Propaganda
Propaganda played a large role in sparking the Revolutionary War, as it brought the colonists closer together, shaping their view on the British. Without bias newspapers, the thirtheen colonies would be divided in viewpoints, instead of unified and fighting for the same cause: America's freedom from Great Britain. While some events were blown out of proportion, like the Boston Massacre, it was helpful in the end as it led the colonists towards their hatred of their old country.
Similar to today's media, fake news, polarization, and ideological bias damage the truth behind any article, which is why it is hard for us to fully trust media from pre-revolutionary America. Most schools cover only the basics in pre-revolutionary America, but never explain how much of an influence the media had on the civilians living in the thirteen colonies, who’s only source of information was from these newspapers once a week or occasional pamphlets. Printers and journalists in the 18th century played a fundamental role in promoting independence from the British. It is important for historians to dig deeper into exploring the different articles written throughout the colonies, even comparing the style to traditional British papers back in England. By reading and analyzing these papers, we can understand how much of an influence they had on swaying people's opinions of the crown, and sparking the anger that eventually led to the war between the two countries. While the revolution is taught very briefly in schools around America, it is important to underline how there might have been no war without the rise of polarized media and propaganda spread by prominent leaders like Benjamin Franklin and Paul Revere. The influence the press had on uniting colonists is a prominent issue that should be touched on by historians, schoolteachers, and even the media today, as it shows the true similarities between distributed news in the 18th century and the 21st century.
Rattlesnake: In 1754, Benjamin Franklin created a political cartoon depicting a rattlesnake sliced into eight pieces representing the thirteen colonies, New England (New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut) as one sliver and Georgia excluded. This cartoon, including the words Join or Die 1, was created to persuade the colonies to join together and fight against France during the French and Indian war. This cartoon gained popularity during the American Revolution though, as it represented the colonist's fight for freedom against Britain.
Propaganda after the Boston Massacre2: Paul revere created this piece of propaganda to create anger and unity throughout the colonies, depicting misunderstanding in Boston as a massacre to upset colonists. The photo depicts merciless British soldiers attacking innocent colonists for no reason, when in reality this is not what happened during the incident. While this piece of propaganda spread through the colonies, Americans became infuriated with the British, which soon led up to the war. Paul Revere was able to provoke the anger the colonists shared and brought unity throughout the colonies.
1Franklin, Benjamin. Join or Die. United States, 1754. [May 9] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695523/.
2Revere, Paul, Engraver. The bloody massacre perpetrated in King Street Boston on March 5thby a party of the 29th Regt. Boston Massachusetts, 1770. Boston: Engrav'd Printed & Sold by Paul Revere. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2008661777/.
