American Revolution

American Revolution (1775-1783), conflict between 13 British colonies in North America and their parent country, Great Britain. It was made up of two related events: the American War of Independence (1775-1783) and the formation of the American government as laid out by the Constitution of the United States in 1787. First, the war achieved independence from Great Britain by the colonies. Second, the newly created United States of America established a republican form of government, in which power resided with the people. The revolution had many causes. Long-term social, economic, and political changes in the colonies before 1750 provided the basis for an independent nation with representative political institutions. More immediately, the French and Indian War (1754-1763) changed the relationship between the colonies and their mother country. Finally, a decade of conflicts between the British government and the colonists, beginning with the Stamp Act crisis in 1765, led to the outbreak of war in 1775 and the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

13 British colonies in North America

Once independent, the new state governments implemented republican constitutions, and a Continental Congress directed the American war effort. Then in 1781 the rebellious states created a loose union under the Articles of Confederation. At the end of the war in 1783, Britain recognized its former colonies as an independent nation. In 1789 the people of the several states ratified the Constitution that created a stronger central government.

Newspapers in the Revolutionary Period

In 1750 there were 12 newspapers in the American colonies, which then had a total population of about 1 million. By 1775 the population had increased to 2.5 million, and the number of newspapers had jumped to 48. They were published weekly, contained only four pages each, and Typically had a circulation of no more than 400 copies. The papers printed more essays than news and were distinctly libertarian in tone, anticipating the American Revolution. When the British Stamp Act of 1765 imposed a heavy tax on paper, the prerevolutionary press denounced the act and refused to pay the tax. Even though the Stamp Act was repealed in 1766, it had united many editors and publishers in support of the cause of independence. The American patriot Samuel Adams, who often edited the Boston Gazette, organized the Committees of Correspondence, comprising agents who kept track of events throughout the colonies. In 1776 the patriot papers carried on their front pages the Declaration of Independence.

During the war, newspapers brought accounts of military developments to an increasing number of readers, while business generated by the war brought advertising to the papers. The surviving papers thus emerged from the Revolution greatly strengthened. This stronger press, however, soon found itself deeply divided-first, when the Articles of Confederation were ratified and, later, when the new U.S. Constitution was adopted. On one side of most issues were the conservative Federalists; on the other side were the agrarian Republicans, or Democratic-Republicans. On one issue, however, the newspapers of the country were united: support of the 1st Amendment to the Constitution, adopted in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights, which declared that "Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press." The amendment also guaranteed freedom of religion, the right of assembly, and the right to petition Congress. The 1st Amendment has been under fire many times during the succeeding years, but it has remained the cornerstone of the free press in the U.S. It has guaranteed American newspapers as great or greater freedom than the press of any other nation in the world.

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