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Radio and television
The 1920s also saw the birth of a new mass medium, radio. By 1928, the United States had three national radio networks — two owned by NBC (the National Broadcasting Company), one by CBS (the Columbia Broadcasting System). Though mostly listened to for entertainment, radio's instant, on-the-spot reports of dramatic events drew huge audiences throughout the 1930s and World War II.
Radio also introduced government regulation into the media. Early radio stations went on and off the air and wandered across different frequencies, often blocking other stations and annoying listeners. To resolve the problem, Congress gave the government power to regulate and license broadcasters. From then on, the airwaves — both radio and TV — were considered a scarce national resource, to be operated in the public interest.
After World War II, American homes were invaded by a powerful new force: television.
The idea of seeing "live" shows in the living room was immediately attractive — and the effects are still being measured. TV was developed at a time when Americans were becoming more affluent and more mobile. Traditional family ways were weakening. Watching TV soon became a social ritual. Millions of people set up their activities and lifestyles around TV's program schedule. In fact, in the average American household, the television is watched 7 hours a day.
Television, like radio before it focused on popular entertainment to provide large audiences to advertisers. TV production rapidly became concentrated in three major networks — CBS, NBC and ABC.
A 30-second commercial on network television during prime evening viewing time costs $100,000 or more. A single half-hour show costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce. Viewers also have the option of watching noncommercial public television, which is funded by the federal government, as well as by donations from individuals and corporations.
Television has emerged as the major source from which most Americans get the news. By its nature, TV has proved most effective in covering dramatic, action-filled events - such as man's walk on the moon and the Vietnam War. As TV viewers become direct witnesses of events. The focus of TV news is the network news shows watched by an estimated 60 million Americans every night. These huge audiences have made newscasters such as Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, John Chancellor, Barbara Walters and Peter Jennings into national celebrities, far better known than print journalists.
At first it was thought that the popularity of TV and its advertiser support-would cause declining interest in the other media. Instead, TV whetted the public's appetite for information. Book publishers found that TV stimulated reading. Though some big-city newspapers closed others merged and new ones opened in the suburbs. And while a few mass circulation magazines failed, hundreds of specialized magazines sprang up in their place.
Technology continues to change the media. Computers are already revolutionizing the printing process. Computer users also have access to on-line newspapers for up-to-the-minute information on general or specialized subjects. Cables and satellites are expanding ТV. Already half of American homes subscribe to cable TV, which broadcasts dozens of channels providing information and entertainment of every kind.
In addition to the 1,140 television stations offering programming in 1990, there were 9,900 cable operating systems serving 44 million subscribers in 27,000 communities. These subscribers paid an average fee of $15 per month to watch programs not offered on commercial channels. One cable network offers news 24 hours a day. Some communities have publicly controlled cable television stations, allowing, citizen groups to put on programs.
The pilgrims
The Pilgrims enjoy almost mythic status in American history. These brave refugees crossed the cold Atlantic in search of religious liberty, signed democratic compact abroad the Mayflower, landed at Plymouth Rock, and gave Americans Thanksgiving Day. As with most legends, this one contains only a grain of truth.
The Pilgrims were not exactly the crusaders who set out to change the world. They were called Separatists because they chose to break from the established Church of England.
In 1609 a group of Pilgrims left England for the religious freedom in Holland, where they lived and prospered. After a few years their children were speaking Dutch and had become attached to the Dutch way of life. This worried the Pilgrims. They considered the Dutch frivolous and their ideas a threat to the children’s education and morality. So they decided to leave Holland and travel to the New World.
Their trip was financed by a group of English investors, the Merchant Adventurers. It was agreed that the Pilgrims would be given passage and supplies in exchange for their working for their backers for seven years. On September 6, 1620, the Pilgrims set sail for the New World on a ship called the Mayflower. They sailed from Plymouth, England, and aboard were 44 Pilgrims, who called themselves the “Saints”, and 66 others, whom the Pilgrims called the “Strangers”. The long trip was cold and damp and took 65 days. Since there was the danger of fire on the wooden ship, the food had to be eaten cold. Many passengers became sick and one person died by the time land was sighted on November 10th. The long trip led to many disagreements between the “Saints” and the “Strangers”. After land was sighted a meeting was held and an agreement was worked out, called the Mayflower Compact, which guaranteed equality and unified the two groups. They joined and named themselves the “Pilgrims”.
Because of an error in navigation, the Pilgrims landed not in Virginia but in New England (Plymouth Rock). Upon arrival the Pilgrims replicated the humble little farm communities they had once known in England. In 1691 their colony was absorbed into its larger and prosperous neighbor, Massachusetts Bay.
The first settlers were bound together by a common sense of purpose. God they insisted, had formed a special covenant with the people of Massachusetts Bay. On his part, the Lord expected them to live according to scripture, to reform the church, in other words, to create an Old Testament “city on a hill” that would stand as a beacon of righteousness for the rest of the Christian world. If they filled their part of the bargain, the settlers could anticipate peace and prosperity. The Bay Colonists gradually came to accept a highly innovative form of church government known as Congregation. Under this system, each village church was independent of outside interference. The American Puritans, of course, wanted nothing of bishops. The people (the “saints”) were the church.
The churches of Massachusetts were voluntary institutions, and in order to join one a man or a woman had to provide testimony- a confession of faith – before neighbors who had already been admitted as full members.
( by Based on Robert A. Divine et al. America: Past and Present, Volume 1)