Carol Berkin Revolutionary Mothers Analysis

In First Generations Women in Colonial America, Carol Berkin demonstrates the social, political, and economic circumstances that shaped and influenced the lives of women during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the colonies. In exploring these women’s lives and circumstances it becomes clear that geography, race, ethnicity, religion, social class, and other factors less fixed such as war each influenced a woman’s experience differently and to varying degrees. In doing this, Berkin first showcases the life of a specific woman and then transposes that life onto the general historical framework and provides a context in which this woman would have lived. The lives of these women exemplified is also explored and demonstrated through the use of comparison to highlight their different experiences. Moreover, this analysis also seeks to identify the varied sources of these women’s power, albeit for many this power was limited. The analysis is broken up primarily by geography, then by race, and lastly by time and war. While these factors provide the overarching context of analysis, more specific factors are also introduced.

After four years of seemingly endless battle between a divided nation, more than 600,000 people were killed. These lives, however, were not given in vain. Had it not been for the American Civil War, abolition may not have been carried out. The nation might have remained divided. Women might have remained confined to their roles as the "homemakers." Although the Civil War was fought in hopes of preserving the nation and ridding it of slavery, another war raged on within the depths of this war--the women's war. Serving as nurses both in the hospital and on the battlefields, women came to know a whole

“Revolutionary Mothers Women in the Struggle for America’s Independence,” is a book written by Carol Berkin. In this writing, Berkin goes into detail on the important role women of the 1600s-1700s took place during the Home Front War. Berkin argues that it wasn’t just the men who fought for independence, but women fought for freedom as well. The book describes the roles that different women faced, the challenges women faced, and women’s capabilities during the war.

Carol Berkin’s "Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence" is an excellent book that I immensely enjoyed. When many people think of the Revolutionary War, they might imagine George Washington gallantly leading his men through the winters at Valley Forge or the like. Berkin begins her masterpiece by giving a general overview of the roll that women played in our countries war for independence. Now I, like many others come to think of the iconic role model women like Betsy Ross and the fabled Molly Pitcher, but this star of a book opened my eyes to the everyday

Carol Berkin is an American historian and author. She was born in Mobile, Alabama. She specializes in women’s role in American colonial history. She received her Bachelor’s

The book Revolutionary Mothers, by Carol Berkin is a truth telling and eye opening experience for the reader that shows how the fight for America’s independence affected the role of women. The book reveals the unknown side of women during young America’s first major war, the Revolutionary War. It portrays the very important role women played during war despite the fact that war brought scarcity, bloodshed, and danger into their lives. Women’s lives changed drastically during this time period.

Carol Berkin clearly states her thesis in the introduction of Revolutionary Mothers. “Despite the absence of radical changes in gender ideology and gender roles for most women, the Revolution did lend legitimacy to new ideas about women’s capacities and their proper roles”. (Berkin 2005) In two thousand and fourteen it is questionable about how clearly women’s roles have changed especially in the areas of economics and politics at least it is obvious that the revolution did not bring equality.

A critical analysis entails the review of the book Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the struggle for America’s independence by Carol Berkin. This comprised of details on women who had been involved in struggling to fulfill the independence of America. Women played their role at facing or creating impact towards the war. This outlines on myriad of women,s lives as well as getting to know the obstacles that they encountered during the war. This aids in bringing out the idea that not only men who played vital roles during the war, but also women as being key characters, inclusive of colonial women as well as Native American women and the consequences they faced. Women brought about a generation of having the initial tale of history avoiding rise of different stories thus the book,s intention was to reveal the truth of the history as well as women importance during the revolutionary war.

The role of women in American history has evolved a great deal over the past few centuries. In less than a hundred years, the role of women has moved from housewife to highly paid corporate executive to political leader. As events in history have shaped the present world, one can find hidden in such moments, pivotal points that catapult destiny into an unforeseen direction. This paper will examine one such pivotal moment, fashioned from the fictitious character known as ‘Rosie the Riveter’ who represented the powerful working class women during World War II and how her personification has helped shape the future lives of women.

Throughout Revolutionary Mothers, Berkin uses a multitude of evidence and proof to convey her thesis. Of the sources she uses, the most influential to her argument were the dairy entries, letters, newspaper, and recollections taken from Women of the American Revolution by Elizabeth Ellet. Women of the American Revolution was published in 1848 and many of the families who provided the primary sources for the novel had fresh memories making these sources immensely credible. Berkin uses the primary sources from her novel to show the hero that came out of the women of the Revolution. Along with Ellets novel, other primary sources such as legal opinions, records from colonial assemblies, and law books from the time are also used. Quotations taken from pieces written in the 1600s and 1700s, such as Edenton Resolves, the Philipsburg Proclamation, and The Book of Negroes also provides primary source evidence.

The eighteenth century had its share of freedom supporters. The eighteenth century is a time of the included focus points of the daughters of liberty, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Judith Sargent Murray. Right after the revolution the country of America strived to find and meet standards and wishes for freedom that they fought for in war. As Americans looked to create a sound government, women laid their mark on American history. The daughters of liberty include many women that participated in the public sphere. One of those daughters of liberty is Abigail Adams. One of the first listened to and most noted voices let out the phrase “remember the ladies”. Brilliantly, as a promoter of the revolutionary cause, Abigail sets the stage and gives voice to the position women as a whole are at as the revolution has ended and the creation and consolidation of freedom as they knew it was at hand. The daughters of liberty were women supporting the war effort, boycotting the British, and cross dressing to fight in the war. As the creation of a nation comes to be after the American Revolution, Abigail becomes a leading voice of what women of that time have come and have been coming to. In her letter to John Adams,

But women had not gained freedom even though they’d taken equally tremendous risk through those dangerous years.” Although they were not the first group of women to have those thoughts, they were the first however to plan and carry out a plan on a large-scale program. These women gathered within two days of their conversation and placed an announcement at the Seneca County Courier to call a convention to discuss “the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of woman.” These women were looking to change the world (Legacy ’98)

American women from the early 1920s to the late 1960s ran into quite a few confrontations not only with the federal government but also with society. They were also presented with new radial opportunities that were once nonexistent before this time. The old-fashioned narrow-minded outlook upon women begin to phase out while new representations were being challenged. This is, without a doubt, the most significant and influential periods for women with the movements, organizations, and their new freedoms in modern American history.

Even though women make up approximately half of the United States population, there were few opportunities for women to have female role models or perspectives of history that focused on women until a little over a century ago, when World War I and the First Wave of Feminism changed the role women played in society forever. However, it is remarkable to examine how women had and been continuously pushed to the back of the conversation, even as feminism became a nationally recognised issue. Even now, our nation’s history is told in an androcentric fashion; even if gender inequality throughout our nation’s history has shaped many social structures today, there is a lack of recognition of the importance of women. On top of that, such an androcentric

Even with the growth of research, women history was still seen as separate from main history. In the 1990’s a call for a history based on gender so that a focus of both could be understood. A gender-centered history can be controversial to some feminists, the concern is that women experiences may be lost. (Mary Menard, 1995)