Chapter 1 Summary

     BOMB THREAT IN THE PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE!!! Only kidding. Did I get your attention? I know that wasn't a funny joke, but I'm sure I got your attention. A lot of false journalism went on duirng the late 1770's - mid-1800's. Anyhow, I am not writing this blog today simply to inform you of someone I admire (the third blog), but to inform you of how journalism "Sowed the Seeds of the Revolution" and how history has shaped it. Chapter 1 shows us (the reader) the in's and out's of the mid to late 1770's and what happened to the face of journalism. It started with 56 rebels signing a unknown document called The Declaration of Independence. The opened up the doors to freedom and independence for people around the country, but more importantly for journalism and the power of speech and writing.

     This all essentially started in Boston, Massachuessetts...with The Boston Massacre, Sam Adams, and "The Journal of Occurances." These occuarnces shined the light of journalism upon so many, seeing that that the people deserved a voice and a say in government. Sam Adams was the one who started questioning the government and how they conducted their approach. His voice was quickly heard everywhere, and people caught on to his clever idea of questioning. Writing started to appear in magazines, newspapers, and phamplets. "The Journal of Occurances" was the first of its kind in the newspaper business and it spread to quickly, and was selling out all of the time. Most of the articles were about the troops from Britain and how cruel they were to the general public. Funny enough, weather dominated the news before all of this happened.

     Of course my two main men, David Ramsey and Thomas Paine, played a significant role in planting and sowing the seeds for the future of journalism. Ramsey fought in the American Revolution, to protect our country's freedom. Paine started out at a small magazine company in Pennsylvania, met Benjamin Franklin, and started and finished one of the most controversial and influencial essay's known to man, "Common Sense." In short, it stated that we should not, as a country, be under English rule, but be citizens of an entire human race. This started the talk of becoming independent. This is what made people scared, but also very willing to listen to help. This shaped American history and the history of journalism.

This is an image of the cover of the book we have finished in class by Rodger Streitmatter. This blog is about chapter 1 of the book titled "Sowing the Seeds of Revolution." It comes from this website: http://www.perseusacademic.com/book.php?isbn=9780813343907