Professor Hamilton's Diary: June 29, 1935

He types all day; President Roosevelt orders a gold vault built at Fort Knox

I can’t imagine how tired Professor Hamilton’s back and shoulders must have felt by the end of today. He typed on his thesis from 8 a.m. to noon and other than “a brief nap,” a “short walk” and I would imagine some food, he typed the rest of the day. “Finished typing one-half of Chapter VI,” he wrote.

I have a copy of the book that resulted from this work, The Country Printer: New York State, 1785-1830 — and a very sturdy and attactive volume it is — and see that Chapter VI was titled “A Free Press.” According to the table of contents, here is what it covers:

Independence of the printer; Control by Colonial governments; Sedition Law of 1798; Control under Jefferson — private lawsuits; Control of the press by financial backers; Control by political parties; License in the newspapers; Personal attacks; Scurrilous publication; Personal violence; Libelous publication; Law of criminal libel — English and Colonial; Changes in the law, after the Revolution; Liability of the printer; Severity of the law — leniency of the courts; Libel suits in this period; Outcome of suits, damages assessed; Settlement outside of court; Retractions; Desirability of an unbridled press; Its abuse; Importance of political criticism.

In many instances, he could be writing about the press and media of the 21st century!

It didn’t make the newspapers today, but President Roosevelt ordered a national bullion treasury to be built at the military base at Fort Knox, Kentucky, to house the nation’s gold supply. Paid subscribers can read on about this fabled place.

Photo of Fort Knox from the Library of Congress, accessed via Wikimedia Commons.