Knowledge Is Power: The Diffusion of Information in Early America, 1700-1865 [Paperback]

Richard D. Brown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 5, 1991 | ISBN-10: 0195072650 | ISBN-13: 978-0195072655

Brown here explores America's first communications revolution--the revolution that made printed goods and public oratory widely available and, by means of the steamboat, railroad and telegraph, sharply accelerated the pace at which information travelled. He describes the day-to-day experiences of dozens of men and women, and in the process illuminates the social dimensions of this profound, far-reaching transformation. Brown begins in Massachusetts and Virginia in the early 18th century, when public information was the precious possession of the wealthy, learned, and powerful, who used it to reinforce political order and cultural unity. Employing diaries and letters to trace how information moved through society during seven generations, he explains that by the Civil War era, cultural unity had become a thing of the past. Assisted by advanced technology and an expanding economy, Americans had created a pluralistic information marketplace in which all forms of public communication--print, oratory, and public meetings--were competing for the attention of free men and women. Knowledge is Power provides fresh insights into the foundations of American pluralism and deepens our perspective on the character of public communications in the United States.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Important contribution to our understanding."--American Literary History

"Interesting and exceptionally well-designed book pioneers the study of information circulation, sharing, and usage among Americans between 1700 and 1865. Imaginatively organized."--Journal of the Early Republic

"An extraordinary achievement....A major contribution to our understanding of cultural transmission is the brilliant, almost novelistic, intensity with which Brown has imagined and re-created the individual lives of the men and women he has studied."--New England Quarterly

"Well-written, provocative, and informative."--Church History

"Really an insightful collection of case studies showing how-in pre-mass media days, information got around....There is a good deal of insight here which meshes well with studies of early media diffusion."--Communication Booknotes

About the Author

Richard D. Brown is at University of Connecticut.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (September 5, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195072650
• ISBN-13: 978-0195072655
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #592,052 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars How our 'betters' lost their grip, November 4, 2006

By 

Harry Eagar (Maui) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Knowledge Is Power: The Diffusion of Information in Early America, 1700-1865 (Paperback)

It is a truism that political power, wealth and standards of taste moved down the social scale once the United States became a democracy. Richard Brown looks through the other end of the telescope and asks how this worked out among individuals.

Using primarily diaries, he follows about a dozen Americans as they learn about events near and far. In the earlier colonial period -- represented by famous names like Samuel Sewall and Wm. Byrd II -- elites had access to more information than most people. This was not because of literacy but because of privileged places at nodes of information webs. Most news came face-to-face.

Increasing affluence extended the range and variety of sources of information. Brown makes the point that democratic ideology had a role, too. In colonial times, it was thought that only the leaders had a need to know. In republican America, it was taught, believed and acted upon that every citizen (free men, anyway) had a need to know.

Brown traces this evolution through another famous name, John Adams, and a number of unknowns.

Even readers who are familiar, even if only in a general way, with the democratization of knowledge may encounter novel notions in 'Knowledge is Power.'

For example, mail was hardly considered private in the colonial period. Carriage was haphazard, and persons who handled letters as middlemen would open and read and even annotate letters. The privacy of personal letters was a republican invention.

Also, Brown says that public oratory was unknown, except in the form of sermons and related religious events (commencements), to the colonials. The explosion of oratory - personified by Emerson though he is not a character in this book -- was another republican innovation.

I could have wished that Brown had said something about what is now called 'push' information sharing, as in 'push polls.' He briefly mentions the phenomenon in connection with controversial matters, such as religion and antislavery, but there was a secular, nonpolitical form of push in the early republic as well. The best example would be the county fair movement to improve husbandry. This is not mentioned at all, though Brown does give due weight to the influence of business generally in the way information was passed on. It was not all in the hands of governments and churches.

This is a wordy and ponderously written book. A lighter touch would have earned it another star.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Price, October 24, 2011

By 

TL Durham - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Knowledge Is Power: The Diffusion of Information in Early America, 1700-1865 (Paperback)

Arrived exactly on time, no problem with purchase. I needed this for a college class and didn't want to pay a lot. This book was in great condition.