Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Royal Images And Rebel Ideals: Contradictory Symbols In American Revolutionary Newspaper Nameplates, Autumn Lorimer Linford

Theses and Dissertations

Historians have long claimed that the newspaper printers of the American Revolution were instrumental in bringing about Independence. By focusing solely on the written words left behind by these men, however, researchers have erroneously believed the printers belonged exclusively to either the patriot or Tory camps. The masthead symbols chosen by the printers to represent their newspapers offer a more objective measure of their partisan affiliations than a textual analysis of the content. The printers marked major changes in their political ideologies by inserting and deleting political symbols in their newspaper mastheads. This study examines the use and meanings of …