Page:History of American Journalism.djvu/138



Constitution, did not make provision for the freedom of the press. Each colony, however, as it drew its State Constitution, passed some resolution to the effect that the press being essen- tial to State freedom ought to be inviolably preserved. As new States and Territories drew their own constitutions, they incor- porated some similar resolution to protect the press from the censorship to which it had been subjected during the colonial period. Even the first Congress saw the mistake of its omission and passed an Amendment that Congress shall make no law abolishing the freedom of speech or of the press. In spite of this constitutional guarantee, the Alien-Sedition Laws were passed.

HILDRETH ON PRESS OF PERIOD

Hildreth, in speaking of the influence of the press upon American politics in 1812, thus explains the rise of this period of black journalism: "The demand for printers and editors, especially in the middle states could not be supplied from do- mestic sources and as many of these political exiles had been connected with the press at home, many of them having been driven into exile in consequence of publications prosecuted by the Government as libelous and seditious, they had adopted the same calling in America."

LOCATION OF LEADING PAPERS

According to the census of 1800 there were in the United States only eleven cities or towns which had a population of over five thousand. Of these, only two, Philadelphia (70,287) and New York (60,489), had more than fifty thousand: three, Balti- more, Boston, and Charleston, had between twenty and thirty thousand: three, Providence, Savannah, and Norfolk, had be- tween five and ten thousand: just over the five thousand limit were Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Albany, New York, and Richmond, Virginia. As the total population, as given in the census, was about five million, three hundred thousand, the city population, therefore, constituted only about five per cent. Newspapers had greatly increased in number since 1783, but they were still largely agricultural, except in the eleven cities just mentioned. The temporary location of the seat of the Gov-