Mathew Carey
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Mathew Carey (c. 1760-c. 1839) Irish born publicist and economist.
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[edit] Early days
Carey came from a middle-class family and was born in Dublin in 1760. He entered the bookselling and printing business in 1775, and when still only seventeen published a pamphlet criticizing dueling. This publication was quickly followed by another work criticizing the severity of the Irish penal code and as a resuly the authorities threatened him with prosecution. As a result of these threats he moved to Paris in 1779. Here he met Dr. Benjamin Franklin, working at the time as American revolutionary ambassador to France, who took him on to work in his printing office.
Carey worked for Franklin for a year before returning to Ireland where he edited The Freeman's Journal and The Volunteer's Journal, both of which were politically polemic publications. His stock with the authorities did not thereby increase and so he left Ireland for good in 1784, settling in the United States.
[edit] Business in America
Upon his arrival in Philadelphia, General Lafayette lent him some money to establish himself. Carey used this money to establish a new publishing business and a book shop. He established:
- The Pennsylvania Herald,
- Columbian Magazine, and another magazine
- American Museum.
None of these ventures proved to be profitable. Carey printed the first American version of the Douay Bible as well as the King James version. He also frequently wrote on various social topics, discussed politics, and reported on debates in the state legislature and was an original member of the American Sunday-School Society.
In 1825, Carey retired, leaving his business to his son, Henry C. Carey. His son's brother-in-law, Isaac Lea joined him in the business with him and under their direction, the publishing business became for a while one of the most prominent in the country. The business published such works as:
- The Encyclopedia Americana, and
- A dictionary of German lexicon.
After the death of Carey and his son the business changed its name from "Carey and Lea" to "Lea and Blanchard" - this was later changed again to "Lea Brothers and Company".
[edit] His politics
Upon arriving in America, Carey’s expertise and publishing allowed him to quickly develop political connections in the developing country. One of his most important supporters was John Adams, still a leading figure of the Federalist Party at the time. Carey’s passionate support of the establishment of an American Navy was one significant reason he found himself aligned with the Federalists upon his arrival.
Consistently throughout his political career in America, Carey maintained his adamant support of American naval strength, even after leaving Adams and Hamilton’s pro-Navy Federalists to join Jefferson’s Democratic-Republicans in 1796. Carey’s political realignment occurred shortly before the American ratification of the Jay Treaty, primarily intended to ensure peace with Britain, while distancing America from France.
Carey’s strong support of American naval power and his “early political activities in Ireland were affected, in part, by the American navy’s decision to carry the war [the American Revolution] into the home waters of Great Britain. John Paul Jones’ victory over HMS Drake off Belfast in June 1778, unleashed a torrent of pro-American sentiment” . Carey’s publications in America successfully channeled his energy towards productive political objectives. His published works are attributed to swaying public opinion towards the establishment of a powerful American navy.
Carey’s publication, Naval History of the United States, was one such effort meant to influence the public consciousness. The work’s conspicuous omission of naval activity during the American Quasi-War with France makes the political intentions of the publication especially apparent. This exclusion would have focused political energy against the British, with whom America was at war at the time of the book’s publication on May 6, 1813.
Focus on the British, known around the world for their naval dominance, made an influential case for extending the reach of the American navy. Along with his publication of Naval History, another of Carey’s works, Olive Branch, was published 1814. This work was primarily an effort to eliminate competition between the two American parties, creating unity against the British for the War of 1812. These efforts, and his early relationship with Franklin, made him the logical choice as Franklin's political successor in many people's eyes. His efforts and publications are thought to have significantly influenced the to the establishment of the United States Whig Party.
[edit] Sources
- Carter, Edward C. "Mathew Carey, Advocate of American Naval Power." The American Neptune XXVI (1966).
- Clark, Thomas. Naval History of the United States. Philadelphia:Mathew Carey, 1814.
