Books that Helped Spark the American Revolution

British censorship of literary works
Much like Spain, British forces in North America heavily censored any opinions which they disagreed with such as criticisms or revolutionary talk. Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers, experienced how heavily the British wanted to censor the media when his brother was jailed for printing a satiric piece that the British magistrates found offensive. This strict censorship lost its grip during the early 18 century when more and more people were more vocal about their grievances towards British Rule.

The Boston Gazette
The Boston Gazette was a newspaper first published in 1719 in Boston and was distributed in North American Colonies. This newspaper was controversial as each issue did not stray away from criticizing British rule and laws. Most of the founding fathers such as Samuel Adams, John Adams, James Otis, Paul Revere, and Josiah Quincy wrote articles under false names in order to voice out their ideas while staying safe from British forces which see them as dangerous. Some of the most famous issues of the Boston Gazette are the March 5th and 12th,1770 issues which covered the Boston Massacre on March 5th. These newspaper already had an audience of people who disagreed with the British but by emotionally charging a story and spreading it across all of North America, the Boston Gazette was able to entice a lot of people into taking a firm stance against British rule.

Thomas Paine's Common Sense
Following the years of heated tension with the British, Thomas Paine printed a pamphlet in January 1776 that called for two major changes to happen in American society; freedom from British rule and the creation of a democracy styled government. This book was highly popular as it basically reassured everyone's feelings of independence from the British and finally gave everyone the desire to create a new government by talking about it in the pamphlet.