Chapter 3 "America's First Informational Revolution"

This is a picture of what the 18th century plague

looked like under magnification,

the plague was spread by fleas!!!

Quote:

"In the United States the subsidies to newspapers adopted in 1792 were critical to the emergence of the first national news network. Under the Articles of Confederation in 1785, the Post Master General had insisted that the Post Office had no obligation to carry newspapers, and after adoption of the Constitution it was unclear what policy the new government would take. In the debate leading up to the 1792 legislation, some congressmen suggessted that the Post Office carry some papers it could manipulate the press and public opinion and this view in favor of unrestricted distribution prevailed" (Starr 89)
Analysis:
These ideas that are being generated about Post Offices carrying different newspapers demonstrates the begining of public networking through the press and media. The Post Office was monumental in expediting this distribution of newspapers to the citizens. This was so important because this began a informational revolution because now important news could travel. Businessmen needed news fast and required information about other regions inorder to fufill his job requirments. In case a business man needed to travel somewhere he needed to know if it was safe to enter a new region, in case of plague or disease.