The Civil War through Secondary Sources

In the 1850s, the American press played a significant role during the Civil War. This war was one of the most illustrated wars in history, thanks to the publications of newspapers and magazines.

George Smalley reports the battle of Antietam | Knoxville Civil ...

George W. Smalley

As war spread spread across America, so did the spread of journalists. War reporting required journalists to rely on telegraphs, railroads, and horses. Unlike today, journalists had to go to extremes in order to get information to write about. For example, a writer for New York Tribune, George W. Smalley, who was unable to get access to a telegraph hand-wrote the story of the Battle of Antietam in 1862 on a military train from Baltimore to New York. The next day this story covered the streets of New York.

The Telegraph

The invention of the telegraph in 1844 was a monumental for the world of journalism. This invention allowed journalists to quickly edit and publish work, this became the first instance of timely news. Telegraph operators charged by the word, therefore reporters would prioritize the information. This is where the style of news writing started as well.

Press: North vs South

There was a big difference between journalism in the North and in the South. The demand for newspapers were high in both the North and the South, however the North had more recourses especially in New York City. In the South the telegraph and rail connections were unreliable, making news in the North much more detailed and widespread. In 1860, there was a total of 387 newspapers nationwide, however only 70 of them were located in the South. The Civil War strengthened news in the North and this advantage continued for more than a century.

Sources
https://www.futurity.org/how-the-us-civil-war-changed-journalism/
https://americanantiquarian.org/earlyamericannewsmedia/exhibits/show/news-and-the-civil-war/civil-war-reporting-and-report

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