The Gazette of the United States was an early American partisan newspaper

History of American newspapers

The history of American newspapers goes back to the 17th century with the publication of the first colonial newspapers.-Colonial period:-The New England Courant:...

 first issued on April 15, 1789, as a biweekly publication friendly to the administration of George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

, and to the policies and members of the emerging Federalist Party. The Gazette was originally published in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 by editor John Fenno

John Fenno

John Fenno , was a Federalist Party editor and major figure in the history of American newspapers. His Gazette of the United States played a major role in shaping the beginnings of party politics in the United States in the 1790s.-Biography:Fenno was born in Boston, the son of Ephraim Fenno,...

, but followed the United States Government in 1790 to its new temporary seat and capital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. There the editorship was taken over by Joseph Dennie

Joseph Dennie

Joseph Dennie was an American author and journalist who was one of the foremost men of letters of the Federalist Era. A Federalist, Dennie is best remembered for his series of essays entitled The Lay Preacher and as the founding editor of Port Folio, a journal espousing classical republican values...

 until he founded Port Folio

Port Folio (magazine)

Port Folio was a Philadelphia literary and political magazine, published 1801-1812 by Joseph Dennie and Asbury Dickens. Dennie wrote under the pen name of Oliver Oldschool. Many other contributors to the magazine wrote under pseudonyms, including members of the Federalist Party...

.

Throughout its history, The Gazette would function as a quasi-official Federalist publication. Contributors would write, often pseudonymously or anonymously, in support of various Federalist positions, politicians, or policies. Like many other publications of the day, the paper also hosted pieces containing personal attacks (in this case, largely on Federalist opponents). Among the paper's more famous and prolific pseudonymous contributors was Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...

, who produced articles under many different noms de plume. John Adams

John Adams

John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...

, then Vice-President of the United States, published his famous Discourses on Davila, his last great text of political theory, in periodic installments of the Gazette between April 1790 and April 1791, when the series was suddenly interrupted.

The Gazette played a notable role in the development of political parties and early partisanship. It also played a leading role in inspiring the creation of its rival paper, the National Gazette

National Gazette

The National Gazette was a Democratic-Republican partisan newspaper that was first published on October 31, 1791. It was edited and published semiweekly by poet and printer Philip Freneau until October 23, 1793....

, which was founded at the urging of anti-Federalist leaders Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...

 and James Madison

James Madison

James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...

as a vehicle for their party's own political self-promotion and polemics.

Name Changes

Originally called the Gazette of the United States the newspaper's title was changed to the Gazette of the United States, and Philadelphia Daily Advertiser from June 9, 1797, to June 24, 1800. From June 28, 1800, "&" replaced "and" for the name the Gazette of the United States, & Daily Advertiser.

Further reading

• Jeffrey L. Pasley. The Two National "Gazettes": Newspapers and the Embodiment of American Political Parties. Early American Literature, Vol. 35, No. 1 (2000), pp. 51–86