History of American Journalism/Chapter 3
CHAPTER III
THE FIRST AMERICAN NEWSPAPER THE BOSTON NEWS-LETTER
THE action of the Governor of Massachusetts in suppressing Publick Occurrences and the continued opposition of the Boston clergy in guarding its influence prevented any attempt to found another paper until 1704. The chief way that news was circu- lated, except for an occasional broadside, was through pulpit announcements and semi-public letters.
Foremost among these writers of news-letters was one, John Campbell, the postmaster at Boston. He made a practice of sending rather regularly letters to the various governors of the New England colonies. These letters, after being read, were passed along to others so that they had a comparatively wide circulation. Sometimes they were publicly posted so that their contents might be read after the manner news was communi- cated in ancient Rome. An examination of the Campbell letters show that they were what might be termed written newspapers. By way of illustration, the following one is reproduced from "The Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society":
BOSTON June 14th 1703
On the 8 th Instant the Assembly was adjourned unto the Last Wed- nesday of this month.
On the Q 1 . 11 His Excell. being Accompanyed with Severall Gentlemen, went to his Goverm t of New hampshire.
On the lO*? 1 a Sloop from the Bay of Campeachy brings no News.
On the 11 EsqT Bromfield mett w* h a Sore Mischance, coming out of his Warehouse door a Sloop Lying before his Warehouse door the m r . of the Sloop noising up his boom, the Sail being Loose to Dry it, gave Such a Swing that it struct him upon his Shouldier, Brock his Collar bone, put his Shouldier out of joynt, was for sometime speechless with the Stroak but its hoped He'l Recover and do well
On the 12 th Arrived a Sloop from the Bay of Vandovas, one Lamson mr, who sayes that Cap* Wheeler that went hence for Jamaica is Dead his men all prest on board men of warr and his Ship Hal'd up.
Capt Blew from R4 Island is arrived here this Day.
The Gosport and Gaily is this Day sailed for Piscataqua.
Philad. May 28: Arrived a Sloop in 22 Dayes from Antegua in whom Came Cap* Roach an Inhabitant of that Island w* h his family to Setle here, brings the bad news of our forces Leaving Guardilup untaken w* h the Loss of about 1000 by Enemy and Sickness. The Day (?he) Sailed the Gener 1 . 1 Arrived who has lost his Eye Sight w* h Some Distemper, the rest of the fleett and forces were Exspected from Guardi- loop, the Genell. Layes the Miscarridge so to heart that it's thought he'l hardly Recover upon it.
It 'a said that the men of warr that were at Guardiloop were all or- dered home, and were to Sail the 29* h may.
Some prisoners that made their Escape from Martinico to Antegua Says that the french were fitting out abundance of privateers from that place many of them Stout Vessels.
It's reported in the West Indies that monsT Ponti was daylie Ex- spected there w th a Squadron of men of warr of 22 Sail besydes other Vessells.
The 31 Arrived here a Sloop from Jamaica 28 Dayes passage, Ad- mir 1 . 1 Whetstone w th his Squadron was at Jamaica, he's done nothing only burnt a Ship the french took from us and two privateer Sloops at Pettiquavis.
A fleet of merchantmen between 40 & 50 Sail und? Convoy a 2 or 3 men of warr was to sail in May from Jamaica to England.
N Yorke June 7: Last Week Arrived here a Sloop from Coraso, 21 Dayes passage sayes the Dutch have an open Trade w th New Spain and that the Governour of Coraso has stopt Cap*. Wrightington & his Comp* who Sailed from R Island on what pretence knows not.
Cap* Bond & Cap* Sinclair Sails in a fourth Night or 3 Week's for London.
Boston Capt. Travise sails to Day or Too morrow for London
(Superscribed)
To The Hon ble
John Winthrop EsqT
GovT of Connecticut
ffranke N London
CAMPBELL'S PRINTED NEWS-LETTERS
So numerous were the requests to John Campbell for extra news advices that neither he nor his brother, Duncan Campbell, was able to make the supply equal to the demand simply by the
pen. He was forced to employ the printing-press. His first 
FIRST ISSUE OF THE BOSTON NEWS-LETTER
(Reduced)
called The Boston News-Letter. It was printed on both sides of a half-sheet folio, 7 x 111 inches. Because it was dated "From Monday April 17 to Monday April 24, 1704," several writers on colonial journalism have erroneously set down the first date as that on which number one of volume one of the first Ameri- can newspaper was published. There were two editions of this first issue, for a typographical difference is found in the three copies that have been preserved. The copy of the New York Historical Society and that of the American Antiquarian So- ciety are alike, while the third, that of the Massachusetts His- torical Society, is clearly a second edition. (Harvard Univer- sity has a piece torn from the first issue.)
The publisher's announcement was in the nature of an ad- vertisement. It read as follows :
This News-Letter is to be continued Weekly; and all Persons who have any Houses, Lands, Tenements, Farmes, Ships, Vessels, Goods, Wares or Merchandizes, EC. to be Sold, or Lett; or Servants Runaway; or Goods Stoll or Lost, may have the same Inserted at a Reasonable Rate; from Twelve Pence to Five Shillings, and not to exceed: Who may agree with Nicholas Boone for the same at his Shop, next door to Major Davis's, Apothecary in Boston, near the Old Meeting-House.
All Persons in Town and Country may have said News-Letter Weekly upon reasonable terms, agreeing with John Campbell Post-Master for the same.
The early issues of this printed newspaper differed little from its written predecessors save that they had extracts from English papers. That of Number 1, for example, had an extract from The London Flying Post (December 2 to 4, 1703) about "a pre- tender, called King James VIII of Scotland, sending Popish missioners from France to Scotland," and another from The London Gazette (December 16 to 20, 1703) about "a most gra- cious speech made by Her Majesty to both Houses."
CONTENTS OF FIRST ISSUE
For the sake of comparison with Publick Occurrences all the American items of the first issue are reproduced :
Boston, April, 18 Arrived Capt. Sill from Jamacia about 4 Weeks Passage, says they continue there very Sickly. Mr. Nathaniel Oliver
a principal Merchant of this place died April 15 & was decently inter'd
April, 18. ^Etatis 53.
The Honourable Col. Nathanael Byfield Esq. is Commissioned Judge of the Admiralty for the Provinces of Massachusetts-Bay, New-Hamp- shire and Rhod-Island. And Thomas Newton Esq. Judge-Deputy for the Colony of Massachusetts-Bay.
The 20. the Rd. Mr. Pemberton Preach'd an Excellent Sermon on 1 Thes. 4. 11. And do your own business: Exhorting all Ranks & Degrees of Persons to do their own work, in order to a REFORMATION: which His Excellency has ordered to be Printed.
The 21. His Excellency Dissolved the Gen. Assembly.
Rhode-Island 22. The Rd. Mr. Lockyer dyed on Thurs. last
Capt. Toungrello has taken Five Prizes off of Curraso, one of which is come in to Rhode-Island mostly Loaden with Cocco, Tobacco, Li- quors &c. She is a Curraso Trader, as all the rest were. One of the Five was one Larew a French-man, a Sloop of 8 Guns & 8 Patteraro's 76 Men, Fought him Board and Board three Glasses; Capt. Larew was kill'd, and 20 of his Men kill'd & wounded: Capt. Toungrello wounded thro' the Body; and five of his men, but none kill'd, he had but 40 Fighting Men, when he took Larew.
The 18 Currant, came in a Sloop to this Port from Virginia, the Mas- ter informed Governour Cranston Esq. he was Chased by a Top-sail Shallop off of Block-Island, which he judged to be a French Privateer, and that there was two other Vessels in her Company, which he judged to be her Prizes. Whereupon his Honour being concerning for the Pub- lick Weal and Safety of Her Majesties good Subjects, immediately caused the Drum to beat for Voluntiers, under the Command of Capt. Wanton, and in 3 or four hours time, Fitted and Man'd a Brigantine, with 70 brisk young men well Arm'd, who Sail'd the following Night, returning last Evening, and gave his Honour an Account, that they found the aforesaid Shallop, with one other, and a Ketch at Tarpolian Cove, who were all Fishing Vessels belonging to Marblehead or Salem, who were Fishing off of Block-Island, one of them was a French built Shallop with a Topsail, which gave the great suspician that they were Enemies.
New- York, April, 17. By a Barque from Jamacia, (last from Bar- muda, 7 Weeks Passage,) says, there was an Imbargo in that Island sev- eral Months, occasioned by News they had of a design the French & Spaniards had, to make a descent upon them: She came out with the Homeward bound London Fleet, who are gone home without Convoy.
Capt. Davison in the Eagle Gaily, Sailes for London, in a Month, if the Virginia Fleet stays so long; he intends to keep them Company Home, if not, to run for it, being Built for that Service.
Philadelphia, April, 14. An Account that the Dreadnaught Man of War was Arrived in Marryland.
N. London, April, 20. The Adventure, A Vessell 60 Tuns, will Sail from thence to London, in three Weeks or a Months time.
The issue on March 7, 1728, published the following item about Campbell's death:
On Monday Evening last the 4th Currant at 8 a-Clock, died, John Campbell, Esq; Aged 75 years, former Post Master in the Place, Pub- lisher of the Boston News-Letter, for many years, and One of His Majesties Justices of the Peace for the County of Suffolk.
Such a notice does scant justice to the man who founded the first regular newspaper in the British colonies of North Amer- ica. Because so little has been written about the service he ren- dered American journalism something more should be said than that he was simply editor " for many years " of The Boston News- Letter.
CAMPBELL AND HIS PAPER
John Campbell was of Scotch ancestry, coming to Boston about the year 1692. He was a son of Duncan Campbell. His brother, also Duncan, was a bookseller and was at one time postmaster of Boston. In fact, John Campbell succeeded his brother in that office.
It is seen from the material between the lines of his News- Letter that John Campbell was practical and purposeful. No useless words appeared in his announcement of the first issue no promises of what the publisher intended to do. No adver- tisement costing over five shillings was to be inserted. That he did not enlarge on matter is proved in the copy of March 18 to 25, 1706, "On Thursday night last, Sampson Waters, a Young man went well to Bed, and was found dead next morn- ing." Nothing more!
Campbell was a man who could wax indignant over dishon- esty. This fact is shown in his editorial in The News-Letter of July 24 to 31, 1704, in regard to the arrest of a band of counter- feiters and the seizure of their plate and press. He also made many telling comments on immorality and profaneness (Octo- ber 30 to November 6, 1704). In the issue of August 6 to 13, 1705, he concludes an obituary notice of a suicide with, "She was esteemed to be a Person of a Pious and Sober Conversa- tion: And we hope the Inserting of such an awful P rovidence
here may not be offensive, but rather a Warning to all others to watch against the wiles of our Grand Adversary."
His subtle sense of humor is proven in The News-Letter of November 5 to 12, 1705, in regard to one Henry Burch, a Quaker: "Only, that he may have his NAME a little stick to him (and because he told us, you know, that he had been at AMSTERDAM) we will Humbly move, that if the Authority see meet, it may be LAID ON after the DUTCH-fashion; that is with good BURCHEN RODS, Tho' such dealing may be too easy for such a SKEELUM to meet withal."
Sarcasm came easily from his pen. To quote from his account of some French and Indian, and English encounters, " And that notwithstanding the negligence of our People, they do acknowl- edge to have lost Two of their principal French Officers, and 50 French & Indians in the action." Or to quote Campbell's words after his removal from the postmastership of Boston in regard to the establishment of The Boston Gazette, by William Brooker, the new postmaster, "I pity the readers of the new paper; its sheets smell stronger of beer than of midnight oil. It is not read- ing fit for people!"
On the other hand, he was public-spirited and appreciative of good work. In The News-Letter of June 3 to 10, 1706, Camp- bell wrote: "There are two things therefore which I shall chiefly recommend to your care, one is the providing a Fund for the Fortifying this City; the other is, the providing a Fund for the Repairing this Her Majesties Fort, which is extreamly out of Order, and for mounting the Guns, most of the Carriages being rotten and unserviceable. And you may be sure, that whatso- ever you shall think fit to give, shall be applied to the Uses for which you give it, and to no other." In another place he said: "I cannot conclude without putting you in mind of the neces- sity of making provision for Out-scouts this next Winter, to be sent from ALBANY." He spoke with appreciation of the in- habitants of the Town of Milton freely offering their services, at a time of the year when laborers were very difficult to be got even for wages, "to then- Reverend Minister, Mr. Peter Thacher, to cut down his Grass, to make his Hay, and to carry it into his Barn, and to their praise and commendation be it spoken: On
Monday last there was no less in his Field than 26 men Mowers in a Breast, and on Wednesday there was 14 others that were Rakers; and on Thursday 16 more, and no doubt there was a competent number on Friday and Satturday (though not come to our knowledge) to carry it into the Barn."
John Campbell had a very decided belief in the continuity of foreign news. At one time he announced, with as much regret as simplicity, that he was "thirteen months behind in giving the news from Europe." The number for November 25 to Decem- ber 2, 1706, opens with an editorial note, introducing the for- eign news: "According to our usual manner (on the Arrival of Ships from England, Portugal, or by the West-India Pacquets) we gave you in our Last, a Summary of the most Remarkable Occurrences of Europe for six weeks time, viz from the 1st of August, to the 15th of September last; And now we must pro- ceed to the more particular Account of the Foreign Occurrences where we left off; So that any one having this Print for the year, will be furnished not only with the Occurrences of Europe, the West-Indies, but also those of this and the Neighbouring Prov- inces."
If Campbell did not show enterprise in his treatment of for- eign news, his domestic news service in later issues may be con- sidered a little more up-to-date. For the most part it consisted of "ship news, the governor's proclamations, reports of the elec- tions of representatives to the General Court, accounts of en- gagements with the Indians or with the French privateers, news from the West Indies, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York and occasionally from far-away Philadelphia, or farther away South Carolina." Remarkable incidents in neighboring towns were occasionally printed. Skippers sailing between Boston and the West Indies or ports of the other colonies were his reporters of adventure stories.
, He obtained news by letter; the accounts of Indian operations in the Connecticut Valley, and "to the Eastward," came in let- ters from Colonel Church who was commander of the colonial forces; by adventurers returning from the South, as in Septem- ber 4 to 11, 1704, "By some gentlemen arrived here last Week
from MARYLAND, we have the following Account' 7 ; or, in November 20 to 27, 1704, "In the domestic news is a report by an express from Albany to New York, as brought by an Indian from Canada, of preparations in Canada for a French and Indian winter attack upon some point in the colonies not named." Later, packet-boats helped in gathering both foreign and domes- tic news : " Her Majesty Hath Settled Packet-Boats for the West- Indies, who are to go from Plimouth at the beginning of every Month throughout the Year, no accident preventing the same; who are to touch and stay at each of the English Island-Plan- tations in the following manner And thence to Return to England, and not to be stayed on any pretence whatsoever." In the issue of February 3 to 10, 1706, there is a statement of three definite post-routes; "All the Three Posts are now in, the Eastern and Southern to go out on Monday night the 10th Currant, in order to return on Satturday next; and the Western Post to set out then also in order to return on Saturday the 22d Instant and then to set out on the Monday following the 24th Currant, to go and come once a week as the other Posts do."
FIRST EXTRA
Campbell showed great enterprise in his handling of an execu- tion on the Charles River. Six pirates were executed on Friday, June 30, 1704. The description of the scene, the "exhortations to the malefactors," and the prayer made by one of the minis- ters after the pirates were on the scaffold, "as near as it could be taken in writing in the great crowd," filled nearly one-half of the paper.
LATER PUBLISHERS
Incidentally, it may be remarked that The Boston News-Letter was first printed by Bartholomew Green in a small wooden build- ing on Newberry Street. Eighteen years later Green himself became the owner and publisher of the paper. To quote from the issue for December 31, 1722:
These are to give Notice, That Mr. Campbell, Designing not to Pub- lish any more News-Letters, after this Monday the 31st Currant, Bar
tholomew Green the Printer thereof for these 18 Years past, having had Experience of his Practice therein; intends (Life permitted) to carry on the same, (using his Method on the Arrival of Vessels from Great Bri- tain, &c., to give a Summary of the most Remarkable Occurrences of Europe, and afterwards the Thread of the News,) provided he can have due Encouragement by competent Numbers taking it by the Year, so as to enable him to defray the necessary Charges. And all those who have a Mind (either in Town or Country) to Promote and Encourage the Continuation of the abovesaid Intelligence, are hereby desired to Agree with the said Green, either by Word or Writing; who may have it on reasonable Terms, left at any House in Town, Sealed or Unsealed.
In the meantime, another room had been added to the print- ing-house for the use of the son, Bartholomew Green, Jr. Janu- ary 30, 1734, the building burned, being occupied at the time by the son and his brother-in-law, John Draper, each of whom had his own plant. Draper put up a new structure which on his death, December 6, 1762, passed to his son, Richard Draper. It was used as a printing-house until the British evacuated Bos- ton in 1776 and The News-Letter was discontinued. For almost threescore and ten years, The Boston News-Letter was printed at this same spot on Newberry Street. Four years during the editorship or authorship of Campbell, 1707-1711, the paper was printed elsewhere by John Allen.
When The News-Letter passed into the hands of Bartholomew Green, he tried to give its readers what they wanted by making the paper semi-religious in character. In an announcement from the publisher he says on January 21, 1723:
It being my Desire to make this as profitable and entertaining to the good people of this country as I can, I propose to give not only the most material articles of intelligence, both foreign and domestic, which con- cern the political state of the world; but also because this is a country, that has yet, through the mercy of God, many people in it, that have the State of religion in the world very much at heart, and would be glad, if they knew how to order their prayers and praises to the Great God thereupon, I shall endeavour, now and then, to insert an article upon the state of religion. I shall, therefore, from time to time, wait upon such as I may know to cultivate a correspondence with the most emi- nent persons in several nations, who may please to communicate with me, and thereby to the public, such things as all good men cannot but receive with satisfaction.
Whenever Green printed any special news item he was pretty
sure to add some reflection of a religious character. By way of
illustration, Buckingham gave the following:
Yesterday, being the Lord's-Day, the Water flowed over our Wharffs and into our streets to a very surprizing height. They say the Tide rose 20 Inches higher than ever was known before. The Storm was very strong at North-East. The many great Wharffs, which since the last overflowing Tydes have been run out into the Harbour, and fill'd so great a part of the Bason, have methinks contributed something not inconsiderable to the rise of the Water upon us. But if it be found that in other Places distant from us, and where no such reason as this here given can have place, the waters have now risen in like proportion as they did with us; then we must attribute very little to the reason above suggested. The loss and damage sustained is very great, and the little Image of an Inundation which we had, look'd very dreadful. It had been a great favour to the town, if upon the first Rising of the Waters in the Streets, which hapn'd in the time of the Fore-noon Service, some discreet Persons had in a grave and prudent manner inform'd some or other of the Congregations of it; that such whose Houses & Stores lay most exposed might have repair'd timely to them. The reason in this case seems the same as if there had been a Fire in the Town. Let us fear the GOD of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land, who commandeth & raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves; who ruleth the raging of the sea, and when the waves thereof arise, He stilleth them.
SIAMESE TWINS OF JOURNALISM
John Draper, to whom the management of the paper fell in 1733, tried to follow in the footsteps of his father-in-law by con- tinuing this semi-religious editorial policy. On Draper's death in 1762, his son Richard became the publisher. One of his acts was to change the name to that of The Boston Weekly News- Letter and New-England Chronicle. Not satisfied with this, he tried The Massachusetts Gazette and Boston News-Letter. When he acquired The Boston Post-Boy in 1768 he ran what has been called the Siamese Twins in journalism. The union was called The Massachusetts Gazette, but each paper continued separate publication : the twin papers came out on Monday and on Thurs- day; the first half of the paper on each day was The Gazette and was the official organ of the Government to publish the laws, etc.; the second half was The Post-Boy on Monday and The
News-Letter on Thursday. This singular arrangement lasted from May 23, 1768, till September 25, 1769. Draper, separating the twin sheets, kept alive only The News-Letter. On his death, June 6, 1774, his widow and his partner, John Boyle, conducted the paper. A little later, John Howe purchased Boyle's interest and together with Mrs. Draper ran the paper until some time between September 7 and October 13, 1775, when Howe con- ducted it alone until its suspension in 1776. The last known issue was on February 22 of that year.
END OF NEWS-LETTER
In this way The Boston News-Letter had a continuous exist- ence for practically seventy-two years. Loyal to the Home Government, it had the distinction of being the only paper pub- lished in Boston while Washington was besieging the city. That it did not survive longer was doubtless due to its malicious at- tacks upon Washington and other generals of the Revolution: the Boston patriots, aroused by their desire for independence at any cost, refused to tolerate a Tory paper which they had long dubbed The Court Gazette.