Goddard quit the family's printing company in Rhode Island because he was not making the income that he expected. He suspended the newspaper with issue number 134 on May 11, 1765, and left his mother in charge of the business. He found a job with the New York City publisher
John Holt and became a
silent partner with him. He became the successor of Goddard's
Providence Gazette newspaper and started publishing it alone, beginning with issue of November 12, 1768. Goddard's mother died on January 5, 1770. In 1765
Benjamin Franklin was in London as an agent for Pennsylvania. When he opposed the enactment of the
Stamp Act in 1765, knowing beforehand, however, that passage of the controversial bill was inevitable, he acquiesced, while actually working for its repeal and appealing to colonial sentiment. In the meantime the people of Pennsylvania suspected Franklin of supporting the Act. To counter the criticism aimed at Franklin over his apparent involvement in the passage of the Stamp Act
William Goddard reprinted almost the entire collection of Franklin essays from London papers in the
Pennsylvania Chronicle which summarized Franklin's involvement and underlying opposition to the passage of this act. The role Goddard and Franklin played through the
Pennsylvania Chronicle in relation to the Stamp Act marked a significant change in Pennsylvania colonial history and its politics, as the passage of the act effected a division in the
Quaker Party which had always prevailed in the
Pennsylvania Assembly. Goddard meanwhile had joined the
Sons of Liberty. He fought both the
Loyalists and the
Patriot to maintain freedom of the press and freedom of expression. Just before the
Stamp Act of 1765 was to take effect in November, Goddard founded
The Constitutional Courant which openly criticized the act in strong language. Under the assumed name of
Andrew Marvel, Goddard secretly had the newspaper printed at
Woodbridge, New Jersey, in the shop of James Parker, which was released on September 21, 1765. Its release caused much alarm and controversy resulting in extensive discussion and deliberations when it was sold on the streets of New York City. Goddard established as the mouthpiece of the Anti-Proprietary party the
Pennsylvania Chronicle and Universal Advertiser on January 26, 1767. The Galloway and Wharton partnership soon dissolved over disagreements about debts, and Goddard continued the newspaper alone until the last issue, number 368 on February 8, 1774. In retaliation, Galloway and Wharton had Goddard imprisoned for debt in September 1771, having to serve three weeks. Goddard's Philadelphia business was floundering, so he decided to start over again. He bought the printing equipment and type from the widow of
Nicholas Hasselbach,
Baltimore's first printer, who had unexpectedly died a few years before. The newspapers were printed with the type obtained from Hasselbach. He informed his readers that he would publish all kinds of material of intelligence, foreign or domestic, that would be of interest to the
Publick, like notices of the departure of ships, current prices of goods, the course of exchange, accidents, deaths, and events of every kind. Goddard was given the post of surveyor in the system, and his sister was named postmistress of Baltimore, making her the first woman appointed to a federal office of the United States. While Goddard was working for the post office, his sister Mary, in his absence, managed and edited the
Maryland Journal single handedly. In its issue of May 5, 1778, appears the following notice: "Rags for the paper-mill near this town are much wanted, and the highest price will be given for them by the printer", and again "Cash will be given in exchange for rags at this office." Mary was joined sometime after mid-1778 at the
Maryland Journal by Eleazer Oswald, a former American artillery officer. Oswald printed criticisms of George Washington by the disgraced general
Charles Lee and this led to public demonstrations against him. While publishing the
Pennsylvania Chronicle, Goddard sold paper to the New York printer John Holt. On June 8, 1779, Colonel
Eleazer Oswald, considered a distinguished officer in the Colonial army, formed a business connection with Goddard at Baltimore. He ended his activities as a printer by an almost twenty-year stay in Baltimore. Goddard helped set up the first press in
Alexandria, Virginia, as a silent partner. His newspapers, like many others, printed advertisements for
slave sales, brokered through printing offices. As revolutionary sentiments grew and the revolution with Britain drew closer, Goddard's mother and sister took over operations at the
Gazette for him, when he devoted his time and money in other business matters with Franklin and merchants.
The Constitutional Post Franklin had made significant contributions to the postal system in the colonies while serving as the postmaster of Philadelphia from 1737 to 1753, and as joint postmaster general of the colonies from 1753 to 1774. Because of Franklin's rebellious political stances, he was dismissed from the postal service in 1774, which brought about a flurry of protests from the Americans. Among the most outspoken was Goddard, who established his Constitutional Post to give the colonists sympathetic to the revolutionary cause a private communication network free from British eyes. Officials of the British postal system at the time began opening private correspondence mail for investigating. They also were interfering with the delivery of newspapers, which was the main means of getting news to the colonies. Goddard's newspapers became a sympathizer to the Patriot cause, and the British hindered the delivery of them, even banning altogether the delivery of some. Because of this, Goddard decided to design a new post delivery system for them. He started with his first post office delivery point at the
London Coffee House in Philadelphia, a meeting place for merchants which became the center of much of the political life of the city prior to and during the revolution. Goddard established another in Baltimore. Because of war time activity with few people sending mail, and mail thieves taking advantage of the instability of the war, Goddard's experiment with the new postal route proved unsuccessful. He first made known his post office project in the
Maryland Journal and Baltimore Advertiser on July 2, 1774. He brought into existence 28 other post offices in several colonies. The colonies paid a subscription to Goddard for the service which was further improved with the net revenues. This became the foundation for the
United States Post Office Department. A side benefit of Goddard's ideas ultimately lead to the
United States Postal Inspection Service. Goddard had hired his own
post riders and created a postal system that came to be known as
The Constitutional Post, which would provide mail service to the colonies between New York and Philadelphia. Goddard established a system of postal routes and post offices, which presence and use brought about the discontinuance of the British postal system. Known as ''Goddard's Post Offices,
it was a private enterprise and competed with the British postal system. Goddard stressed the idea that the various Constitutional Post Offices should be under the jurisdiction of a central government. He ran the new mail service as a private concern. It was so efficient that the Continental Congress, on May 29, 1775, took the first step and appointed a committee headed by Franklin and worked out its organization as an independent postal establishment. It was named The Constitutional Post''. On July 26, 1775, Congress officially developed the new nation's first postal system. Goddard's oversight and organization at that time was operating from New Hampshire to Georgia. Congress, needing to deal with other urgent matters, delayed Goddard's proposed plan until after the
Battles of Lexington and Concord in the Spring of 1775. Goddard's
Constitutional Post plan was ultimately implemented, assuring communication between the colonies and keeping them informed of various events during the conflict with Britain. Distrustful of the Crown, the colonial populace was turning to and using the postal system now provided by Goddard. Ultimately, Goddard and his revolutionary post was so successful that it finally forced the Crown post out of business in the American colonies by Christmas Day 1775, when the king's last postrider delivered mail. Goddard's Constitutional Post proved to be a success and by 1775, his post system was flourishing with 30 post offices delivering mail between
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and
Colonial Williamsburg. Goddard's plan for a colonial post office would be one that was established and maintained by popular subscription and would be managed and controlled by a private committee that would be elected annually by the subscribers. The committee would appoint postmasters, determine postal routes, hire post-riders and fix the rates of postage. In what was to Goddard an unexpected turn of events, when the Continental Congress authorized a post office run by the government, it passed over Goddard and instead named Benjamin Franklin as the first American
Postmaster General. giving him the authority to travel as needed to investigate and inspect postal routes and to ensure mail delivery. Recognition of Goddard's role in the development and implementation of the U. S. Post Office has been largely ignored by many historians until recently. There has always been an American postal system in place ever since the establishment of Goddard's post offices in 1774. Goddard was disappointed when Franklin was given the position of Postmaster-General by the Continental Congress. However, he conceded to Franklin, who was 36 years his senior and had many years of experience as postmaster, and reluctantly agreed to serve instead as
Riding Surveyor for the new U.S. Post Office. Franklin drew up a pass that allowed Goddard to travel at his discretion in his new position. Franklin authored and signed the pass and presented it to Goddard. Franklin would later leave the Bonds he had on the Goddards to Bache in his last will and testament of 1788. Franklin died on the evening of April 17, 1790, at the age of 84. Feeling uninspired over his appointment to Surveyor of the Posts, Goddard, in a letter to Congress, dated June 21, 1776, had recited his services in the establishment of the Constitutional Post Office and reminded the delegates that they had given the Postmaster General no authority to reimburse him and his friends for their outlay of money in "establishing Postmasters, hiring Riders...", and establishing post offices throughout the colonies. Wanting to serve his country at the onset of war, and needing the opportunity to replenish his financial situation, he asked the Congress for an appointment as a lieutenant colonel. The Congress passed on his letter to the Board of War. The Board subsequently referred Goddard's appeal to General Washington, who, on July 29, 1776, in a letter to Congress, expressed the belief that the induction of Mr. Goddard "into the Army as Lieutt. Colo, would be attended with endless confusion." Thereafter no more was heard from Goddard about his military aspirations.
American Revolution In 1774, in response to the
Boston Tea Party, the
British Parliament passed what was referred to by the colonists as the
Intolerable Acts. A bill known as the Boston Port Bill was presented at the
House of Commons on March 14, 1774. The intrusive bill passed both houses of Parliament with little opposition and was signed by the King a couple of weeks later. Among other measures the Intolerable Acts closed the
port of Boston and radically altered the government of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony. Many colonists viewed the acts as an arbitrary violation of their rights, and in response they organized the
First Continental Congress on September 5, 1774, at
Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia to establish a representative political body to oppose such laws. When the Boston riots erupted in September 1774 over the
Coercive Acts, the colonies had lost much trust of the British Crown entirely. Since most of the Colonists were born in the colonies at that time and had never seen the actual 'mother land' they had very little sentiment left for
King George III or for the British authorities in the colonies. As a result, the
Continental Congress was convened at Philadelphia in May 1775 to create an independent government that would represent the colonists and oppose the arbitrary rules thrust upon them by the Crown. When Benjamin Franklin began to publicly lend support for the
American Revolution he was dismissed from the royal postal service which resulted in widespread protests among the colonists, where Goddard was among the most outspoken. "Constitutional" post offices, were established in Baltimore and Philadelphia the same year in which Franklin was dismissed. "Constitutional post office" was the term employed by Goddard to distinguish them from the British system that was currently in operation. During the few years leading up to the Revolution, Goddard became well noted for the innovations he introduced to the postal system as it came to be employed in mail delivery between the various colonies. Goddard's postal system came about as the result of a series of conflicts involving his newspaper the
Pennsylvania Chronicle, and the Crown Post, a postal administration and mail delivery system that was in use in the
British colonies prior to the advent of American independence, under the authority of the British crown. As the idea of revolution began to surface throughout the colonies, the British began manipulating the Crown Post by blocking the mail and communications between the various colonies in an effort to prevent them from organizing with each other. The Crown also resorted to the delay or destruction of newspapers and opening and reading private mail, a form of
postal censorship that the British crown considered legal. Goddard's
Pennsylvania Chronicle was sympathetic to the revolutionary ideas being put forth by Benjamin Franklin and others so Goddard's publications were routinely criticized by and under the constant scrutiny of the Crown Post authorities. Franklin had just fallen from grace with the British monarchy by exposing Massachusetts governor Thomas Hutchinson with his own letters, showing him to be in collusion with British efforts to impose more laws and taxes on the colonies in America. His involvement with the
Chronicle further prompted the Crown in their dealings with Goddard's newspaper. In their effort to see the
Pennsylvania Chronicle delivered, Franklin and Goddard persevered and in the midst of British scrutiny would create a separate postal system that ultimately became the postal system in use in the United States today. One of the first issues for the delegates was how to collect and deliver the mail between the various colonies. Franklin, who had just come back from England, was made chairman of a Committee of Investigation to start a colonial postal system. The issue was a pressing one as the existing Crown Post was now routinely manipulating the mail of the colonists prior to the revolution. William Goddard experienced the abuse of authority of the Crown Post in Philadelphia after forming a partnership with Benjamin Franklin to publish the
Pennsylvania Chronicle, a paper sympathetic to the revolutionary cause. Goddard was one among several publishers who used private carriers rather than those of the British crown to deliver his Chronicle so as to get the newspapers past the scrutiny of the Crown post, who was opposed to Goddard and his Chronicle for their revolutionary sympathies. So adamant was the Crown towards Goddard and the Chronicle, that the local Crown postmaster intercepted and refused to deliver mail and other newspapers from other cities and towns to Goddard, depriving him of a critical source of information. The Crown Post also imposed a heavy tax on newspaper delivery. In 1773, the
Pennsylvania Chronicle was finally forced to go out of business.
Washington-Lee controversy General Charles Lee was passed over for command of the
Continental Army by the Continental Congress who on June 15, 1775, unanimously appointed George Washington to be their commander. A disappointed Lee felt that the command should have been given to him and came to publicly criticize Washington as "...a certain great man who is damnably deficient", following Washington's defeats at the battles of
White Plains and
Fort Washington, in the fall of 1776. Some years later Lee had requested Goddard to publish his account of the matter. In the July 6, 1779, issue of the
Maryland Journal Goddard had printed General Lee's "Some Queries, Political and Military", which consisted of a three-volume work that contained twenty-five pointed questions about the management of the war by Congress, and the conduct of George Washington in particular. The "Queries" of the court-martialed general incited a Baltimore mob led by three Continental officers who confronted Goddard on the evening of July 8, They demanded at his home that he surrender and appear in front of the Whig club. Goddard grabbed his sword and called Eleazer Oswald to his side. He insisted that he not be treated in such a manner. He agreed to meet the club members in a civilized manner at a local coffee house but was doubtful that they would accept his offer. A mob led by Colonel
Samuel Smith caught up with him later and carried him away. Overwhelmed and helpless, Goddard agreed to publicly apologize for publishing Lee's attack on Washington in his paper, which Goddard later repudiated. Goddard and Oswald informed the state authorities of the mob attacks while defending Lee. They also demanded public protection for themselves and their right to
freedom of the press, but ultimately had their demands rebuffed. In the July 16 issue of the Maryland Journal, they subsequently published an acrimonious account about why and how they were treated. They championed Lee's cause, printed the correspondence between Oswald and Smith, and retracted the apology that was coerced from Goddard. The long-term consequence of this episode was that Goddard and General Lee became good friends. It is not known exactly how the papers of General Lee came into the hands of his friend Goddard. Goddard's original plans to publish the papers never reached fruition. Knowing the controversial and critical nature of the work and that its publication was likely to cause trouble, Goddard, in a letter of May 30, 1785, wrote to Washington informing him that he had received a letter from Lee asking him to publish his work which roundly criticized Washington. Goddard enclosed a hand-written copy of the proposed title page on June 14, and later sent Washington a printed title page as part of his prospectus of Lee's projected three-volume work. The title page read: Miscellaneous Collections from the Papers of the late Major General Charles Lee. Goddard continued to publish his newspaper in Baltimore for thirteen more years and was never again harassed. ==Later years==