By the time of the power press in the early 19th 
century, the newspapers were rapidly changing the 
character of politics by creating public opinion. In a 
new country like America the new medium of the 
press created the first instance of a state founded 
on public opinion. English political forms predating 
the press, still depend much less on public opinion, 
as do those of Canada.

Marshall McLuhan, Counterblast , (New York, 1969), 
p. 125.