Republican Mothers Research Paper

From the social viewpoint the war changed the lives and rights of women all across the United States. Many of the husbands left to fight in the Revolutionary war leaving countless women in charge of farms and businesses, roles which they were not accustomed to. Although the war did little to change women’s rights, in some states it did become possible for women to divorce and in new jersey women even obtained the right to vote which was way out of the ordinary in that time. Before the war both men and women viewed the wife as an obedient and serving spouse that raised the children and took care of the house. But the revolution encouraged people of both genders to reconsider the contribution of women to the family and society.

“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.

Document A, shows a woman holding a musket and powder horn wearing a tricorn hat. This document bolsters that women’s roles were expanded during the American Revolution since they participated in the American Revolution and hints at the potential for revolutionary change in women’s roles. The Daughters of Liberty proved that they could do anything a man could do. When their husbands, brothers, and or sons went to fight in the war women had to continue making a living at home by assuming the tasks that the males had. The Daughters of Liberty were working relentlessly to prove their commitment to “the cause of liberty and industry.” Home manufacturing originated from when women made clothing for the people of their respective towns to boycott the British and when they had to produce products such as artillery as well as clothing for the American forces to utilize. Document J, a valedictory address by Molly Wallace from the Young Ladies’ Academy of Pennsylvania notifies us that friendly encouragement allowed herself to overcome apprehension due to sex, youth, and inexperience which will be an example that women can do anything they set their mind to and that if women are not denied the right to read, moreover they should not be denied the right to speak. Her speech increased discussion of educational opportunities for women and the Revolution had not yet greatly altered society’s perception of the role of women.

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 American Revolution, which happened during the last half of the eighteenth century, reshaped many aspects of life in America. The desire of the Founding Fathers to make America a republic played a very significant part in changing the role of women after the Revolution. The role of women as wives became more important as an emphasis on virtue was established; women were encouraged to find virtuous husbands and utilize their seductive nature to keep men virtuous. The roles of women as mothers also became more important in the republic, as patriarchy loosened and mothers were depended on to educate their children in the republican way. And finally, the role of women in politics was theoretically reduced due to the increasing demands of

Women’s role in the family before 1815 was based around the idea of Republican Motherhood. Republican Motherhood is the idea that children should be raised to uphold the ideals of republicanism, making them the ideal citizens of the new nation. Mothers were obligated to raise “perfect Americans”. With this belief being enforced by the males, it was impossible for the females to have the

‘Women of the Republic’ demonstrates the expanded role of women politically amidst the rising influence of their male counterparts in civic responsibility. Kerber states that the American Revolution provided a platform for women to express themselves away from ideological ferment that was premised on the confines of a family set up. This situation might perhaps explain why there were few women leaders during the period leading to the Revolution War. Kerber appears to place her concept of the Republican Motherhood to the industrialisation era that was characterized by fathers working away from their homes and leaving all the household

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.

The role of women in the Early Republic is a topic mostly overlooked by historians when dealing with this era of American history. The triumphs of the Revolution and the early events of the new nation were done solely by men. However, women had their own political societies and even participated in the Revolution. Women's roles began to take a major turn after the war with Great Britain. This was due in part to their involvement in the war and female patriotism. Others believed it was due to the easier access to formal education for young women. Whatever the reason, it inspired women to challenge the social structure of the Early Republic. The roles of women were changing in the Early Republic. However, progress was slow and little change

During the American Revolutionary Era, women played essential roles in the defiance against Great Britain by boycotting British products and joining the non-consumption organization. During the American Revolution, women served as nurses, cooks, maids, seamstresses, some even secretly enlisted in the Continental Army. From 1825 to 1850, women were fighting for equal opportunities as men and women’s right to vote, the Reform Period. Women’s roles were similar during the American Revolutionary Era and the Reform Movement because during both periods, women contributed to the movements, by joining political protest. Their roles differed during the periods because women during the reform movements, created conventions geared towards women, exacting

Revolutionary America brought changes in thought as to the lives of women. The concept of separate spheres divided gender roles from the late 18th century through the 19th century in America. Women’s roles had previously been in a narrow sphere of the home or into areas of employment also involved with home-type duties: teachers, innkeepers, servants, or seamstresses. The American Revolution brought changes to the role in women when men left for war and the wives and women left behind had to maintain their homestead, their husband’s businesses, as well as any duties required by the war. Women’s roles were defined by the term ‘Republican Motherhood’. Republican Motherhood is the belief that women maintain

According to the textbook, Understanding The American Promise,The republican ideology gave women civic responsibility and political importance despite the fact that they could not vote or hold public office in the late 1700s by allowing both women and male writes to address a multitude of social issues. For instance, female writes reevaluated courtship, marriage, as well as motherhood in regard to the emergence of republican concepts; as a result, tyrannical authority by a male figure soon became diminished as history progressed. Consequently, male writers acknowledged the notion that men were beginning to change, toward an improved sense of attitude, moral, as well as mannerism, from the influence of the women around them (wives, mothers,

The Revolutionary War saw a great divide between the Empire of Britain and their colonies in America during the 18th century. During the revolutionary war a new role for women emerged that had never been seen before in English society. In the 18th century, the majority of women helped with the basic needs of the soldiers, while taking care of tasks within their homes and in the towns which they lived in. This was their conventional role. Throughout the book Revolutionary mothers, author Carol Berkin, writes about the greater strides with expanding women’s roles of the 18th century were made by the elite women. Elite women were able to establish a small foothold in the political system throughout the war, exercising any political power when the opportunity arose. Women during the revolutionary war, were able to assist the war effort from the most basic tasks and as the war dragged on, women showed great bravery in or near the battlefield and learned to exercise their limited political power to aid the war effort and grow women’s influence in society.

Women before the American Revolution were viewed as weak, less important and not as intelligent as men. The rights and freedom of women were nonexistent; women couldn’t vote, own property, sign contracts and/or wills or divorce their husbands. The man of the family had total power and authority over their wives and children. The common role for a woman was to cook, clean, sew, take care of the family garden and care

2. Like most radical voices of the Revolutionary Era, support for gender equality was moreover met with shock and disapproval. Revolutionary America remained a place of male privilege. Consequently, the understanding of the proper relationships among men, women, and the public world underwent a significant change in this period. The republican thrust of revolutionary politics required intelligent and self-disciplined citizens to form the core of the new republic. This helped shape a new ideal for wives as "republican mothers" who could instruct their children, sons especially, to be intelligent and reasonable individuals. This heightened significance to a traditional