Monumental Unique Gift Ideas for That Perfect 21st Birthday Present For The 21st Century
Great unique gift ideas for that perfect 21st birthday present symbolize credit of an acquired goal in life. Not only ethnic but communal as well. 21st birthday is a highlight birthday celebrated extensively in the 21st century, and is considered to be one of the most important times in a person’s life. 18 is legal by law but Twenty-one is considered a legal adult. Searching for 21st Birthday Presents is easy when you know what to look for. A truth of life.
The gift presented on this day is a symbol of love, and conveys your good wishes and blessings for a bright future of the 21 year old. Goodies should be in accordance with the wantings and spirit of the birthday girl or boy. Following are some gift ideas for the 21st birthday:
Gold Watch
If your finance authorizes, you can gift the birthday chico or chica a gold watch with his or her name and date of birth imprinted on it.
Silver Jewelry
You can get him or her passes to their first silver jewelry magic gig. It is a great gift idea, natural and more available than anything its equal.
Have a Sports Present Party
21st birthday calls for gala and nothing can be more exciting than a sport gifts birthday party. Most households are several opportunities for sports gift happiness.
Video Collections and Electronic Gadgets
The 21st birthday commemorate the commencement of formative years and a time of great responsibilities. Therefore, the gift presented on this day should be extraordinary. You can use your foresight to give made to order or inspirational gifts as well.
Carnival of life is great to celebrated and wise to do so. Life is to be savored, loved, lost and gained. It is and will always be a time of contemplation of what was and a intuition into what will be. The receiving family member will think lovingly on the one that gives such 21st birthday presents. Discover 21st birthday present ideas here.
The Property Index Online Company — Your Hip Transnational Property Information Center
Property Index are specialists for property in Spain, view the site to see the different properties.
Although Property Index is only a new kid on the block bureau, (they were founded only in March of 2007), they have quickly established expert status. On closer scrutiny, they are a extremely easy going bureau devoted to guiding every client intending to let, sell etc. real estate assets across the globe. They’re guaranteed to offer you assistance to unearth squarely what you are looking for swiftly and, even better, straightforwardly. Property is available for the asking in the most popular regions of the world these days, one of the high-class areas being real property on the market in Spain. It’s easy as one-two-three to list a slew of the fantastic land you can purchase in Spain, the explanation for picking properties here is a combination of the houses and apartments for sale and the fantastic opportunity to live surrounded by such a energetic, eager and sprightly populace.
This is one of the most fashionable property markets these days, and with the scenic splendor and weather surrounding you here, how could you conceivably go wrong… Property in Spain is immersed in culture, art and history, this realm of the world has long been home to numerous indigenous cultures. Only 30 years ago you would find a mere trickle of British people looking for land in Spain. Ask any one single person who has emigrated to Spain and they will tell you the same thing. Many people would view it as a brief trend and others view it as a practically an addiction! Buyers interested in migrating over here may range from yuppies in search of a bit of a new challenge to senior citizens planning on relaxation and enjoyment.
Note, though, that you may hit on a few predicaments when purchasing land overseas; you’ll find there are hundreds of actions to take up whether budgeting, visiting or buying. Even if one single minute step is missed that is sure to definitely bring about broad predicaments as well as, preeminently, loss in financial terms. Naturally, as is to be assumed with this sought after region, land could well be quite expensive in this place and that’s unquestionably a consequence of the steep buyer demand. This notwithstanding, homebuyers are patently very spoilt in terms of choice in such a part of the world so full of superb surroundings. Patently it can boast practically everything a buyer might conceivably covet and then some.
Here’s a “Golden Nugget”… Win Your Disability Case by Obtaining Your Personnel File from Work
Sometimes as a disability lawyer, one must be more creative than usual in order to win a client’s disability claim. Such a situation presented itself recently in of all places, the city of creativity, Las Vegas, Nevada.
I am blessed with a great disability practice as I have the opportunity to represent very honest, hard working people throughout the United States who are unable to work. I am fond of saying that we represent people who have good cases to begin with…our job is to make them better.
However, occasionally a client’s case does not “come together” the way we had hoped. This problem manifests itself in many different ways. It can be the treating doctor who does not want to help, or the medical records are of poor quality, are illegible, or do not assist anyone in understanding the severity of the client’s medical conditions.
Unfortunately for my client in Las Vegas, a number of things fell apart in her case – we were left with scant evidence. In fact, two doctors (worker’s compensation and social security) opined she could work during the same time she alleged she became disabled. At 32 years old, her age was not on our side.
Quite frankly, the outcome on her case looked grim. However, I’ve learned when a case does not come together one must get creative and dig deeper rather than quit.
While reviewing the file before the hearing I asked myself, “How in the world are we going to win this case?” Suddenly, I ran across the proverbial Golden Nugget in the case. Had we turned an apparent empty hand into a Royal Flush?
Let me break the suspense…my client with fibromyalgia and chronic migraine headaches won her case. Although I have traveled throughout the country and seen a lot happen at hearings, I was amazed at what transpired.
At the hearing, this evidence roared like the MGM Hotel’s Lion. What was it? The client’s personnel file from a job she was fired from 5 years before she became disabled. Yes, 5 years! How in the world was this even relevant if she managed to work for years after this? Many SSA bureaucrats and judges would not look at this evidence due to that fact …but this judge did.
The personnel file was relevant because it corroborated her story. As stated, she was disabled due to chronic pain from fibromyalgia and migraine headaches. She testified at the hearing she was fired from “many jobs” due to poor attendance and productivity problems.
One can testify to anything at a hearing; but it’s a whole ‘nother blackjack game when you have documents corroborating your testimony. Her personnel file contained a “warning letter” and “termination letter” two months later for excessive absences; due to…you guessed it…migraine headaches. There was also a letter from her treating doctor asking the company to accommodate her medical problems as he explained her medical problems were genuine and would cause her to miss work.
The company documented she was missing work over 30% of the time prior to and after the warning letter. For two months following the warning letter her attendance problems continued. The inevitable termination letter offered condolences, but also documented the significant negative impact her problems were having on this small company. The company explained it needed an employee who was “reliable.” The letter was perfect evidence to support a disability claim.
At the hearing, I quickly referenced the personnel file and the judge made it clear he was indeed, very impressed with it. I developed testimony from my client about how the problem did not resolve over the ensuing five year period, resulting in several more job terminations and the filing of a disability claim.
The judge, bless his heart, was candid with me following the hearing as he explained he was not impressed with the case as there were many problems. I agreed. But 10 minutes after the hearing began, it was over.
You should be aware this is not the first time a client of mine has won their case using primarily a personnel file. Follow these tips to get the most out of your personnel file and evidence you submit in your disability claim.
1. How to obtain your personnel file
First, it is obvious you must obtain the file. This may be as simple as sending a letter or authorization to release records to your former employer. But beware, many companies are reluctant to part with this information due to concern over you suing them for various reasons including the failure to accommodate under the American’s with Disability Act (ADA). Ameliorate this fear by telling them why you want it, it usually works.
I usually have my client ask for the file because if I call, an alarm goes off. Try to turn on the charm and deal directly with the Human Resource department; if the corporate bean counters get involved or worse, their lawyers, you’ll likely never see the file.
If the company says “No” you’ve got a problem unless your disability claim is pending a hearing before a judge. This is because you lack subpoena power; you can’t force the company to turn it over. But, upon a showing to the judge why the file is relevant, you can ask him/her to issue a subpoena and the company should comply. By the way, if you have dealt with a nasty Human Resource department in trying to get your file, it is therapeutic to hear them moan and groan after being subpoenaed. Gotcha!
Only get the judge involved if you are certain the file contains (or should) evidence that advances your disability case.
2. What your looking for in the personnel file
The things I look for are attendance records, records documenting how much sick leave has been used, warning letters regarding performance problems and job evaluations. Rarely does a personnel file contain all these potential “Golden Nuggets,” but most will contain at least one if you documented your problems while working. Often an employee’s job evaluations will begin to deteriorate toward the tail end of employment. However, good evaluations are relevant as they bolster your credibility when you testify that you enjoyed working and would like to return if only you could.
If there is good evidence in the file, then submit it to SSA and/or the judge.
3. How to document your personnel file
This is a very delicate issue, and I confess I am not an employment law attorney. There is a fine line between documenting your personnel file with your medical problems while working and creating your demise by losing your job.
However, if you are sure you are unable to continue working and plan on filing a disability claim, I think it is prudent to document your problems. If you are missing time from work or are having problems functioning due to a medical problem, get that into your personnel file. If you are exhausting your vacation or sick time, let the company know why. Get a letter from your doctor to address the reasons for your absences. Once confronted with this documentation, most companies will likely go out of their way to accommodate your medical condition and special needs, at least for a period of time.
Remember, in a disability claim, you should always try to have another independent source corroborating the story about your trials and tribulations which led to your inability to work. Affidavits are one source of evidence and I encourage you to view your personnel file another means to this end. Best of luck in pursuing your disability claim and remember, never quit!
Scott E. Davis is a social security and long-term disability insurance attorney in Phoenix, Arizona. Mr. Davis represents clients throughout the United States. Although Mr. Davis has experience representing clients with a broad spectrum of physical and/or psychological disorders, the majority of his disability practice is devoted to representing individuals with chronic pain and chronic fatigue disorders. In almost every case, a fee is charged only if his client obtains benefits. Mr. Davis invites your questions and inquiries regarding representation via telephone (602) 482-4300, or email: info@scottdavispc.com
A Room With a View
Did you hear that Hollywood is re-doing My Fair Lady? I’m not sure what they think they are going to improve upon. We don’t have any Audrey Hepburns to fill the role of Eliza Doolittle, and I’m afraid that Cecil Beaton isn’t available to do the sets on this re-hash. All this news reminded me of a favorite song in the movie that was also recently used for a LazyBoy® ad. You know which one I’m talking about. It goes something like, “All I want is a room somewhere…far away from the cold night air…with one enormous chair…ah, wouldn’t it be lovely?” Sometimes I sing that song as I’m heading home at the end of a long day at work. I just want a cozy spot to put my feet up and relax. Don’t you?
For some of us, creating that cozy spot in our house can be a far from relaxing exercise. Which style of chair to choose? What fabric will go with the rest of the room? Down or synthetic cushions plagues your mind along with thoughts of what your adorable dog will do to the chair when you’re not looking!
Do you need answers to these sorts of questions? Want an expert to create a lovely room that’s cozy, inviting, and durable for today’s lifestyle? If so, visit NewMexicoHomeDirectory.com and find the perfect designer that will meet all your needs!
first anniversary gift
Relaxing Spa Packages
An exquisite gift that you both can share and enjoy some truly deserved downtime is a trip to a day spa. You can reward you and your spouse with a gift certificate from the spa of your choice and the price will based on your budget. You can research on the internet what types of treatments are available and you can select the treatments that will suit you and your spouse’s needs. This will make a wonderful relaxing day for the both of you leaving with many memories of your anniversary.
Hire a Chef for a Day
An exquisite mouthwatering experience that both you and your spouse can definitely enjoy is hiring a chef for a day. What a wonderful anniversary gift. You will be able to enjoy a five star dinner for just the two of you in the privacy of your own home. You will be able to choose your own menu. You may want to set up your placements on your patio or deck. Enjoy the moonlight or a candlelit dinner for just the two of you. Or you if you prefer you can invite some of your closest friends to enjoy your special anniversary gift with you.
more ideas of how to get a nice first anniversary gift, or any anniversary gift year that you need.
Real Estate Marketing Online – An Agent’s Guide to Success
Each year, more and more consumers go online to look for homes and search for real estate agents. Smart real estate marketers know this, so they venture online themselves, with a personal marketing website.
But simply having a website is not enough. You must have an effective website — one that moves the visitor toward that all-important goal of contacting you.
The First (and Only) Law of Web Marketing:
Seems everyone these days has an unsupported opinion about what does or doesn’t work in web marketing. But the only thing these people can say for certain is what has or hasn’t worked for them.
A tactic that fails miserably on one website could succeed wildly on another site. There is testing, and then there’s conjecture … the key is to know the difference.
You never know if something will work until you try it.
Marketing to the Info Savvy
To understand real estate marketing online, you first have to understand how consumers have evolved over recent years. Consumers have become increasingly skilled at using the Internet as a research tool. The glut of information we face on a daily basis has led to a nation of “info savvy” individuals.
In short, the problem of information overload has yielded the solution of information savvy. As a result, new skill sets have emerged.
Skills of the “Info Savvy” Web User:
- Able to quickly judge the value of a website
- Able to recognize and assess the information “hot spots” of a website
- Able to skim and scan web pages with brutal efficiency
- Able to read selectively while ignoring suspected advertising spots
Don’t Underestimate Your Readers
Read enough articles on web writing and you’ll hear the phrase “short attention span” used to describe web readers. Nothing could be further from the truth. A short attention span implies some kind of mental deficiency, a handicap of sorts.
On the contrary, the average web reader is anything but handicapped. They don’t suffer from short attention spans — they enjoy heightened powers of selectiveness.
They don’t scan pages because they’re averse to reading — they scan pages because they know there’s a lot of bad websites out there, and they’ve developed the tools to screen them with great efficiency.
So if you want your website to engage the reader, and ideally evoke a response, you must first get the reader to stop. You must use words, images or a combination of the two to tell the reader, “Hey, you’ve found something worth your while. Slow down for a minute!”
If your website fails in this regard, it fails entirely.
On a personal marketing website, the obvious goal is to motivate or persuade the reader. To channel them toward the desired goal. And speaking of “channels,” it’s about time for an acronym.
SECTO: Stop … Engage … Channel … Tell … Offer.
Keep SECTO in mind when building (or having built) your personal marketing website, especially on those pages where you’re trying to evoke a response.
SECTO:
- Stop the reader (perhaps with your headline, imagery, or a combination of the two).
- Engage the reader with relevant content that delivers on the headline’s promise.
- Channel the reader toward the specific action you want them to take.
- Tell the reader how to take that action.
- Offer the reader an incentive or reward for taking that action.
Statistics show that 77 percent of buyers use the Internet at some point during their home search. With numbers like that, your mission is clear — you must have a website to stay competitive.
The question is, what have you done to make your website more effective than the websites of all your competitors?
Brandon Cornett has worked as a writer and advertising manager within the direct mail industry. He now dedicates his time to helping agents and brokers improve their real estate marketing programs. His website guide and his free newsletter are both available at: http://www.ArmingYourFarming.com.
How To Choose A Perfect Home Based Business
Nowadays, more and more people are becoming a home based business owner. If you make a search on ‘home based business’ at Yahoo, it returned a total of 51,000,000. No, I didn’t put any extra zeros. It’s 51 million! Most of them are promoting business opportunities and others provide home based business information.
The question is now, if you want to start your own home based business, without having to go through all 51 million sites, how do you find the perfect business that really suits you?
Let’s begin.
Basically there’re 2 types of business that you can run. I’ll go through one at a time.
1. Selling a new product.
If you’re a super genius who knows what the market’s wants, that this type of business is for you.
Advantage: You will be the owner of the product which means you control everything; from pricing to the product type. You’ll become the expert and people will see you as genius who create new product line.
Disadvantage: You will have to design your own marketing plan; sales letter, website design, autoresponder email system and everything. So, in other words, your business might no begin within 1 or 2 month after you develop your product. Even you already setup everything, your income might come in rather slow since most people are afraid to buy new product.
2. Selling other people product.
You sell other people product and you earn income by receiving your sales commission.
Advantage: You don’t have to design any market plan (most of the time). Everything will be provided to you. All you need to do is using these tools to market their product. Since everything is there, you can start promoting them almost immediately and so do your cheque.
Disadvantage: You don’t have the power to change the market plan, product or any tools. You have to use them whether you like it or not.
Which one you choose is wholly up to you. But for me who is so lazy of doing any thinking and working, I’d choose option 2.
Still, you have to make filter out millions of products that you can promote for your business.
Here are the guidelines for choosing them:
1. Available marketing tools: Are they giving me any marketing tools? eg. email ad, banner ad, sales letter etc. The marketing marketing tools provided, the better.
2. Product is suitable for huge market: Choose a product that can be use by many people and not only for certain group of consumer.
3. Recurring commission: For me this is the most important factor. Some product, you earn your comission only once when you make one off sales. Normally, you earn a recurring commission when you sell product that needs the buyer make recurring payment every month. So, you will earn your commission every month as long as the buyer makes the payment.
It is easy, isn’t it?
Let’s we summed up everything that we learn.
If you want to start you home based business immediately, promote other people’s product. This product should have excellent support, all marketing tools are provided to you, many people use it and the buyers have to pay them every month.
There you have it. A perfect home based business for you (at least it is for me 
).
Nas Romli runs a site that help people to start their own home based business within 24 hours.Many have benefited from this service.Drop by at his site for more information about this amazing service: http://www.cashflowsecret.net
Can Knowing The Basics of HTML Boost Your Email Advertising
Thousands of Internet marketers are using email as a major part of their advertising campaign. This is not the most effective form of advertisement due to the fact that there are lots of websites that offer online email software that allows promoters to reach thousands to millions of prospects using their safelist programs. Due to overwhelming response from promoters to use their lists we now face the issue of Spamming (emailing in bulk or by single mailing, about a product/service to anyone who has not specifically requested the information directly from you or flooding the Internet with many copies of the same message, in an attempt to force the message on people who would not otherwise choose to receive it).
But no need to fear their is a proper way to reach lots of interested buyers and co-afiliates without becoming black listed as a spammer. You need to deal with companies that will sell you fresh email lists that haven’t been sold to hundreds or thousands of people.
Email list websites
http://www.email-lists.biz/
http://www.thetrafficstream.com/?source=k
Now stands the battle between Text vs HTML email formatting tactics for the fall 2004. Tests have been conducted and Ross-Simons’ Internet Marketing Director Anne Driscoll said “We tested HTML when years ago just like everybody else, and it was four-times as effective as text. However now we’re testing to see if text can convey an urgency that’s not necessarily there in HTML.”
Turns out it’s “as effective or even more effective than standard HTML” for an urgent reminder that a sale is about to end. “It’s less to do with deliverability and more to do with the way a customer interprets a message,” notes Anne.1
What’s the difference?
When you see colored text, graphics, words that are underlined (besides hyperlinks), bold text, etc., in an email, you are looking at an HTML email message. HTML allows you a variety of ways to format your message text, graphics and color.
A plain text message looks like something written in a basic text editor. Notepad, which comes loaded with your PC’s operating system, is a great editor for sending text messages. Most professionals who send text messages use Notepad to edit their copy.
“Both formats can work very well in email marketing. A well-written text message without any graphics can perform very well and deliver results. Text messages are easy to create and closely follow the format of a professional sales letter which many marketers are already familiar with. HTML campaigns can capture their audience with a few well-placed visual focus points.”
“Well-written copy sells better than weaker copy with fancy graphics. If you’re new to online marketing, my suggestion is to start with text. If you really want to use HTML, you need a good designer. Collect some examples of HTML email advertisements you have responded to and model your campaign after them.”2
Where to learn the basics of HTML websites:
http://www.htmlbasix/. com/
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/4204/html.htm
You also need to have a few sales letters ready to get the ball rolling.
Sample letters
Sample #1
[Date]
[Mr./Mrs./Ms./Dr.] [Customer's Full Name]
[Title]
[Company Name]
[Address] [City], [State] [Zip/Postal Code]
Dear [Mr./Mrs./Ms./Dr.] [Customer's Last Name]:
Don’t lose this letter, or you’ll lose your free gift!
[Name of Your Store] is having our [Name of the Sale] Sale, and we want you to be there, for outstanding savings on everything in the store.
And a FREE gift everyone will love.
Beginning [First Day of the Sale, Including Month, Day and Year] and Ending [Customer's Last Day of the Sale, Including Month, Day and Year], [Name of Your Store] will have huge discounts, up to [Highest Percentage Customer Can Save During Sale]% on items like these:
[Highest Percentage Customer Can Save During Sale]% off all [First Type of Product On Sale at the Highest Discount]. or [Highest Percentage Customer Can Save During Sale]% off all [Second Type of Product On Sale at the Highest Discount]. or [Highest Percentage Customer Can Save During Sale]% off all [Third Type of Product On Sale at the Highest Discount].
And not only will you save, but if you bring in this letter during the [Name of the Sale] Sale, we’ll also give you a [Name of the Free Gift], absolutely free.
Mark your calendar now for the [Name of the Sale] Sale: [First Day of the Sale, Including Month, Day and Year] – [Customer's Last Day of the Sale, Including Month, Day and Year]. Come to the sale early, and don’t forget to bring this letter, because our [Name of the Free Gift] supplies are limited.
And there’s no telling when we’ll run out.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Title]
[Your Company Name]
P.S. Tape this letter to your door–mail it to yourself–put it in the glove compartment of your car–just don’t lose it or you won’t get [Name of the Free Gift] for free.
Sample #2
[Date]
[Mr./Mrs./Ms./Dr.] [Customer's Full Name]
[Title]
[Company Name]
[Address] [City], [State] [Zip/Postal Code]
Dear [Mr./Mrs./Ms./Dr.] [Customer's Last Name]:
NEW! We’ve just received a shipment of thousands of new [Name of the Product] and we need to get them moving!
So we’ve knocked off the price about [Percentage Customer Can Save By Ordering the Product from You]%–you can get your [Name of the Product] right now for just $[Price of Product].
We’ve never offered [Name of the Product] before, and we don’t know exactly how you will respond to them. That’s why we’re offering them at such a low price.
We’ll keep this low price for as long as we can, but if the demand is high, we’ll be forced to raise our prices.
Sorry, but those are the laws of supply and demand.
So order yours now, while we’re still offering this incredible introductory price–just $[Price of Product]. Call [Phone Number Customers Call to Place Orders, Preferably a Toll-free or 800 Number] right now, and give our brand new [Name of the Product] a try.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Title]
[Your Company Name]
P.S. Don’t forget about our return policy. Return any product to us within [Number of Days the Guarantee Lasts] days, and we’ll refund your purchase price.3
Finally you need to decide which method works best for you.
Getting The Big Picture?
reference
1. Anne Holland http://www.marketingsherpa.com/sample.cfm?contentID=2848
2. Jason Lexell http://www.businessemaillists.com/articles/text-vs-html.asp
3. Sandi Stevens http://www.bizine.com/salesltr.htm
Copyright © 2004
About the Author
Treci Cauthen is a Writer/Internet Marketing Coach.
Natural-Cures-Info
webvillage.bravehost.com naturalcures.bravehost.com
Kevin Trudeau
Free Guitar Tablatures
Guitar tabs or guitar tablatures are of utmost importance to those who play guitar. Guitar tabs are one of the important components for learning new tunes. Usually the guitar tabs come with the lyrics of the song for which the guitar tab is played, and sometimes the interlude or prelude lead part of the music is given through these guitar tabs.
Depending on the nature of the guitar, i.e. a rhythm guitar, a classical guitar, a bass guitar, a twelve string guitar and so on, the guitar tabs vary as these guitars and their arrangements and frets vary in shape, size and purpose. However, a guitar tab is a system of notations, letters, symbols and other visual representations – instead of the traditional musical notation.
The sole purpose of a guitar tab is to give the direction to the player as to how to play a musical piece through a diagram of strings of the guitar. Guitar tabs or a tablature nonetheless consists of a diagram of strings of the guitar with finger positions indicated by numbers corresponding to the appropriate frets and sometimes with the numerical representations of the fingers.
Free guitar tabs are very important for those who are young enthusiasts and are keen on learning the new tunes and technicalities of guitar and especially those songs which have extensive guitar uses, both plucking and other types of fingering as well as lead parts. The Web is the biggest resource for gathering these free guitar tablatures and is much conducive than those costly books at the nearby music stations and book stalls. Free guitar tablatures are those available on the Internet that give oneself the freedom to explore and choose the song or the music he wants the guitar tablatures for.
Guitar Tabs provides detailed information on Guitar Tabs, Free Guitar Tablatures, Classical Guitar Tablatures, Bass Guitar Tablatures and more. Guitar Tabs is affiliated with Guitar Tabs.
Was there Always Bias in Journalism? Ask George Washington. He’ll tell you
There is bias in the elite media! How often do you hear that on cable talk shows? Yes,George Bush gets criticized by the press. Clinton before him took it on the chin and every president before him felt the sting of slings and arrows.Truman and Roosevelt got it, Lincoln certainly did and so did Adams and Jefferson. It started before all the aforementioned presidents because the very first”victim” of presidential “media” bias was none other than George Washington.
And what provoked the media bias that plagued the man who has been revered thoughout our nation’s history?
First a little background…
The tap root of American journalism was sunk into partisan soil when Patriot and Tory hurled invectives across a widening line of intolerance over the Stamp Act in 1765. The twenty three papers in the colonies then were four- page weeklies of local advertising, local here-say and large sections of European news, cut verbatim from the London press. News as we know it was non-existent.
When the Stamp Act created the furor in the colonies, letters of opinion were published by printers who would run pieces submitted by someone – anyone – who had something to say. As the patriot presses from Boston to Charleston rattled out words of defiance to the British crown, the idea of being a British subject was being replaced by a new self-image as writers in journals began to refer to themselves and everyone else as Americans. Led by the printers and their contributing writers, this new mind-set was being developed as opposition to the crown grew.
After the repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766, the power of the press was realized. Colonials, intrigued with the idea of independence from Britain, saw it as a weapon and in Massachusetts, the Boston Gazette and Country Journal were in the forefront of agitation. Two fiery coals in the “hotbed of sedition,”Benjamin Edes and John Gill, opened their doors to a deliberately obscure group called the Caucus Club. Consisting of men like Sam Adams, his cousin John Adams, James Otis and John Hancock, club members would meet at the Gazette where they “cooked up paragraphs,” and ” worked the political engine.” frustrating the Tories who, so embittered, circulated a letter to British troops quartered in Boston urging ” those Trumpeters of Sedition, the printers Edes and Gill,” and their writers for their paper, should be put to the sword.”
And one of them , James Otis, perhaps the least radical of the patriots, suffered such an assault after writing an article for the Boston Gazette in which he took the Governor and some of his commissioners to task for accusing he and Sam Adams of treason. Shortly after the piece appeared, Otis entered a coffee house for some morning refreshment and came upon one of the commissioners and several British army, naval and revenue officers. Robinson, the commissioner, it was reported, led the charge at Otis with his cane, the sword-wielding military right behind amid shouts of “God damn him! Kill him! Kill him!” After Otis took a beating and a sword slash to the head, the combatants were separated by others present fearing Otis would be killed. Otis sued and won damages of three thousand shillings but gentleman that he was, he refused the money on the basis that Robinson had atoned for his action
Otis’ gentlemanly gesture and Robinson’s mea culpa were rare for the dividing line was stretching towards Lexington and Concord. Rancor in the press came from both sides, intolerance under- lining every word. “Tories are,” one man wrote to the Boston Gazette “..the most despicable beings, that ever appeared in human shape.” A Tory writing to the New York Gazette penned a poem in which he wrote of the Patriot values, ” Cheating and lying are puny things, Rapine and plundering venial sins.”
And the “venial sin” of plundering did came to pass right after Lexington and Concord. When James Rivington a Tory publisher wrote of the battles at Lexington and Concord in his newspaper “Rivington New York Gazeteer”, partisanship showed up at the newspaper office in the guise of Isaac Sears and a cavalry contingent. The press was plundered and the type was carried off to melt down for patriot bullets. Partisanship had taken a firm hold in the colonial America. It would never let go. Looking back thirty two years after Yorktown, John Adams, the nation’s second president, wrote:
“What do you mean by the Revolution? The War? That was no part of the Revolution; it was only an effect and consequence of it. The Revolution was in the minds of the people, and this was effected, from 1760 to 1775, in the course of fifteen years before a drop of blood was shed at Lexington.”
The few had influenced the many. And the newspapers were there.
Stay with this now and we’ll soon get to George Washington.
After the War for Independence, the tap root of the partisan press had sunk deep into American soil and the tree growing from it was struggling to find the sun. Most of the papers that had beat the drum of revolution, or tried to muffle it with opposition, did not survive. Perhaps their reason for being no longer existed but a few survived the turn of the century passing on the legacy of partisanship to a new form of newspaper, the party organ, and a new form of partisanship, that of the political party.
Together, tightly embraced, they would wend their way forward, for eighty or so years, on the pathway to civil war, stumbling on the sharp edged rocks of bank panic, depression and slavery.
The first step of this coupling was the first organ, The Gazette of the United States. Operated by John Fenno who set the paper up in New York City as the official voice of the Federalists, the nation’s first and only party. The Gazette was the national voice of government establishing propaganda and the shaping of public opinion as the guiding spirit of American journalism.
Designed to preach the party line and supported by Hamilton and John Adams, the Gazette did just that, publishing official documents and announcements thus becoming the first political paper and it followed the seat of power as it moved first to Philadelphia then to Washington. Its Federalist line smacked of an elitism and a pro-British posture that ran contrary to the Jefferson and Madison perspective and it aroused the need for an opposition paper. Enter the editor, Philip Freneau, adventurer, scholar, warrior who “did more than anyone else to make American political journalism, a kind of Donnybrook Fair of broken heads and skinned knuckles.” That he did, with The National Gazette
As the voice of the French Party, the name Jefferson’s Republican’s were often called, he attacked Alexander Hamilton’s financial measures and brought John Adams to ridicule but the paper was on weak financial ground and was soon to be out of business.
And now we come to George Washington
Soon another Republican paper similar to Freneau’s National Gazette, one called Aurora and edited by Benjamin Franklin Bache, a grandson of Benjamin Franklin opened shop. Called “Lightening Rod Junior,” a tribute to his illustrious grandfather, Bache who was educated in France and sympathetic to the French Republic soon found himself in Jeffersonian circles. Before he was through, his partisanship and his passion launched a verbal cannonade at no less a person than George Washington. Yes, this is it. George Washington.
After Washington had his Farewell Address to the nation published, Bache made his farewell to Washington. He wrote:
“If ever a nation was debauched by a man, the American nation has been debauched by Washington. If ever a nation has suffered from the improper influence of a man, the American nation has suffered from the influence of Washington. If ever a nation was deceived by a man, the American nation has been deceived by Washington. Let his conduct then be an example to future ages. Let it serve to be a warning that no man may be an idol..”.
And not to be content with those words, the day after Washington’s retirement, Bache’s partisanship could not be restrained. He wrote:
“The man who is the source of all the misfortune of our country is this day reduced to a level with his fellow citizens, and is no longer possessed of power to multiply evils upon the United States…this day ought to be a jubilee in the United States.”
As one might expect, Bache’s comments did not go unanswered. A crowd of Federalist supporters stopped by his facility and wrecked it. Following that, Bache experienced what was possibly a precedent making incident. Federalist editor John Fenno of The Gazette of the United States, on an afternoon stroll, encountered Bache and hit him square in the face. Bache retaliated with his cane to Fenno’s head thus establishing that form of expression as the first in a long series of chance encounters between rival American editors. But the traditional forms of expression were not exempt from usage. Bache, on April 1, 1800 ran a paid advertisement in his Aurora:
” To Mr. Fenno: This is to announce you to the world as a scoundrel and a liar; and though you may be generally known as such, I will prove what I say…”
But it was the Federalist press that had the last word on Bache. When he died of yellow fever shortly after, Russell’s Gazette of Boston wrote:
“The Jacobins are all whining at the exit of the vile Benjamin Franklin Bache; so they would do if one of their gang was hung for stealing. The memory of this scoundrel cannot be too highly execrated.”
It is a kindler, gentler press today. George Washington would surely agree.
Don Bracken is Senior Editor of History Publishing Company,LLC and is the author of the forthcoming book Times of the Civil War which focuses on the American Civil War and its coverage by reporters of the New York Times and the Charleston Mercury. He also co-edited the Historyscope Series,http://www.historyscope.com, a computerized plotting of the 384 major battles and campaigns of the American Civil War.