{"id":1045,"date":"2026-05-01T19:10:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T18:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.georgegoodwin.com\/?page_id=1045"},"modified":"2026-05-01T19:28:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T18:28:24","slug":"propaganda-wars-of-the-american-revolution","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.georgegoodwin.com\/?page_id=1045","title":{"rendered":"Propaganda Wars of the American Revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Propaganda Wars of the American Revolution\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Published by Yale University Press (USA — 16 June 2026 $35<\/span>; UK — 25 August 2026 \u00a325<\/span>).<\/h4>\n

The American Revolution was not only fought on bloody battlefields; it was waged with the ink of pen and print. George Goodwin shows how the leaders of the American Revolution brilliantly weaponized information and propaganda through correspondence and newspapers, shaping public perception, mobilizing support, and swaying the colonies toward open rebellion. Once the war began, George Washington\u2019s tireless ability to deploy the pen and press as a weapon of war helped to unite and sustain very different colonies and colonists during the eight long years before victory.<\/p>\n

Drawing on a wealth of contemporary accounts, letters, and publications, Goodwin demonstrates how liberty and authority were contested through ideas, images, and rhetoric at the time of America\u2019s birth\u2014and how, 250 years on, the Revolution can be seen as America\u2019s first great media war.<\/p>\n

\u201cA wonderfully written, truly intriguing history of the American Revolution rich in entertaining anecdote and wit. George Goodwin not only shows how the Patriots\u2019 command of propaganda sparked the American Revolution, but how, with words as much as deeds, patriots like General George Washington won the war and secured independence. It is not even slightly propaganda to deem this a fantastic book. You\u2019ll want to add it to your must reads on the revolutionary era.\u201d\u2014Zara Anishanslin, author of The Painter\u2019s Fire: A Forgotten History of the Artists Who Championed the American Revolution<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most lively and engaging feature of Goodwin\u2019s book is the novel discussion of George Washington, who is not usually compared to Thomas Paine, but it is also a timely reminder of the importance of propaganda and press bias in the American Revolution.\u201d\u2014Andrew Jackson O\u2019Shaughnessy, author of The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Propaganda Wars of the American Revolution, George Goodwin demonstrates how much of that pivotal conflict was waged with pen, paper, and printing press. With public opinion taking a central role in determining the combatants\u2019 ability to wage war, words mattered more than they had in previous conflicts. Deft statements by American printers, General George Washington (a vastly underrated penman), and ace polemicist Thomas Paine helped pave the road to victory.\u201d\u2014David O. Stewart, author of George Washington: The Political Rise of America\u2019s Founding Father<\/p>\n

\u201cBrilliantly depicts the American Revolution as the first great media war, from James Otis\u2019s warnings to George Washington\u2019s triumph. Exceptionally well-researched.\u201d\u2014R. C. Simmons, author of William Temple Franklin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Propaganda Wars of the American Revolution\u00a0 Published by Yale University Press (USA — 16 June 2026 $35; UK — 25 August 2026 \u00a325). The American Revolution was not only fought on bloody battlefields; it was waged with the ink of … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1007,"parent":0,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"onecolumn-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1045","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgegoodwin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgegoodwin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgegoodwin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgegoodwin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgegoodwin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1045"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgegoodwin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1093,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgegoodwin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1045\/revisions\/1093"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgegoodwin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgegoodwin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}