Carol Berkin's Revolutionary Mothers

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.

It took ingenuity and resourcefulness to raise children and tend a home. They managed household budgets and calculated food supplies. On isolated farms, women delivered babies, nursed sick children, and tended to farm injuries. They planted vegetable gardens, cared for livestock, and helped harvest crops. Even wealthy women needed business and management skills to oversee large households that included servants or slaves.” This paragraph explains how women worked inside of their homes taking care of their family and family needs. In the 1800’s women felt that they were to work only inside their homes as wives and homemakers. In A Family Affair, paragraphs three and four state, “Many other women served as volunteers in organisations such as the American Red Cross. Red Cross members performed many helpful duties, including reading and writing letters for wounded or illiterate soldiers, unearthing information about family members during breakdowns in communication, organizing dances for servicemen, and simply making wartime more bearable both at home and overseas. Another volunteer group, the United Service Organizations (USO), provided social services, entertainment, and companionship for servicemen.” This paragraph explains how women worked outside of their homes. The passages are different because Breaking Tradition explains how women worked inside their homes during the war in the 1800’s. A Family Affair explains how the war changed women’s lives in the 1800’s, and as a result, they began working outside of their

During the time of 1600-1700’s women did not have the same rights as men in other words they did not have any rights at all. Women were treated very poorly with no type of respect. In the book called FIRST Generations WOMEN in COLONIAL AMERICA, by Carol Berkin it talked about various examples of how women were treated. Throughout my essay I will be explaining a few topics that were repeatedly in the book and I found important. Huge topic like gender roles, women population, and men being privilege. It was not easy for women around this time era, because they had to deal with a lot of hurtful things. Women were doing things we would not to today just so they can survive. Even though some women by becoming a mother meant to die soon.

“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

While this book could be considered very academic, I considered it to be a leisurely read because it was so well written by Kerber. The passion behind the authors want to reveal this unknown historical event of what Kerber refers to as, “ The Womens’ War”, makes the book inspirational. The true meaning of the term “Republican Motherhood”, made the word radicalism come to live in this historical setting. In result of these women changing and breaking the wall of a traditional role, they are finally accepted not just as domestic creatures, but as capable partners to create virtuous citizens. It is an empowering book that opens the reader’s eyes to the one – sided history that previous to this book had been the only text by historians

After studying women and gender history in early America for the past semester, my views about American history have changed tremendously. Having very little prior experience with history, I had many assumptions and preconceived notions from high school history classes. Women were never even mentioned in my previous learning about U.S. history, so I assumed they took on unimportant roles and had little, if any, impact on shaping our country’s history. However, after this semester of delving deeply into the women of early America, I could not have been more incorrect. Although they were not typically in the public realm, we cannot fully understand history without studying women. The following readings uncovered the roles of women in the private sphere and were crucial to my new understanding of the importance of women in American history by bringing women to the forefront.

The term Republican Motherhood is not misleading; women during the revolutionary war raised their family to be patriotic towards the republic. They attended social gathering and conversed with and influenced politicians from around the world. Women involved with the Republican Motherhood were just as important in building this nation to what it is as the men were.

The ideals by the Republicans which came into the limelight after the Revolutionary War would set into motion a revolution not just in the United States but in many countries across the world. Linda Kerber’s ‘Women of the Republic’ is a demonstration of the paradigm shift in relation to the US social and political structures after the American Revolution. Kerber observes that not only did the war provide more opportunities to women but also set a platform for women to chart the way forward politically. This important role is what came later to be known as the Republican Motherhood. The concept of Republican Motherhood demonstrates the important role that woken played politically in addition to attending to their traditional roles of domestic responsibility.

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.

The Author Carol Berkin wrote an absolutely wonderful book. Carol Berkin is a professor of History at Baruch College and CUNY Graduate center. She is a specialist in women's history. Berkin has also written several books over women's history. One of her books that she has written is called, The Revolutionary Mothers: Women in Struggle for America’s Independence. In this book Berkin shows us how the woman back then played a vital role throughout the whole conflict; showing how women were affected. And in the book it investigates that the woman during the revolutionary war had many different diverse roles during the 8 year struggle for american independence for women.

Summary American women did participate in the America revolution but they where still expected to marry and have kid’s. Rather then pursue a career under the legal principal coverture. Husbands held authority over the person , property and choices of their wife’s. Women’s where not permitted to own property and property ownership was a precondition to voting they where shutout of the political process . But women still improved there status by ideology of republican motherhood.

of the poorest and most marginalized women in the world. Recording her observations of the lives of mothers and their children in a book later named

When I start reading Colonize This!, one of the major sections that impacted me was “Our Mother, Refugees from a World on Fire.” It contains great realistic stories about strong mothers of different colors who sacrificed themselves to feed, protect, and raise their children. While these mothers were sacrificing themselves to face the hunger and danger that threaten their children’s life, they were also trying to find rights to protect them from the people that

As a midwife, mother, and medicinal worker in revolutionary America, Martha Ballard demonstrates the tenacity of women in this era. She works endlessly, serves people in need, runs her own household, and engages in economic and social affairs sometimes all in the same day. Combining these facets of her life, Ballard creates a unique identity for herself in her world, and this identity reveals itself through the entries in her personal journal. Ballard’s identity is composed of her value of labor and aid to others, her Christian values, as well as her sense of self-worth or importance in society. Despite living in a primarily patriarchal culture, Ballard’s story breaks down structural barriers and paves the way for a more innovative, inclusive America during the revolution.