How Do Books, Literacy And Education Affected American History

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How much power does a book hold? While it is true that books can simply be described as pages of paper containing ink, the influence of the words in the stories of books is tremendously impactful. In fact, one theory as to what major influences affected American History that is often overlooked is the influence of books and literacy. Ever since the early colonies, reading and education have played important roles in different family households. They have even caused major debates about the significance of literacy through education. Books, literacy, and education are historically significant because of the different lifestyles they created in the colonies, the inventions that they inspired, the strength of books that brought awareness and difference of opinion, and the controversies they caused that eventually led to wars and revolutions. In 1459, Johann Gutenberg invented the machine that catalyzed reading as a whole: the printing press. It not only revolutionized the history of freedom of speech and the press, but also changed the history of the world. Gutenberg’s invention used a movable type that…show more content…
The printing press revolutionized the popularity of books everywhere. New England and the Chesapeake had a difference of opinion on the importance of education. As time went on, education flourished in New England and was not highly valued in the South. Poor Richard’s Almanack and Common Sense both influenced American opinion and action. Also, education was a popular topic in the American Revolution. All of these events go to show that books, literacy and education continued to influence history and continuously remained a topic of

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