Role of Women in American Revolution

During the American Revolution, not only did men have to face the struggles of war time atmosphere, but women had to as well. The country during the war was divided into three different groups of people; the loyalists, the patriots and the remaining people who did not care. Catherine Van Cortlandt, a loyalist had to endure different struggles then the patriot women Eliza Pinckney and Abigail Adams. However, parts of their stories are similar when it came to their family struggles.

Buesche, John. "Spy in a Petticoat." Teaching History. National History Organization Clearinghouse, n.d. Web. 24 May 2012. (Buesche)

They opened up their homes to the wounded, raised money for and provided food and clothing to the Army. There are even several recorded instances of women serving as spies or soldiers in disguise. Most of the active participants however, were in the form of what was called "camp followers". While some of these were women were prostitutes, many others were wives, daughters and mothers of soldiers who followed the Army because they were unable to support themselves after their men left for war. They served the Continental Army as nurses, cooks, laundresses, and water bearers. These women became the earliest American examples of women who supported the military to "free a man to fight" as they performed jobs usually done by male soldiers.

The American Revolution was a war between the 13 colonies and Great Britain. The colonies, trying to gain their freedom, revolted against their mother country, which resulted in a war. The war lasted from 1765 to 1783 and as a result, the colonies gained independence from Great Britain and became the United States of America. While white, male Americans participated in the American Revolution, women, African Americans, and foreigners were also involved. While women, African Americans, and foreigners participated in the American Revolution, their contributions and motivations varied.

During the Revolutionary War, women played major roles in combat. From supportive positions like maids, cooks and nurses to auxiliary roles such as spies or secret soldiers. The Daughters of Liberty did more than their share to help win America’s independence. Deborah Samson Gannett, from Plymouth, Massachusetts, concealed herself as a soldier named Robert Shurtlieff Samson. Robert was the name of her now deceased brother. (Wienkop) Deborah came from a very poor family

Historians once presumed that, since women during the American Revolution had limited or no political decisions, and demonstrated little concern in achieving the franchise, they were fundamentally apolitical members of the society. In the modern world, scholars acknowledge the fact that women played a leading role during the war and they were actively involved in debates, which accompanied the movement towards independence, and that the war expanded their territories in their political and legal roles. Furthermore, the male welcomed women’s support during the war that was a very instrumental move towards the expansion of the women’s roles in the society unlike in the past when women were restricted to household chores. As women filled important roles because of the shortage of men to fill these roles, like managing business and farms, the idea that females were lesser than males started to fade away (Bielich, 2008). The laws prior to and during the revolution did not acknowledge females as equal to men in

Women from all over the world have been faced with many difficult problems since the beginning of time. Women in the past have had to fight for their rights of education, freedom, sexual choices, and their freedom to work. Women today still face problems because of their gender, but times are slowly but surely changing. Before the Revolution women had no say in any activities they participated in. Women had to obey their husbands, give them sex whenever they wanted, had no choice over reproductive patterns, were strictly in charge of taking care of the house and children, and were not allowed to leave the homestead. Joan R. Gundersen argues that the women of the American Revolution gained more than they had lost. She believed at that time the greatest changes appeared enhancing the lives of everyday women.

The American Revolution began in 1775 as a war between the thirteen colonies in Great Britain and North America. There was a series of events that caused The American Revolution. This Revolution showed roles of woman at the time.When the war ended,and the colonies won their independence.Once the colonies won they all combined together to make the United States of America.

With over a half million deaths the most gruesome war in American history drove citizens to action. The suffering during this era was so great many were inspired by nationalism to act. For those who were unable to join the fight upon the battlefield, espionage represented a chance for personal involvement. Although it is believed that many agents never sought recognition for their service, especially Confederate scouts, documentation depicts the espionage present during the American Civil War to be surprisingly sophisticated. By examining the recorded history involving active female intelligence agents in the American Civil War, we can see the roles of female scouts were severely underestimated, frequently encouraged, and generally

When the American Civil War began on April 12th, 1861, over 3 million Union and Confederate soldiers prepared for battle. Men from all over America were called upon to support their side in the confrontation. While their battles are well documented and historically analyzed for over a hundred years, there is one aspect, one dark spot missing in the picture: the role of women in the American Civil War. From staying at home to take care of the children to disguising themselves as men to fight on the battlefield, women contributed in many ways to the war effort on both sides. Though very few women are recognized for their vital contributions, even fewer are

Clara Burton, also known as the “Angel of the Battlefield”, started out working in the federal government in the patent office. She was the first woman to ever hold senior clerkship, but once the war broke out, she gave up her job and went to help tend to the sick and wounded soldiers. She earned her nickname by riding around the battlefield delivering supplies and helping soldiers wherever she went. Due to her hard work, in 1864 she was appointed to Superintendent of the Female Nurses for the Union Army.

The Revolutionary War had an affect on women due to the fact that men assumed that it was their war alone, and women were not to be consulted on the political affairs that were involved to develop judgment on gaining freedom from the British. However, women were often used as spies during the war, because men never would think that women were involved with providing help during the war. “Women were challenged to commit themselves as politically and then to justify their allegiance. The war raised once again the old question of whether a woman could be a patriot – that is, an essentially political person – and it also raised the question of what form female patriotism might take,” (Kerber: pg. 9). Kerber essentially argues that women often had to prove themselves that they also were fighting for their rights during the war and providing the help that was necessary. Women were patriots as well as willing to fight for their country’s freedom to belong in the new America.

Many women contributed in the Revolutionary War but not many are given enough credit. Woman who had followed the army were referred to as “camp followers”. Females who followed Washington’s army were seeking safety, shelter, food, and work. They need the army and though Washington and other soldiers did not like to admit it, the army needed them. Now I’m going to speak about some of the role the female soldiers played in the Revolutionary War.

Women, regardless of the opposition, were determined to support their armies and their beliefs even on the battlefield. The North and South armies of the country were fighting without proper organization from their respective governments, leading women to volunteer to help their men in whatever manner they could. Contributing to the war effort, women were “responsible for much of the clothing, feeding, and nursing of the soldiers.”18 Women would cook and do the laundry for the soldiers, working in camps away from the battlefield. Other women would provide comfort for the dying soldiers, nurturing the wounded and staying with the men who were dying until their last moments. Their efforts were to offset the fact that the wounded men were separated from their loved ones and “represented domestic tranquility in the midst of armed conflict.”19 Women were not prohibited from nursing injured soldiers because it was “not yet a profession requiring special training…care of the sick and injured was traditionally a female skill”20. Nursing was not the only important contribution that women provided during the war. They also worked within their communities to make up for the men who had left to fight in the war, managing homes and plantations,

One of the biggest successes of women soldiers was informing people that women could fight in the war. This happened because a lot of women were caught and discharged from the war, so the press just couldnt ignore that. The sad part to this is the fact that the government denied the fact that they had any real records of who were and who weren't women, actually no they lied to the gazette that sent them the letter asking.As a result, the women soldiers had one major success informing the public that women could help fight the war instead of just being nurses and running the