Post DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE American Revolutionary War 1776 U.S. Newspaper For Sale

Post DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE American Revolutionary War 1776 U.S. Newspaper

Offered is an original, collectible newspaper (NOT a copy/reproduction):

THE PENNSYLVANIA LEDGER, Philadelphia, August 17, 1776* Post Declaration of Independence
* American Revolutionary WarThis exceptional, content-rich issue was published just weeks after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, capturing the frantic military, diplomatic, and social upheavals of the summer of 1776.Perhaps most interesting is a page 3 article which contains a stunningly prophetic address to the American public, warning: "Remember, in all your deliberations, you are engaged in a most arduous undertaking. Generations yet unborn may owe their freedom and happiness to your determinations & may bestow blessings or execrations on your memory."The front page features an intriguing "Eight Pounds Reward" advertisement seeking the return of four runaway soldiers who deserted their military service, providing highly specific descriptions of the men. Page 2 contains a lengthy, dramatic deposition from Jarrett Williams regarding his involvement with the Overhill Cherokee Indians as they prepared to wage war against Virginia, immediately followed by a report of an ensuing Indian battle. The page also features a brief item from Hartford regarding the arrival of a "motley mess" of captured Tories, a crucial intelligence report from New York warning that Lord Howe was preparing an imminent attack via Long Island, and a rousing patriotic address by the Governor of Georgia to his legislature, fiercely declaring their resolution to "assert their liberties & to maintain them at all events."Also present on page 3 are critical war updates from New York and New Jersey, featuring a letter noting that a group of men went to Long Island to "have a hearing at the city hall before his Excellency General Washington," alongside an essential diplomatic report revealing that the chiefs of the Six Nations met at Onondaga and resolved to recall their warriors from Canada and "listen to the Thirteen United States of America."The back page concludes with a fascinating advertisement for a pamphlet titled American Independence, the Interest & Glory of Great Britain, arguing for entire colonial independency.

The true historical significance of this issue lies in both its extraordinary timing and its political origin. Published in mid-August 1776, this newspaper serves as a magnificent chronicle of the tense, breathless interlude just days before the Battle of Long Island—the first major engagement of the war after the United States declared its independence—with reports directly tracking George Washington's preparations and British troop movements. The prophetic "generations yet unborn" quote perfectly captures the immense, heavy gravity felt by the founders and citizens alike, recognizing that the choices made in the summer of 1776 would echo through centuries of global history. Furthermore, the inclusion of the Six Nations neutrality council and the Cherokee conflicts perfectly documents the complex, multi-front war involving Native American alliances. Compounded by its publication in The Pennsylvania Ledger—a notoriously loyalist, Tory-operated press that would ultimately flee the city with the British Army in 1778—this paper offers a rare, nuanced window into a divided Philadelphia at the dawn of American nationhood.

Complete in four pages, featuring numeric notations in the margins of the advertisements from its use as the editor's personal copy, in very nice condition.Background: Published just nine days before the Battle of Long Island, the August 17, 1776 issue of The Pennsylvania Ledger captures a nation on the precipice of war, highlighted by a page 3 address solemnly warning citizens that "generations yet unborn" would measure their legacy by their actions that fateful summer. The front page features a stark look at military desertion through an eight-pound reward offering detailed descriptions of four escaped soldiers, while page 2 documents the widening frontier conflict via Jarrett Williams’s dramatic deposition on the Overhill Cherokee preparing to attack Virginia, followed immediately by reports of an Indian battle, intelligence on captured Tories in Hartford, an urgent warning that Lord Howe was targeting Long Island, and a fierce patriotic address from the Governor of Georgia. Page 3 pairs troop movements around Washington's headquarters in New York with a pivotal diplomatic update on the Six Nations resolving at Onondaga to recall their warriors from Canada and negotiate with the "Thirteen United States," concluding on the back page with an advertisement for a pamphlet advocating for total colonial independence—a rich, paradoxical blend of patriot fervor and frontier anxiety printed ironically within a Loyalist paper in a deeply divided Philadelphia.

Please Note: All of our offerings are 100% authentic! We do not offer reprints or reproductions of any kind. They are guaranteed to be original!
Links to Archival Storage Options & Certificates of Authenticity Are Below!Historical reports may be beautifulor ugly, but they are always informative. While we rejoice in the beautiful (heroic, discovery, amazing feats, etc.), we at History's Newsstand also offer "the ugly" for we are determined to learn from the wrongs of the past - understanding, to do so, we must be willing to look these wrongs directly in the face and shout "NO MORE!". It is for this reason many Black Americans collect historic slave ads, Jews collect reports regarding the Holocaust, women collect coverage of the Women's Suffrage Movement, etc.. If you find any to be offensive, we agree! Hopefully this is an indication we are moving in the right direction.

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We make every effort to provide the best possible buying experience. If we fall short of your expectations in any way,please contact usso we can try to make things right for you.Archival Storage......is available for an additional $11.25, plus an appropriate adjustment to S&H (see above Shipping Policy). If desired, purchase this directly (through ) at: archival storage folder. Again, to insure you will receive the appropriately sized folder for your item, please select the $11.25 folder option.Certificate of Authenticity...A certificate of authenticity is also available for an additional $3.00, which includes both the issue date and title, and certifies, by Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers, the issue to be authentic & original. If desired, purchase this directly (through ) at: certificate of authenticity.About Us...Contact Information...

We have been both collectors and dealers in rare newspapers since 1975, serve as consultants to multiple museums, and are members of both the Ephemera Society of America and the American Antiquarian Society.offer & Buy with confidenceknowing every item we offer is guaranteed to be authentic.

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"Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." Thomas Jefferson

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