Carey published the American Museum, to preserve, he said, “…the valuable fugitive pieces that appeared in the newspapers…” [1] He collected articles from many sources on economic, political and social topics. George Washington praised the magazine recommending its circulation throughout the United States.

Carey published the prose and poetry of American authors, awakening Americans to their unique culture. At the time, British authors were considered superior to those in the United States.

The nation was making history, and Carey was determined to preserve it. He published Revolutionary battle accounts, documents about the Constitution, the Federalist papers, Hamilton’s “Report on Manufactures,” letters and state papers. Dr. Benjamin Rush was a contributor, as were poet and newspaper editor Philip Freneau, poet Francis Hopkinson, abolitionist Anthony Benezet and New York’s Governor Livingston.[2]

Following the American Revolution, merchants and shippers had difficulty re-establishing their business when faced with British and other European nations’ trade policies, especially in the Caribbean. Carey published articles in the American Museum reflecting the national debate on free trade and protectionism. In particular, Carey’s friend, Tench Coxe anonymously authored articles entitled “Examination of Lord Sheffield’s Observations on the Commerce of the United States, and “Reflexions on the State of the Union.”   Ideas Carey and Coxe shared regarding protectionism would resemble those in Hamilton’s “Report on Manufactures.”[3]

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) supported Carey’s efforts to publish a distinctly American magazine, contributing an article to the first issue, although their relationship was often troubled.

BECOMING AMERICAN | Ratification of the Constitution

[1] Mathew Carey, Autobiography (Brooklyn: Research Classics, 1942) 22.

[2] Earl L. Bradsher, Mathew Carey, Editor, Author and Publisher: A Study in American Literary Development, (New York: Columbia University Press, 1912) 5-7.

[3] Stephen Meardon, “’A Reciprocity of Advantages,’ Carey, Hamilton, and the American Protective Doctrine” Early American Studies, V. 11 N. 3 (Fall, 2013) 441-6.