The burning of Norfolk was propagandized to build the case for independence
Evidence
Graphic excerpts from these firsthand dispatches spread almost as rapidly as the fire, appearing in the Virginia Gazette virtually overnight and in newspapers across the colonies within weeks. Articles and editorials about the fire elaborated on the story, with most of them blaming the British for an unwarranted destruction of civilian property. In patriot propaganda, Norfolk joined the British Army strikes at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts plus the Royal Navy shelling of Falmouth (now Portland) in present-day Maine with incendiary bombs, all during 1775, as prime examples of imperial depravity. Their cumulative impact built the case for independence. On January 5, for example, an essayist in the Gazette, signing himself simply as “An American,” after damning “the destruction of Norfolk” as yet another “specimen of British cruelty,” declared, “Most freely would I cut the Gordian knot which hitherto so firmly bound us to Britain.” — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 23
Categorization
- XREF: Connects to the broader course theme of narrative and rhetoric shaping which events get framed as violations of foundational legal-political values. — connects to: The Royal Navy’s burning of Norfolk helped push Virginia toward independence; American patriots burned most of Norfolk but blamed Britain for it — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 29; Patriots burning Norfolk themselves blamed Britain by controlling the published record — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 27 (+2 more)
Broader Connections
- American patriots burned most of Norfolk but blamed Britain for it
#contradicts(0.95) — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 29 - Patriots burning Norfolk themselves blamed Britain by controlling the published record
#contradicts(0.95) — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 27 - British attacks on the South converted moderates to independence by June 1776
#expands(0.85)