The Invention of a Public Machine for Revolutionary Sentiment: The Boston Committee of Correspondence

• Published in: The Eighteenth century (Lubbock) Vol. 50; no. 2; pp. 145 - 164
• Main Author: Warner, William B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania Press 22-06-2009; Texas Tech University Press
• Subjects: Articulation; Brochures; Committees; Emotions; Rhetoric; Technology; Boston Massachusetts
• ISSN: 0193-5380; 1935-0201; 1935-0201
• DOI: 10.1353/ecy.0.0036

While the American Revolution is often attributed to certain ideas or ideologies, it is often forgotten that the blend of
feelings and ideas necessary for moving men and women to revolution requires the action of groups and the
development of new genres for articulating sentiment. This article traces the innovations of the Boston committee of
correspondence as it developed the committee form, shaped a new form of public communication (the popular
declaration) and mobilized the towns of Massachusetts to resist the administrative initiatives of the British
administration. Crucial to the success of this communication initiative is the text of The Votes and Proceedings of the
Town of Boston and the way it performs a new species of emotional liberty, one that depends upon a new kind of
distributed politics.