The Independent Reflector

The Independent Reflector was founded by William Livingston, William Smith, Jr., and John Morin Scott. The weekly journal began publication on November 30, 1752. Although a group effort, Livingston was the primary contributor where he published essays that challenged the political, religious, and educational history of New York in 1753. The Independent Reflector was important in and of itself because it was one of the first publications in the eighteenth-century to tackle key Enlightenment ideals in such a public venue. While not the first individual to ever have such radical ideology, Livingston did pave the way in bringing his and his constituents’ opinions to a public venue by condemning Anglican authority in the colony of New York, and favored religious toleration, local government and funded education. Livingston also tackled the King’s College debate and argued in favor of a liberal education. Livingston did have another column published simultaneously with The Reflector titled The Occasional Reverberator where he responded to Anglican criticism. Because of the subjects of his essays and the staunch resistance he had over the clergy’s authority, Livingston’s printer, James Parker, was threatened with a dismissal of his contract as government printer if he continued to publish The Reflector and The Reverberator. As a result, Livingston was “tyrannically suppressed” and his essays ceased publication in November 1753.