Category 1:
Ben Franklin's Press
Ben Franklin's Press
Question: What was the main message of Benjamin Franklin’s famous “Join, or Die.” cartoon, which showed a snake cut into pieces?
Answer: The American colonies needed to unite against the French and their allies, or they would be defeated.
Question: The story of George Washington chopping down a cherry tree and saying "I cannot tell a lie" is a famous myth. Who invented it?
Answer: An early biographer, Mason Locke Weems, who made it up to make Washington seem more virtuous.
Question: Paul Revere created a famous engraving of the Boston Massacre. How did his artwork act as propaganda?
Answer: It was an exaggeration that made the British look like evil executioners and the colonists look like innocent victims to stir up anger.
Question: How did James Callender’s leaks affect Jefferson’s reputation, even though Jefferson had hired him before?
Answer: It revealed Jefferson’s children with his slave, damaging his personal reputation.
Question: Why was fake news so effective in colonial America?
Answer: Because people relied heavily on newspapers, and shocking stories had a huge impact.
Question: To promote his newspaper, Franklin once published a fake and gruesome story about witch trials happening on the frontier. This type of sensational, attention-grabbing story is an early example of what?
Answer: Fake news or clickbait.
Question: Paul Revere never actually shouted, "The British are coming!" on his midnight ride. What did he likely yell instead, and why?
Answer: He likely said, "The Regulars are coming out!" because many colonists still considered themselves British at the time.
Question: The Sons of Liberty described the Boston Tea Party as a heroic protest against unfair taxes. How might the British have described it?
Answer: As a lawless destruction of private property by vandals and criminals.
Question: What was a long-term effect of fake news on early American politics?
Answer: It set a precedent for using media to attack political opponents and influence elections.
Question: What role did propaganda play in both war and politics?
Answer: It helped gain foreign support for the Revolution and influenced elections and public opinion at home.
Question: Franklin published a completely fabricated story in a real Boston newspaper about American militia scalping hundreds of Native American children and babies, supposedly encouraged by King George III. What was his goal with this shocking piece of propaganda?
Answer: To turn European opinion against the British during the Revolutionary War.
Question: This Founding Father is often quoted, but there's no evidence he ever said, "A democracy is nothing more than mob rule."
Answer: Thomas Jefferson. (It's a widely misattributed quote).
Question: What was the primary purpose of Thomas Paine's hugely popular pamphlet, Common Sense?
Answer: To persuade average colonists to support the cause of independence from Britain.
Question: How did the use of fake news during the Revolution differ from its use in the 1800 election?
Answer: During the Revolution, it aimed to gain foreign and colonial support against Britain; in 1800, it was used to attack rivals and sway voters domestically.
Question: Give one example of how fake news united or divided people.
Answer: Franklin’s scalp story united colonists against Britain; Jefferson’s attacks divided the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans.