Propaganda in America

The American Revolution

For anything to succeed, all of the members involved must understand the purpose of what is trying to be accomplished.

Without the majority of those involved having an understanding of the purposes of their cause, nothing could be accomplished.

There are many ways of getting people to come together for something, but it is much more difficult to bring together a large group of people, such as a country.

Propaganda is the best way to get across a single purpose to thousands, or millions of people.

What Makes a Revolution Succeed?

Propaganda is the spreading of ideas in various forms to promote or harm a cause, person, or idea. (McDonald, Palmer)

The case in study for this research is the American Revolution.

Propaganda comes in many different forms. During this time period it came mainly through writing such as posters, paintings, pamphlets, or books.

Propagandists tend to use circumstantial evidence and turn it against a cause, person, or idea, and use it for their purpose. Although sometimes, it may be true, often times it is embellished.

What is Propaganda?

The single most important thing to make propaganda effective is the ability of the audience to comprehend the message.

During this time period, the intended audience would have had to been able to read to understand propaganda.

The most accurate measure for the effectiveness of propaganda at this time would have been studying the countries literacy rate at the time of the American Revolution.

What Makes Propaganda Effective?

The Literacy Rate of a country is simply a measure of how many people are literate, or have the ability to read and write, in that area.

66.8% of all Males were literate

White males had the power to make decisions during this time, and 77.1% of white males were literate. (Herndon)

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American Literacy Rates Before the American Revolution

The literacy rate of pre-war America proves to us that the majority of Americans that had the ability to make changes and influence society could read and understand the propaganda that was before them.

Because they could understand this, this facilitated the revolutionary effort to get everyone in the colonies on the same page and rebel from England.

While not everyone was literate, people that were able to understand propaganda were able to explain it to the minority that was illiterate, further influencing the American Republic.

What Does This Literacy Rate Prove?

The pre-war era in American history is an action packed time.

Feeling oppressed by an increase in British taxes, and tired of being ruled by a country that they fled, the American people knew it was time for change.

Many people held the same feelings, but there was a lack of people who would speak up.

This is where we meet one of the most famous propagandists in American history, Thomas Paine.

What Was Trying to Be Accomplished?

Who Was Thomas Paine? Thomas Paine was an English

political radical that came to the American colonies in 1774.

In January of 1776, he wrote and published the most famous and influential pieces of literature in American history, Common Sense.

Through Common Sense, Thomas explained that it was “common sense” for Americans to declare their independence from Britain.

When he had successfully dismissed the King of England, George III, as only a “royal brute,” he had helped colonists cut the final ties to the Mother Country. (Aldridge)

When the pamphlet by Thomas Paine first surfaced, few had publically voiced the fact of the corruption in the Mother Country.

Common Sense was the first work that voiced the opinion of the vast majority of American’s publically, and it appealed to nearly all who read it.

Common Sense sold about 120,000 copies during the first three months it was in print, and it’s words resounded in American taverns and coffee shops. Those who couldn’t read had the book explained to them. Those who could read loudly proclaimed the glory of what they had heard!

Farmers, artisans, shopkeepers, and laborers jumped on board for the quest for independence, and a revolution was born.

The Impact of Common Sense.

In January of 1776, Common Sense was released to the public.

On July 4th, 1776, America declared her independence from the Mother Country of England. (Davidson)

Thomas Paine successfully united the American people with his publishing of the pamphlet Common Sense.

Many propagandists produced their own forms of propaganda during the war, but none were as widespread and successful as the pamphlet written by Thomas Paine.

Propaganda and the War

Here is an example of Revolutionary War Propaganda.

It depicts these nice gentlemen and the different positions they have learned by joining the military.

It appeals to all Americans who were capable of fighting by basically showing them that they could become like this able bodied gentleman they see in front of them.

War Posters

(Steller).

Originally, I wanted to know what effect literacy had throughout history on the development of the United States of America as a nation.

This led me to propaganda, and the fact that literacy is needed to understand the works of propaganda.

Then I amended my question to ask what effect propaganda had in regards to American history.

This led me to the American Revolution. The American Revolution is the most pivotal time in American history, and the work of Thomas Paine makes us who we are today. Without literacy and effective propaganda, we may not be the United States of America.

Answering Questions

“The pen is mightier than the sword.” When it is considered, the pen is the most

powerful single object in the universe. The signing of documents started every

major war in history, freed slaves, began the holocaust, and declared our independence from Britain.

The pen is what was used by Thomas Paine to unite the American people for the cause of uniting in our independence from Britain, and making us the nation we are today.

The Power of the Pen

Aldridge, A. Owen. Thomas Paine's American Ideology. Associated University Presses, 1984. Print

Davidson, Phillip. Propaganda and the American Revolution 1763-1783. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1941. Print.

Herndon, Ruth. "Literacy Among New England's Transient Poor, 1750-1800." Questia. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Nov 2011. http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst?docId=5000392518

 Jennifer Steller. Revolutionary War Propaganda. N.d. Photograph. flickrWeb. 29 Nov 2011. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/bravura/galleries/72157624012358546>.

McDonald, Andy, and Palmer, Lene. "Response-ible Rhetorics."Purpose of Propaganda. George Mason University, 2003. Web. 6 Nov 2011. <http://mason.gmu.edu/~amcdonal/Purpose of Propaganda.html>.

Works Cited

Throughout this project, I kept one thing in mind. I wanted to learn something about American history through writing.

I intend for this presentation to be viewed by educational level students, preferably high-school or college level.

I wanted to take a power point and make it clearly explain its own purpose without having to be presented. This resulted in multiple “action packed” slides.

I enjoyed doing this research on this topic, and have really learned just how powerful literature and the ability to read and write can be in our lives rather we realize it or not.

Self-Assessment