In Europe printing was a strictly guarded procedure that involved getting permission from the government. Free speech did not exist like it does today. In America things were different. Prior to the 1850s the colonies were not united and each governed themselves to some extent, but Benjamin Franklin and other printers began to produce copiously and they made political statements that would have been illegal in Europe, like the cartoon above. This cartoon was then reproduced in all the colonies papers, and began the print culture that helped unite the colonies, ultimately resulting in Revolution.
The American Revolution is the ultimate underdog story, and as such Americans can't stop retelling it. We're proud of what our forefathers did: of the Boston Tea Party, Paul Revere, and beating those redcoats. In today's internet based society, print culture has changed once again. Now anyone can post anything they want on the internet (like my blog,) and instead of uniting 13 colonies it unites the world.
Jackie, I absolutely agree that print culture was integral to not only the start of the American Revolution but to its success. The spread of information throughout the colonies allowed everyday colonists (and not just the wealthy) to receive information regarding political issues like the Stamp Act. Also, it allowed revolutionaries to spread propaganda and pamphlets such as the Federalist Papers.
ReplyDeletePrint culture allowed Americans to unite in a way that would not have been possible in England at the time. The English nobility censored their writers so that the common people wouldn’t know what its government was doing. Also, at this point in time it was really only the nobles and the clergy that knew how to read. Americans were mostly protestants who valued the words in the bible; therefore, education and literacy became a priority in most colonial households, which allowed Americans to be educated enough to confront the English government.
Without print culture I do not think the American Revolution would have had nearly the same success that it did. The spread of information is integral to any society that hopes to function with any success let alone lead a Revolution.