A Blog Exploring American History and Politics
Newspapers
Bleeding Kansas
After the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, William Seward proclaimed to the Senate that “[w]e will engage in competition for the virgin soil of Kansas, and God give the victory to the side which is stronger in numbers as it is in right.” Congressional Globe, 33 Cong., 1 sess., appendix, 769. Rather than settling the issue […]
MoreElection of 1840: Voter Turnout
The Election of 1840 is one that stands out in history. That is for principally one reason: voter turnout.
MoreInfrastructure’s Fostering of Democracy
In 1833, a French engineer, Michel Chevalier, arrived in America and was fascinated by the infrastructure that surrounded him. Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 241.
MoreThe Communications Revolution
Not long after the end of the War of 1812, America was undergoing a communications revolution.
MoreThe Thirst for Knowledge
Throughout the development of early civil society in America, the familiar infrastructure to contemporary Americans rapidly developed. For example, as a result of new postal roads and turnpikes throughout the country, the postal system was able to achieve remarkable speeds for the time. For example, in 1790, “it had taken more than a month for […]
MoreThe Newspaper Revolution
Newspapers are a source that many turn to even now for getting their news. The craze for newspapers in America began in the early years of the Republic, with the proliferation of newspapers to nearly every town in the country. Then and now, newspapers had political slants. In the early Republic, most newspapers had a […]
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