In this chapter Postman rewinds to the seventeenth century to convey changes in America’s literacy. He uses Thomas Paine’s pamphlet Common Sense as an example in the dramatically different way americans consumed literature. Postman states that Paine sold about 100,000 copies of his pamphlet which is comparable to 24 million copies today. Postman acknowledges these staggering numbers as america’s decline in not only literacy but ability to think critically. Postman notes that print did have a monopoly in those days as it was the only way to exchange ideas, however he still sees the seventeenth century as the golden age for literacy.
I do not agree with Postman in this chapter. His ideology that America is less literate today than over three hundred years ago is a little far fetched. Postman picks and chooses evidence to make his assertion. Although many affluent whites could read at the time, significant percentages of African and Native Americans were illiterate. Print media was the only way news and ideas could be distributed then so it is unsurprising that Common Sense garnered such circulation.
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