Essential Facts
- Bache was the grandson of Benjamin Franklin.
- He supported Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans.
- He founded The General Advertiser, which he renamed Philadelphia Aurora.
- Bache opposed the policies of the Federalist Party, particularly those of Alexander Hamilton.
- He printed Jay’s Treaty in his newspaper, creating public outrage.
- Bache was arrested under the Sedition Act in 1798.
- He died from yellow fever while awaiting trial.
Significance
Benjamin Franklin Bache is important to American History due to his role as a newspaper editor who helped shape the early division between political factions in the United States. Openly critical of the Federalist Party’s policies, Bache pushed the boundaries of Free Speech during the Early Republic Era, which sometimes led to physical attacks. A staunch believer in the First Amendment, he was arrested for violating the Sedition Act (1798).
Biographical Notes
Benjamin Franklin Bache was a leading journalist who supported Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans in the 1790s through his newspaper, the Philadelphia Aurora.
Early Life and Education
- Benjamin Bache was the grandson of Benjamin Franklin.
- In 1777, Bache traveled to France with his grandfather, with his parents’ permission.
- He was educated in France and Switzerland.
- Bache and Franklin returned to Philadelphia in 1785.
- In 1787, he completed his education at the College of Pennsylvania.
- Bache partnered with Franklin in the newspaper business until Franklin died in 1790.
AHC Notes
- Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) — Franklin is a Founding Father and one of the most influential figures in American History. A printer, inventor, scientist, and statesman who rose from humble beginnings to become the most famous American during the Colonial Era. Franklin founded civic institutions in Philadelphia, conducted experiments with electricity, and served as a colonial agent in Britain. He helped draft the Declaration of Independence, secured French support during the Revolution, and contributed to the United States Constitution
Bache Starts the General Advertiser
- Bache used his skills and inheritance from Franklin to start his own newspaper, The General Advertiser.
- The paper gained the attention of Thomas Jefferson for its coverage of congressional debates and news.
- Bache used the paper to oppose the Federalist Party, led by Alexander Hamilton.
- Bache was a key competitor to John Fenno’s Gazette of the United States, which supported the Federalists.
- In 1794, Bache renamed the paper Philadelphia Aurora to promote “publicity and information.”
- Bache supported the French Revolution (1789–1799) and befriended French refugees living in Philadelphia.
AHC Notes
- Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) — Jefferson is a Founding Father, principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and the 3rd President of the United States. His career included service as governor of Virginia, Secretary of State, and Minister to France. He advanced ideas about religious freedom, territorial expansion through the Louisiana Purchase, and public education with the founding of the University of Virginia.
- Federalist Party — One of the first political parties in the United States, it was established by Alexander Hamilton during the Presidency of George Washington. The party supported a strong central government and a loose interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. It dominated U.S. politics during the Early Republic, but declined after the War of 1812.
- Alexander Hamilton (1757–1804) — Hamilton is a Founding Father and the first Secretary of the Treasury. After serving under Washington in the Continental Army, he supported the ratification of the Constitution and contributed to the Federalist Papers. He was responsible for developing federal economic policy and established the Federalist Party, which favored a strong central government. His political rivalry with Thomas Jefferson shaped early party politics. He was mortally wounded in a duel with Aaron Burr in 1804.
- French Revolution (1789–1799) — Inspired by the Enlightenment and the success of the American Revolution, it led to significant changes in France that affected its alliance with the United States. Disagreements in America over support for the French Revolution led to the development of political parties and policies that shaped the course of American history.
Bache Opposes Jay’s Treaty
- Bache strongly opposed President George Washington, who typically supported the Federalists, and his successor, President John Adams, who was a Federalist.
- He obtained a copy of Jay’s Treaty (1794) with Britain from a source who was allied with Jefferson.
- Bache printed copies of the treaty and distributed them from Philadelphia to Boston.
- This contributed to public outrage against the treaty, which seemed to promote an American alliance with Britain over France.
- At the time, many Americans supported the French Revolution and were wary of developing close ties with Britain.
AHC Notes
- John Adams (1735–1826) — Adams is a Founding Father and was the 2nd President of the United States. A leader of the Patriot Cause in Massachusetts, Adams was involved in nearly all of the key moments leading up to the outbreak of war. He was a prominent figure in the movement for independence and played a key role in drafting the Declaration of Independence. As President, he guided the nation through the XYZ Affair and the Quasi-War.
- Jay’s Treaty (1794) — An important agreement between the United States and Great Britain that helped ease tension between the two nations. Widely criticized in America, the treaty was beneficial to Great Britain but helped the United States avoid war. However, it created tensions with France that contributed to the Quasi-War.
Bache Responds to the XYZ Affair and Sedition Act
- In 1797, the French seized American ships in response to Jay’s Treaty, leading to the XYZ Affair (1797–1798) and the Quasi-War (1798–1800).
- Bache continued to support American ties with France, despite widespread anti-French sentiment..
- He printed a letter written by Charles de Talleyrand, the French Foreign Minister, in defense of French policies.
- Efforts to silence Bache included an indictment for treason, which failed.
- Bache was arrested under the Sedition Act of 1798, which suppressed criticism of the government.
- Bache died from yellow fever while awaiting trial, leaving behind his wife, Margaret, and four children.
AHC Notes
- Alien and Sedition Acts (1798) — Four laws passed by the Federalist-controlled Congress during the Quasi-War with France. The acts extended the naturalization period, allowed the president to deport foreigners, and restricted criticism of the government. Intended to suppress Democratic-Republican opposition, they provoked strong backlash, leading Thomas Jefferson and James Madison to draft the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions and contributing to Jefferson’s victory in the Presidential Election of 1800.
William Duane Continues the Philadelphia Aurora
- By the time of his death, the Philadelphia Aurora had around 1,700 subscribers.
- It was the most important Democratic-Republican newspaper in the nation.
- Following his death, Bache’s widow, Margaret, married his assistant, William Duane.
- Duane continued the newspaper and maintained its mission.
- The newspaper ended in 1824.
AHC Notes
- William Duane (1760–1835) — Duane was a journalist who succeeded Benjamin Franklin Bache as the editor of the Aurora, a leading Democratic-Republican newspaper in Philadelphia. Known for his fierce opposition to President John Adams, the Quasi-War with France, and the Alien and Sedition Acts, Duane endured political persecution and mob violence. Despite these challenges, he supported Thomas Jefferson during the 1800 election and remained influential in Democratic-Republican politics. He later held several government posts, retired from the Aurora in 1822.
Appendix
Narrative
AHC Note — This narrative of the life of Benjamin Franklin Bache is adapted from the Dictionary of American Biography (1943). Please note that text corrections have been made and spacing has been added to improve accuracy and readability.
Benjamin Franklin Bache was one of the most prominent journalists in the early history of the Democratic-Republican Party.
Bache was born in Philadelphia. His mother, Sarah Bache, was the only daughter of Benjamin Franklin. His father, Richard Bache, was a merchant and a Patriot.
As a boy, Bache traveled with Franklin to Europe, studied in France and Geneva. After his return, he studied at the College of Philadelphia. In Paris, he learned the rudiments of his trade in the printing-house of Didot.
Bache’s career started in 1790 with the founding of the Philadelphia General Advertiser, better known later under the name the Aurora. He announced the plan for the journal on October 4, declaring his motto to be, “Truth, Decency, Utility.”
Political parties were taking shape during Washington’s first term, and they felt the need to have a newspaper to spread their message. The Federalists had Fenno’s United States Gazette, and the mouthpiece of the Republicans was the National Gazette, edited by Philip Freneau. When the Gazette suspended publication due to an epidemic of yellow fever, the Aurora succeeded to its influence.
Among the subscribers at one time were Jefferson and President Washington himself. It was a newspaper quite catholic in its scope in some respects; it contained, for those days, extended accounts of European affairs, and published quite fully the proceedings of Congress and papers by the Executive.
But its notorious feature was the virulent personal abuse for which that decade of journalism was famous. Washington wrote, “The publications in Freneau’s and Bache’s papers are outrages on common decency.”
Bache, nicknamed “Lightning-Rod Junior,” usually maintained the anonymous editorial attitude. Often, the columns were open to contributors, as when a “Calm Observer” charged that the President had overdrawn his salary and was a common defaulter.
Other examples of the paper’s treatment of Washington are found in the issues of 1796, when the accusation was made that he had violated the Constitution, when a burlesque poem was printed for his birthday, and when the Aurora reprinted forged letters of Washington, originally issued by the British in 1776.
In the summer of 1795, knowledge of Jay’s treaty with England was circulating in the United States, but the details remained unknown beyond the circle of the President and the Senate. Before Washington made the treaty public, Senator Stevens Thomson Mason of Virginia sent an advance copy to Bache. The latter printed the substance in the Aurora of June 29 and published the full treaty in pamphlet form on July 1. The excitement was intense; as the Aurora said on July 4, “The fountains of the great deep are broken up.”
Another instance of Bache’s actions was at the time of the election, near the close of 1796, when he opened his columns to Pierre Adet, the French Minister to the United States. Adet sent four notes to Timothy Pickering, Secretary of State, and copies of them simultaneously to the Aurora; they contained a decree of the Directory, an address to the French in America, and sentimental appeals.
Bache’s final utterance concerning the administration was his abusive “valedictory,” when Washington retired from office in March 1797: “If ever there was a period for rejoicing, this is the moment — every heart in unison with the freedom and happiness of the people, ought to beat high with exultation that the name of Washington from this day ceases to give a currency to political iniquity, and to legalize corruption.”
Despite early support for President John Adams, the Aurora quickly shifted to attacking him. The bitterness at that time was intense, as is shown by the fact that Bache, on a visit to the shipyard in Philadelphia, was beaten by Humphreys, the son of the builder of the frigate United States. This attack, it was alleged, was in return for criticism that appeared in the Aurora.
The Federalists, in turn, accused Bache of being in the pay of the French Directory, a charge that Bache denied. The same year, 1798, was that of the XYZ Affair and of the Sedition Act. Thomas Jefferson had noted in a letter to James Madison dated April 26 that the “Aurora was particularly named” in preparing the Sedition bill.
On June 26, Bache was arrested on the charge of libeling the President and Executive, but was released on parole. He had just printed Talleyrand’s note to the United States Commissioners, dated June 16, and their reply, dated June 20–23.
His newspaper’s circulation declined during the XYZ Affair, and his own activities were nearly at an end. He fell victim to yellow fever in Philadelphia on September 10, 1798. On November 17, 1791, he married Margaret Hartman Markoe, of a Danish family. She continued to work on the paper after his death and married William Duane, who had been the associate editor.
