Benjamin Franklin Bache

Along with obtaining his grandfather’s name, Benjamin Franklin Bache also inherited his grandfather’s passion for journalism. Similar to his famous grandfather, Bache was a writer, printer, and newspaper publisher.

Bache was exposed to the world of journalism early on in his life. At the age of seven, he traveled with his grandfather to cities such as Paris, France and Geneva, Switzerland. In Geneva, Bache learned how to use a printer from Francois Ambroise Didot, who Bache’s grandfather considered the best printer in the world. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Bache continued to practice his journalistic skills by publishing school textbooks and Thomas Paine’s revolutionary writings.

Although he was a skilled printer, Benjamin Franklin Bache didn’t become famous until he got involved in the newspaper industry. Bache started publishing a newspaper called the General Advertiser and Political, Commercial, Agricultural and Literary Journal. This newspaper was different in that Bache incorporated art and science into its content to enrich the lives of his readers. Another unique feature of his paper was its positivity. Bache would not print stories of events such as murders or suicides in his paper to promote a “new nation.”

Along with being the editor and publisher of the General Advertiser, Bache made it clear that he was also an opponent of the Federalist Party. He used his newspaper to publish his opinions of the United States government. He would go as far as to defend the Jeffersonian ideal of a small central government against the Hamiltonian ideal in his publication.

The General Advertiser was renamed the Aurora after President Washington signed Jay’s Treaty. It was at this point that Bache was recognized as a fierce journalist. Infuriated with the government, Bache would blatantly attack political leaders. This later resulted in the passage of the Alien and Sedition Act of 1798, which made it a crime to publish false, scandalous, and malicious writings against the U.S. government.

Bache was among the first few to incorporate opinion into the news. His work later impacted all Americans’ first amendment rights. If it weren’t for Bache and the Aurora, we may have different rights as Americans when it comes to freedom of speech and freedom of press.