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>     Date: Fri, 15 May 2009 15:29:53 -0400
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>  Subject: H-Net Review Publication:  'What They Saw at the Revolution'
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> Troy O. Bickham.  Making Headlines: The American Revolution as Seen
> through the British Press.  DeKalb  Northern Illinois University
> Press, 2009.  xiii + 303 pp.  $38.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-87580-393-7.
>
> Reviewed by Carol Sue Humphrey (Oklahoma Baptist University)
> Published on Jhistory (March, 2009)
> Commissioned by Donna Harrington-Lueker
>
> What They Saw at the Revolution
>
> In _Making Headlines_, Troy O. Bickham capably presents how the press
> functioned in Great Britain during the years of the American
> Revolution, emphasizing how "the press kept the British public
> informed of all angles of the war" (p. 3). Using newspapers as
> sources, Bickham argues that what Americans refer to as their
> revolution became much more than that to citizens of Great Britain.
> For the British, the American Revolution developed into a world war
> that was the latest chapter in the ongoing conflict with France. The
> widespread availability of newspapers made the press a major source
> of information about the war for British citizens.
>
> Bickham begins with a well-written consideration of how the press
> worked in Great Britain. Using various records from the era, he
> explores how newspapers were organized, how they were distributed,
> and who read them. By the time of the American Revolution,
> publications had become widespread and thus "part of a daily or
> weekly retreat for many Britons" (p. 21). Bickham goes on to discuss
> the interaction between newspaper producers and politicians, showing
> that these people sometimes worked together to accomplish common
> goals. But they also often disagreed about what direction the British
> government should take about a particular issue. Bickham concludes
> that the press in Britain was able to "report freely on national
> affairs" and thus the publications provide a good picture of public
> opinion during the war (p. 43).
>
> In part 2, Bickham discusses how the revolt in the American colonies
> developed into a world war. Beginning with press coverage of the
> arguments that led up to the war, he capably shows that British
> newspapers initially debated whether the war in the colonies was
> worth fighting, but they clearly rallied to the cause once the
> conflict developed into a world war with France. Once France entered
> the war, "the language in the press, both from editors and readers,
> became decidedly more nationalistic in tone" (p. 135). Bickham
> maintains that newspaper writers in Great Britain did not greatly
> mourn the loss of the colonies because these writers thought that the
> most important outcome of the conflict was that France did not really
> gain anything as a result of the American victory. Ultimately,
> "Britain had bloodied its ancient European rivals and preserved the
> bulk of its empire" (p. 159).
>
> Bickham continues his consideration of the British press through an
> analysis of several particular issues that were discussed during the
> war. He begins with an overview of the reaction of the press to
> George Washington. Most newspaper writers admired Washington because
> of his character as presented in his actions as commander in chief of
> the American Continental Army, and they considered him a noble
> figure, even though he commanded the army of the enemy. Washington
> thus "personified the dilemma that faced many Britons during the
> conflict: he was a quintessential English-American gentleman, despite
> being the enemy" (p. 185). British newspapers also spilled a lot of
> ink discussing and debating how British officials chose to fight the
> war. Of particular interest were debates over the use of African
> slaves, American Indians, and German mercenaries. The use of all of
> these groups could have been perceived as barbaric and uncivilized,
> but some people perceived the practice as necessary to win the war.
> As Bickham shows, a number of newspaper writers debated these issues
> throughout the course of the war. These discussions help to show how
> the British "understood the conflict to be inherently different" from
> previous wars (p. 232). Finally, newspaper writers debated what would
> happen to America once the war ended. The press had clearly concluded
> that the colonies were lost, so writers spent much of their time
> debating the future. These debates indicated that the press assumed
> that the American colonies would remain tied to Great Britain even
> after they won their independence, primarily through increasing trade
> across the Atlantic.
>
> Bickham ends with a discussion of how the press reflected British
> opinion on both the war and the empire, and concludes that the press
> "reveals how globally minded British reading audiences had become"
> (p. 250). The American Revolution combined with the global war with
> France helped turn British readers into thoughtful citizens who would
> increasingly question and criticize some of the directions taken by
> British officials. The press during the American Revolution thus
> helped lay the groundwork for future criticisms that would shape the
> British Empire in the nineteenth century.
>
> Bickham's work is well constructed and presents a thoughtful study of
> the role and content of the British press during the American
> Revolution. In doing so, he fills a gap in the history of the late
> eighteenth century. Most previous studies of the press during the
> American Revolution have focused on American publications. _Making
> Headlines_ pushes readers to look at the war from the opposite side
> and thus broadens our understanding of the role and impact of the
> press not only during the Revolutionary era, but also potentially
> during wartime in general.
>
> Citation: Carol Sue Humphrey. Review of Bickham, Troy O., _Making
> Headlines: The American Revolution as Seen through the British
> Press_. Jhistory, H-Net Reviews. March, 2009.
> URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=24385
>
> This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
> Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States
> License.
>

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