East is East and West is West: Philadelphia Newspaper Coverage of the East-West Divide in Early America

The prominent division in early America between the established eastern populations and communities in the West is evident when viewed through the lens of eighteenth-century Philadelphia newspapers, which themselves employed an East-West paradigm to interpret four events: the Paxton Boys Incident, Regulator Rebellion, Shays's Rebellion, and Constitutional Convention. Through the choices of what words to use to describe these clashes, through oversights, omissions, and misrepresentations, and sometimes through more direct tactics, Philadelphia newspapermen revealed a persistent cultural bias against and rivalry with western communities. This study illustrates how pervasive this contrast between East and West was in the minds of easterners; how central a feature of early American culture they considered it to be.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of North Texas

Year dc:date

2007

Author dc:creator

• Leath, Susan Elizabeth

Contributors dc:contributor

• Chet, Guy
• Campbell, Randolph B., 1940-2022
• Smith, F. Todd

• Eighteenth-century newspapers
• Philadelphia newspapers
• newspaper history
• cultural bias
• Constitutional Convention
• Journalism -- Objectivity -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia -- History -- 18th century.
• West (U.S.) -- Press coverage -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia.
• East (U.S.) -- Press coverage -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia.

Statement dc:rights

• Public
• Copyright
• Leath, Susan Elizabeth
• Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.

Language dc:language

English

Identifier

oclc: 227339298
https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5153/
ark: ark:/67531/metadc5153

OAI identifier oai:identifier

info:ark/67531/metadc5153