“A Rare Glimpse at Revolution: The Pennsylvania Gazette in the Supreme Council Archives”

From the November/December 2025 edition of The Scottish Rite Journal.  Any accompanying photographs or citations for this article can be found in the corresponding print edition.


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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the Scottish Right Journal Podcast, an audio presentation
of the Scottish Right Journal, brought to you by the
Supreme Council of the Scottish Right Southern Jurisdiction Mother Supreme
Council of the World. This week's article is from the
pages of Amicus Illuminates me a rare glimpse at revolution
the Pennsylvania Gazette in the Supreme Council Archives by Brother b.

(00:26):
Chris Rouley, thirty second degree kcch and read by Brother
Han Griffin, thirty second degree kcch And comes from the
November December twenty twenty five issue of the Scottish Right Journal.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Earlier this year, well relocating our archive materials over to
the new archives room at the House of the Temple,
the author discovered a rather unique piece of American history,
an original copy of the December twenty fourth, seventeen to
seventy three edition of the Philadelphia Gazette, which featured an

(01:01):
early public notice concerning the Boston Tea Party. This special
item had been boxed together with other i albeit more
contemporary newspapers, as a part of our Antique Newspapers collection. Admittedly,
the publication's title first caught my attention, as the newspaper

(01:21):
had been operated by famous freemason and founding father Benjamin Franklin.
Up On closer examination, however, I soon discovered the exciting
story contained on the page. This is a clear instance
that one never knows what one will stumble upon in
our eclectic collection at the House of the Temple. The

(01:45):
notice reproduced here in full, is well preserved, despite its
age and a predecessor's attempt to keep the piece together
with scotch tape. On the back of the piece we
find a brief handwritten note to noting the items subject
matter December twenty fourth, seventeen seventy three, the first seizure
of tea at Boston that began all our troubles. The

(02:08):
item's provenance or record of past ownership is a mystery.
A search of the Supreme Council's early transactions, which often
included notes of notable acquisitions in the library and museum,
did not uncover a mention of the paper. It is
more likely that the item was donated privately, and may
have been part of a larger collection donation. Nevertheless, the

(02:31):
notice found itself nestled together with other antique newspapers in
our periodical collection. On the page's front. The events related
to the December sixteenth, seventeen seventy three Boston Tea Party
protests of British taxation by the American colonists can be
found on the top of the second column. The people immediately,

(02:53):
as with one voice, called for a dissolution, which having obtained,
they repaired to Griffin's Wharf, where the tea vessels lay,
proceeded to fix tackles and hoisted the tea upon deck,
cut the chest to pieces, and threw the tea over
the side. There were two ships and a brig, Captain Hall,
Bruce and Coffin, each vessel having one hundred and fourteen

(03:17):
chests of tea on board. They began upon the two
ships first, as they had nothing on board but the tea.
Then proceed to the brig, which had hauled to the
wharf but the day before had had but a small
part of her cargo out. The captain of the brig
begged that they would not begin with his vessel, as

(03:37):
the tea was covered with goods belonging to different merchants
in town. They told him the tea they wanted, and
the tea they would have, but if he would go
to his cabin quietly, not one article of his goods
should be hurt. They immediately proceeded to remove the goods
and then dispose of the tea. The piece itself provides

(03:59):
clues as to how certain contemporary Americans, then subjects of
the British Crown, thought about the events in the Port
of Boston. Perhaps the most obvious or striking feature of
the notice is that it had been printed on one
side as an addendum to the day's main paper. This
suggests that the news arrived in Philadelphia so quickly and

(04:24):
with such a great sense of urgency, that the printer
decided to produce this run immediately. Speaking of printers, While
Benjamin Franklin retired from the printing business in seventeen forty eight,
the paper continued to operate through a business partner, David Hall.
Franklin and his first business partner, Hugh Meredith, purchased the

(04:46):
paper in seventeen twenty nine. The paper's contents and reputation,
most certainly aided by Franklin's then growing reputation, made it
a nationally popular source for news and Commentaryronment did not however,
prevent Franklin from contributing to his former paper, which he
did regularly, especially during the tumultuous War of Independence period,

(05:10):
when the Gazette publicly favored independence and promoted stories to
that effect. Franklin contributed his famous Join or Die cartoon
to the Gazette, which later became a major symbol of
the calls for liberty. The Pennsylvania Gazette ceased operations in
eighteen hundred, a decade after doctor Franklin's death. The paper's

(05:34):
legacy and impact on national events, however, cannot be understated. Indeed,
the Saturday Evening Post, still published today and one of
the longest running magazines in the United States and at
one time the most popular and influential, traces its origins

(05:54):
to the Pennsylvania Gazette.

Speaker 1 (05:58):
Lake En shared this article forget to subscribe to the channel.
If you wish to comment, please leave one and as
a reminder, hit the notifications bell. Any accompanying photographs or
citations for this article can be found in the corresponding
print edition. The Scottish Right Journal is published by the
Supreme Council of the Scottish Right Southern Jurisdiction. Mother Supreme

(06:18):
Council of the World. Mark Dreysen Stuck, thirty third degree,
Managing Editor, Thanks for listening.