The Origins of a Free Press in Prerevolutionary ... - Web Publishing

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even political status. In the end—at the beginning of the new republic—women
were left out of the formal political process (for the time being.) Nonetheless,
women were a part of the growing print culture in Virginia, and did seek to become
part of the body politic.
Connections between British-American colonies were made possible
through commonality of language, increased trade connections, and emerging
consumerism as reflected in print capitalism. Women were a key to this, as
consumption was considered part of the women’s realm. Shared communication
through newspapers was a crucial basis of a new national consciousness where once
there had been only separate colonies. Inter-colonial communication—with
revolutionary messages reprinted in local newspapers around the colonies—helped
to create a new sense of a larger community for both men and women. 81 This was
an important part of a consumer revolution that prefaced the political revolution.
Inexpensive almanacs and newspapers reached well down in the economic strata,
broadening involvement and allowing for the shared experience and popular
mobilization that made the American Revolution possible. The decision to
consume or boycott British products largely affected—and was made by—
women. 82 As women were an important part of this new world of consumption, so
too were they an important part of the movement toward dissatisfaction with
British policies, the Revolution, and the new republic.
81 Anderson, Imagined Communities.
82 Breen, Marketplace of Revolution, especially xvi, 4, and 329.