER and ROBBERY!" The Essex Gazette in Salem had printed a similar report April 25, the New York Journal spread the news May 4. History records that 8 colonials died on the green at Lexington, another 30 were killed or wounded before the British retreated from Con­ cord bridge to Boston with losses of 247 killed and wounded. The contemporary accounts estimated 112 British killed and 103 wound­ ed, for a total of 215, as against losses of 35 "country folk." This was fairly ac­ curate, and provocative, journalism. The Colonial Press -- "they made it all happen!" What was happening? The 37 colonial weeklies which were publishing April 19, 1775, had the culminating story in a long, diffuse series to tell. The years of argu­ ment, of persuasive writing by Sam Adams, John Dickin­ son, and Isaiah Thomas, now were at climax. Blood had been spilled. The Continental Congress soon would name George Washington com­ mander of the militia encir­ cling Boston; blood would flow again at Bunker Hill; Ethan Allan would seize Ticonderoga and haul its can­ non to Boston so Washington could use them to drive the British from the city in March 1776. Tom Paine would write his best-seller pamphlet, "Common Sense." The Boston Gazette would bring its press back from Watertown, and would be ready to print the Dectaration of Independence emerging from the efforts of Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Richard Henry Lee, and the pen of Thomas Jeffer­ son. The Colonial Press -- they made it all happen." At this crucial turning point in a nation's history, like so many other crucial turning points, people acted because they got the news, and sensed they were becoming a part of history. They got the news because workmanlike printers, gifted writers, politically-sensitive editor- publishers, and their patriotic associates were determined to use every scrap of informa­ tion, every incident, every opportunity to advance their cause, tell their story, argue their case. As the New York Journal said in its March 19, 1767, issue, in a comment about newspapers noted by press historian Frederic B. Farrar: "By the Means of this common Channel of Intelligence, many useful Matters are brought to light." In 1775 and 1776, there were printers, editors, and writers who stimulated the public debate and precipitated events as skillfully as did the men and women of the mass media of 1974 and 1975. Governor Hutchinson, the Loyalist victim of years of relentless pressures by the Spy and Gazette, said in his memoirs of Sam Adams: ". . . for nearly twenty years a writer against govern­ ment in the public news­ papers, at .first but any indif­ ferent one; long practice caused him to arrive at great perfection-, and to acquire a talent of artfully and fal­ laciously insinuating into the minds of his readers a pre­ judice against the character of all whom he attacked, beyond any other man I ever knew." Testimony to the impact of the colonial press on the course of the Revolution abounds. Journalism historian Willard G. Bleyer quotes a 1776 lament from a New York Loyalist: "Among other Engines, which have raised the present Commotion next to the inde­ cent Harangues of the Preachers, none has had a more extensive or stronger Influence than the News­ papers of the respective Colonies. One is astonished to see with what Avidity they are sought after, and how implicitly they are believed, by the great Bulk of the People." By 1781 Patriot publisher Isaac Collins of the New Jersey Gazette was telling his readers that in 1780, 'The British government expended upwards of Fifty Thousand Guineas on hirelings employ­ ed to tell lies in pamphlets and in the newspapers in Europe and America. The present year will probably cost them double that sum, as their affairs are in a more Critical state . . ." Journalism historian Frank Luther Mott summed it up when he said: "Of the three great media of propaganda in the Revolution -- the omni­ present pamphlet, the ser­ mons of the political clergy, and the newspaper -- it was the last which made the greatest gain." General Washington had financed Isaac Collins so he could have a paper in New Jersey, had recruited printers and print- paper makers, and found Tom Paine as a writer. The 37 weeklies alive on April 19, 1775, lost 17 of their number by war's end. Thirty-three new papers appeared and 15 survived, so that there were 35 in course of publication when Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown. Only 8 out of 1,000 population were sub­ scribers, "but the precious copies were read and passed along countless times. At the close of the Revolution the biggest cities were ready for daily journalism, and the press had won its place among essential American institu­ tions. Colonial press authority Clarence Brigham counted 2,120 newspapers founded between 1690 and 1820, of which 512 were publishing in 1820 -- a great leap forward from Revolutionary days. Were one to pick 10 in­ dividuals who "made it all happen" he might list the following group, then return to name another 10 who also heavily contributed to the impact of the Colonial Press upon the Revolution. First, thumbnail sketches of 10 of the leading printers, editors, and writers of the pre- Revolutionary press: Benjamin Harris -- One must start with the man who published the first newspaper in the colonies, Publick Oc­ currences, in Boston in 1690. A talented editor, he made an abortive effort to print with­ out prior restraint, tell the truth; and criticize the authorities -- and was stopped from printing his second issue. But he set the tone for those who were to follow. James Franklin -- Half- brother of the more famous Ben, rebellious against the religious-political leadership of Boston, he founded the New England Courant (1721- 26) as the second controver­ sial paper in the city. Other Boston papers had checked with authorities before print­ ing; James Franklin defied them. He brought life to American journalism by culti­ vating literary style, enter­ taining readers as well as informing them. Benjamin Franklin -- The colonial genius who first of all was a great master printer, then an effective writer, suc­ cessful newspaper publisher, expert engraver, "father" of advertising copywriting, colonial postmaster-general, book and magazine publisher, scientist, diplomat, and politi­ cian. He took over the Penn- Big Thursday-Friday-Saturday Shop Early! Days Sale At Ben Franklin £ I4MF 66< Tulip Bulbs REG. '2.66 PKG. of 25 ASSORTED COLORS SALE PRICE ONLY BAG OF 18 ALL RED EMPEROR *2<>o *2.00 IX4MF 79' Shredded Foam Bed Pillow REG. '1.79 17" x 21" SALE PRICE ONLY •100 •"* Of Wmt Knit Dish Clothes CANNON REG. 25' EA. IPKG. OF 6 SALE PRICE ONLY 99 4 SAVE 25' ff. Pgpjy [J0Se -REG. 69' * ONE SIZE-FASHION COLORS 100% SHEER NYLON SUPER STRETCH SALE PRICE ONLY 44* •PAIR sm 'uo 5 Day Stay Dryer Anti-Perspirant REG. '1.05 SALE PRICE ONLY 2*100 • FOrIlimit 2 r Snorkel Jackets REG. >16.99 GIRLS FUR TRIMMED HOODED ASST. COLORS SIZES 714 SALE PRICE ONLY 512s8 SAVE 54' Dry Roasted Peanuts REG. 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OF 51 SALE PRICE ONLY LIMIT 3 PURCHASE Mens Sport Shirts FAMOUS ARROW BRAND REG. '9 to '15 S-M-L-XL BUY NOW FOR CHRISTMAS SALE PRICE ONLY 2 FOR <12°° •650 V EACH Urge enough to be Smel enough 1o giro your service! FRAIM KLIIM 1250 N. GREEN ST. McHENRY, ILL. Sundo/ 10-12:30 sylvania Gazette in 1729 and made it a leader in the events leading to 1776. John Peter Zenger -- The immigrant printer who found­ ed the New York Weekly Journal in 1733, became the printed voice of the Dutch opponents, of the British regime, stood trial in 1735 on charges of seditious libel, and won acquital in a fashioned that stopped the British from enforcing the concept of prior restraint upon publication through seditious libel con­ cepts. Zenger opened the pathway that Isaiah Thomas, Sam Adams, and other Patriots were to follow to 1776. John Dickinson -- Author of 12 "Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania to the In­ habitants of the British Col­ onies," first printed in the Pennsylvania Chronicle in 1767-68, reprinted in 21 of the other then-existing 25 colonial weeklies as soon as they ap­ peared, then published in pamphlet form in eight col­ onial editions, two in London and one in Dublin, Dickinson, a moderate, argued per­ suasively for economic in­ dependence for the colonists, and won over many of the middle class moderates to the radical Patriot cause. He was not a journalist, but he used the newspaper to advance his ideas. Samuel Adams --«. Key figure in Boston's indepen­ dence movement, who wrote 30 years for the Gazette and other papers after his own early effort failed. Trained for both the ministry and law, he became a political philoso­ pher, keen student of public opinion, tireless advocate of the Revolution. He helped to organize the Sons of Liberty, who used their chapters throughout the colonies as a sort of primitive press asso­ ciation to spread news and opinion favorable to their cause. His account of the "Boston Massacre" of 1770 became the standard one, to the dismay of the British. The Gazette was the vehicle for his ideas. Thomas Paine -- The most proletarian of the Revolu­ tionary figures, a British workman who turned to jour­ nalism, came to Pennsylvania at Benjamin Franklin's sug­ gestion, wrote for Magazines, and then published his masterpiece, "Common Sense," in January 1776. Within three months, 120,000 pamphlets had been sold and virtually every colonist had read it or had it read to him. "Our corn will fetch its price in any market in Europe," Paine said, arguing against British trade restrictions; in a larger sense he called for revolt against the principle of kingship and George III. In December 1776 he began his stirring "Crisis" series with his These are the times that try men's souls" opening. Washington had the first one read to his troops before the battle of Trenton, asked for 15 more. All the newspapers carried Paine's emotional lines. Benjamin Edes and John Gill -- Always coupled after \0/ VO on 2ND GALLON when you buy the 1st gallon at regular price of $9" gal if"®® I SEMI- GLOSS ENAMEL now only SJ483 o for Mo gallons VYCITAL'S HARDWARE 1221 N. Green St. McHenry 1755 as the young publishers of the Boston Gazette, called by the British the 'Trum­ peters of Sedition." Edes was a member of the Sons of Liberty ; the Gazette fostered the Caucus Club group led by Sam Adams that included Paul Revere, Joseph Warren, James Otis, John Adams, John Hancock, Thomas Cush- ing, Samuel Cooper. The Bos­ ton Tea Party reputedly was hatched in their offices. These publishers provided the . mightiest of the engines of the Revolution, the newspaper. William Bradford III -- Member of a famed colonial printing family, he made the Pennsylvania Journal a strong voice of the Patriots in the capital city. His widely - reproduced "Tombstone issue" of 1765 typified the way in which the newspaper pub­ lishers protested the British tax on paper. It was in the Journal that Tom Paine's first 'Crisis" paper appeared, a few days before Bradford had to flee the city to escape British troops. Isaiah Thomas -- Only 21 when he established the Massachusetts Spy in 1770 under the guidance of master printer Zechariah Fowle, Thomas quickly became sole editor-publisher and a leading figure in Revolutionary jour­ nalism. A man of many abili­ ties, he founded the American Antiquarian Society in Wor­ cester, today the center of study of colonial life, and wrote a history of printing which was the first organized effort to record the history of American journalism. From 1771 to 1775, Isaiah Thomas at the Spy and the team of Edes, Gill and Sam Adams at the Gazette were the heart and soul of the Revolutionary movement in the city where it began -- Boston. There are many other names in the colonial story. The Franklin family offers James' widow, Anne, who published the Newport Mer­ cury with her daughters. The famed Green family produced the largest wartime paper, the Connecticut Courant (8,000 circulation), now the Hartford Courant. William Goddard started the Provi­ dence Gazette, left it to his mother Sarah to run, pub­ lished the Pennsylvania Chronicle, then in 1773 found­ ed the Maryland Journal, edited throughout the war by his sister Mary Katherine Goddard (all told there were 14 colonial women printers). Hugh Gaine did effective work with his New York Mer­ cury before he became the notorious turncoat by pub­ lishing in New York during the British wartime occupa­ tion . Isaac Collins did much to keep up flagging spritis dur­ ing Valley Forge days with his New Jersey Gazette. John Dunlap published a strong Patriot paper in Phila­ delphia, the Pennsylvania Packet. Peter Timothy, a leading southern Patriot editor with his South Carolina Gazette, was captured by the British when they took Charleston in 1780. The story of John Holt, publisher of the New York Journal, sums up the contri­ butions of the Colonial Press -- and its sacrifices. Holt was a Patriot leader in New York when the British army took the city in September 1776. Holt was forced to leave his printing equipment behind when he escaped to Connecti­ cut. After months he set up a new office and subscription list in Kingston, New York. Fifteen weeks later the British took the town and burned Holt's office. Holt took refuge in Poughkeepsie, man­ aged to print copies of the Journal intermittently until 1783. Then, with peace estab­ lished, he returned to New York City -- where the ar­ dent Patriot editor died of exhaustion in 1784. He had suffered a life of conflict and misfortune, but he had kept the faith and he was one of those who rank as "They Made It all Happen" heroes of the Revolution. Dr. Emery is professor of journalism at University of Minnesota and author of the currently leading journalism history. The Press and America. He is 1975 president of the Association for Educa­ tion in Journalism. THE ALABAMA com­ mission on the Aging has announced the establishment of a senior transport system in Sumter County. A 12- passenger bus operates on regular schedules each week­ day, serving a different part of the county each day. No fixed fee is charged, with all people over 60 eligible to ride the bus. They are encouraged to pay at least 25 cents per ride. Previously a trip to the doctor or to transact other business cost around $8. I i