Public Opinion in Colonial America: Content-Analyzing the Colonial Press

Among the mass media the newspaper has been by all odds the first and foremost, until recent decades, in expressing and shaping public opinion. Especially interesting is its role in the formative period of our nation. Here is a scholarly discussion of an application of content analysis to the colonial press that is not without meaning for research in the current scene. Richard L. Merritt is Assistant Professor of Political Science and research director of the Political Science Research Library at Yale University. This article is part of his study of “Symbols of American Community, 1735–1775.” He is currently studying public opinion and elite attitudes in postwar Germany.