The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography ; v. 123, no. 1/2.
Notes
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Summary
The unprovoked murder of Conestoga indians of Lancaster county by the "Paxton Boys" and the subsequent Paxton march on Philadelphia resulted in a pamphlet war described by the author in this way: "All told, more pamphlets were generated by the Paxton Boys activities than by any previous Pennsylvania issue, including the 1755-56 crisis over Quaker reluctance to participate in the French and Indian War or the controversial Sugar Act enacted the same year the [Paxton] march occurred."This article points out the context of the massacre - the fear and anger of those living on the Pennsylvania frontier who believed the Quaker controlled state government was not making an effort to protect them from indian attacks during "Pontiac's Rebellion." She also describes the literary styles used in the pamphlets and the use of British-style satire.
From "Historical Society of Pennsylvania" referring to the Paxton pamphlet war: "Waged in pamphlets, political cartoons, broadsides, and correspondence, the ensuing pamphlet war featured some of Pennsylvanias preeminent statesmen, including Benjamin Franklin, governor John Penn, and Hugh Williamson, who would later sign the U.S. Constitution. At stake was much more than the conduct of the Paxton men. Pamphleteers used the debate over the actions of the Paxtons to stake claims about peace and settlement, race and ethnicity, and religious conflict and affiliation in pre-Revolutionary Pennsylvania."
