tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post1140682322010267144..comments2024-03-28T04:26:30.557-05:00Comments on Boston 1775: “I am come to demand the author of the piece you printed” Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-72838596551001553652018-01-19T22:39:48.540-05:002018-01-19T22:39:48.540-05:00Under oath more than a year later, Edes admitted t...Under oath more than a year later, Edes admitted that he wasn’t sure whether he had said, “I was not to be at every fellow’s beck,” “…every rascal’s beck,” or “…every scoundrel’s beck.” J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-85340788814339651362018-01-19T15:51:48.748-05:002018-01-19T15:51:48.748-05:00Yes, Mein definitely learned to play the game of a...Yes, Mein definitely learned to play the game of attacking political enemies through insinuations in his newspaper, and publishing leaked information that would embarrass them. But that came to a peak in late 1769 and this exchange with Benjamin Edes was in January 1768, less than two months into Mein’s newspaper career. <br /><br />It’s conceivable that Mein truly didn’t understand journalism ethics yet, or didn’t realize how they had developed in America. But I suspect he was aware of printers’ claims of confidentiality (which are still contested today). I think that because Mein saw “Americus” as making a personal attack on him, the situation felt different.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-47250376705622229342018-01-19T15:32:03.441-05:002018-01-19T15:32:03.441-05:00Oops, saw 1775 in a different article in a differe...Oops, saw 1775 in a different article in a different tab- sounds like this is the year before the publication of names. Mea Culpa. That's what I get for bouncing between article today.Schuyler Mansionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02001179137546334580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-752016620524270362018-01-19T15:22:49.773-05:002018-01-19T15:22:49.773-05:00Not so much. Using information from the Inspector ...Not so much. Using information from the Inspector General of Customs, he had earlier revealed the names of all of the Whigs continuing to trade with England in violation of their own Non-Importation Agreements, to their considerable embarrassment. Their response was to seek personal and public retribution through anonymous publications and menacing by an armed mob who specifically threatened to kill him.[Nicolson, Colin "A plan "to banish all the Scotchmen": Victimization and political mobilization in pre-revolutionary Boston." Massachusetts Historical Review, Vol. 9 (2007) pp 64 Jstor.org] If this is in 1775, this is after years of antagonism for his "Whistleblowing".Schuyler Mansionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02001179137546334580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-63331421405119526282018-01-19T15:22:43.383-05:002018-01-19T15:22:43.383-05:00There are some similarities (name-calling, bankrup...There are some similarities (name-calling, bankruptcy), but a lot more differences, I’d say. J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-46320830084123645192018-01-19T12:49:04.504-05:002018-01-19T12:49:04.504-05:00So basically, Mein is the Donald Trump of the 18th...So basically, Mein is the Donald Trump of the 18th century.Mikenoreply@blogger.com