From the colonial era to the onset of the Civil War, Magazines and the Making of America looks at how magazines and the individuals, organizations, and circumstances they connected ushered America into the modern age. How did a magazine industry emerge in the United States, where there were once only amateur authors, clumsy technologies for production and distribution, and sparse reader demand? What legitimated magazines as they competed with other media, such as newspapers, books, and letters? And what role did magazines play in the integration or division of American society? From their first appearance in 1741, magazines brought together like-minded people, wherever they were located and whatever interests they shared. As America became socially differentiated, magazines engaged and empowered diverse communities of faith, purpose, and practice. Religious groups could distinguish themselves from others and demarcate their identities. Social-reform movements could energize activists across the country to push for change. People in specialized occupations could meet and learn from one another to improve their practices. Magazines built translocal communities―collections of people with common interests who were geographically dispersed and could not easily meet face-to-face. By supporting communities that crossed various axes of social structure, magazines also fostered pluralistic integration. Looking at the important role that magazines had in mediating and sustaining critical debates and diverse groups of people, Magazines and the Making of America considers how these print publications helped construct a distinctly American society.
Author(s): Heather A. Haveman
Series: Princeton Studies In Cultural Sociology
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Year: 2015
Language: English
Pages: 429
Tags: Print Culture, Magazines, Making Of America
Cover......Page 1
Title......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Dedication......Page 6
Contents......Page 8
List of Figures and Tables......Page 10
Acknowledgments......Page 14
CHAPTER 1 Introduction......Page 20
Why Focus on Magazines?......Page 23
Magazines, Modernization, and Community in America......Page 24
The Modernization of America......Page 28
Modernization and Community in America......Page 31
The Path Forward: The Outline of This Book......Page 34
Conclusion......Page 41
Magazine Origins......Page 42
Magazine Evolution......Page 45
Variety within and among Magazines......Page 60
Conclusion......Page 71
CHAPTER 3 The Material and Cultural Foundations of American Magazines......Page 74
Publishing Technologies......Page 76
Distribution Infrastructure: The Post Office......Page 80
The Reading Public......Page 93
Professional Authors and Copyright Law......Page 105
Conclusion......Page 122
Who Founded American Magazines?......Page 125
Why Were Magazines Founded?......Page 146
How Did Magazines Gain Public Support?......Page 155
Conclusion......Page 161
The Changing Face of American Religion......Page 162
The Interplay between Religion and Magazines......Page 179
Conclusion......Page 203
The Evolution of Social Reform Movements......Page 206
Religion and Reform: The Moral Impulse......Page 216
Magazines and Reform......Page 220
The Press, the Pulpit, and the Antislavery Movement......Page 231
Conclusion......Page 240
Economic Development......Page 243
Commerce and Magazines......Page 257
Rationality and “Science” in America......Page 264
A New American Revolution: Agriculture Becomes “Scientific”......Page 269
Conclusion......Page 286
CHAPTER 8 Conclusion......Page 288
Core Data on Magazines: Sources......Page 298
Refining the Sample: Distinguishing Magazines from Other Types of Publications......Page 300
Measuring Magazine Attributes......Page 303
Background Data on Magazine Founders......Page 310
Data on Religion......Page 313
Data on Antislavery Associations......Page 320
Other Contextual Data......Page 322
Units of Analysis......Page 326
Chapter 2: The History of American Magazines, 1741–1860......Page 328
Chapter 3: The Material and Cultural Foundations of American Magazines......Page 329
Chapter 4: Launching Magazines......Page 338
Chapter 5: Religion......Page 346
Chapter 6: Social Reform......Page 354
References......Page 362
Index......Page 414
