Revolutionary War Ads and the Public Sphere

In the Revolutionary War era, the public sphere was not only represented by the articles written in the newspapers but also in the advertisements surrounding them. Elizabeth L. Eisenstein’s writings about the print revolution and its effect on the way people inter- act with each other create a fascinating dialogue about the history of the book and the role advertisements play. Our study proves that the history of the book is not only relevant to the way in which we conceptualize famous authors and great works but also to the smaller microcosms of everyday individuals within the Revolutionary War society. To draw these connections, we read through the Revolutionary War era newspapers in the UO Special Collections room. Through careful analysis we discovered patterns within the popular advertisements. These advertisements support Eisenstein’s points surrounding public celebrity as well as Jürgen Habermas’ definition of a public sphere.