Remnants of American Revolution Media Offer a Fascinating Glimpse of Early US Life. The Media Today Has Evolved but the Core of Truth Has Been Gutted Out by the NWO.

American Revolution media was very different than the media we have today. There were no 24 hour news cycles. There were no cable news networks. There was no Internet. There were only eye-witness and hearsay accounts.

There was an ideal of communicating the truth to the people, free of the private corporate agenda that exists today. Unlike the way we do things now, wars were not fought in front of the media.

The only forms of media were either interpersonal forms of communication, like sermons in churches, or in the form of print such as newspapers and pamphlets.

Unlike today, readership of the local newspapers and pamphlets far outnumbered circulation. Circulation increased slowly during the Revolution, but readership increased rapidly. The reason for this is newspapers were usually passed hand to hand between people.

For example, once one person was done reading a newspaper, they would give it to their neighbor, the local shop keeper or some other person. It was also quite common for newspapers to be read out loud in public squares or other public buildings, such as taverns or coffee houses.

There also were not as many copies of American Revolution media available during the time as printing was done on a manual printing press.

This meant the number of newspapers available was directly a result of how many copies the printer was physically able to print as he had to pull a heavy leaver and manually configure the plates.

Newspapers were also considerably smaller than our newspapers today. They were usually only  four to six pages and printed on small pieces of parchment. Newspapers did not include photographs or printed ads as they do today.

They did contain ads similar to our classifieds, however. Colonists could sell farm equipment and slaves, hire workers or purchase slaves. Newspapers were also published much less frequently, only weekly or monthly in some locations, instead of daily or twice daily as we have today.

Like today's print media however, newspapers and brochures of the American Revolution media were highly biased, usually in favor of revolution. In the 1760s and through the war, newspapers were supported by the Patriots in an effort to convey a united American opinion.

In truth, the country was largely divided in the late 1760s and the very early part of the 1770s, while the revolution movement was gaining momentum.

AMERICAN REVOLUTION MEDIA

In the years during the American revolution, media and its role began to change. Prior to the revolution, the role of print media was to supply the latest news from England and serve as a common place where people could solicit or sell goods, slaves and services.

After the Revolution began and during the war, print media's role was more to garner support for the revolution and to provide the news of the war. In some cases, newspapers published letters from George Washington to Congress regarding the war.

After the war was over and the Continental Congress set about the task of trying to create a government, news media of the time began to morph into the institutions we see today. Political opinions and advertisements were published and newspapers were biased in a particular political direction.

FASCINATING EXAMPLES

It is fascinating to observe how the media changed during the American revolution. One example, The Pennsylvania Gazette, printed by Benjamin Franklin in 1750, shows the American people were not largely worried about political matters. This publication mainly contained news and classified ads.

The Boston Gazette, printed in October 1776, mostly contained a correspondence between General Washington and some British Lords in regard to some actions by the British, implying that they were looking for a peaceful resolution.

The Pennsylvania Centinal, printed in April of 1790, shows lotteries were quite popular in raising money during the time. The publisher of this paper became one of the most vocal champions for federalism.

THE MEDIA TODAY

All of these examples give a glimpse into the lives of early Americans such as wants, needs and political views. It is important to be informed, but don't rely primarily on a privately-owned media to provide the information you need.

"If a Nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be ... If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed."
-Thomas Jefferson