One reason that the British government subsidized improvements in the postal system was to increase the speed and reliability of government’s communication with the far-flung subjects of King George III. This was especially essential in the summer of 1775, when George III signed the Royal “Proclamation of the Rebellion.” It pronounced military opposition in Massachusetts to be a rebellion and defined the terms for ending it (e.g. offering amnesty to contrite rebels who pledge loyalty to the King, etc.). This proclamation offers a gage of the speed and effectiveness of 18th century broadcasting made possible in the 18th century by the newspaper linked to post. It allowed one message to be transmitted to many highly dispersed readers and auditors.

The dates of the different reproductions and responses to the Proclamation shows the slowness but also the effective reach of this form of 18th century broadcasting. While copies of this broadside were sent to 23 colonial governors, most Americas would read or hear the proclamation out of their local newspapers. For example at right see: the Penn Ledger, Newport Mercury, New York’s Governor Tryon’s broadside, and finally, “The Answer of the Congress to the King’s Proclamation,” is published in the Pennsylvania Evening Post, 7 December 1775.