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.