was to count for much in the battle for a free press and political liberty.
New forces, affecting those interested both in literature and politics, were at work in England; chief among these forces was "the tendency to exalt the common good of society at the expense of special privileges."[1] Within a few years after the News-Letter was established, the circulation of the papers in London was about 44,000, the papers named being the Daily Courant, General Remark, Female Tatler, General Postscript, Supplement, British Apollo, London Gazette, Postman, Postboy, Flying Post, Review, Tatler, Rehearsal Revived, Evening Post, Whisperer, Postboy Junior, City Intelligence and Observator.
What was more surprising was that when the Whigs came into power in 1715, with George the First, there was no sympathetic reaction in a journalistic way in the colonies as might have been expected. Campbell's journalistic career suffered a severe blow when in 1719 he was removed as postmaster and a William Brooker was appointed in his place. Campbell, on being summarily dismissed, declined to send his newspaper through the mail, with the result that on December 21, 1720, Brooker brought out the first number of the second newspaper published in America, called the Boston Gazette, which was also a newspaper "published by authority" and was printed by James Franklin, who with his celebrated brother was to play an important part in shaping the early journalistic history of colonial America.
Brooker was a more able man than Campbell, as he showed in the controversy that followed between the two pioneer journalists, both of whom incidentally established that connection between journalism and political office
- ↑ Stevens, Notes on English Politics, 1702-1750.
