I am reading Habermas'
structural transformation of the public sphere.It is an important book about print-mediated culture. I find reading it easier when I create a timeline of the historical events he describes.
Here are some dates that Habermas gives for the rise of the English public, with my historical annotations. I hope that they convey some of this excitement of this historical period.
1640-1650 - A huge variety print journals flourished for a brief time during the English Civil War and the Military dictatorship of the Radical Protestants
1688 - The Dutch Republic invades England with the collaboration of the English Parliamentarians (the so-called Glorious Revolution). The Religious Nonconformist and Puritan Dutch Prins Willem takes the English throne and signs the English Bill of Rights which enshrine England as a Republic in all but name. Religious Toleration is extended to the Protestant Radicals and Heretics known as The Nonconformists.
1694-1695 - Bank of England is founded, Censorship of the press is lifted, and for the first time in history a cabinet is appointed, thereby shifting executive responsibility from the court to the educated class. This also marked the birth of the institutionalized two party system.
1722 - The political opposition (the tories) buy the London Journal. The Journal pioneered the use of the press to create "publicity" around the actions of government. This paper in fact becomes the "public" opposition because the proceedings of parliament are kept a "state secret".
Notice a few things here.
- Visible political opposition functioned first in print. Today we think of politicians and parties as the opposition, but in the first print-mediated publics the writers and printers mediated the effective opposition, by claiming to represent "public opinion"
- Formation into a two party system occurred concurrently with the "public sphere."
1771 - The deliberations of Parliament become officially "public", although the press had been successfully challenging this censorship for years.
1776 - an American Public Sphere of Printers and Enlightened intellectuals declared open rebellion from the English Parliament. 56 years is a very short time to transition from the first free-press opposition to the first print-mediated Revolution of the Radical Enlightenment. (I consider the Flemish-Dutch and English revolutions part of the Radical Reformation.)
1803 - Journalists are given official entry to parliament as the Press. The term "Public Opinion" has become commonplace.
I am Body Positive, Femme Activist. I document and publish Hyper Local San Francisco , in order to create a Life-Positive Media Ecosystem. 
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