Communication

During the 1600's, the colonists exchanged news chiefly buy word of mouth. Gossip spread quickly at church, court days, and public gatherings. Towns and cities had a Crier who read announcements on the streets. Individuals called post riders carried mail along routes called post roads. They picked up mail and left it at inns, taverns, and other established stopping places.

The English government allowed a private postal system to be set up in 1691 and took over its operations in 1707. In 1753, Benjamin Franklin became a deputy postmaster general for the colonies. He improved the frequency and speed of postal service. Newspapers came into use somewhere in the mid-1700's.

The first successful colonial newspaper, founded in 1704, was the Boston News-Letter. By 1775 every colony, except Delaware and New Jersey, had at least on newspaper. Newspapers appeared weekly and were passed from person to person and were available in taverns. They contained stories from other newspapers, local advertisements, short items of local news, poems, and letters.