A Distorted History-The Importance of Print

When Columbus first crossed the Atlantic and arrived into the "New World" he reported back to Spain and essentially all of Europe boasting about the magnificent wonders, and opportunities the "New World" would have to offer. Such as raw materials, a labor source, and gold. During the 1500s the technology to mass produce the letter was not yet possible so they wrote handwritten copies and that is how Europe received news. Print played a vital role in fueling the eagerness to discover and claim the "New World." Even after the settlers had made their voyage across and had become more accustomed to the land print still played a vital role in the Revolution, encouraging education and literacy and the "survival or republican values." Print in the late 1700s allowed the colonists to unite and rally under a cause, create a national identity and create the values and principles that we still believe America to stand by. For example after the series of taxes the British had placed upon the colonist to repay the debt of the French and Indian war, Americans were enraged and in order to unite behind "no taxation without representation," people created political pamphlets saying that they would no longer take the abuse from the British. Benjamin Franklin's famous political cartoon of the chopped up snake saying join or die immediately comes to mind. If the colonist had not of united and fought against the British they would have each been severed from one another and easily been concurred, but with print colonist were able to send letters and mass disperse cartoons and pamphlets to make everyone aware of situations. Because communication was so dependent on reading the pamphlets literacy rates in the colonies was significantly higher than their counterparts in Western Europe which in turn made education a goal in the colonies. All in all, print was the start to creating the America we have today.