Philadelphia

Philadelphia is both the dateline for the pamphlet’s February 14, 1776 publication notice and a concrete example in its argument for American self-protection. The city’s exposure to attack by way of the Delaware River makes the case for naval defense tangible; its role as the place where the King’s Speech appeared on the first edition’s publication day also connects it to the pamphlet’s call for independence.

Dateline and Publication

The pamphlet’s publication notice is dated Philadelphia, February 14, 1776. The city is thus the stated point of origin for the notice accompanying an argument centered on American independence, though the supplied text does not specify where the pamphlet itself was printed.

The City as a Naval Defense Case

Philadelphia serves as a specific illustration of the danger posed by the absence of naval protection. The argument recalls that a pirate could have sailed up the Delaware River and placed the city under immediate pressure to pay whatever sum he chose. It extends the danger beyond the city: a brig carrying fourteen or sixteen guns might have robbed the continent and taken half a million in money. The example turns the abstract question of defense into a local vulnerability with continental stakes.

The Speech and the Appeal for Independence

The appendix says that the King’s Speech appeared in Philadelphia on the same day as the pamphlet’s first edition. Rather than frightening readers into submission, the speech is presented as evidence that strengthened the case for independence. In this account, Philadelphia is where the pamphlet’s argument and the speech met in the public sphere: the speech’s character, as the appendix describes it, made the pamphlet’s political doctrine seem more necessary.