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{{Short description|Newspaper printed from 1728 until 1800 in the United States}}
{{Distinguish|text = ''The Pennsylvania Gazette'', the [[University of Pennsylvania]]’s alumni magazine}}
{{Distinguish|text = ''The Pennsylvania Gazette'', the [[University of Pennsylvania]]’s alumni magazine}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2012}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2012}}
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| caption = Statue of [[Benjamin Franklin]] holding a copy of ''The Pennsylvania Gazette''
| caption = A [[New York City]] statue of [[Benjamin Franklin]] holding a copy of ''The Pennsylvania Gazette''
| motto =
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| foundation = {{start date and age|1728}} (as The Universal Instructor in all Arts and Sciences: and Pennsylvania Gazette)
| foundation = {{start date and age|1728}} (as ''The Universal Instructor in all Arts and Sciences: and Pennsylvania Gazette'')
| political = Non partisan
| political = Non partisan
| language =
| language =
| ceased publication = {{end date|1800}}
| ceased publication = {{end date|1800}}
| relaunched =
| relaunched =
| headquarters = [[Pennsylvania]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| headquarters = [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| publishing_city = Philadelphia
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{{further| Early American publishers and printers}}
'''''The Pennsylvania Gazette''''' was one of the [[United States]]' most prominent newspapers from 1728 until 1800. In the years leading up to the [[American Revolution]], the newspaper served as a voice for colonial opposition to [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] colonial rule, especially to the [[Stamp Act (1765)|Stamp Act]] and the [[Townshend Acts]]. The newspaper was headquartered in [[Philadelphia]].
{{italic title}}
'''''The Pennsylvania Gazette''''' was one of the [[United States]]' most prominent newspapers from 1728, before the time period of the [[American Revolution]], until 1800.


==History==
==History==
===18th century===
[[Image:Pennsylvania Gazette (May 9, 1754), page 1.jpg|thumb|left|upright|''The Pennsylvania Gazette'' for May 9, 1754]]
[[Image:Pennsylvania Gazette (May 9, 1754), page 1.jpg|thumb|The May 9, 1754 edition of ''The Pennsylvania Gazette'']]
The newspaper was first published in 1728 by [[Samuel Keimer]] and was the second newspaper to be published in [[Pennsylvania]] under the name ''The Universal Instructor in all Arts and Sciences: and Pennsylvania Gazette'', alluding to Keimer's intention to print out a page of [[Ephraim Chambers]]' ''[[Cyclopaedia, or Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences]]'' in each copy.<ref name="loc">{{cite web|title=Pennsylvania Gazette, Philadelphia|url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/news/circulars/pagazette.txt|access-date=December 7, 2006|date=2006|publisher=Library of Congress}}</ref>
[[File:Benjamin Franklin - Join or Die.jpg|thumb|''[[Join, or Die]]'' political cartoon attributed to [[Benjamin Franklin]], advocating in support of the American colonies joining the Albany Plan for Union, May 9, 1754]]
The newspaper was first published in 1728 by [[Samuel Keimer]] and was the second newspaper to be published in the colonial [[Province of Pennsylvania]] under the name ''The Universal Instructor in all Arts and Sciences: and Pennsylvania Gazette'', a reference to Keimer's intention to print out a page of [[Ephraim Chambers]]' ''[[Cyclopaedia, or Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences]]'' in each edition.<ref name="loc">{{cite web|title=Pennsylvania Gazette, Philadelphia|url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/news/circulars/pagazette.txt|access-date=December 7, 2006|date=2006|publisher=Library of Congress}}</ref>


On October 2, 1729, [[Samuel Keimer]], the owner of the Gazette, fell into debt and before fleeing to [[Barbados]] sold the newspaper to [[Benjamin Franklin]] and his partner [[Hugh Meredith]].<ref>[[#isaacson2003|Isaacson, 2003]], p. 64</ref><ref name=bfhs>[http://www.benjamin-franklin-history.org/pennsylvania-gazette/ Benjamin Franklin Historical Society, Essay]</ref><ref>[[#aldridge1962|Aldridge, 1962]], p. 77</ref><ref>[[#clark1989|Clark & Wetherall, 1989]], p. 282</ref> and shortened its name, as well as dropping Keimer's grandiose plan to print out the ''Cyclopaedia''.<ref name="loc" /> Franklin not only printed the paper but also often contributed pieces to the paper under [[pseudonym|aliases]]. His newspaper soon became the most successful in the colonies.<ref name=bfhs/>
On October 2, 1729, [[Samuel Keimer]], the owner of ''The Gazette'', fell into debt and before fleeing to [[Barbados]] sold the newspaper to [[Benjamin Franklin]] and his partner [[Hugh Meredith]],<ref>[[#isaacson2003|Isaacson, 2003]], p. 64</ref><ref name=bfhs>[http://www.benjamin-franklin-history.org/pennsylvania-gazette/ Benjamin Franklin Historical Society, Essay]</ref><ref>[[#aldridge1962|Aldridge, 1962]], p. 77</ref><ref>[[#clark1989|Clark & Wetherall, 1989]], p. 282</ref> who shortened its name, as well as dropping Keimer's grandiose plan to print out the ''Cyclopaedia''.<ref name="loc" /> Franklin not only printed the paper but also often contributed pieces to the paper under [[pseudonym|aliases]]. His newspaper soon became the most successful in the colonies.<ref name=bfhs/>


On December 28, 1732, Franklin announced in ''The Gazette'' that he had just printed and published the first edition of [[Poor Richard's Almanack|''The Poor Richard'']], also known as ''Poor Richard's Almanack'', by Richard Saunders, Philomath.<ref>[[#miller1961|Miller, 1961]], p. 97</ref>
On August 6, 1741 Franklin published an editorial about deceased [[Andrew Hamilton (lawyer)|Andrew Hamilton]], a lawyer and public figure in Philadelphia who had been a friend. The editorial praised the man highly and showed Franklin had held the man in high esteem.<ref>{{cite book|last=Konkle|first=Burton Alva|title=Benjamin Chew 1722–1810: Head of the Pennsylvania Judiciary System Under Colony and Commonwealth|year=1932|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|location=Philadelphia, PA|pages=17–29 (28–29)}}</ref>

On August 6, 1741, Franklin published an editorial following the death of [[Andrew Hamilton (lawyer)|Andrew Hamilton]], a lawyer and public figure in Philadelphia and friend of Franklin. The editorial praised the man highly and showed Franklin had held the man in high esteem.<ref>{{cite book|last=Konkle|first=Burton Alva|title=Benjamin Chew 1722–1810: Head of the Pennsylvania Judiciary System Under Colony and Commonwealth|year=1932|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|location=Philadelphia, PA|pages=17–29 (28–29)}}</ref>


On October 19, 1752,<ref>Tom Tucker, ''Bolt Of Fate: Benjamin Franklin And His Fabulous Kite'' (PublicAffairs, 2009) p135</ref> Franklin published a third-person account of his pioneering [[kite experiment]] in ''The Pennsylvania Gazette'', without mentioning that he himself had performed it.<ref>Steven Johnson (2008) ''The Invention of Air'', p. 39 {{ISBN|978-1-59448-401-8}}</ref>
On October 19, 1752,<ref>Tom Tucker, ''Bolt Of Fate: Benjamin Franklin And His Fabulous Kite'' (PublicAffairs, 2009) p135</ref> Franklin published a third-person account of his pioneering [[kite experiment]] in ''The Pennsylvania Gazette'', without mentioning that he himself had performed it.<ref>Steven Johnson (2008) ''The Invention of Air'', p. 39 {{ISBN|978-1-59448-401-8}}</ref>


Primarily a publication for classified ads, merchants and individuals listed notices of employment, lost and found goods and items for sale; the newspaper also reprinted foreign news. Most entries involved stories of travel.<ref>[https://www.academia.edu/4563002/Travel_Writing_Travel_Reading_in_Benjamin_Franklins_1747_Pennsylvania_Gazette Zach Hutchins, "Travel Writing, Travel Reading, and the Boundaries of Genre: Embracing the Banal in Franklin's 1747 Pennsylvania Gazette," Studies in Travel Writing 17.3 (2013):300-19.]</ref> The gazette also published advertisements for [[Fugitive slaves in the United States|runaway slaves]] and [[Indentured servitude|indentured servants]].<ref> Smith, Billy G., and Richard Wojtowicz. Blacks Who Stole Themselves: Advertisements for Runaways in the Pennsylvania Gazette, 1728-1790. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1989. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv4s7gw2. Accessed 3 Sept. 2021.</ref>
While the purpose of the publication was primarily for classified ads, merchants and individuals listed notices of employment, lost and found goods and items for sale, it also reprinted foreign news. Most entries involved stories of travel.<ref>[https://www.academia.edu/4563002/Travel_Writing_Travel_Reading_in_Benjamin_Franklins_1747_Pennsylvania_Gazette Zach Hutchins, "Travel Writing, Travel Reading, and the Boundaries of Genre: Embracing the Banal in Franklin's 1747 Pennsylvania Gazette," Studies in Travel Writing 17.3 (2013):300-19.]</ref> The gazette also published advertisements for [[Fugitive slaves in the United States|runaway slaves]] and [[Indentured servitude|indentured servants]].<ref>Smith, Billy G., and Richard Wojtowicz. ''Blacks Who Stole Themselves: Advertisements for Runaways in the Pennsylvania Gazette, 1728-1790''. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1989. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv4s7gw2. Accessed 3 Sept. 2021.</ref>


Among other firsts by ''The Pennsylvania Gazette'', the newspaper was the first to publish the [[editorial cartoon|political cartoon]] ''[[Join, or Die]]'', authored by Franklin.<ref>{{cite web|title=Today in History: January 17|url=http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jan17.html|access-date=December 8, 2006|year=2006|publisher=Library of Congress}}</ref> The cartoon resurfaced later in the 18th century as a symbol in support of the [[American Revolution]].
[[File:Benjamin Franklin - Join or Die.jpg|thumb|''[[Join, or Die]]'' political cartoon attributed to Benjamin Franklin, advocating that the American colonies join the Albany Plan for Union (May 9, 1754)]]

This newspaper, among other firsts, would print the first [[editorial cartoon|political cartoon]] in America, ''[[Join, or Die]]'', authored by Franklin himself.<ref>{{cite web|title=Today in History: January 17|url=http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jan17.html|access-date=December 8, 2006|year=2006|publisher=Library of Congress}}</ref>


===19th century===
The paper ceased publication in 1800, ten years after Franklin's death.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Pennsylvania Gazette|url=http://www.accessible.com/accessible/aboutPG.jsp|website=Accessible Archives|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206021126/http://www.accessible.com/accessible/aboutPG.jsp|archive-date=December 6, 2010|access-date=2020-05-20}}</ref> It is claimed that the publication later reemerged as the ''[[Saturday Evening Post]]'' in 1821.<ref>[http://saturdayeveningpost.com/About-The-Saturday-Evening-Post.html About the ''Saturday Evening Post''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090222211321/http://saturdayeveningpost.com/About-The-Saturday-Evening-Post.html |date=February 22, 2009 }}</ref>
The paper ceased publication in 1800, ten years after Franklin's death.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Pennsylvania Gazette|url=http://www.accessible.com/accessible/aboutPG.jsp|website=Accessible Archives|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206021126/http://www.accessible.com/accessible/aboutPG.jsp|archive-date=December 6, 2010|access-date=2020-05-20}}</ref> It is claimed that the publication later reemerged as the ''[[Saturday Evening Post]]'' in 1821.<ref>[http://saturdayeveningpost.com/About-The-Saturday-Evening-Post.html About the ''Saturday Evening Post''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090222211321/http://saturdayeveningpost.com/About-The-Saturday-Evening-Post.html |date=February 22, 2009 }}</ref>


There are three known copies of the original issue, which are held by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Library Company of Philadelphia, and the Wisconsin State Historical Society.<ref name="loc" />
There are three known copies of the original issue, which are held by the [[Historical Society of Pennsylvania]] and the [[Library Company of Philadelphia]], both in Philadelphia, and the [[Wisconsin State Historical Society]] at the [[University of Wisconsin-Madison]] in [[Madison, Wisconsin]].<ref name="loc" />


==Other uses==
{{Anchor| alumni magazine}}Today, ''The Pennsylvania Gazette'' moniker is used by an unrelated bi-monthly alumni magazine of the [[University of Pennsylvania]], which Franklin founded and served as a trustee.
{{Anchor| alumni magazine}}

''The Pennsylvania Gazette'' moniker is used by an unrelated bi-monthly alumni magazine of the [[University of Pennsylvania]], an [[Ivy League]] university that Franklin founded and served at as one of its first trustees.
Archives are available online for a fee.<ref name="accessible.com">{{Cite web |url=http://www.accessible.com/accessible/aboutPG.jsp |title=Archived copy |access-date=August 4, 2011 |archive-date=December 6, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206021126/http://www.accessible.com/accessible/aboutPG.jsp |url-status=dead }}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
* [[Early American publishers and printers]]
* ''[[Pennsylvania Chronicle (Colonial newspaper)|Pennsylvania Chronicle]]''
* [[William Goddard (US patriot/publisher)#The Constitutional Post|The Constitutional Post]]
* ''[[Join, or Die]]''
* ''[[Join, or Die]]''
* ''[[Liberty's Kids]]''
* ''[[Liberty's Kids]]''
* ''[[Pennsylvania Chronicle (Colonial newspaper)|Pennsylvania Chronicle]]''
* [[The Drinker's Dictionary]]
* [[William Goddard (US patriot/publisher)#The Constitutional Post|''The Constitutional Post'']]
* ''[[The Drinker's Dictionary]]''


==References==
==References==
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==Sources==
==Sources==
* {{cite journal |last=Aldridge |first=Alfred Owen |title=Benjamin Franklin and the "Pennsylvania Gazette" |journal=Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society |pages=77-81 |publisher=American Philosophical Society |volume=106 |issue=1 |date=February 15, 1962 |jstor=985213 |doi= |ref=aldridge1962}}
* {{cite journal |last=Aldridge |first=Alfred Owen |title=Benjamin Franklin and the "Pennsylvania Gazette" |journal=Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society |pages=77–81 |publisher=American Philosophical Society |volume=106 |issue=1 |date=February 15, 1962 |jstor=985213 |doi= |ref=aldridge1962}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Clark |first1=Charles E. |last2=Wetherell |first2=Charles |title=The Measure of Maturity: The Pennsylvania Gazette, 1728-1765 |journal=The William and Mary Quarterly |pages=279–303 |publisher=Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture |volume=46 |issue=2 |date=April 1989 |jstor=1920255 |doi= 10.2307/1920255|ref=clark1989}}

* {{cite journal |last=Clark |first=Charles E. |last2=Wetherell |first2=Charles |title=The Measure of Maturity: The Pennsylvania Gazette, 1728-1765 |journal=The William and Mary Quarterly |pages=279-303 |publisher=Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture |volume=46 |issue=2 |date=April 1989 |jstor=1920255 |doi= |ref=clark1989}}

* {{cite book |editor1=Bernard Bailyn |editor2=John B. Hench |title=The Press & the American Revolution |publisher=Boston : Northeastern University Press (Originally published: Worcester, Mass. : American Antiquarian Society) |year=1981 |orig-year=1980 |isbn=978-0-9303-50307 |url=https://archive.org/details/pressamericanrev0000unse |ref=bailyn1981}}
* {{cite book |editor1=Bernard Bailyn |editor2=John B. Hench |title=The Press & the American Revolution |publisher=Boston : Northeastern University Press (Originally published: Worcester, Mass. : American Antiquarian Society) |year=1981 |orig-year=1980 |isbn=978-0-9303-50307 |url=https://archive.org/details/pressamericanrev0000unse |ref=bailyn1981}}
* {{cite journal |last=Miller |first=C. William |title=Franklin's "Poor Richard Almanacs": Their Printing and Publication |journal=Studies in Bibliography |pages=97–115 |publisher=Bibliographical Society of the University of Virginia |volume=14 |year=1961 |jstor=40371300 |doi= |ref=miller1961}}


{{Commons category|The Pennsylvania Gazette}}
==External links==
* {{Commons category inline|The Pennsylvania Gazette}}


{{Benjamin Franklin}}
{{Benjamin Franklin}}
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[[Category:Publications disestablished in 1800]]
[[Category:Publications disestablished in 1800]]
[[Category:1728 establishments in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:1728 establishments in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Newspapers of colonial America]]

Latest revision as of 03:16, 27 December 2023

The Pennsylvania Gazette
A New York City statue of Benjamin Franklin holding a copy of The Pennsylvania Gazette
Founder(s)Samuel Keimer
Benjamin Franklin in 1729, who bought and reoriented the publication into a 'news only' newspaper
Founded1728; 296 years ago (1728) (as The Universal Instructor in all Arts and Sciences: and Pennsylvania Gazette)
Political alignmentNon partisan
Ceased publication1800 (1800)
HeadquartersPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

The Pennsylvania Gazette was one of the United States' most prominent newspapers from 1728 until 1800. In the years leading up to the American Revolution, the newspaper served as a voice for colonial opposition to British colonial rule, especially to the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts. The newspaper was headquartered in Philadelphia.

History[edit]

18th century[edit]

The May 9, 1754 edition of The Pennsylvania Gazette
Join, or Die political cartoon attributed to Benjamin Franklin, advocating in support of the American colonies joining the Albany Plan for Union, May 9, 1754

The newspaper was first published in 1728 by Samuel Keimer and was the second newspaper to be published in the colonial Province of Pennsylvania under the name The Universal Instructor in all Arts and Sciences: and Pennsylvania Gazette, a reference to Keimer's intention to print out a page of Ephraim Chambers' Cyclopaedia, or Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences in each edition.[1]

On October 2, 1729, Samuel Keimer, the owner of The Gazette, fell into debt and before fleeing to Barbados sold the newspaper to Benjamin Franklin and his partner Hugh Meredith,[2][3][4][5] who shortened its name, as well as dropping Keimer's grandiose plan to print out the Cyclopaedia.[1] Franklin not only printed the paper but also often contributed pieces to the paper under aliases. His newspaper soon became the most successful in the colonies.[3]

On December 28, 1732, Franklin announced in The Gazette that he had just printed and published the first edition of The Poor Richard, also known as Poor Richard's Almanack, by Richard Saunders, Philomath.[6]

On August 6, 1741, Franklin published an editorial following the death of Andrew Hamilton, a lawyer and public figure in Philadelphia and friend of Franklin. The editorial praised the man highly and showed Franklin had held the man in high esteem.[7]

On October 19, 1752,[8] Franklin published a third-person account of his pioneering kite experiment in The Pennsylvania Gazette, without mentioning that he himself had performed it.[9]

While the purpose of the publication was primarily for classified ads, merchants and individuals listed notices of employment, lost and found goods and items for sale, it also reprinted foreign news. Most entries involved stories of travel.[10] The gazette also published advertisements for runaway slaves and indentured servants.[11]

Among other firsts by The Pennsylvania Gazette, the newspaper was the first to publish the political cartoon Join, or Die, authored by Franklin.[12] The cartoon resurfaced later in the 18th century as a symbol in support of the American Revolution.

19th century[edit]

The paper ceased publication in 1800, ten years after Franklin's death.[13] It is claimed that the publication later reemerged as the Saturday Evening Post in 1821.[14]

There are three known copies of the original issue, which are held by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the Library Company of Philadelphia, both in Philadelphia, and the Wisconsin State Historical Society at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, Wisconsin.[1]

Other uses[edit]

The Pennsylvania Gazette moniker is used by an unrelated bi-monthly alumni magazine of the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university that Franklin founded and served at as one of its first trustees.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Pennsylvania Gazette, Philadelphia". Library of Congress. 2006. Retrieved December 7, 2006.
  2. ^ Isaacson, 2003, p. 64
  3. ^ a b Benjamin Franklin Historical Society, Essay
  4. ^ Aldridge, 1962, p. 77
  5. ^ Clark & Wetherall, 1989, p. 282
  6. ^ Miller, 1961, p. 97
  7. ^ Konkle, Burton Alva (1932). Benjamin Chew 1722–1810: Head of the Pennsylvania Judiciary System Under Colony and Commonwealth. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 17–29 (28–29).
  8. ^ Tom Tucker, Bolt Of Fate: Benjamin Franklin And His Fabulous Kite (PublicAffairs, 2009) p135
  9. ^ Steven Johnson (2008) The Invention of Air, p. 39 ISBN 978-1-59448-401-8
  10. ^ Zach Hutchins, "Travel Writing, Travel Reading, and the Boundaries of Genre: Embracing the Banal in Franklin's 1747 Pennsylvania Gazette," Studies in Travel Writing 17.3 (2013):300-19.
  11. ^ Smith, Billy G., and Richard Wojtowicz. Blacks Who Stole Themselves: Advertisements for Runaways in the Pennsylvania Gazette, 1728-1790. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1989. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv4s7gw2. Accessed 3 Sept. 2021.
  12. ^ "Today in History: January 17". Library of Congress. 2006. Retrieved December 8, 2006.
  13. ^ "The Pennsylvania Gazette". Accessible Archives. Archived from the original on December 6, 2010. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  14. ^ About the Saturday Evening Post Archived February 22, 2009, at the Wayback Machine

Sources[edit]

  • Aldridge, Alfred Owen (February 15, 1962). "Benjamin Franklin and the "Pennsylvania Gazette"". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 106 (1). American Philosophical Society: 77–81. JSTOR 985213.
  • Clark, Charles E.; Wetherell, Charles (April 1989). "The Measure of Maturity: The Pennsylvania Gazette, 1728-1765". The William and Mary Quarterly. 46 (2). Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture: 279–303. doi:10.2307/1920255. JSTOR 1920255.
  • Bernard Bailyn; John B. Hench, eds. (1981) [1980]. The Press & the American Revolution. Boston : Northeastern University Press (Originally published: Worcester, Mass. : American Antiquarian Society). ISBN 978-0-9303-50307.
  • Miller, C. William (1961). "Franklin's "Poor Richard Almanacs": Their Printing and Publication". Studies in Bibliography. 14. Bibliographical Society of the University of Virginia: 97–115. JSTOR 40371300.