Journalism In The Civil War Era

"Bulla and Borchard have significantly expanded our understanding of the press, its impact, and its many roles during the Civil War. They shed light on politics, commerce, technology, public opinion, and censorship. Their book reminds us why the press matters most when a nation's fundamental freedoms are at stake."---Michael S. Sweeney, Author, The Military and the Press --Book Jacket.

"Journalism in the Civil War Era presents the historical context of Civil War journalism-placing the press of the era within the entire nineteenth century. It gives a broad account of journalism in the Civil War, reflecting on the political, military, legal, and journalistic issues involved in this era. It is written with chapters that examine these various facets of the journalism of the period, but they are connected by the theme of the development of the wartime press, with an emphasis on the professional, political, social, economic, legal, and military factors that affected it. It provides: An in-depth look at the political press in the 1850s and 1860s, and how it played a major role in the nation's understanding of the conflict; Technology's role in carrying information in a timely fashion. The development of journalism as a profession; The international context of Civil War journalism; The leadership journalists displayed, including Horace Greeley and his New York Tribune bully pulpit; The nature of journalism during the war; The way freedom of the press was advanced by polarizing political extremes; The work is historical, written in an engaging style, and meant to encourage readers to explore and analyze the value of freedom of the press during that very time when it most comes under fire-wartime"--

Words at War: The Civil War and American Journalism analyzes the various ways in which the nation's newspaper editors, reporters, and war correspondents covered the biggest story of their lives during the Civil War, and in doing so, they reflected and shaped the responses of their readers. The four sections of the book, "Fighting Words," "Confederates and Copperheads," "The Union Forever," and "Continuing Conflict" trace the evolving role of the press in the antebellum, wartime, and postwar periods.

This book examines newspapers, magazines, photographs, illustrations, and editorial cartoons to tell the important story of journalism, documenting its role during the Civil War as well as the impact of the war on the press. Civil War Journalism presents a unique synthesis of the journalism of both the North and South during the war. It features a compelling cast of characters, including editors Horace Greeley and John M. Daniel, correspondents George Smalley and Peter W. Alexander, photographers Mathew Brady and Alexander Gardner, and illustrators Alfred Waud and Thomas Nast. Written to appeal to those interested in the Civil War in general and in journalism specifically, as well as general readers, the work provides an introductory overview of journalism in the North and South on the eve of the Civil War. The following chapters examine reporting during the war, editorializing about the war, photographing and illustrating the war, censorship and government relations, and the impact of the war on the press.

The power of the American press to influence and even set the political agenda is commonly associated with the rise of such press barons as Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst at the turn of the century. The latter even took credit for instigating the Spanish-American War. Their power, however, had deeper roots in the journalistic culture of the nineteenth century, particularly in the social and political conflicts that climaxed with the Civil War. Until now historians have paid little attention to the role of the press in defining and disseminating the conflicting views of the North and the South in the decades leading up to the Civil War. In The Civil War and the Press historians, political scientists, and scholars of journalism measure the influence of the press, explore its diversity, and profile the prominent editors and publishers of the day. The book is divided into three sections covering the role of the press in the prewar years, throughout the conflict itself, and during the Reconstruction period. Part 1, "Setting the Agenda for Secession and War," considers the rise of the consumer society and the journalistic readership, the changing nature of editorial standards and practice, the issues of abolitionism, secession, and armed resistence as reflected in Northern and Southern newspapers, the reporting on John Brown's Harper's Ferry raid, and the influence of journalism on the 1860 election results. Part 2, "In Time of War," includes discussions of journalistic images and ideas of womanhood in the context of war, the political orientation of the Jewish press, the rise of illustrated periodicals, and issues of censorship and opposition journalism. The chapters in Part 3, "Reconstructing a Nation," detail the infiltration of the former Confederacy by hundreds of federally subsidized Republican newspapers, editorial reactions to the developing issue of voting rights for freed slaves, and the journalistic mythologization of Jesse James as a resister of Reconstruction laws and conquering Unionists. In tracing the confluence of journalism and politics from its source, this groundbreaking volume opens a wide variety of perspectives on a crucial period in American history while raising questions that remain pertainent to contemporary tensions between press power and government power. The Civil War and the Press will be essential reading for historians, media studies specialists, political scientists, and readers interested in the Civil War period.

A Press Divided provides new insights regarding the sharp political divisions that existed among the newspapers of the Civil War era. These newspapers were divided between North and South, and also divided within the North and South. These divisions reflected and exacerbated the conflicts in political thought that caused the Civil War and the political and ideological battles within the Union and the Confederacy about how to pursue the war. In the North, dissenting voices alarmed the Lincoln administration to such a degree that draconian measures were taken to suppress dissenting newspapers and editors, while in the South, the Confederate government held to its fundamental belief in freedom of speech and was more tolerant of political attacks in the press. This volume consists of eighteen chapters on subjects including newspaper coverage of the rise of Lincoln, press reports on George Armstrong Custer, Confederate women war correspondents, Civil War photojournalists, newspaper coverage of the Emancipation Proclamation, and the suppression of the dissident press. This book tells the story of a divided press before and during the Civil War, discussing the roles played by newspapers in splitting the nation, newspaper coverage of the war, and the responses by the Union and Confederate administrations to press criticism.

The Antebellum Press: Setting the Stage for Civil War reveals the critical role of journalism in the years leading up to America’s deadliest conflict by exploring the events that foreshadowed and, in some ways, contributed directly to the outbreak of war. This collection of scholarly essays traces how the national press influenced and shaped America’s path towards warfare. Major challenges faced by American newspapers prior to secession and war are explored, including: the economic development of the press; technology and its influence on the press; major editors and reporters (North and South) and the role of partisanship; and the central debate over slavery in the future of an expanding nation. A clear narrative of institutional, political, and cultural tensions between 1820 and 1861 is presented through the contributors’ use of primary sources. In this way, the reader is offered contemporary perspectives that provide unique insights into which local or national issues were pivotal to the writers whose words informed and influenced the people of the time. As a scholarly work written by educators, this volume is an essential text for both upper-level undergraduates and postgraduates who study the American Civil War, journalism, print and media culture, and mass communication history.

Those writing for the British press of the mid-Victorian era were masters of the English language, given to tirades of grand oratory. They liked to cover the former colonies, arousing rhetorical fears among Britons over the increasing power of the United States. With the advent of the American Civil War, the British press had the perfect opportunity to practice their peculiar brand of journalism. The South was the home of virtuous aristocrats, and Lincoln had bad taste, bad grammar and the respect of no one. Selections from all of Britain's major Civil War-era newspapers and magazines (along with numerous pamphlets) are presented, with the author's historical and editorial comments. A revealing assessment of British journalistic treatment of the War Between the States is the result. Sections of the book are devoted to the British press' handling of contentious issues between the North and South, specific battles or persons, a detailed profile of The Times of London (including personal correspondence) with examples of the bias in favor of the Confederacy in The Times' reportage, and the portrayal by the press of Lincoln's presidency upon his assassination (suddenly The Times found wisdom and goodness).