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Revolutionary Mothers Book Review

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Even though most history books have minimized women’s contributions to colonial society, Carol Berkin’s Revolutionary Mothers was able to vividly recreate the daily occurrences in women’s lives during the Revolutionary war. Berkin describes the roles of women through the eyes of the rich and poor, loyalist and patriot, and African and Indian women. The cover displays a gowned women clenching a rifle while overlooking the battlefield with nothing more but a solemn expression. As extrinsic as it may seem, it’s a good interpretation of just how much women were affected by the war and how influential they were in the shadows. Even the most pacifistic ladies became involved in the bloody battle in attempt to strive for the peace they loved. Carol Berkin was born on October 1, 1942 in the US. She became interested in history from a young age, stating that is was the “closest thing to time traveling” she …show more content…

It told realistic tales of the female’s role in the war, as important supporters. This book is “new” because Berkin wanted to gather the perspectives of women from all the different classes and race into a single collection. Other sources have had these stories separately, but by putting them all together, the reader can contrast the differences and similarities within one read. Berkin also goes in-depth about the events each women had to go through from different regions of the colonies and from different backgrounds. The author doesn’t hesitate to introduce ladies of different ideas and personalities. This book was quite fresh and the reader can really see all sides of a single picture. This book is told more of a chapter book than a textbook and would greatly appeal to students who want to learn more about colonial women of America. Even scholars and professionals in this area of study would enjoy the

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After reading the novel Revolutionary Mothers I have gained significant knowledge and a better grasp of the Revolutionary war. Carol Berkin 's purpose in writing this book was a simple one: Presenting a series of lenses of various raced women and how they affected and were effected by the Revolutionary War. She presents how women of every skin color was a major factor during the war and ultimately in aiding the formation of our nation. A major difference between this novel and what I have previously learned is that this novel magnifies contributions women have made for this country. Furthermore the textbooks that I read once in class greatly minimize those contributions and just give a broad overview of them.

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In the book Revolutionary Mothers, author Carol Berkin discusses women’s roles in the American Revolution. She separates out the chapters so that she can discuss the different experiences and roles of women during the period. She utilizes primary and secondary sources to talk about how women stepped into their husband’s shoes and maintained their livelihoods and how they furthered the war effort on both sides, as well as how classes and race effected each woman’s experience. Berkin’s main goal was for the reader to understand that although women’s roles aren’t traditionally discussed when talking about the American Revolution, nevertheless, they played a major part in it.

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