Ink and Independence: The Patriotic Women Who Helped Print America
When we tell the story of America’s founding, the names that usually appear are Washington, Franklin, Adams, and Jefferson. Yet behind the revolutionary ideas that spread across the colonies stood another powerful force: the printing press. Printers carried the Revolution in ink and paper—publishing laws, newspapers, broadsides, and pamphlets that informed citizens and united the colonies. Among these printers were several remarkable women whose work helped shape the early American republic. Three of the most influential were Elizabeth Glover, Ann Franklin, and Mary Katherine Goddard. Their presses did more than print pages—they advanced liberty. Elizabeth