The Origins of a Free Press in Prerevolutionary ... - Web Publishing

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Gentlemen. It was my unhappiness not to have so much money,
when at College, as to pursue an A.B. or an A. M. to be annex’d to
my Name ... 100
The pseudonymous letter-writer argued in support of laws against drunkenness and
gaming. The letter significantly demonstrates a wider civic discourse by mid-
century. By utilizing what Warner referred to as the “principle of negativity,” this
author claimed for himself equal consideration in the court of public opinion,
despite his lower status, suggesting the argument should be considered solely on the
basis of its merit, not its source. Thus printing was beginning to allow for a more
open and impersonal political discourse. 101
Colonial newspapers overall are considered to have an influence greater than
their circulation might suggest, “with the newspapers reaching ‘virtually all the
literate persons in the colonies’ and even a large part of those who were illiterate
through public readings in taverns.” 102 By the mid-eighteenth century, Americans
had one newspaper copy printed for about every sixty-seven inhabitants, the same
estimate as for Great Britain. According to Charles E. Clark, such spreading of the
public prints drew in a wide range of readers, allowing less-elite citizens to share “a
kind of open communion” with the elites by reading the news. Our poor farmer’s
son Devereux Jarratt wrote of staying up late after the sun set, reading by the light
of the fire as he could afford no candle. He is likely to have read newspapers
borrowed from his wealthy patrons, and possibly during rare visits to a tavern or
coffeehouse. While as a man of the cloth he esteemed reading the Bible above all
else, he admitted that for many people, the popular prints were more highly
esteemed, and that even a true believer of that time might well “find greater relish
for reading a pamphlet, a newspaper, or almost any other book.” He specifically
100 “B.M.,” Virginia Gazette (Hunter, March 28, 1751), 1.
101 Warner, Letters of the Republic, 38-48.
102 Copeland, Colonial Newspapers, 18.