The Pennsylvania Evening Post

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The Post was the first newspaper to print a copy of the United States' Declaration of Independence

The Pennsylvania Evening Post was a newspaper published by Benjamin Towne from 1775 to 1783. The paper is notable as the first to publish the United States Declaration of Independence,[1] as well as being the first daily newspaper in the United States.

History[]

Benjamin Towne published the first issue of the Post on January 24, 1775,[2] using paper borrowed from James Humphreys without expectation of payment.[3] The paper was supportive of the cause of the American Revolution,[2] and was the first to publish the United States Declaration of Independence, with it taking up the front page of the July 6, 1776 issue.[4][5]

During the British occupation of Philadelphia in 1778, the paper's ideology shifted towards loyalism. Other loyalist papers in the city, such as Humphrey's Pennsylvania Ledger, ceased publication as the British were losing control of Philadelphia; Towne stayed. As a result of his loyalist publication, the Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania placed him on a list of traitors. Towne's Post was selected to publish this list of traitors, possibly because other printers had not returned to the city.[2]

In 1779, the Post published a series of articles written by Whitehead Humphreys, under the pseudonym "Cato." Humphreys's articles attacked the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776 and accused Thomas Paine of being a loyalist. On July 24, supporters of the Constitutional Society, lead by Charles Wilson Peale, dragged Towne to a meeting and demanded the identity of Cato. Towne named Humphreys, and the mob attacked Humphreys's house.[2]

These controversies lead to a decrease in revenue. In 1780, Towne began advertising for hawkers. The paper started daily publication in spring of 1783, the first in the country to do so. The paper would continue publication in this format until 1784; reportedly, near the end of its run, Towne personally hawked the paper.[2]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "First Newspaper Printing of the Declaration". Museum of the American Revolution. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e Teeter, Dwight L. (July 1965). "Benjamin Towne: The Precarious Career of a Persistent Printer". Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. 89 (3): 316–330. JSTOR 20089817.
  3. ^ Thomas, Isaiah. The history of printing in America (2nd ed.). New York: Burt Fanklin. pp. 263–266.
  4. ^ "The Pennsylvania Evening Post (1776-07-06)". web.stanford.edu. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  5. ^ "First Newspaper Printing of the Declaration". Museum of the American Revolution. Retrieved 31 March 2013.


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