Join or die by Benjamin Franklin

 

 The colonists are revolting!

The printing press was a large part of the quest for independence in the American colonies. When settlers first landed on the shores of this great continent, they settled in small, isolated towns or colonies. Everyone stuck to themselves and didn't fraternize much with their colonial neighbors. Not only did they not fraternize, but any kind of communication was frowned upon, as each settlement liked the freedom that came with governing themselves. As the settlements grew in size and closer together, people were interested in their neighbors. Most colonists just wanted to hear the latest news from England, but as the villages and towns grew they became more and more curious about their neighbors. What was life like in the neighboring town? Did they eat better, sleep better, have better imports? Most of all, let's not forget the most important things they wanted to know. Is someone wearing a new fashion that no one knows about? What's the political climate like? Of course we can't forget that all important need to know: who's sleeping with who?  Life in a colony could be mundane, and what better to make things more exciting than reading some juicy gossip, learning a new skill, or just learning something new. That's where our good friend the printing press came in.

                              Early press etching by William Skeen

To print or not to print...

Around 1686 William Bradford and his new bride came to the colonies. Bradford was a printer by trade, having learned  first from his father then from the foremost printer in London. Not only did William excel at printing, he also excelled in wooing his master's daughter Elizabeth, and the two were soon married. Around 1686 Bradford and his wife landed on the shores of Pennsylvania, where he set up his printing press and Elizabeth gave birth to their first child. Bradford was most likely a Quaker, and in short order he was printing controversial pamphlets, when he soon came to the attention of Governor William Penn. Penn took issue with several of the things Bradford printed, and refused to let Bradford print anything without Quaker council approval. After one too many exchanges Bradford decided to move his operation to New York, where freedom of speech and thought were more readily encouraged. The public was hungry for news, and those who ran the presses controlled the information.

                        Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor by William Halsall

 Meanwhile in the colonies...

During this time more and more people were coming to America. Land was easy to come by, religious, political, and other freedoms were in good supply, and a colonist could live a reasonably comfortable life without the prying eyes of Parliament and the king. Word was spreading like wildfire, and it wasn't long before the shores of America were bursting at the seams with colonists who wanted a better life without that pesky interference from overseas. Towns and villages were growing closer and closer together, making the spread of information easier than ever before. Most people were hungry for information from Britain, but there was an increasingly large number of people who were receptive to the idea of revolution. For those that supported independence, the printing press was an invaluable tool, and anyone who could put words together was worth their weight in gold. Freedom of speech along with freedom of the press was put to good use, and anyone who could put words together well could rule the day.

                    National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.

What's that yer sayin'?

In 1685, a young man named William Bradford and his wife landed on the shores of Pennsylvania. Bradford was fortunate enough to have his very own printing press and quickly set up shop. He made a good living until he crossed words with William Penn, the governor of Pennsylvania. After being forced to get council approval before printing any work, Bradford decided to move his family and printing press to New York. New York was filled free thinkers, hungry for information, and Bradford found out fast that he could print his pamphlets without restriction. Bradford and other's presses were soon matched with free thinking people, fired up from conflict with the king, and ready to spread the idea of revolution far and wide. The war of words was on.

Did the Declaration of Independence ever get signed? Come back again for the final installment on the history of one of the greatest documents in the world.

Declaration of Independence and American revolution

King Henry VIII of England

It all began with a king, a printing press, and a bible...

Long long ago in 1536 in merry ol' England a King Henry VIII had a problem with the church. Henry was upset that he hadn't had a son to continue the monarchy, so he wanted to replace his wife of 23 years with a younger, more fertile model. The Pope refused to give Henry an annulment, and in the ensuing argument Henry decided that since he was king he wanted his own way. He declared himself the head of his new (and hopefully improved) Church of England. The Pope wasn't hot on this idea, so he promptly excommunicated Henry for thumbing his nose at Rome. As the head of his new church, Henry decided that the Bible should be printed in English and that all of the churches should have a copy. Suddenly the bible was readily accessible, and everyone wanted to read it. The English reformation was on the rise, and everyone wanted a shot at interpreting scripture for themselves.

                            Religious freedom postage stamp

A little freedom goes a long way...  

 People discovered that they weren't going to be executed for speaking out against Rome, and suddenly everyone had an opinion about how the church should be run. Henry was tolerant to a point, but after a lot of scuffles and a few executions people started to decide that maybe they needed to leave England and find a place where they could worship as they choose. After cruising around many places but not finding a free thinking country that they liked or would tolerate them, the different groups started eyeballing America as a cozy place to go so they could worship as they pleased. Many of them landed on the shores of America with a bright new hope for the future and the hopes that the king would find a different group of people to torture. Religious groups settled mainly in the northern area of America, where they could go about their business and worship as they pleased. As long as they paid their taxes and sent goods back to the homeland, the king  didn't care. England was an ocean away, and Henry was happy to get the dissenters out of his hair.

Loyalist customs official being tarred and feathered by the Sons of Liberty
 

You'll say you want a revolution...

Things went ok for awhile, until the good ol' king of England started causing trouble again. By now king George was in charge, and he didn't like the way things were going. America was a long way from Europe, and the settlers had become quite comfortable in their roles. They  were enjoying their freedom, and didn't think the king had his crown on straight when it came to governing their new lives. They were getting a mite grumpy over rulers who were an ocean away and didn't have a clue or a care as to how they wanted things done. They started thinking they could do a better job governing themselves which of course was unacceptable. King George seemed to think he was  still in charge, and those ungrateful subjects needed to be taught a lesson.

The Destruction of the Tea at Boston Harbor lithograph by Nathaniel Currier
 

 Talk about an epic power struggle...

  The king had sent several troops to defend the colonists during the French an Indian war, and he felt that he was entitled to payback for his efforts. George needed money, and it was the colonists' responsibility to see that he had it. He made laws, and despite repeated attempts by the colonists to make changes through Parliament he just wasn't listening. Who were these upstart peasants to tell a king what to do? Things came to a head when the unruly peasants dumped a whole bunch of tea into Boston Harbor. The king got fed up, closed the port of Boston, and imposed martial law in Massachusetts. The colonists responded by boycotting British goods and floating the idea of an association with France. The Continental Congress, formed by the colonists in 1774, discussed it through the winter of 1775-1776 and decided that if Henry wasn't going to see things their way, then they were going to break ties with him and become their own country. The war to determine who was in charge was on.

               Patrick Henry speaking before the Virginia assembly

Want to know how it ended? Come back for part two next time and find out how the founding fathers convinced a group of British citizens to go to war.


 

 

Quaking in my boots part 1

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 Does a Quaker really quake? Quakers are a religious group with roots going back to the seventeenth century. They are known as the Society of Friends, or Religious Society of Friends. Quakers have a deep sense of an individual’s connection to God, and that the “light of Christ” exists in everyone, which makes each person equal in value. Quakers are famous for their original ideas, sense of community activism, love of education, and pacifism. They were passionate abolitionists, supported women’s rights, and were conscientious objectors. Quakers invented Quaker furniture, known for its simple and straight design. They also founded several top colleges in the United States. Today Quakers number slightly over 200,000.

George Fox

The Quaker movement started in the 1650s. After the English Reformation, religion was in a great upheaval, and everyone was trying to decide their vision of God. George Fox founded the movement when pondering one day, he had a revelation-“there is one, even, Christ Jesus, who can speak to thy condition”. He took this to mean that the Lord had come to teach the people himself, therefore each person could access him directly.

Light of the World by William Holman Hunt 

He believed in a concept no other religion believed in, that the light of God existed in everyone, and therefore each person had direct access to this “inner light”. This concept didn’t sit well with people, who believed that a person still needed an ordained clergy to access God.

Quakers persecution

It didn’t agree with the established church as well, which thought that extensive rituals and intermediaries were needed to help people access God. The Quakers believed in a plain and simple dress, and they refused to take off their hats for anyone above their social station or anyone in authority. Because of these unusual beliefs, Quakers made a good target for persecution.

Shaking in their boots?

George was arrested many times for heresy, so much so that at one point he was spending more time in prison than out. During one of his court dates, George admonished the judge to “quake at the sight of the Lord”. The judge responded by calling him a “quaker”, and the name stuck. Over time the Quakers have taken what was meant to be an insult and made it a source of pride.

IField Friends meeting house

George was so passionate about his beliefs he kept writing pamphlets from prison and sending the magistrates letters on how to run the country according to the inner light. The clergy responded by accusing George of claiming to be Jesus Christ and tried to have him hanged as a blasphemer. George’s passion was so strong he was able to influence Oliver Cromwell himself, and instead of being hanged he just spent a lot of time in jail.

Title page of a book on Quaker persecution

George was a pacifist and believed in noncomformity when the situation called for it. He believed since the light of Christ was in everyone, then all men (and women), were equal. Since everyone was equal in the sight of God, he saw no reason to bow or remove his hat when he was in the presence of someone considered to be superior, acts that once again got him thrown in prison yet again.

Doorway in Newgate Prison

The persecution of the Quakers had very little to do with the uniqueness of their religion. Historians believe that the main source of the persecution was a grumpy King Charles who secretly wanted to reinstate Catholicism as the national religion. The King had a not so clean sexual history that he wanted God to forgive him for, and the Catholic religion was a way to achieve that goal.

Baptism of Augustine of Hippo as represented in a sculptural group in Troyes Cathedral (1549), France

To further this end, he schemed with France to ally against Holland, against a brand new alliance that England, Holland, and Sweden had just formed. Parliament found out and toughened up the Conventicle Act, which provided for swift and strong remedies against the growing problem of dissidents.

Medieval torture rack

This was bad news for King Charles, but it was also bad news for the Quakers.
The Conventicle Act didn’t affect the powerful Catholic church, but it made the smaller group of Quakers and easy target. Rather than being stomped out by the horrifying persecution, Quakers found that it increased their faith, because of their strong beliefs.

Magna Carta, one of the world's first human rights documents

Quakers came from every part of society, and since they were committed to equality for everyone, all were welcome. George Fox was poor, but his religion attracted people from all walks of society, including the socially and financially well off. Instead of disappearing or keeping their meetings secret, Quakers continued to hold their meetings openly. Their opposition of authority and adherence to their moral compass possibly gave Quakers a reputation as scrupulously honest.

Want to know more about the Quakers and their immigration to America? Check back for part 2 of the history of the Quakers. All pictures are freely found in the public domain and to the best of the writer's knowledge are copyright free.