A Short Take On The Newspaper and the American Communication Revolution

In reading and nearing the end of chapter three in Starr, I came across some of the innovations that made up the first American Revolution in communication, and I found them interesting. Freedom of speech was established and written into the constitution and the constitution itself was written in a way so that everyday people would be able to read it. This was very important, because if you have a set of laws of the land, but the common folk can’t understand it then it almost seems pointless. Also in the reading Starr states that

“Instead of taxing newspapers, the government subsidized them”. (Starr p.107)

This was important so that most people could get there hands on a newspaper and read up about the latest news as well as new census counts and so on. I feel that this was one of the most important parts of the communication revolution because back then the most formidable form of communication was the newspaper. It was beginning to be the main focal point of news and information.