The First American Newspaper, That Was Only Ever Printed Once
1690, a time in history where America was yet to break free from Great Britain. The colonist wanted to establish a society. However, they were still connected to Great Britain. News and politics spread through word of mouth. It became difficult to understand what was true and not. People wanted to know what was happening back home in Britain.
Richard Pierce and Benjamin Harris decided to create the first ever American newspaper. Harris got the idea from his coffee shop the Coffee House. Many of his customers would gather at his shop to discuss politics and drama within the community. They often spoke about affairs back in Great Britain. Harris decided that society was missing a newspaper. They made the first ever newspaper called, Publick Occurrences Both Foreign and Domestick.
The newspaper was published on September 25, 1690, in Boston. It was printed on three pieces of folded 6x10 paper. The last page was left blank. The newspaper was supposed to be printed once a month or whenever the community needed important information. However, the newspaper was only ever published once. Since Great Britain still had control of the colonies, they decided to stop the publication. The British Governor Council claimed that the newspaper violated the law. They said the publication had no approval from authority. The paper was never printed again.
About fourteen years after Publick Occurrences was shut down, a new newspaper launched. This was the first American newspaper to consistently be printed.
The Boston News Letter
The Boston-News Letter was first published on April 24, 1704. It was published by John Campbell and printed by Bartholomew Green. John Campbell often wrote to Governor Fitz-John Winthrop of Connecticut about the politics in Britain and in the colonies. Winthrop and many other Governors enjoyed reading Campbell’s letters and urged him to publish them. Knowing the country needed a political and informative newspaper, Campbell decided to turn his letters into newspapers.
The newspaper presented foreign news from London which usually revolved around politics and war. It also gave information on ship arrivals, deaths, sermons, American politics, fires, and accidents within the colonies. The biggest story was on a pirate named Blackbeard who had a tremendous head-to-head fight. The newspaper also delivered the news of the Boston Tea Party, The Battles of Lexington and Concord, and The Battle of Bunker Hill. Campbell wanted to create a discussion, so he left the last page blank to allow his readers to respond or add information and send it in to him to read. It was like having an open discussion with all his readers.
In 1722, Campbell gave Bartholomew Green the newspaper. When Green passed away his son, John Draper, took over. John Draper expanded the newspaper and focused on a greater outlook of international news. The last owners of the newspaper were Margaret Draper and John Howe in 1776. The newspaper had been published for 72 years. It was in that year that the British took over Boston and officially shut the newspaper down. After that the newspaper was never started again and other newspapers began to be published across the colonies.
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