Journalism, Fanning the Flames

  It seems impossible to review the Revolutionary War and not mention Samuel Adams. He may be the sole reason for the war, and definitely a major contributor to what journalism is today. I always knew that Adams' printing press played a major role, but looking deeper into it I discovered he was the main reason for journalism through the entire colonies!

  Starting in September 0f 1768, Adams created the "Journal of Occurrences."  While it's well know Adams wrote about the discontent of the citizens and the taxes being forced on them, the uneasy feelings between the colonists and British troops stationed there still had a lot of stirring that Adams played with. This journal was mostly written by Adams, in what he said to be the "...for the general satisfaction, it being strictly fact" (Streitmatter, 10). The "Journal of Occurrences" would originally be published in Boston, and then sent out to other printing presses, in other states, to be published in their issue of next weeks paper. The stories typically focused on British soldiers, assaulting, raping, and stealing from the colonists (Streitmatter, 11). This helped Adam's ideas spread like wildfire, being how influential it was for a colonist who felt oppressed to be given an excuse to fuel any hatred towards the crown.

  My only problem with this journal of Adams' is how valid his stories may have or may not have been. According to Streitmatter, Adams did not list the names of the soldiers or citizens involved in the acts he wrote about (11). While undoubtedly some troops tried to take advantage of their power over the colonists, without any solid proof, it is possible that Adams created some of those stories with the intent to arouse the colonists. Also without the use of names, unjustly every British soldier was grouped into the assumption that they are "bloody-backed rascals!" (Streitmatter, 12).

I'm very interested in going deeper into this topic and questioning Adams some more!