Back in the 18th century, people who wanted to be free of British tyranny had to organize and inspire those who would eventually become the leaders of the American Revolution. They did so by publishing letters and articles in various publications and newspapers. These publications ranged from pamphlets to small newspapers. The most famous of these were the 85 articles published anonymously, under the pen name “Publius,” but they were in fact written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison between October 1787 and May 1788, eventually becoming known to us as the Federalist Papers.
Back in the 18th century, newspapers were largely related to the affairs of government, whether proclamations, laws, orders, or money. This was by necessity; because of weak markets, tight credit, scare supplies, poor transportation, and irregular labor, printers who did not have a connection to government contracts had a near impossible time making ends meet. Sound familiar? We have the same issue today. The MSM publishes what they are told to publish. They say what they are allowed to say.
Reliance on government largesse shifted in the 1760s, as political items, stories, and essays about the burgeoning “imperial crisis” appeared more frequently. Starting in the 1760s the number of newspapers rose significantly, and the government had a tougher time controlling the narrative. These papers became so influential that the government of King George did all that it could to silence them. Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1764, which taxed newspapers, almanacs, pamphlets, broadsides, legal documents, dice, and playing cards. Issued by Britain, the stamps were affixed to documents or packages to show that the tax had been paid. No document could be published without having a stamp affixed to it. This was a blatant attempt to prevent the press from publishing anything that wasn’t approved by the Crown.
The Colonists responded in the way that Americans still do today when they are told not to do something: they did it harder. There were more than four hundred pamphlets published in the colonies on the imperial controversy up through 1776, and nearly four times that number by war’s end in 1783. These pamphlets varied in their theme and approach, including constitutional theory or history, sermons and orations, correspondence, literary pieces, and political debate. Together, they instructed the colonial public that political and personal liberty were in jeopardy because British imperial reformers sought to strip them of their natural rights, especially the right to consent to a government that could hear and understand them.
Speech is a powerful thing, and it is required for people who would resist tyranny. It is speech that allows people to organize. It gives them hope, it gives them the ability to protest in an organized manner. Without the ability to motivate and organize, change and resistance to tyranny becomes impossible. If one or two people resist, they go to jail. Ask the J6 protesters what happens when you prematurely try to take action.
The key political pamphlets that supported resistance from 1765 to 1776 were:
- James Otis, Rights of British Colonies Asserted and Proved (Boston, 1764);
- Richard Bland, Inquiry into the Rights of the British Colonies (Williamsburg, 1766);
- John Dickinson, Letters of a Farmer in Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, 1768);
- James Warren, Oration to Commemorate the Bloody Tragedy of the Fifth of March, 1770 (Boston, 1772);
- Thomas Jefferson, A Summary View of the Rights of British Americans (Williamsburg, 1774);
- Thomas Paine, Common Sense (Philadelphia, 1776); and
- John Adams, Thoughts on Government (Philadelphia, 1776)
Now I make no claim to being as influential or intelligent as those greats, but that is what I do here. I, like many other freedom bloggers, make people aware of what is happening. It took them decades to convince the colonists to revolt. That is why speech and “talk” is important. That’s why I support other bloggers and provide them a place to say what they want without interference. I do so at great personal risk. I recently had a group of people try to dox me. I know that I am not absolutely anonymous, and I also know that this places me at risk once things get sporty.
Even in 1767, speaking out was a risk. One of the owners of the Boston Gazette, John Gill, was caned in public by an outraged John Mein of the Boston Chronicle over an article that had been written by the former. Later, Samuel Adams, writing as “Populus,” described this clubbing not as a private affair between the two printers but instead a “Spaniard-like Attempt” to restrict press freedom.
Nearly two years later, Mein sought to embarrass the Sons of Liberty once again, this time the Chronicle featured fifty-five lists of shipping manifests revealing the names of merchants who were opposing the crown. In response, many upset Bostonians who embraced vigilantism. The Sons of Liberty had to stuff pistols in their pockets to walk the streets of Boston. A few days later a large crowd confronted the offending printers on King Street, producing a scuffle that left Mein bruised, Fleming’s pistol empty, and a few dozen angry Bostonians facing British bayonets. Mein eventually had to flee to England.
There are those who periodically come around and call me out for “just talking.” They demand that I take action. One did so just yesterday. There was a Fed who tried it in 2022.
There is an old saying: How do you spot the Fed or the police informant? He is the one urging you to break the law.
Let me also repeat what I said on this same subject, less than three months ago:
If you still feel that all we are doing here is talking and you disagree with me, feel free to go out there and stack up. Do what you think you have to do. Just don’t say that you weren’t warned, and don’t sit safely behind your computer keyboard and tell me that I am a coward when you yourself aren’t doing shit.
This post has gotten long enough and my wife is asking me to play cards with her, so let that be my final statements on the matter for this time. I’m going to spend some quality time with the Mrs.
