The Pennsylvania Packet, or the General Advertiser was an American newspaper founded in 1771 that, in 1784, became the first successful daily newspaper published in the United States.The paper was founded by John Dunlap as a weekly paper in late 1771. It was based in Philadelphia except during the British occupation of the city in 1777–1778, when Dunlap published the paper at Lancaster. David C. Claypoole eventually became a partner with Dunlap.