Primary Source Analysis Of Newspapers In Colonial America

Nick Sammartino

December 3, 2017

Hist 405

Primary Source Analysis

In 1765, as a result of one of the provisions of the Stamp Act, newspapers in Colonial America were now required to pay a tax on each piece of printed-paper they sold, using only imported and stamped paper from Britain. At this time, newspapers had already become a useful tool in generating public support against British control throughout the colonies. Individual motives often varied, and it can be seen quite clearly in “To Benjamin Franklin from David Hall, 14 October 1765,” as well as the following Pennsylvania Gazette article “No Stamped Paper to be Had.” The Pennsylvania Gazette was a newspaper started by Benjamin Franklin. At this time, David Hall was editor and publisher.

The article is a fervent attack against Britain and the Stamp Act, outlining all the spirited protests throughout the colonies, and offering a list of resolutions to the British government. The article is impassioned and clearly aimed at mustering more support from the colonists. Comparing the letter to the article is interesting, as it shows the monetary motivation behind the decision to publish the paper without stamps; though the decision was publically painted in the newspaper as a patriotic protest. This act alone would have been just as influential as the actual printed words in the article. The article outlines the declarations of King George III in the Stamp Act, details the resulting protests throughout the colonies, including a riot in Boston, and concludes with its own set of declarations on behalf of the colonists, essentially stating that they will not buy any goods from England until the Stamp Act be

In this case, the letter between Hall and Franklin shows that profits, and keeping customers happy, is their primary concern. If one were to only read the newspaper article, it would tell a very different story, painting the publishers, and the newspaper as a whole, as resisters fully dedicated to the patriotic cause. This isn’t to say they weren’t dedicated to the cause, but it shows that their actions in regards to the newspaper were far more complex, and primarily profit-driven. However, none of this means that there isn’t much to learn by analyzing only the newspaper article. The article itself offers clues to the type of revolutionary language that was being used throughout the colonies, and the types of acts that were being employed as forms of resistance, ranging from riots in different colonial cities, to a discovery “hanging on the gallows behind the Citadel Hill, the effigies of a stampman, accompanied with a boot and devil, together with labels suitable to the occasion,” (No Stamped Paper to be had, November 7, 1765). Overall, this letter from a chain of correspondence between Franlin and Hall, when analyzed alongside the corresponding newspaper article that was later published, provides a complex look into motivations different people had for participating in the Revolutionary cause