eighteenth-century newspapers Archives - Journal of the American Revolution

Techniques & Tech Posted on March 7, 2023May 8, 2023

Newspapers as a Rebel Source of Intelligence

The study of intelligence has always suffered from a bias towards the derring-do of spies, stealing of secrets, breaking of codes, and covert action. This is particularly the case with studies of intelligence during the American Revolution.[1] Books and articles on the topic have been premised on an understanding of “intelligence” as effectively limited to […]

by Jeffrey H. Michaels

Techniques & Tech Posted on March 1, 2023February 28, 2023

This Week on Dispatches: Gene Procknow on Ethan Allen and Revolutionary-Era Newspapers

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Gene Procknow on the reputation of Ethan Allen as reported in newspapers of the day. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon Music, and the JAR Dispatches web site. Dispatches can now be easily accessed […]

by Editors

Techniques & Tech Posted on February 21, 2023

The Highs and Lows of Ethan Allen’s Reputation as Reported by Revolutionary-Era Newspapers

Ethan Allen’s prevailing reputation among the general population remains that of a daring hero, but has suffered in the eyes of recent historians. Casual readers, aided by the embellishments of nineteenth-century biographers, remember Vermont’s Allen as the leader of the rebellious but honorable Green Mountain Boys and the conqueror of British-held Fort Ticonderoga. As a […]

by Gene Procknow

Techniques & Tech Posted on January 27, 2023January 26, 2023

Misinformation Nation: Foreign News and the Politics of Truth in Revolutionary America

BOOK REVIEW: Misinformation Nation: Foreign News and the Politics of Truth in Revolutionary America by Jordan E. Taylor (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022) Almost every book that discusses the rise of revolutionary fervor in colonial America includes the role of newspapers. The impact of the press on the way that events unfolded in North America […]

by Don N. Hagist

Techniques & Tech Posted on November 11, 2021November 7, 2021

A Video Tour of a 1791 Newspaper

One of the most effective ways to immerse yourself in history is to read old newspapers—to read the goings-on of the past, written in present tense. Before the internet, television, and radio, this was the primary means of disseminating information to the masses. And so, to hold a newspaper, printed many lifetimes ago, to delve […]

by Bridget Barbara

Techniques & Tech Posted on August 1, 2021

This Week on Dispatches: Norman Desmarais on the Gazette Françoise

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor, writer, and historian Norman Desmarais on the Gazette Françoise, a French newspaper published for French soldiers, begun soon after their arrival in Newport, Rhode Island. This is the first known service newspaper published by an expeditionary force. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every […]

by Editors

Techniques & Tech Posted on April 8, 2021April 5, 2021

Fake News of the Surrender of Quebec: A Video Contribution

In 1776, the Pennsylvania Evening Post printed a letter, allegedly from Paris, which reported that American commander Benedict Arnold had captured the last major British stronghold in Canada, Quebec City.[1] While almost certainly not the first of its kind, this letter from the Post is one of the earliest examples of fake news during the Revolutionary […]

by Jonathan Bayer

Tag: eighteenth-century newspapers