Franklin's Network
It is important to note that while the Stamp Act rebellion was in occurrence, paper and print networks were flourishing. In Ralph Frasca’s 2004 journal, Benjamin Franklin’s Printing Network and the Stamp Act, Rasca examines the reach of Franklin’s communication circuit. Rasca writes, “Franklin's network stretched from New England to the West Indies, comprised more than two dozen printers, and was the first chiefly non-family-based printing alliance in America. It served as a training ground for many early American printers, a mechanism of growth for the domestic press, and a source of moral principles for a mass audience.” (404) Franklin’s position within his print network afforded him an advance on social capital.
In one regard, Franklin’s position was seemingly neutral, but as Rasca describes, Franklin remonstrated the Stamp Act. This remonstration placed Franklin in a position where he could use his print networks, specifically, newspaper distribution channels, to fuel his ideas about the Stamp Act. This also made Franklin a central adviser for legal counseling within his print networks, “He counseled his network printers on how to minimize financial losses and on how to take the appropriate stance in the face of the growing revolutionary sentiment against the Stamp Act. (Rasca 408).” But Franklin did not anticipate an overwhelming amount of backlash from colonial printers. Some newspaper publishers would simply not pay the tax, remove titles from newspapers, and promote enticing propaganda. In a short amount of time, Franklin quickly saw a print and paper network enter into a full frontal attack against the Stamp Act. In a state of remonstration, Frankly realized that he must be more tactful in his approach to the Stamp Act. Franklin later saw the contention as an opportunity to fuel American identity and bring to light American ideals concerning liberty.
In one regard, Franklin’s position was seemingly neutral, but as Rasca describes, Franklin remonstrated the Stamp Act. This remonstration placed Franklin in a position where he could use his print networks, specifically, newspaper distribution channels, to fuel his ideas about the Stamp Act. This also made Franklin a central adviser for legal counseling within his print networks, “He counseled his network printers on how to minimize financial losses and on how to take the appropriate stance in the face of the growing revolutionary sentiment against the Stamp Act. (Rasca 408).” But Franklin did not anticipate an overwhelming amount of backlash from colonial printers. Some newspaper publishers would simply not pay the tax, remove titles from newspapers, and promote enticing propaganda. In a short amount of time, Franklin quickly saw a print and paper network enter into a full frontal attack against the Stamp Act. In a state of remonstration, Frankly realized that he must be more tactful in his approach to the Stamp Act. Franklin later saw the contention as an opportunity to fuel American identity and bring to light American ideals concerning liberty.