Hiding in Paine Sight: Jonathan Shipley's Forgotten Bestsellers and the Print Culture of the American Revolution

Abstract:Historians widely acknowledge the significance of Thomas Paine's Common Sense, the most popular pamphlet in revolutionary America, in securing American independence. Yet they have almost entirely forgotten the importance of the second-most popular pamphleteer of the era, Anglican Bishop Jonathan Shipley. This essay recovers Shipley's significance while also suggesting that his works paved the way for Paine's explosive success. Shipley's two bestselling pamphlets have been forgotten because they were more pragmatic and less ideological than Paine's writings. Focused on economics and policy rather than principle, Shipley's works do not neatly fit within nationalist narratives of the American Revolution. Examining these pamphlets, and the ways that their receptions diverged over time, provides insight onto the complex relationships among print, politics, and nation in early America.