Martha Washington: An Exemplary Founding Mother

Women’s history is often degraded to the debate of upper-class white women. The stereotypical idea that women occupied the domestic sphere did not apply to several women associated with famous men, as well as, white women who broke the barriers of their generation. Martha Washington was one of the most admired and well-known women of the American Revolution. This founding mother had to make different choices when her husband became commander-in-chief of the Continental Army in 1775. My goal in this paper is to prove why Martha Washington was an exemplary founding mother and why many women respected her and followed her path. Martha Dandridge Custis Washington was not prepared to confront the difficulties that she had to overcome at many army camps. She was an empty nester and extremely mature to be only forty-three. Before that, she married Daniel Parke Custis when she was only twenty years old. She lost two of her four kids and her husband unexpectedly, leaving her with a vast estate and two little children. According to Cokie Roberts in her book Founding Mothers, “Martha was content in her singular freedom from authoritative restraint, conscious of her ability to conduct unaided her own business affairs…the beautiful widow remained immovably relentless,

She was a worthy example of what a true lady should be. She devoted her life to help others and to support her husband during the war, when he became president, and when he retired back to Mount Vernon. George Washington acknowledged that the success of this country was broadly thanks to the contribution and hard work of the best patriots in America; the Founding