Fivehour presentation for your this evening, and decided to scale that back to a more manageable 45 minutes. So ill start by saying this, without newspapers, there would have been no American Revolution. Newspapers are what fanned the flames of the rebellion. They sustained loyalty to the cause, they provided Critical Response during the war and aid in the outcome. Historians know this very well. For 200 plus years, the historians have referred the footnotes. What this book was inverts the traditional history book taking the newspapers that have been in the footnotes and places them at the forefront for general readers like you to enjoy full access and newspaper from the period. The process for putting this book together was quite a journey for me. I started out as enthusist, then became a collector, then became an educator through a website called rag lynn. Com and through the book. The story how i discovered historical newspaper happened about five years ago. My wife and i took our first Family Vacation to georgia lee that, illinois, which is a koa koa city mississippi town. I found a rare book shelf and found a book full of newspaper. It was april 21st, 1865 New York Times i was reading the about the lincolns csh that triggered an intense passion for history i had never had. For the next five years it became a journey of meticulous of collecting of newspaper. Im tucked away in the midwest. I dont have convenient ak is eases to a lot of the wonderful archives on the east coast. I dont have access a lot of the originals that are found in the library and institution across the country. I made a point to collect them. Much like my other historical collectible. They are available for sale or purchase. If any has seen American Pickers i would say its like that. I would say im like that more along the license of historic documents and newspaper. Im traversing the earth trying to find and locate and take newspapers out of rare book shops and european book dealers and people dishoiferred them in at dicks and behind balls of old homes. Its an exciting discovery process. And these newspapers eventually accumulated to where they became a significant selection. One of the most significant private collection of American Revolution newspaper. And the story it told or they told is fascinating. One that deserves to be shared and with the general readership, which this book fully accomplishes. So tonight what i want to do is walk you through what i would consider to be the four buckets of discovery have made along the journey. And i categorize those buckets as one being the old mia versus knee. The journalism discoveries. The history discoveries and what i would call paper preservation discoveries. So well start with old media versus new media. Quantity. Were looking at practically limitless sources of news. Television, radio, social media, twitter. You name it you have access to a seemingly unlimited quantity of news sources. Back then, newspapers were the old mass media of the day. The first newspaper printed on american soil successfully was a news letter in 1704. It wasnt until fifteen years later we have the second american newspaper printed also in Boston Boston gazette. The third newspaper started in philadelphia. Circulation, the top 100 newspapers is approximately 200,000. At the time of the American Revolution, the average circulation was approximately 600. That sounds awfully low but keep in mind these newspapers were also read allowed at meeting houses and private homes. While circulation might be low, actual readership is quite significant. Distribution, we have internet, we are temp, im sorry, tv and radio today. Back then distribution of newspapers was done primarily through horseback and ship commonly called pack the timeline today news is instay contain use. Its on demand you can flip open your phone and have almost real time news at your finger tip. 200 plus years ago the news came weekly, and im sorry the news came weekly with a time lag you find news anywhere from a day old to several months old. A large paves the amount of transit time that had to go how far the news traveled to reach that printer. For instance, you might have news coming from ascroses the atlantic. The transatlantic voyage is four to eight weeks. The eleventh of length of the newspaper. We have newspapers roughly twenty to thirty pages. Back then the average newspaper was four pages long. Picture one large sheet of paper. That one large sheet of paper on one side of that were pages one and four, so the front and the backpack of the newspaper folded in half and on thed in you have pages two and three. What we think of today as kind of almost like a back tack the front page and the fourth page were typical typeset earlier in the week where as the interior pages pages two and three were typeset later in the week or closer to the actual publication date. What we would associate as being front page publish story news was found on page two or three not one or four you would have the evergreen type of content. Foreign news, essay, advertisement and such. The frequency we talked about the how today we have the daily and instant news. Bias today we have left and right leaning media. Back then you had patriot and loll newspaper it was it important to me that the book include both perspectives as well as american and british newspapers. This takes touts journalism discoveries. Today newspapers have paid professional staffs of reporters and editors, back then they department have professional paid staff. The number one news source was private correspondents. Here we have early 1774, pennsylvania newspaper that has an article that starts off with letter from boston complain about the fish being altered which suggested a humorous take on the Boston Tea Party. What you will find most commonly is an extract from the letter to lead in to the articles of the day. We note there werent headlines werent common in the 18th century. Most of the articles lead with the extract from a letter or a dateline. Another primary news source is once they would print the weekly edition they would send issues upanddown the colonies that would print off other ones. This it new york january 6, boston gazette issue. Here the new york 6 january dateline tells know came from new york and qiek likely the new york newspaper. There is a primary source of news once the war begins. So the reports are when the Commanding Office would write a summary of the event of the military engagement they were in the battle and send that up the chain. Often in america that would be the president of congress. The president of congress would share that report with the local newspaper printer. They would send them upanddown the continent. Which include George Washingtons own account of the battle and the crossing of the delaware. So you can see at the top dateline baltimore thats where congress was meeting at the time. I said earlier you dont see a lot of headlines in the 18th century newspaper. Mostly the dateline and extract of the letter. Here is the april 21st, 1775 issue of the New Hampshire gazette. Extraordinary for the content it reports the breaking news of the battle of lexington and concord but also historically significant for the journalism. The fact left colum is dedicated to more importantly its the centered headline of the twoword headline letting news. Which surely caught the attention of the columnist reading the particular newspaper. More so was the point i made earlier about how breaking domestic news was typical found on pages two and three. This is here domestic breaking news on page one. Another significant journalism piece to catch the readers attention. Illustrations you dont see often in newspaper. Where you see them in the name plate or e here we have paul reveres join or die name plate with the serpent and the dragon. You also see them in advertisements. For instance, the advertisement on the left is and right. There was; however, one illustration depicting an event that was the battle of bunker hill. The virginia gazette printed in the middle column an eyewitness account of the battle of bunker hill. It obtains vivid details of the actual batter field or the entremplegment that the publishers of the gazette put together a rude rudimentary illustration they had. This is what it looks like. Now periodicals coming from Great Britain like the london magazine, yesmens magazine. They are monthly peer odd call. You see maps and illustrations in there but not in newspaper. You would think after this edition that other newspapers would see this and perhaps take similar processes for developing some more types of illustration. We dont. My guess is that listically time wasnt on the side. This is the only known illustration to depict an event in the newspaper during the revolutionary war. This is also the age of enlightenment. We have journalism as entertainment and education. On the left is the new jersey gazette where the right two columns dedicated to the reestablishment of the continental army. It detail the speck specs of the infantry. On the left a column that indicates the mathematical theory. On the right, terrorist theres journal where the entire front page is dedicated to news of the surrender of cornwallis. Advertising is also something that struck me. In the sense that there are a lot of advertisements for run away slaves or servanteds for sales or soldiers. David is an advocate for primary sources and the general public and students reading primary sources. What he says is that these soldier advertisement newspapers where we get a lot of information where the unit enormous look like. They are describing the soldiers that have another interesting advertisement in that struck know in the january 20th, 17 1776th. We have Thomas Paines common sense one of the first advertisement for common sense. There it is. What is interesting to me about the in the same newspaper is another advertisement for a new edition of common sense which suggests how quickly this is moving. Which brings note history discovery. No taxation without representation. That argument springs to life newspaper. The 1764 issue of the pennsylvania gazette. On page two is one paragraph that details the forthcoming sugar act. In that article, it says a scheme of taxation, had had been previously debated in the parliament will weather they had a power to lay it on which had no representative on parliament. You get the teaser. Besides this an internal tax was cut off and cant see that. Besides this the internal tax is forthcoming. A stamp duty. Violence and mobs and rites are also something that struck me because of the sheer magnitude of the violence that is reported in the newspaper of the day. In particular, this is a supplement from the boston news letter from september 5, 1765. Extraordinary many reasons. On front page of the twopage issue is details of the direction of the Lieutenant Governor thomas hutchisons home the Lieutenant Governor of boston. But on page two from new port, rhode island we read of similar home direction of loyalists so here it reads for a threeday rite practical todo list. Day one assemble and erect gallows. Cart them through town. Choose the deputy of the town. Choose a committee to drn stay tune in the evening [inaudible] shattered the windows and break the doors. Damage par constitution and ruin the furniture. March to the home of hated loyalist number two. Tear the house to pieces and. Destroy all provisions and wine. March to the home of the stamp master. Threaten his home if he doesnt resign. Receive the promise of resignation. Return to the first two home to continue the destruction and the following morning within day three, listen to the public resignation. And wait for the loyalist and sell the real estate. So we have such violence reported in the newspaper and this is in a boston newspaper so surely the boston people were pleased to see what they had done previously was catching on in the other colonies. And this had the desired effect they wanted. It forced the masters to rewhat you see in the newspaper after this is all and down the colony of the other towns taking courses to prevent the enforcement of the stamp act. Along similar lines, was the fact that ben franklin was one of those targeted hated cool columnist who had a home that became close to being scroid because he showed sentiment of moderation compliance. He appointed a friend to be a stamp master and the sentiment of compliance and moderation come throughed in the newspaper. So for instance, ben franklin printed the pennsylvania gazette. 1729 to 1748. 1748 for the next sixteen years, he remained a Business Partner where on the back of that every pennsylvania gazette it listed his name. Printed by b franklin. While he wasnt active in the Daily Printing business, it still carried his name. That pennsylvania gazette was one of the first print full text of the stamp act. The pennsylvania gazette a few weeks later was advertising for franklins poor richard almanac. They were promoting it as having the full tax of the stamp act, which all columnist should become familiar with. Its going effect you all. There in the newspaper account you start to see sentiment of moderation and compliance. Also the Boston Tea Party, this is the december 21st 1773 ethics gazette printed in massachusetts. We have one of the most popular eye witness account of the Boston Tea Party. It was written by an impartial observer. Or a pseudonumb. It was common for them to be used. You read about the padlock being destroyed abort one of the ship and how the rebels quickly replaced the pad lick to remain blameless for anything but the direction of the tea. You learn in the same account of one of the columnist pocketing some of tea and quickly being seize bid the other participates and pommeled. We also learn that the Boston Tea Party was not universally celebrated. In the issue of the gazette we read the town minutes of a immediating where they label the Boston Tea Party illegal, unjust and dangerous. I learned that came close to happening on multiple occasions weeks and months prior to april 19, 1775. One case in particular that is covered in the book is how close it came to happening four months prior in New Hampshire. Also along paul revere lines i learned he went on multi. Rides. One in particular the ride to philadelphia and back to share the result. Another interesting tidbit this time in the british newspaper was printing of the decoration of independence. The arrival of the decoration of independence was on august 10, 1776 in london. Three days later the london chronicle prints the equivalent of a tweet today. The they have declared war against Great Britain. They chronicle the full tax of the decoration. Here is the january 23, 1777 issue. I mentioned this earlier. Its printed in boston. It was the front page account of George Washington crossing the delaware and the battle of trn ton. And produce who contributed the battles called out the phrase that washington used that venderred because they knew they were about to be cut to pieces. It was harsh language to come from the future president. We read in the british newspaper about john joans the First American navel hero. He was also an american pirate to the british. During the account of the bomb or you read is in essence a fashion report. Dennis conrad who wrote the con contextual ease ray for Benedict Arnold in that section of the book points to greene papers which he edited in all of the response he researched he found one instance where greene pointed to god intervening in the revolution their war. It was during the treason uncover i are of Benedict Arnold. Nathaniel green as suggested in the report feels that god had interviewed in the American Revolutionary war and helped the american uncover the treason of thought. You see after he becomes the hated Benedict Arnold during the raid of new london, the column nist point fingers and say we saw him over here doing this and this. And you see him everywhere. He was he was having a dinner with a close friend and set the house afire. Yorktown diane who is a National PublishService Veteran she contributed the essay for the Yorktown Campaign and in there we learn there was a celebrity intervenges that the british commander Henry Clinton who was delayed in sending reinforcement to cornwallis at yorktown partially that was due to the fact that clinton was entertaining a celebrity in new york. That celebrity . King george iii sun Prince William henry. Diane comments on a bit of irony. October 19th, the the day of the surrender the day that graves and clinton sailed from new york to yorktown to provide the reinforcement. It happens that one of the ship in the fleet is commanded by cornwallis younger brother. Which thing brings note last bucket discovery. What i would call paper and preservation discovery. Prior to 1870 before the transsuggestion to wood pulp. They were printed on papermade of linen rags off the backs of people and the ship sails. This is rags were oiled and fisted to the sheets of paper and the durability of the paper prays the role in the preservation. We can find 250yearold newspaper in better condition than say last weeks boston globe who is probably already yellowing and brilgt. Thanks to the rag less rag linen paper and thanks to the constitution that bound them to the volumes we have the wonderful printed accounts of what transpired during the American Revolution. What i tend to do is look for newspapers that other might consider trash. They are extremely beat up. They have holes. They lived a long life, and through fire and flood and war and so theyre torn and tattered a little bit. I partnered with one of the