Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the importance and the role of the propaganda in the American Revolution with the help of the Boston Massacre. This paper is written in APA format with the 6 references and in-text citations.
Introduction
Propaganda is a specific type of message presentation aimed at serving an agenda. At its root, the denotation of propaganda is 'to propagate (actively spread) a philosophy or point of view'. The most common use of the term historically is in political contexts; in particular to refer to certain efforts sponsored by governments or political groups.
The aim of propaganda is to influence people's opinions actively, rather than to merely communicate the facts about something. For example, propaganda might be used to garner either support or disapproval of a certain position, rather than to simply present the position. What separates propaganda from "normal" communication is in the subtle, often insidious, ways that the message attempts to shape opinion. For example, propaganda is often presented in a way that attempts to deliberately evoke a strong emotion, especially by suggesting illogical (or non-intuitive) relationships between concepts. (Nelson, 1986)
American revolution and propaganda
America was founded on hypocrisy (the myth of popular sovereignty) and has been characterized by propaganda ever since. Propaganda is by no means unique to the American experience all governments and elites employ propaganda but propaganda has played a uniquely intimate role in the American experience. Every event in American history, from Independence onward, has been characterized by an elite agenda, coupled with a propaganda cover story. Because America is endowed with democratic mechanisms the government is elected, after all such propaganda has been essential from the beginning in order to maintain elite control. Propaganda is one of the elite’s primary antidotes to the dreaded disease of actual democracy.......
