Thesis: Whereas other newspapers refrained from commenting on the Peterloo Massacre, The Times of London actually called out the British government for the shooting of innocent civilians; in doing so, The Times ushered in the era of modern journalism.
Definitions:
Steam-powered printing machine (printing press): a machine which uses steam power to print text or pictures from type or plates (Oxford English Dictionary)
Journalism:
- Modern: “the activity or profession of writing for newspapers or magazines or of broadcasting news on radio or television” (Oxford English Dictionary)
- Historical: a profession or activity in which authors wrote what the government wanted the general public to know
The Peterloo Massacre: An attack by the British cavalry on peaceful protesters on August 16, 1819 in Manchester, England in which the cavalry attacked innocent civilians who were seeking political reform. This event resulted in approximately four hundred injuries and eleven deaths (Oxford English Dictionary, American Heritage Dictionary).
Yeomanry: A British volunteer cavalry force, formed in 1761, originally made up of men who owned and farmed land (Oxford English Dictionary).
Conservatism: The disposition to keep the established order the same and limit change. In 19th century England, it was an idea supported mostly by nobles, lords, and the upper class. The members of the parliamentary branch known as the House of Lords would have been considered conservatives (American Heritage Dictionary).
Liberalism: The idea that new behavior or concepts can be accepted over traditional behaviors and concepts. In 19th century England, it was mostly the idea that all men should be granted equal rights. The members of the parliamentary branch known as the House of Commons would have been considered liberals. In England, a fundamental idea of liberalism was that the country should be run with a constitutional monarchy and a parliament to support it (Oxford English Dictionary).
Radicalism: “the holding or following of radical or extreme views or principles” (American Heritage Dictionary).
The Press: “newspapers or journalists viewed collectively” (Oxford English Dictionary).
Logography: printing with logotypes or a single piece of type or single word (American Heritage Dictionary).
Other terms might need to be defined later based on further research.
Outline:
I. Background on Journalism before the 18th century
a. Before the 18th century, newspapers were not really newspapers, they were more like magazines and pamphlets
b. The term press came into existence around the 1700s. But the press still was not like it is today. The press did not really consist of reporters and journalists; it was more like a group of authors who wanted to inform the people. Newspapers were still a social outlet for the most part.
c. There were very few daily newspapers; there were not even that many weekly newspapers.
d. The printing press by Gutenberg allowed for faster printing but that did not bring about the newspaper right away.
e. Pamphlets were more popular than a large newspaper
f. he first newspapers were only about a page or two long
II. Very little news actually went into the first newspapers
a. Since most newspapers were not daily, authors did not tend to write about small news events that were happening.
b. However, major events like the Lisbon earthquake in 1755 was put in newspapers throughout Europe.
i. It was a major event so newspapers spent weeks talking about this event and even put out special issues to discuss the topic.
III. The majority of newspapers in the 18th and 19th century were controlled by the government.
a. Napoleon in France seized complete control of the newspapers in France while he was in control.
i. Napoleon went as far as stopping almost all newspapers in France while he was in control.
1. There went from about 70 newspapers to 12 newspapers.
b. John Walter, of The Times of London, made a deal with the government to print articles in their favor.
i. “Especially when he was able to negotiate a secret deal where he was paid £300 a year to publish stories favorable to the government,” (“The Times”).
ii. Once, John Walter printed something unfavorable about the Prince of Wales and he was fined £50 and sentenced to two years in Newgate Prison.
1. This was one of the last times Walter wrote something that went against the government.
iii. On May 13, 1805 an article ran called “Parliamentary Intelligence.” This article is an example of the governmental favor the Times showed before the Peterloo Massacre
1. The article discusses the House of Lords and what actions they are taking to help better London.
2. It says, “Several Private Bills were also read a second time” (“May 13, 1805). In the context of the article, this statement was made to gather support for the House of Lords by making it seem as if this parliamentary branch was really working to better England.
IV. Beginning of the Times newspaper
a. The Times was started by John Walter in 1785.
b. The paper started off as a daily advertising sheet called The Daily Register.
c. There were 8 other daily newspapers in London at the time.
d. John Walter was mostly interested in advertising at first and therefore said, “The Register, in its politics, will be of no party. Due attention should be paid to the interests of trade, which are so greatly promoted by advertisements," (The Times).
e. The Times also wrote about parliamentary reports and foreign news.
f. In 1788, the Times started to have stories about the latest gossip and scandals of famous people in London. These were the only other kinds of stories running besides what the government wanted published.
g. John struck a deal with the government to make it look favorable in his paper.
V. John Walter II
a. John Walter the II was the next owner who really took the Times to the next level.
b. He purchased a Koenig printing machine, the steam-powered printing machine, which allowed for faster and more efficient printing of the paper. About 7,000 copies of the paper were being sold a day.
c. He hired Thomas Barnes as editor in chief.
d. Walter stepped out of his comfort zone and published articles going against the government for the first time. The event that made the Times change their ways: The Peterloo Massacre.
e. Walter and Barnes even went on to criticize papers that later supported the government.
i. The Morning Chronicle, already a competitor of The Times, supported the government.
1. Members of the Whigs party bought control of The Morning Chronicle.
2. Suddenly after this, the Chronicle was showing excessive support to the Whigs party. The paper was no longer just showing governmental support but also catering to the wants of a specific party.
3. The Times, specifically Walter and Barnes, criticized The Morning Chronicle for this.
VI. The Peterloo Massacre – August 16, 1819
a. People in England, the lower class and middle class, were going hungry because of the Corn Laws.
b. So over 80,000 people took to the streets of Manchester, England to protest.
i. The protestors were peaceful.
ii. They were petitioning to repeal the Corn Laws and also for the right of all men to vote.
c. The English cavalry come to break up the peaceful protestors and end up attacking and trampling the civilians.
i. “And from this moment the yeomanry lost all command of temper: numbers were trampled under the feet of men and horses; many, both men and women, were cut down by sabers; several, and a peace officer and a female in the number, slain on the spot. The whole number of persons injured amounted to between three and four hundred,” (“Modern History Sourcebook: The Peterloo Massacre”).
ii. Approximately 400 people were injured
iii. 11 people were killed
iv. John Tyas, a reporter for the Times, was arrested at the Peterloo Massacre
1. Thomas Barnes, editor of the Times, chose Tyas to go to this event.
2. Barnes chose him because he “was nephew to an individual of great respectability in the town of Manchester" (“John Tyas”).
3. Tyas being arrested had a major impact on the Times changing its ways. Before the event at St. Peter’s Field, the Times had been rather critical of this radical event.
4. After Tyas was released from prison, he printed a full account of what happened at St. Peter’s Field on August 19.
5. The Times started a campaign against the English officers who were at St. Peter’s Field.
a. The Times printed many editorials about the incident. One editorial said, “a hundred of the King's unarmed subjects have been sabred by a body of cavalry in the streets of a town of which most of them were inhabitants, and in the presence of those Magistrates whose sworn duty it is to protect and preserve the life of the meanest Englishmen,” (“John Tyas”).
b. Since the Times was en established, national newspaper these criticizing comments really damaged the English authorities.
d. The English government then congratulates the cavalry for shooting innocent civilians.
i. This is the moment that The Times decides they can no longer support the government.
ii. The general public is who buys their papers so they should be supporting them.
iii. This event changes not only how civilians look at their government, but it also changes the media.
1. The Times takes the lead on challenging the government.
2. Other papers soon decide to follow the example of the Times.
VII. Newspaper Articles during and following the Peterloo Massacre
a. Articles found in the Times regarding the Peterloo event
i. John Tyas was a major writer on articles about the Peterloo Massacre.
1. Because he was wrongly arrested, Tyas wanted to make sure the people knew how much of an injustice this event was.
2. He wrote news articles about everything he had seen while he was at the incident. He later followed up the investigation by writing editorials about the wrongs of the cavalry and the wrongs of the government for supporting the cavalry.
ii. To showcase an example of the Times now challenging the government and printing articles the government probably would not approve of:
1. An article called “Police” was printed on the third page of the Times on October 27, 1819.
2. From the article: “Yesterday a man named George Drakard was finally examined upon a charge of having robbed his employer,” (“October 27, 1819”).
3. This quote shows that the Times was finally criticizing the government and its lawmakers. This article specifically showed the incompetence of the law forces around England.
b. Articles other English newspapers ran around the time of the Peterloo Massacre
i. The British Press of London ran an article on August 28, 1819 about the event at Peterloo. For the most part, the article just recapped the events of the Massacre and did not have much opinion in it. However, the view of the writer was distinguishable because the tone of the article seemed to favor the victims.
ii. The Champion and Review wrote an article called “The Rattle of Peterloo” on November 1, 1819, which was inspired by the articles of John Tyas from the Times about this event. The article called out the government for attacking innocent civilians and even went on to say that the government had been doing wrong to innocent civilians for years.
c. Articles other newspapers had many years after the Peterloo Event
i. The Patriot newspaper of London ran an article on September 28, 1854 about the Peterloo Massacre. It took over 30 years for this newspaper to break free of the government and admit that the Time was right and this was the moment the government had gone too far.
ii. The True Sun published an article on May 17, 1832 which addressed the Massacre as a “disgraceful occurrence” (“May 17, 1832”). Similarly to the Patriot, the True Sun took several years after the incident to discuss how wrong the government had been.
iii. Grand Rapids Tribune
1. This newspaper was a newspaper in the United States.
2. The Peterloo Massacre had been such a big event that papers in the United States even discussed.
3. However, most articles about this event did not run until almost a century later. This was because over a century later, the United States was finally comfortable enough and enough of a world power to say harsh things about other world powers.
4. An article was published on July 4, 1918 (America’s Independence Day) which discussed the ways English government suppressed its people.
a. Since it was the anniversary of the United State’s day of Independence it makes sense that the paper would give examples of ways the English government has always suppressed control of their people.
References
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