A Revolutionary People.

The period 1754 to 1783 not only witnessed a political revolution but one in communications as well. In 1754 most inhabitants of British North America would readily call themselves Britons and would also identify themselves with their resident colonies as Virginians, New Yorkers, or Rhode Islanders, for example. By 1783, even though local identity was still important, they also thought of themselves as Americans. In a letter to Hezekiah Niles on 15 February 1818, colonial statesman and former president John Adams asserted that the American Revolution was effected long before the war commenced. "The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people." This sentiment developed in colonial America partially through an enhanced system of communications.

Transportation.

Colonial America was an everexpanding, mobile society. The population doubled every twenty years, and the economy grew faster than in England. American attempts to facilitate trade, travel, and dissemination of information contributed to...