The Press & the American Revolution

From the Foreword: This book of essays on the activities, place, and influence of American printers and journalists during the period of our Revolution is the American Antiquarian Society's primary scholarly contribution to the two hundredth anniversary of that pivotal process. Since its founding in 1812 by Isaiah Thomas, one of the leading journalists of the Revolutionary era, the American Antiquarian Society has expended a very large portion of its energies upon the collection, recording, and dissemination of the fundamental printed records of the American Revolution-its precursing events and its aftermath. The Society has done so in the strong belief that the influence of those who controlled the printed word were the persons crucial to the formation of a revolution within the minds of Americans, as well as to the act of overt revolt.

Thus, the history of the Society is inextricably linked with the American press and with the American Revolution and has resulted in our enduring interest in the history of printing and publishing of the country. Thomas, himself, established this focus his own lifetime, for his narrative of the contribution of American printers to the development of our cultural life during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is, after 167 years, still informative, and it remains in print. Thomas also compiled the first list of American imprints of the colonial period, which was edited and published by the Society in 1874. Succeeding Society members and staff have followed our founder by actively enlarging knowledge of the American printed record and, through its interpretation, expanding our understanding of American history and culture.

Thus, this book of essays falls squarely within the traditional concerns of the Society and we trust it serves to deepen our understanding of the role of the printers during the Revolution. Isaiah Thomas provides a link between the press, the Revolution, and this Society, a link that may serve to introduce this volume.