This document is an example of an American broadside. Broadsides were used during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries for mass communication. Printed on a single sheet of paper, broadsides were posted in public places and handed out to people to advertise merchandise for sale, notify people about public events, such as entertainment productions or speeches, or advocate religious or political positions. In a nation where the population was growing rapidly but technology was limited, these posters or flyers were the primary form of reaching large numbers of people, particularly in urban areas.