What was advertised in a revolutionary American newspaper 250 years ago today?

“A Choice Collection of American Liberty Songs and Pamphlets to be sold by the Printer.”

On July 10, 1776, the Constitutional Gazette became the first newspaper published in New York to print the Declaration of Independence.  John Anderson, the printer, devoted the first two pages of that issue to “A Declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress assembled.”  The same day, Mary Katharine Goddard printed the Declaration of Independence in the Maryland Journal and the Baltimore Advertiser.  Unlike most other printers, Goddard inserted as triumphant headline: “THE THIRTEEN United STATES OF AMERICA, Have declared INDEPENDENCY.”  She used decorative type to draw attention to the headline and manicules at either end of the phrase “Have declared INDEPENDENCY” for even more emphasis.  The Declaration of Independence appeared in Dunlap’s Maryland Gazette, also published in Baltimore, the previous day.  The Pennsylvania Gazette and the Pennsylvania Journal, both printed in Philadelphia, also published the Declaration of Independence on July 10, joining other newspapers from that city that already published it.

News about independence spread quickly.  No doubt word of mouth carried the news more quickly than printers set type for their newspapers, yet printing the Declaration of Independence in newspapers gave citizens of the new nation the opportunity to examine the complete text for themselves, engaging with the theory of government established in the first paragraphs of the document, the many grievances against the king in the middle, and, finally, the bold action taken by the Continental Congress.  The copy of July 10 edition of the Constitutional Gazette that has been digitized for America’s Historical Newspapers includes a handwritten note above the masthead on the first page: “A Good thing.”  One reader not only perused the Declaration of Independence but also recorded their endorsement of it.

On the final page of that issue, Anderson offered another chance for that reader and everyone else to demonstrate their patriotism.  In a brief but well-timed advertisement, he announced, “A Choice Collection of American Liberty Songs and Pamphlets to be sold by the Printer.”  He likely hoped that the excitement caused by the Declaration of Independence would inspire readers to become consumers of patriotic memorabilia.  After all, they now had even more reason to learn “American Liberty Songs” and join in singing them with their friends and neighbors.