Boston Gazette
Encyclopedia
The Boston Gazette was a newspaper
published in Boston
, Massachusetts
, in the British North American colonies. It began publication December 21, 1719 and appeared weekly.
, the first successful newspaper in the Colonies, which had begun its long run in 1704. In 1741 the Boston Gazette incorporated the New-England Weekly Journal and became the Boston-Gazette, or New-England Weekly Journal. Contributors included: Samuel Adams
, Paul Revere
, Phyllis Wheatley.
Publishers, and men acting their behalf, included: (dates are approximate)
The paper's masthead vignette, produced by Paul Revere
shows a seated Britannia
with Liberty cap
on staff, freeing a bird from a cage. Motto: "Containing the freshest Advices, Foreign and Domestic" This issue is often reprinted.
"After the Revolution [the paper] lost its great contributors and its tone and policy were changes. It bitterly opposed the adoption of the constitution of the United States and the administration of Washington. The paper declined in power, interest and popular favor, till, after a long struggle, in 1798, it was discontinued for want of support."
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
published in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, in the British North American colonies. It began publication December 21, 1719 and appeared weekly.
Brief history
The paper was started as a rival to The Boston News-LetterThe Boston News-Letter
First published on April 24, 1704, The Boston News-Letter is regarded as the first continuously published newspaper in British North America. It was heavily subsidized by the British government, with a limited circulation. The colonies’ first newspaper was Publick Occurrences Both Forreign and...
, the first successful newspaper in the Colonies, which had begun its long run in 1704. In 1741 the Boston Gazette incorporated the New-England Weekly Journal and became the Boston-Gazette, or New-England Weekly Journal. Contributors included: Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams was an American statesman, political philosopher, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. As a politician in colonial Massachusetts, Adams was a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and was one of the architects of the principles of American...
, Paul Revere
Paul Revere
Paul Revere was an American silversmith and a patriot in the American Revolution. He is most famous for alerting Colonial militia of approaching British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, as dramatized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, Paul Revere's Ride...
, Phyllis Wheatley.
Publishers, and men acting their behalf, included: (dates are approximate)
- James FranklinJames Franklin (printer)James Franklin was an American colonial author, printer, newspaper publisher, and almanac publisher...
(1719) - William Brooker (1719)
- Philip Musgrave (1720)
- Thomas Lewis (1725–1726)
- Henry Marshall (1726–1727)
- Bartholomew GreenBartholomew Green (printer)Bartholomew Green Jr. was a son of Bartholomew Green, printer of the Boston News-Letter.Green married Hannah Hammond in 1724 and they had five children. He apprenticed with his father until he went on his own in 1725. Almost immediately he began printing the Boston Gazette which was a rival to his...
(1727–1732) - John Boydell (d. Dec. 11, 1739) (1732–1736)
- Timothy Green (1736–1741)
- Samuel KneelandSamuel Kneeland (printer)Samuel Kneeland was a Boston printer and publisher.-Biography:He was apprenticed to Benjamin Green, and for many years was printer to the government and council, printing also the laws and journals of the house of representatives...
(1720–1753) - John GillJohn Gill (printer)John Gill was a printer in Boston, Massachusetts, in the 18th century. With Benjamin Edes he issued the Boston Gazette newspaper. He later published the Continental Journal, 1776-1785.-Biography:...
(1755–1775) DAR Patriot # A044675 - Benjamin EdesBenjamin EdesBenjamin Edes was a journalist and political agitator. He is best known, along with John Gill, as the publisher of the Boston Gazette, a newspaper which sparked and financed the Boston Tea Party and was influential during the Revolutionary War.-Early life:He was born on October 14, 1732 in...
(1755–1794) - Benjamin Edes, Jr. (1779–1794)
- Peter Edes (1779-ca.1784)
The paper's masthead vignette, produced by Paul Revere
Paul Revere
Paul Revere was an American silversmith and a patriot in the American Revolution. He is most famous for alerting Colonial militia of approaching British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, as dramatized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, Paul Revere's Ride...
shows a seated Britannia
Britannia
Britannia is an ancient term for Great Britain, and also a female personification of the island. The name is Latin, and derives from the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally designated a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion or Great Britain. However, by the...
with Liberty cap
Phrygian cap
The Phrygian cap is a soft conical cap with the top pulled forward, associated in antiquity with the inhabitants of Phrygia, a region of central Anatolia. In the western provinces of the Roman Empire it came to signify freedom and the pursuit of liberty, perhaps through a confusion with the pileus,...
on staff, freeing a bird from a cage. Motto: "Containing the freshest Advices, Foreign and Domestic" This issue is often reprinted.
"After the Revolution [the paper] lost its great contributors and its tone and policy were changes. It bitterly opposed the adoption of the constitution of the United States and the administration of Washington. The paper declined in power, interest and popular favor, till, after a long struggle, in 1798, it was discontinued for want of support."
Varying Titles
- Boston gazette (Dec. 21, 1719-Oct. 19, 1741).
- Boston gazette, or, New England weekly journal (Oct. 20, 1741).
- Boston gazette, or, Weekly journal (Oct. 27, 1741-Dec. 26, 1752).
- Boston gazette, or, Weekly advertiser (Jan. 3, 1753-Apr. 1, 1755).
- Boston gazette, or, Country journal (Apr. 7, 1755-Apr. 5, 1756).
- Boston gazette, and the country journal (Apr. 12, 1756-Dec. 30, 1793).
- Boston gazette, and weekly republican journal (Jan. 6, 1794-Sept. 17, 1798).
Further reading
- Apfelbaum. Early American Newspapers and Their Printers.
- Mary Farwell Ayer, Albert Matthews. Check-list of Boston newspapers, 1704-1780. Colonial Society of Massachusetts, 1907.
- TOLD IN "ADS."; Newspaper Notices a Source of History. Paul Revere Advertised Sale of Best Psalm Tune. First Umbrella Picture in Boston Gazette. Boston Daily Globe, Mar 29, 1914. p.SM15.
- Brigham. History and Bibliography of American Newspapers. 1968.
- HOLMBERG, GEORGIA MCKEE. BRITISH-AMERICAN WHIG POLITICAL RHETORIC, 1765-1776: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF THE "London Gazette", "LONDON CHRONICLE", AND "BOSTON Gazette" (dissertation). University of Pittsburgh, 1979.
- Walt Nott. From "uncultivated Barbarian" to "poetical genius": the public presence of Phillis Wheatley. MELUS. Fall 1993. Vol.18,Iss.3;p. 21(12).
- Patricia Bradley. The 'Boston Gazette' and slavery as revolutionary propaganda. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. 22 Sep 1995. Vol.72,Iss.3;p. 581(16).
- Sandra Moore. The "Boston Gazette and Country Journal": Voice of resistance and mouthpiece of the Revolution (dissertation). University of Houston, 2005.
External links
- http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/amendIIIs2.html (Issue for: October 17, 1768): Samuel AdamsSamuel AdamsSamuel Adams was an American statesman, political philosopher, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. As a politician in colonial Massachusetts, Adams was a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and was one of the architects of the principles of American...
' essay on John LockeJohn LockeJohn Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...
's statement "Where Law ends, Tyranny begins". - http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch3s4.html (Issue for: February 27, 1769) contained Samuel Adams' essay on the right of revolution.
- http://www.bostonmassacre.net/gazette/ (Issue for: March 12, 1770): report on the Boston MassacreBoston MassacreThe Boston Massacre, called the Boston Riot by the British, was an incident on March 5, 1770, in which British Army soldiers killed five civilian men. British troops had been stationed in Boston, capital of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, since 1768 in order to protect and support...
. - http://earlyamerica.com/review/winter96/massacre/ (Issue for: March 12, 1770)
- http://www.walkingboston.com/history/article.shtml (Issue for: April 10, 1775)
- http://www.masshist.org/revolution/doc-viewer.php?item_id=851&old=1&mode=nav (1776)
- http://dlib.nyu.edu/maassimages/maass/jpg/001162s.jpg (1777)
- http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/vc006437.jpg (1780)