"Moral Censorship" and the Government's Involvement with the Press

During the post Civil War era, "moral censorship" became a bigger part of society. It was because of this that laws were created that prohibited movies from being shown to the public by producers or theaters without government approval. It was in this way that the government helped to shape the motion picture industry. This was different from the way politics shaped the press in that with the press, the government's involvement was more in aiding the press and "influenced its development through subsidies in postal rates, government printing contracts, and other means." They also helped to shape the press in creating copyright laws.