Founding Mothers: Women and the Spread of Revolutionary Ideas

While an uncommon occurrence, some women in colonial America operated print shops. Often these women were widows, who took over the business after their husbands died. Female publishers increasingly disseminated rhetoric and spread political ideas in the 1760s and 1770s. In this lesson, students will examine primary sources to draw conclusions about the role of women during the Revolutionary period and explore how their roles both contradicted and supported traditional gender roles.