A pro-American newspaper from London...

Item # 715524 · March 11, 1775

THE CRISIS, London, March 11, 1775

* Very rare publication
* British pro-American

In our over 50 years of dealing in rare newspapers, we have only once had the great fortune to encounter issues of this very rare title. Although we had sold all years ago, this one has come back to us.
This extraordinary paper is one of the most bitter political sheets to be found, issued in London both in defense of American liberty and their cause for independence, as well as to attack the policies of the King of England. One scholar noted: "This title, which is of great rarity, contains a remarkable collection of papers attacking the Ministry & the British Government in terms of the greatest severity. Indeed, one can hardly believe that in time of war a publication of such character would be tolerated."
The editors certainly did not lack courage. The third number was ordered to be burned but their attacks, centering on the King and the American situation, only grew bolder & stronger, and continued throughout the duration of the war.
Offered here is issue 5, which has the introductory statement in large type: "Resistance to Tyrants and he Instruments of Tyranny is Justifiable, and Warranted, by all the Laws of God and Man."
This front page begins: "To The People" "At a juncture like the present, when the national reputation of Britain; as well as her absolute safety stands tottering on the brink of destruction; when Liberty and Freedom, the great pillars of the Constitution, are, by force and fraud undermined, and tumbling into ruins; when the Bloody sword of Tyranny is drawn against America, and soon to be plunged into the bowels of her innocent inhabitants..." and much more.
The full text of the six pages can be seen in the photos.
Complete in 6 pages, very nice, clean condition, 6 3/4 by 11 1/4 inches. A very rare title with very special content.

Note: this is not the "Crisis" pamphlet published by Thomas Paine.

Background: The immense historical significance of the London-printed The Crisis lies in its radical demonstration that support for the American Revolution was not merely a colonial phenomenon, but a deeply polarizing British domestic crisis. By openly publishing searing indictments of King George III and his ministers from the heart of London on the literal eve of the war, this paper shattered the illusion of a unified British home front. The British government's aggressive reaction—deploying the common hangman to publicly burn issue number three—underscored just how genuinely threatened Parliament felt by this internal ideological rebellion. Ultimately, the paper proved that the philosophical arguments driving the American cause—popular sovereignty, resistance to tyranny, and the defense of constitutional liberty—were actively weaponized on British soil, illustrating that the revolution was as much a battle over the fundamental rights of English subjects within the empire as it was a war for separate American independence.

Categories: Revolutionary War, British

Price

$1,785

100% Authentic: Original printing, never a reproduction.

A pro-American newspaper from London...

Other issues you may like

Second Rate Items