The German-American Press

professional character as an "unbiassed, impartial printer." In an
address to the "respectable PUBLIC," Bartgis on 7 March 1788,
warned against the destruction of "that safe-guard to the liberties
of an independent people, a free Press. . . . The present being
a most important Crisis of the national affairs of this country,
it must be evident to the least thoughtful, that the body of the
people should be well informed of the nature of any Government
that may be proposed for adoption; therefore, free discussions on
that momentous subject, as well as interesting intelligence from
the several quarters of the world, will be thankfully received, and
impartially published." A week later, Bartgis' partner Nathaniel
Willis again promised the readers that "this Gazette will ever be free
and open for a full discussion of all momentous subjects" and that
the printer "uninfluenced by party, will aim to be just."17 Federalist
pressures, however, continued unabated and a rival newspaper, the
Virginia Centinel, was established in Winchester. This dispute only
heightened Bartgis' suspicions of the Constitution and its supporters.
But the Antifederalist tendencies of his papers failed to influence
a significant number of readers: In the Shenandoah Valley the
Constitution remained popular, and not a single Valley delegate to
the Maryland and Virginia conventions voted against ratification.
Whereas Bartgis experienced difficulties in steering a neutral
course in a Federalist environment, the other German-American
printers in Pennsylvania swam with the political current. If one looks
at the material they reprinted and reads their editorial comments, it
becomes obvious that their involvement in the ratification debate
was very one-sided. As soon as the Constitution was published,
they praised it as the country's salvation and they urged its quick
ratification. In this respect they knew themselves to be in agreement
with the vast majority of German-Americans.     For them  the
advantages of a strong national government were self-evident, the
personalities of Washington and Franklin unimpeachable, and the
dangers of a rejection of the Philadelphia plan so immense that they
simply refused to view the issue from different perspectives. In
addition, Germans in and around Philadelphia hoped that the capital
of the new federal government would return to Pennsylvania, thus
further reinvigorating the state's economy and increasing its political
importance. Therefore they enthusiastically supported ratification.8

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