AMERICA 250: The Tavern, the Print Shop, and the Small Business Roots of America’s Founding

By SBE Council at 16 May, 2026, 10:38 am

By Karen Kerrigan –

Long before America became a global economic powerhouse, local entrepreneurs and small business owners helped build the civic culture, communication networks, and spirit of independence that made our nation possible. As America marks its 250th anniversary, it is important to note that the nation’s founding was shaped not only in legislative halls and battlefields, but also in taverns, print shops, and workshops and through various other small businesses that served as the nerve center of colonial communities.

As I pointed out in a recent America 250 blog post (“America’s Entrepreneurial Founders”), a significant number of the nation’s Founders were entrepreneurs and small business owners. As compelling as that historical fact is on its own, the involvement of the small business community in America’s founding runs far deeper. Business owners helped organize, plan, and implement (or played host to) a range of vital activities that fueled America’s independence. Moreover, that spirit of civic engagement and leadership has persevered to this day.

Small Business: A Catalyst for Independence

The independence of the colonies was not only debated in halls of government. It was deliberated in taverns and coffeehouses, printed about via small shops, and organized through local businesses and their owners. You can say that America’s entrepreneurial spirit and the pursuit of liberty grew together.

Green Dragon Tavern, Union Street, Boston. Engraver: Russell. 1898 (approximate). Copy photograph from engraving by Russell of the tavern in the North End where the Sons of Liberty planned the Boston Tea Party.

The famed Green Dragon Tavern  in Boston – often referred to as the “Headquarters of the Revolution” – became a gathering place for the Sons of Liberty, merchants, tradesmen, dockworkers, and local leaders who debated British policies and organized resistance efforts. Taverns in colonial America were more than places to eat and drink. They served as networking hubs, information exchanges, business centers, and meeting spaces where ideas and strategies flowed freely.

Similarly, Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan (New York City) played an important role in both commerce and civic life. Owned by Samuel Fraunces, the tavern hosted key revolutionary meetings and later became the site where George Washington bid farewell to his officers at the close of the Revolutionary War. Coffeehouses were also a communications hub, where many debates and discussions “brewed patriotic passions.” These local establishments helped foster open dialog, trust, collaboration, and the exchange of ideas that supported the independence movement.

The printing industry and print shops also played an important role in communicating breaking news and views about independence. In many ways, the small businesses in this critical sector were the startup media ecosystem of colonial times. Print shops were the literal engines of the American Revolution, as they helped to unify scattered colonies into a single revolutionary movement. Small business printers distributed pivotal texts, like Thomas Paine’s Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence, that galvanized the public and provided the ideological backbone for independence. Breaking news and pamphlets were read in taverns and coffeehouses, and often out loud for those who could not read.

Publishers and printers such as Isaiah Thomas, who produced The Massachusetts Spy, used their small businesses to challenge authority and circulate ideas supporting independence, often at great personal and financial risk. These entrepreneurs demonstrated that economic freedom and free expression were deeply connected principles.

Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, 1776

Benjamin Franklin was one of these activist entrepreneurs. Indeed, he was not only a successful printer and statesman, but also an inventor and business leader who understood the power of information and communication. Through his prolific work and activity, Franklin demonstrated the deep connection between entrepreneurial and civic leadership. Content produced by Franklin at mass scale (along with his printer-publisher colleagues) helped communicate revolutionary concepts and unifying principles throughout the colonies. The regular stream of information was educational and empowered ordinary citizens to engage in public life.

As an important sidenote, Franklin’s innovative franchise model also empowered women publishers in the printing industry. Our America 250 series will soon turn to women entrepreneurs and the nation’s founding in an upcoming piece.

Colonial Main Street: Advocacy and Action that Made America

Colonial merchants and shopkeepers also played a direct role in challenging British rule. During protests surrounding the Boston Tea Party and other disputes over taxation and trade, merchants coordinated non-importation agreements and boycotts of British goods. Economic action became a form of civic action. The relationship between free enterprise and political freedom became deeply embedded in the nation’s identity.

America’s founding generation of small business owners included countless artisans and tradespeople – blacksmiths, shipbuilders, silversmiths, printers, carpenters, and merchants – whose enterprises supported the revolution through financing, supplies, organizing and more, formed the backbone of local economies. Paul Revere, remembered for his famous midnight ride, was also a highly skilled silversmith and later an industrial entrepreneur who operated one of America’s earliest copper mills.

The Civic Power of Small Business: Yesterday and Today

The story of America’s founding reminds us that business owners have contributed far more than economic output throughout the nation’s history. Their enterprises and leadership strengthen communities, create employment opportunities, foster innovation, connect neighbors, and support the civic life that underpins a free society.

Today’s local coffee shop, family-owned manufacturer, retail store, builder, community bank, restaurant or pub, online seller, startup founder, independent contractor, and digital creator are part of the long American story rooted in self-determination and the freedom to build. An enduring aspect of the American small business tradition is that entrepreneurs and business owners rarely stand on the sidelines. From the nation’s founding to the present day, they have organized, advocated, run for political office, and engaged directly in shaping the policies and institutions that affect the quality of local communities, the livelihoods of their residents, and the vibrancy of United States of America.

That tradition remains alive today. For more than 30 years, SBE Council’s success has been directly connected to the voices and ideas of entrepreneurs and small business owners. Whether advocating for a fair tax system, common sense regulation, property rights and strengthening IP, the modernization of policy, expanded access to capital, or various reforms to strengthen protections for entrepreneurship and free enterprise, SBE Council’s efforts have been grounded by the direct engagement and experiences of America’s business owners and the principles that uphold economic freedom and opportunity.

Robust civic participation makes America unique. The nation’s founders understood that lasting freedom depends not only on constitutional guardrails but also constitutional responsibility, which is sustained through an active and engaged citizenry. Indeed, America’s small businesses remain vital “institutions” of civic engagement, innovation, community leadership, and opportunity — carrying forward a tradition that has helped sustain the nation since its earliest days.

Karen Kerrigan is President & CEO of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.