Evolution of Mass Communication in American History
Mass Communications during the American Revolution
A Successful Sponsorship: The Man Behind the Man Who Wrote ‘Common Sense’
Final Research Paper for HIST 551: The American Revolution in Context
Submitted By Susan Florek on December 1, 2019
Final Grade: A
Comments by Professor Dr. Thomas Goetz: Excellent paper - solid sources, well researched, good use of primary sources, well organized, and clearly written.
Abstract
Sometime during Benjamin Franklin’s second trip to England as a colonial agent, this time to negotiate the terms of proprietorship with the Penn family, the elder statesman met Thomas Paine, a 38-year-old unsuccessful tax collector, in London. It is estimated that their initial encounter took place between the years 1772 and 1773 when the outspoken Paine caught the attention of Benjamin Franklin and a relationship based on mutual principles and common interests would ensue. The outcome of this relationship would change history.
Events developing between America and England, such as the response to Stamp Act and the continued failures regarding the Penn family, prompted Benjamin Franklin to sponsor Thomas Paine’s emigration to America. Armed with Franklin’s financial backing and letters of recommendation in hand, Paine set sail to the colony of Pennsylvania in the fall of 1774. In Philadelphia, Paine quickly acquired accommodations, became a citizen of Pennsylvania, and secured employment with Pennsylvania Magazine by the spring of 1775, just before the “shot heard around the world” at Lexington on the morning of April 19, 1775.
Just after Benjamin Franklin’s return to the colonies in September 1775, Thomas Paine began to pen letters under the working title The Plain Truth, which would become the influential pamphlet Common Sense after the approval of Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush, who not only suggested the title change to Common Sense but also the publisher Robert Bell. The success and influence throughout the colonies of Common Sense would become apparent almost immediately. Initially published anonymously, the pamphlet sold 120,000 copies within the first three months, also suggesting financial backing that the impecunious Paine could not have supplied on his own.
Although, a brilliant and passionate speaker and writer, Thomas Paine, as his personal history dictated, would require the guidance of influential men to complete the great task of creating and publishing the persuasive pamphlet that would help convince the colonists on the idea of American independence. Benjamin Franklin was a meticulous founder of many undertakings in the colonies and would not have left the much-needed support of the masses to chance. This research provides a time-line of events regarding the writing of Common Sense prior to the American Revolution combined with the personal histories of both Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine before they met in London to produce a clear delineation of the founder and statesman’s influence on the creation of Paine’s inspirational work, Common Sense.
Mass Communications during the Antebellum Period
From Rags to Wood Pulp to Riches: How Advancements in Papermaking Ignited the Communications Revolution in Antebellum America
Research Paper for HIST 520: Graduate Seminar in U.S. History
Submitted By Susan Florek on July 30, 2017
Final Grade : A
Comments by Professor Dr. Debra Sheffer: Excellent work. You have successfully demonstrated the skills necessary for completion of your degree thesis later in your program – location, use, and documentation of sources; use of evidence; solid writing skills; support of your argument. I love this topic and find your paper compelling and informative. 100/100
Abstract
Foundations for the “Communications Revolution” in the 19th century could not have occurred without advancements in writing and printing materials, making is easier and faster to disseminate information. The United States patent and business laws at the time also made it easier to test and perfect these advancements[1]
creating a deluge in the allocation of information once the transfer from rag paper to wood pulp paper was complete.
[1] B. Zorina Khan, The Democratization of Invention: Patents and Copyrights in American Economic Development, 1790-1920, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. 106.
Mass Communications during the Civil War
Confederate Calamity: The Rise and Use of the Telegraph in the North and the South during the Civil War
Final Research Paper for HIST 552 The Civil War: A Seminal Event in American History
Submitted By Susan Florek on March 29, 2020
Final Grade: A
Comment by Professor Dr. Robert Young: "Outstanding work. I would definitely consider this as a possible thesis topic."
Abstract:
During the Antebellum period leading up to the Civil war, technological advancement increased dramatically throughout the Northern states, especially in the areas of transportation, production, and communication. The North’s industrial status created a need to adapt quickly to changes sweeping the new nation as the population grew rapidly from immigration and the ever-increasing demand for new products, expansion, and information required fulfillment. These changes in technology and transportation contributed to the dissemination of knowledge concerning politics and culture. The Southern state’s attempts to prevent written materials from reaching their slaves and their slaves from reaching the free states would ultimately hinder their ability to use the technologies which aided the North during peak Civil War battles.[1]
While the Northern states created modern communication and transportation networks across its region, the South would suffer a greater disadvantage through its continued attempt to keep the modern world out of its territory. Early victories by the South during the early years of the Civil War would eventually be replaced by Northern triumphs as the latter used every new technological innovation to their advantage. Confederate advantages like great Generals and a fiery passion to win “The Cause” would be no match against Lincoln’s “War Room” and the industrial might of the North.
[1] Bruce Levine, Half Slave and Half Free: The Roots of the Civil War (New York: Hill and Wang, 2005), 243-255.