Caption
Posting a Broadside, 1973
Number
1477
Prompt
The patriot's arm animates, pasting the broadside onto the wall with a visible swipe of a brush. The other townspeople move in to get close enough to read the broadside bill posted on the wall. The scene and the camera position doesn't change.
Body
The second stamp in the series, Scott #1477, was issued in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It highlights the significance of broadsides in colonial communication. The image of a patriot posting a broadside illustrates a common and effective method of spreading information and propaganda. These posters were the social media of their day, keeping colonists informed of events like the Boston Massacre or the resolutions of the Committees of Correspondence. They were a vital tool for the Sons of Liberty and other patriot groups to organize boycotts, protests, and public meetings. The very act of posting a broadside could be an act of defiance, a public declaration of one's political leanings in a time of increasing tension with Great Britain.