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Summary Of Revolutionary Mothers By Carol Berkin

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In Carol Berkin’s book, Revolutionary Mothers, she provides detail into the world of the women who played an active and vital role during the Revolutionary War. Over the years historians have downplayed the effect that these women have had on our nation. She emphasizes the effect of these women by speaking from the viewpoint of not only Colonial white women, but also Native-American and African-American women. Berkin also chooses to focus on portraying to the reader how the people of this time were affected. She accomplishes this by balancing the perspective between rich and poor, patriot and loyalist, and American and British.
Berkin is not the first person to question which role women of this time played for their country. However she took it further by going deeper into the idea of gender roles, and how gender or race decided your experiences. From previously published sources about the American Revolution Berkin is able to reimagine these historical works and describe the multiple roles that women played. She also brings new characters to life in her book unlike other books which all focus around the same few characters. Berkin mentions these sources considerably throughout the footnotes of her book. …show more content…

While her use of these footnotes is redundant, she makes good use of primary sources. Some of these primary sources include letters, personal diaries and direct quotes from several documents including Edenton Resolves, and the Philipsburg Proclamation. These sources provide an understanding of the women and why they chose to support one side or the other. Berkin kept a good balance between the amount of primary and secondary sources that were used. Most of the secondary sources were mainly from other historical books about women during the revolutionary

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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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According to Berkin, in what ways was the Revolution a missed opportunity to expand women’s

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The American Revolution was a political upheaval that brought many changes to America by greatly altering the popular understanding of women’s partisan status and creating a widespread debate over the meaning of women’s rights. White women had large, essential roles in America’s victory in the American Revolution creating new opportunities for women to participate in politics and support different parties. Women were able to take advantage of these opportunities until a conservative backlash developed by 1830 that stopped any political advancement of women. In Rosemarie Zagarri’s book, Revolutionary Backlash, the author talks about the many things that played a part in causing a backlash against women in the early republic starting when women’s

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Deborah Sampson was the first known American woman soldier who disguised herself under her deceased brother’s name in order to fight in the American Revolutionary War. During this time women were not given rights to infantry, but were often nurses in the military. Like many other people who contributed to the society, Deborah Sampson had many failures along the way of her accomplishments. Deborah Sampson came from “ancestors who led the Massachusetts colony” (Furbee 1999: 56). She grew up in a broken home where both her father and mother deserted her to be raised by other relatives.

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When the war broke out Barton was determined to help wounded soldiers despite the attitudes of men held towards working women. In Barton’s assessment, women forced their way into the war effort. “They saw, in high purpose, a duty to do. And the armor of right broke the barriers through.

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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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She begins by reminding the nation about the promise that all women had made to contribute to the war effort and then continues to say that they have not made good on that promise, but that now is the time to do so (Berkin, 144). Mrs. DeBerdt Reed intentionally called out women and spoke to their hearts for she knew they were all struggling with their homes as most of the men were in battle. The document then goes one to make an argument that women are meant to do much more when their nation is in a crisis, to even risk their lives for the cause. DeBerdt Reed then assures the audience that no one should fight against women on such a noble cause to fight for their natural right, especially during a time of

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The Fight for Women’s Independence When thinking about the Revolutionary War, we think about the American colonist fighting against British rule for America’s freedom. In Carol Berkin’s book, Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the struggle for America’s Indepe6ndence, we are shown through women’s eyes how the war affects them, and not just the army’s that fought in the war. The war saw changes in women that were different than their style of life had been, although not always recognized by the men who fought the war. Berkin argues that women were still treated the same as before the war, no matter the struggle for independence for their nation and themselves. I agree with Carol Berkin, because women did what they could at home or in the front

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In the address, “The Role of American Women in Wartime”, Clare Boothe Luce, an American congresswoman, advocates for the American women’s contribution to the war efforts at the women's banking committee. Although Luce’s speech opens with a controversial and condemning topic, Luce further explicates it, recognizing the struggles and difficulties that must be dealt with. Luce employs contrasting and critical tone, repetition, and imagery to highlight women’s needed sacrifices for the sake of America’s victory. Luce introduces with a contrasting and critical tone in order to emphasize that an adjustment must occur for the female system in America.

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Throughout America’s history, the role of women has changed significantly. Women in Colonial Times had an influential role on the economy just as women today in America do but in a different way. Many women shaped America’s health. Women’s culture has undeniably changed from the 1700s to modern day times.

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Written in 1776 directly before independence, this series of correspondences was written by Abigail Adams to communicate grievances held by women, depicting issues within treatment of women in the 1770’s in the colonies. It is also possible to see another shift in a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine called “Common Sense” (1776) before the battles of Lexington and Concord writing, which would ultimately sway the popular opinion in the colonies towards independence. Another source comes from the New York Independent Journal’s “Liberating Indentured Servants” written in 1784 which details indentured servitude as against the values of liberty post-revolution. Another source from around the revolution that contains useful information is the “Petition of Slaves to the Massachusetts Legislature”, written in 1777, serving as proof the ideals of the Enlightenment created dialogue regarding social equality among slaves around this time, noting their mistreatment at the hands of their masters and desire of change in treatment.

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Women Empowerment: The Roe vs Wade case The revolutionary abortion case of Roe v. Wade had a dramatic impact on the United States. Not only in Texas, but in 46 other states as well. Roe vs Wade is a case about a woman, Norma McCorvey in Texas who wanted an abortion however in the state abortion is illegal so she challenged the system and went to trial.

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First Generations: Women of Colonial America, written by Carol Berkin, is a novel that took ten years to make. Carol Berkin received her B.A. from Barnard College and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University. She has worked as a consultant on PBS and History Channel documentaries. Berkin has written several books on the topic of women in America. Some of her publications include: Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence (2004) and Civil War Wives: The Life and Times of Angelina Grimke Weld, Varina Howell Davis, and Julia Dent Grant (2009).

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The poem The Female Patriots, Address'd to the Daughters of Liberty in America by Hannah Griffitts interprets the colonists' outrage against the new established British taxation. Because of this, Griffitts even adds encouragement regarding with the recruitment of other women to help out the opposition towards these new taxes. The purpose of her poem is to have influence on these women. Through Griffitts poem, Griffitts evidently exposes her belief in being a patriot. By doing so, this poem becomes patriotic through the instances that she goes over about the new British tax and how it is unfair.

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Introduction The American Revolution was a very long and extensive war that lasted from 1775 until 1783, and as a result America gained its independence. It is very imperative to highlight the significant role that women played during the American Revolution. During this era a woman was often portrayed as illiterate, child-bearing mother, and a homemaker.

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