09 - History of the United States, Vol. I by Charles Austin Beard, Mary Ritter Beard

Charles Austin Beard stands as one of the most pivotal American historians of the early 20th century, having penned hundreds of influential monographs, textbooks, and interpretive studies in history and political science. A proud graduate of DePauw University in 1898, he met and later married Mary Ritter Beard, a trailblazer in womens rights and one of the founders of Kappa Alpha Theta. Many of their works were collaborative efforts, reflecting their shared passions for feminism and labor movements, as seen in her notable book, *Woman as a Force in History* (1946). In 1921, the Beards released their groundbreaking *History of the United States*, which was praised for its innovative approach, treating topics thematically rather than chronologically. This method allowed for an exploration of movements, background contexts, and the interconnectedness of social, economic, and political forces. Their goal was to empower students to grasp the essence of American society and its place within global civilization. The books clarity and engaging style have established it as a top-tier resource for both students and the general public.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
the public domain. For more information and a volunteer, please
visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by Chris Chapman. History of
the United States by Charles A. Beard and Mary Ritterbeard,

(00:21):
Part one, Chapter eight. The Colonial press, the rise of
the newspaper. The evolution of American democracy into a government
by public opinion enlightened by the open discussion of political questions,
was in no small measure aided by a free press that, too,

(00:44):
like education, was a matter of slow growth. A printing
press was brought to Massachusetts in sixteen thirty nine, but
it was put in charge of an official censor and
limited to the publication of religious works. Forty years elapsed
before the first newspaper appeared, bearing the curious title Public Occurrences,

(01:08):
both Foreign and Domestic, and it had not been running
very long before the government of Massachusetts suppressed it for
discussing a political question. Publishing indeed seemed to be a
precarious business, but in seventeen o four there came a
second venture in journalism, the Boston news Letter, which proved

(01:30):
to be a more lasting enterprise because it refrained from
criticizing the authorities. Still, the public interest languished. When Franklin's
brother James began to issue his New England Currant about
seventeen twenty, his friends sought to dissuade him, saying that

(01:51):
one newspaper was enough for America. Nevertheless, he continued it,
and his confidence in the future was rewarded. In nearly
every colony a gazette or chronicle appeared. Within the next
thirty years or more. Benjamin Franklin was able to record
in seventeen seventy one that America had twenty five newspapers.

(02:13):
Boston led with five, Philadelphia had three, two in English
and one in German. Censorship and restraints on the press.
The idea of printing unlicensed by the government and uncontrolled
by the church was, however, slow in taking form. The

(02:34):
founders of the American colonies had never known what it
was to have the free and open publication of books, pamphlets, broadsides,
and newspapers. When the art of printing was first discovered,
the control of publishing was vested in clerical authorities. After
the establishment of the State Church in England in the

(02:56):
reign of Elizabeth, censorship of the press be came a
part of royal prerogative. Printing was restricted to Oxford, Cambridge
and London, and no one could publish anything without previous
approval of the official censer. When the Puritans were in power,
the Popular Party, with a zeal which rivaled that of

(03:18):
the Crown, sought in turn to silence royalist and clerical
writers by a vigorous censorship. After the restoration of the monarchy,
control of the press was once more placed in royal hands,
where it remained until sixteen ninety five, when Parliament, by
failing to renew the Licensing Act, did awaigh entirely with

(03:41):
the official censorship. By that time, political parties were so
powerful and so active, and printing presses were so numerous
that official review of all published matter became a sheer impossibility.
In America, likewise, some troublesome questions arose in connection with

(04:02):
freedom of the press. The Puritans of Massachusetts were no
less anxious than King Charles or the Archbishop of London
to shut out from the prying eyes of the people
all literature not meet for them to read, and so
they established a system of official licensing for pressers, which

(04:22):
lasted until seventeen fifty five. In the other colonies, where
there was more diversity of opinion and publishers could set
up in business with impunity, they were nevertheless constantly liable
to arrest for printing anything displeasing to the colonial governments.
In seventeen twenty one, the editor of The Mercury in

(04:44):
Philadelphia was called before the Proprietary Council and ordered to
apologize for a political article and for a later offense
of a similar character. He was thrown into jail. A
still more famous case was that of Peter Zenger, a
New York publisher, who was arrested in seventeen thirty five

(05:05):
for criticizing the administration. Lawyers who ventured to defend the
unlucky editor were deprived of their licenses to practice, and
it became necessary to bring an attorney all the way
from Philadelphia. By this time, the tension of feeling was high,
and the approbation of the public was forthcoming. When the

(05:27):
lawyer for the defense exclaimed to the jury that the
very cause of liberty itself, not that of the poor printer,
was on trial. The verdict for Zenger, when it finally came,
was the signal for an outburst of popular rejoicing. Already
the people of King Georgia's province knew how precious a

(05:49):
thing is the freedom of the press. Thanks to the schools,
few and scattered as they were, and to the vigilance
of parents, a very large portion, perhaps nearly one half,
of the colonists, could read. Through the newspapers, pamphlets, and
almanacs that streamed from the types, the people could follow

(06:13):
the course of public events and grasp the significance of
political arguments. An American opinion was in the process of making,
an independent opinion, nourished by the press and enriched by
discussions around the fireside and at the taverns. When the
day of resistance to British rule came, government by opinion

(06:36):
was at hand. For every person who could hear the
voice of Patrick Henry and Samuel Adams, there were a
thousand who could see their appeals on the printed page.
Men who had spelled out their letters while pouring over
Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac lived to read Thomas Paine's thrilling

(06:57):
Called to Arms, end of chapter eight