In addition to number of newspapers, the colonies also faced a growth in book publishing in a degree that was never experienced in any European state. But the most significant development was the establishment of a public library in Charleston, South Carolina at the beginning of the 18th century.

             In the first half of the 18th century, newspapers began spreading all over the colonies. They began by reporting, but later became a source of information and critique. This critique helped notions of freedom and independence to spread among colonies. American Revolution, which took place in the final quarter of the 18th century, is evidence to this fact. .

             One of the most important American traditions, the political cartoons found a place in these newspapers, used to affect change of opinion. "The first political cartoon was Franklin"s "join or die" cajoling colonists to join against the French in 1754." The importance of Benjamin Franklin can not be neglected. He was America"s first Renaissance man. In his youth, he succeeded in using mass communication as a tool of propaganda for his ideas on revolution. His works produced in this period were profound, however he was successful in using the materials provided by the early innovations.

             Printing exploded in this time period, but so did other media.

             Until the 19th century mass communication heavily depended on transportation. A message could only be sent by a ship or train, on horse back or even in the memory of human courier, until the invention of the "telegraph, the first instantaneous system of information movement, in 1837 in the United States by inventor, Samuel F.B. Morse.".

             The first public telegraph line, completed in 1844, ran about 64km from Washington D.C. to Baltimore, Maryland. Over the next half-century wires were strung across much of the world, even under the Atlantic Ocean by undersea cable (about 1866) connecting Europe and North America.