... the Dissenting Tradition in America, – (Chapel Hill, NC, ), pp. , –. Richard D. Brown, Knowledge Is Power: The Diffusion of Information in Early America, – (New Yorkand ... politicians who had access to, and used the public forum afforded by, the press. High literacy rates in America, which ex- ceeded per cent in some regions by , meant that even the poor were more ... government. While licensing affected newspaper publication when there was only one newspaper in America, the practice never truly stopped printers from printing what they wanted once competition...