Describe the contributions of two early colonial American women publishers.

 Print families is what really helped women get started in the printing industry. The families would all work together in order to get the newspapers, pamphlets, and half sheets to the public. The women were all trained on doing so, which made them capable. This fact coupled with the fact that it's during a time when women had limited rights and not seen as much more than caretakers makes  this amazing.

Anna Zenger was from one of the printing families and likely one of the first women publishers. She was able to manage a printing business as a woman which was quite impressive. This was also during the era of the fight for the free press which added some danger depending on what she printed.

Elizabeth Timothy was the editor of the South Carolina Gazette. When her husband died she published this paper under her son's name. This demonstrates how difficult it was for women to publish at that time. She even included articles about why and how the public should help support her family; of course they didn't know it was her. She continued to publish until her son was old enough to take over the paper himself.

At a time when women had little option other than staying at home and being a housewife, publishing opened new doors. This enabled woman to have some independence and establish the capabilities of strong women.