''The Pennsylvania Evening Post'' was the first daily newspaper published in the United States, and was produced by Benjamin Towne from 1775 to 1783. It was also the first newspaper to publish the

United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ( ...

History

Benjamin Towne published the first issue of the ''Post'' on January 24, 1775, using paper borrowed from James Humphreys without expectation of payment. The paper was supportive of the cause of the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, and was the first to publish the

, with it taking up the front page of the July 6, 1776 issue. Towne initially published his newspaper three times per week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday evenings "on half a sheet of crownpaper, in quarto." The cost to readers was "two pennies each paper, or three Shillings the quarter." His printing business was located on Front Street near the London Coffee House in Philadelphia. During the British occupation of Philadelphia in 1778, the paper's ideology shifted towards

loyalism Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British C ...

. 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 The Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was the collective directorial executive branch of the Pennsylvanian state government between 1777 and 1790. It was headed by a president and a vice president (analogous to a gov ...

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. 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 The Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776 (ratified September 28, 1776) was the state's first constitution following their declaration of independence and has been described as the most democratic in America; although it notably based rights in "men" ...

and accused

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...

of being a loyalist. On July 24, supporters of the Constitutional Society, led by

Charles Wilson Peale Charles Willson Peale (April 15, 1741 – February 22, 1827) was an American painter, soldier, scientist, inventor, politician and naturalist. He is best remembered for his portrait paintings of leading figures of the American Revolution, and ...

, dragged Towne to a meeting and demanded the identity of Cato. Towne named Humphreys, and the mob attacked Humphreys's house. 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. In June 2013, David Rubenstein, the chief executive officer of

The Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group is a multinational private equity, alternative asset management and financial services corporation based in the United States with $376 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, real assets, and ...

purchased a copy of the first newspaper printing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence for $632,500 during an auction at the Robert A. Siegel Galleries in New York. At the time, it was the highest price ever paid at auction for a historic newspaper, according to Reuters. Rubenstein subsequently loaned his copy of the newspaper to the

Newseum The Newseum was an American museum dedicated to news and journalism that promoted free expression and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, while tracing the evolution of communication. The purpose of the museum, funded by the ...

in Washington, D.C. for its exhibit, "1776—Breaking News: Independence," which opened on July 1, 2016.Taboh, Julie.
The Declaration of Independence Makes Headlines in 1776 and 2016
" Washington, D.C.: Voice of America, July 4, 2016.

References

External links

Declaration. ''The Pennsylvania Evening Post''. Philadelphia: Benjamin Towne, 6 July 1776. (KF4506 .A1 1776a)
" in "Dublin Core." Charlottesville, Virginia: The University of Virginia Library, retrieved online December 3, 2022.
Declaration of Independence and 1776
(video of David Rubenstein discussing the

exhibit, "1776 - Breaking News: Independence"). Washington, D.C.: C-SPAN, July 7, 2016.
''Pennsylvania Evening Post'' Archives
''Journal of the American Revolution'', retrieved online December 3, 2022.
''The Pennsylvania Evening Post'' (Philadelphia, Pa.) 1775-1781
(overview and collections information). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, retrieved online December 3, 2022.
''The Pennsylvania Evening Post, and Daily Advertiser''
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Historical Society of Pennsylvania, retrieved online December 3, 2022.
''The Pennsylvania Evening Post'', Philadelphia, PA, 1776 August 24
Mount Vernon, Virginia: Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington, retrieved online December 4, 2022.
''The Pennsylvania Evening Post'', Saturday, July 6, 1776
New York, New York: The New York Public Library Digital Collections, retrieved online December 3, 2022.
To Alexander Hamilton from ''The Pennsylvania Evening Post'', 25 January 1777
in "Founders Online." Washington, D.C.: National Archives, retrieved online December 3, 2022.
Towne, Benjamin (d. 1793) ''The Pennsylvania Evening Post'', Vol. 1, No. 14, December 14, 1775
New York, New York: The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, retrieved online December 3, 2022. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pennsylvania Evening Post Defunct newspapers published in Pennsylvania United States Declaration of Independence Publications established in 1775 1775 establishments in Pennsylvania Publications disestablished in 1784 1784 disestablishments in the United States

History

See also

References

External links