My last blog included a piece by John Clapham printed in the May 2, 1771 Maryland Gazette. In it, the son-in-law of Annapolis printer Anne Catharine Green explained his understanding of her editorial policies concerning the publication of anonymous letters and articles. Clapham thought she followed the guidelines of her late husband Jonas, who “never had published any anonymous Writing without a Knowledge of the Author.” Two weeks later, Mrs. Green thought it necessary to spell out her policies in her own words so there could be no confusion among her readers and would-be contributors.
There had been a recent increase in the number of anonymous items submitted for publication, and the printers “thought it their Duty to refuse to print till they should either know the Authors, or be otherwise indemnified in Case of their being called to account for the printing of such Pieces.” This refusal had “incurred the Censures of the Publick” and “many angry Complaints from the disappointed Writers of such Papers.”
Mrs. Green’s problem was with uncredited personal attacks “either on any Bodies of Men, or any Individual in the Community.” While this description was vague enough to encompass anyone, the targets she was really talking about were powerful politicians. If one of more of them got upset by something printed in the newspaper and threatened to sue her for libel, Anne Catharine Green wanted to be able to deflect blame to the true source of the problematic piece or be protected from any legal and financial penalties.
In the 18th century, printers faced very real official threats for publishing content that rubbed those in power the wrong way. The front page of the same issue of the Maryland Gazette included a royal proclamation for the arrest of two Englishmen who had published unflattering pieces “misrepresenting the Speeches and reflecting on several of the Members” of the House of Commons. Mrs. Green was well aware of how fragile a right freedom of the press was even at the heart of the British empire.
It’s only within this context that we can fully appreciate Anne Catharine Green’s quite reasonable policies for someone in her potentially vulnerable position. Provided she was entrusted with the real name of an anonymous author or received indemnification, Mrs. Green pledged that “no Writing, on whatever Subject, or from whatever Party, that is not merely personal, nor otherwise unfit for the publick Eye, shall be refused a Place in our Paper.” She maintained that this “is all that can reasonably be expected from a free and impartial Press, such as we hope this ever had been, and such as we resolve it ever shall be.” Operating by these principles, the Maryland Gazette continued to serve as a forum for spirited but responsible public discourse 250 years ago.
You can read the May 16, 1771 issue of the Maryland Gazette starting here: https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc4800/sc4872/001281/html/m1281-1281.html
Glenn E. Campbell
HA Senior Historian
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