Pennsylvania Packet

The Pennsylvania Packet, or the General Advertiser was an American newspaper founded in 1771 that, in 1784, became the first successful daily newspaper published in the United States.[1]

Pennsylvania Packet ...
October 28, 1771 edition
Owner(s)John Dunlap (founded 1771), David C. Claypoole (until 1800)
Zachariah Poulson (1800–1839)
Founded1771
Ceased publicationmerged into The North American (1840)
HeadquartersPhiladelphia
Lancaster (1777–1778)

The paper was founded by John Dunlap as a weekly paper in late 1771. It was based in Philadelphia except during the British occupation of the city in 1777–1778, when Dunlap published the paper at Lancaster.[2] David C. Claypoole eventually became a partner with Dunlap. As of September 21, 1784, the paper was issued as the Pennsylvania Packet, and Daily Advertiser, reflecting the paper's move to daily publication.

The paper subsequently underwent additional name changes, dropping the Pennsylvania Packet prefix in 1791, and becoming Dunlap's American Daily Advertiser (1791–93), Dunlap and Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser (1793–95), and Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser (1796-1800).

On September 21, 1796, it was the first to publish George Washington's Farewell Address.[3]

In 1800, Zachariah Poulson purchased the paper and renamed it Poulson's American Daily Advertiser.

In 1825, the Marquis De Lafayette granted an interview to "Poulson's Advertiser" during his famous visit to the United States.[4]

Poulson ran the paper for almost 40 years, and at end of 1839 sold out to the owners of the recently founded North American. The North American featured the 1771 founding of the Packet as its heritage. To the extent it can honestly be traced past this point, the final successor of the Packet can be said to be The Philadelphia Inquirer.[5][6][7]

References
  1. Library of Congress. "Eighteenth-Century American Newspapers in the Library of Congress". 617. The Pennsylvania packet, or the General advertiser. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  2. "Eighteenth-Century American Newspapers in the Library of Congress: Pennsylvania". Library of Congress. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  3. "George Washington's Farewell Address: Primary Documents of American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress)". www.loc.gov. Retrieved Mar 3, 2020.
  4. "An 1825 Interview with Lafayette". www.ushistory.org. Retrieved Mar 3, 2020.
  5. Watson, John Fanning. Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania in Olden Time, Vol. 2, p. 34-35 (1844)
  6. Scharf, J. Thomas and Wescott, Thompson. History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, Volume 3, p. 1966-68 (1884)
  7. Lee, Alfred McClung. The Daily Newspaper in America: The Evolution of a Social Instrument, p.169-70 (1937)


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