Newspapers in early America were an essential part of connecting communities with the latest news from Europe and other colonies. They “enabled readers to imagine themselves as part of a shared culture of ideas, investments and events that spread beyond their local world,”[1] helping to unite the distinct geographic regions that would later become the United States.
The American Antiquarian Society holds the first issue of the first newspaper printed in nine states. Each issue has a unique story to tell, not only about the state from which it was published, but also about the development of the United States. A new gallery on the AAS website showcases images of and information about the states’ first issues.
A labor-intensive and expensive process, the first printing of a newspaper in each state (or territory that would later become a state) often took years after the area was first settled by colonists. Though the first printing press was brought to America in 1638, a continuously-issued newspaper was not printed successfully until 1704. This first American serial newspaper, the Boston News-Letter, also marked the first newspaper printed in Massachusetts. The “last” first state newspaper appeared 165 years later, in Alaska in 1869.
James M. Miller published Michigan’s first state newspaper, the Michigan Essay; or, The Impartial Observer, in Detroit in 1809. Originally from Utica, New York, Miller came to Detroit at the request of Father Gabriel Richard, a Catholic priest who saw the need for a printing press to disseminate information to residents. It isn’t clear how long the newspaper lasted, but Miller was back in New York by 1811. Though the Michigan Essay was short lived, it helped ignite “a printing culture in the state by showing the possibilities of a local printing press for spreading news.”[2]
In 1810, Cephas S. McConnell sent AAS founder Isaiah Thomas a copy of the Michigan Essay, volume 1, number 1, dated August 31, 1809, with the following inscription:
“Utica, (N.Y.) Aug. 3, 1810 Mr. Thomas, Sir, I send you this paper printed by a friend of mine to insert in your ‘History of Printing.’ If he sees your advertisement, he will send you more, perhaps of a later date. Your ob’t serv’t, C. S. McConnell.”
Thomas had requested that publishers send him their newspapers for inclusion in his upcoming work, The History of Printing in America. This issue arrived too late to be included, but Thomas eventually donated it to AAS, ensuring that it would be preserved for future generations to appreciate.
To discover more about the Michigan Essay; or, The Impartial Observer and the eight other “first” state newspaper issues held by the AAS, check out the online gallery here: https://www.americanantiquarian.org/library/first-newspaper-issue
[1] Smyth, Adam. The Book-makers (New York, Basic Books, 2024), p. 147.
[2] Brockey, Liam. Printers of Michigan’s Capital Cities: Newspaper Magnates & State Printing in Detroit and Lansing (2016), p. 2.