Definition.

Anti-Whig newspapers and pamphlets began to appear in 1774 and existed in British-held regions until 1783. Unlike the rhetoric generated by the Patriot press, Loyalist propaganda had a more difficult time in achieving its goals: maintaining the morale of loyal colonists and demoralizing the enemy. In the end the pro-British press failed to win the hearts and minds of the American people.

Prewar Sparring.

By the early 1770s royal officials recognized the power of colonial printers in fomenting discontent among the American people. Although Loyalist postmasters destroyed publications they deemed to be seditious, such as William Goddard's (Philadelphia) Pennsylvania Chronicle and Universal Advertiser Journal, these efforts were not enough to stop the flood of anti- British material. Tory writers exchanged verbal attacks with their Whig counterparts in the newspapers. Jonathan Sewall published five series of anonymous essays between 1763 and 1775, refuting the criticism heaped on...