Bringing Unity
When reading about this sense of unity that newspapers had created for the colonies I had to dive deeper into what media specifically played an important role in this and explore others that didn’t. On April 21, 1775, The New Hampshire Gazette published a report on the Battle of Lexington and Concord. At the time, it was very rare for newspapers to use space to display a headline, however, because of the significance of this news, the heading of this newspaper was “BLOODY NEWS” in bold text. This was one of the most important newspapers that went out during the Revolutionary War because it informed the colonists of the Battle of Lexington and Concord and changed the way the war was perceived. The New Hampshire Gazette confirmed a separation between the colonies and Great Britain. It informed the colonists that “it is supposed that we had twenty-five thousand men engaged against four thousand regulars”.5 With over a hundred more casualties on the British side, this news fueled the motivation for independence within the colonies.
Another important newspaper that went out on August 26, 1775, was the Virginia Gazette. This newspaper was the only one at the time to display an illustration. This included an image of the battlefield at Breed’s Hill. This time, colonists not only got a literary representation, but a visual representation as well. This battle left colonists to retreat because of a lack of gunpowder. Although with a smaller population of soldiers, they still did lots of damage to the British soldiers.5 Seeing the progress of the war through literature helped the colonists gain a better understanding of their position during the war.
Informing colonists of the battles was one strong form of unity that newspapers created, but they also informed colonists about any boycotts or protests to help with their resistance motives. Nationwide newspapers made a huge impact in this sense, and so did local newspapers that were produced and sent out to the colonies. These had informed colonists of specific things they could do in their area to support the resistance to British rule. The Continental Army, communities as well as militias were able to gain more numbers through the advertisements put out in the media. Without an army and the support of colonists, the United States would not have been able to gain its independence as easily.
5.American Antiquarian Society and Daniel Fowle. The New-Hampshire Gazette. Daniel Fowle, 1775.
6.From the Virginia Gazette, August 25. A Parody on a Late Proclamation. [publisher not identified], 1774.