Media as Weaponry: How Civil War Media Shaped Opinion and Morale

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the role of media during the Civil War and how it shaped the nation’s opinion and morale. It includes how media was used, by whom, and for what purposes. Specifically, I examine the various technologies that were around at the time of the Civil War—written (newspapers), visual (illustrations and photographs), and electric (telegraph). I argue that thanks to the clever, and sometimes manipulative use of media, both North and South leveraged the media to spin information. However, the North was more likely to be effective, and ultimately win the war, thanks in part to their more adept ability to spin information, their greater number of resources, and the government’s willingness to control and censor communications.