The East Florida Gazette, 1783–1784
byEast Florida only had one newspaper in the colony’s entire history. The newspaper went live during the final year of the American War for…
Newspapers
9
Revolutionary Networks: The Business and Politics of Printing the News, 1763–1789
byRevolutionary Networks: The Business and Politics of Printing the News, 1763-1789 by Joseph M. Adelman (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2019) An explosion of new…
2
A Revolution in Mottoes: Newspaper Mastheads and the American Revolution
byIn early 2017, the Washington Post debuted a new masthead with the motto “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” At about the same time, the New…
5
JOIN, OR DIE: Political and Religious Controversy Over Franklin’s Snake Cartoon
byOn May 9, 1751, Benjamin Franklin published a satirical article in the Pennsylvania Gazette commenting on British laws that allowed convicted felons to be…
1
A Runaway a Day 5 (of 5)
byIf a person ran away once, they were liable to do so again. In some cases this provides two distinctive descriptions of the same…
A Runaway a Day 4 (of 5)
bySome advertisements revealed details about the person’s history and situation, as well as their physical characteristics and possessions. This affords an avenue for further…
A Runaway a Day 3 (of 5)
bySome runaways took only the clothing they had on, and lacked even a complete ensemble. Running away without shoes shows either desperation or determination….
A Runaway a Day 2 (of 5)
byFor some reason not all advertisements included the name of the missing person. Whether this showed an impersonal knowledge on behalf of the master,…
3
A Runaway a Day 1 (of 5)
byThroughout the eighteenth century, newspapers advertised servants, slaves, soldiers, spouses and others who had fled from contractual obligations. The advertisements give us remarkable textual…
Deserter a Day 5 (of 5)
byDeserter advertisements and runaway notices, fascinating though they are, provide only single elements of what were certainly more complex stories. In rare cases, further…
10
Deserter a Day 1 (of 5)
byNewspapers are among our favorite things at Journal of the American Revolution, providing endless information and insight about America’s Revolutionary era. In addition to…
3
Domestic Disputes: Public Announcements of Private Affairs
byA browse through the eighteenth century newspapers turns up more than just political news, op-eds and want ads. Sometimes there’s marital mud-slinging of the…
4
The Virginia Gazette (Williamsburg), August 26, 1775
byOne of the newspapers featured in Reporting the Revolutionary War was the Virginia Gazette dated August 26, 1775. In the book, Don N. Hagist…
A Fast Ship from Salem: Carrying News of War
byOn April 24, General Gage sent his account of the confrontations at Lexington and Concord aboard the 200-ton, cargo-ladened Sukey to Lord Barrington, the…
19
Top 10 Revolutionary War Newspapers
byHistorians have long praised newspapers for the role they played during the American Revolution, but they don’t always zero in on specific papers that…
12
10 Remarkable Runaway Ads
byA frequent discovery when reading 18th Century newspapers is the runaway ads. In an era when people could be owned by or contractually bound…
4
London Gazette: The Crown’s Official Mouthpiece
byBefore, during and after the American Revolution, newspapers from Great Britain were widely consumed on American soil as part of the regular packet ship…
4
Lost and Found
byYou may think that newspapers are only good for news, but advertising is a critical part of their content. Not only does advertising bring…
3
Media, Memory and Revolution
byIcons of the American Revolution are ubiquitous in American culture. They grace our currency, sell Hondas in television ads, teach lessons via children’s cartoons,…
5
Reverend Seabury’s Pamphlet War
byIn the fall of 1774, just before adjourning, the First Continental Congress outlined the Articles of Association, an aggressive plan of economic resistance to…
10
My Adventure Finding a Lost Newspaper
byWhile curating the collection of American Revolution newspapers featured in Reporting the Revolutionary War, I stumbled upon a rare 18th century American newspaper loaded…
2
Dogs of War Gone Astray
byThe article “Unleashing the Dogs of War” gave just a few examples of the canine presence that was quite widespread in the armies of…