Women's Role Of Women During The American Revolution

Overall, women were an integral and vital part of the Revolutionary War. While few fought on the front lines, others helped in more subtle ways that showed rebellion and helped edge the USA towards long-awaited victory. Men thought women were incapable of understanding the intricacies of war and were proven incorrect time and time again. Whether through spying, healing, or fighting, without women, Britain most certainly would’ve overpowered America in the Revolutionary War.

Lastly, we had two important people who helped the colonies colonize, which was John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. In 1761, John Adams began to think and write and act against British measures that he believed infringed on colonial liberties. Thomas Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, although his first draft was amended after consultation with Benjamin Franklin and John Adams and changed by Congress. Jefferson's reference to the commitment of colonists to the crown was struck; also deleted was a part that censured the monarchy for striking slavery upon America. They had two powerful people fighting for the independence for the colonies.

I long to hear that you have declared an independence--and by the way in the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation (Akers 48).

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

The first reason Colonial America won the Revolutionary War was because the Colonists had many ordinary people fighting for their cause. There were thousands of farmers, artisans, and laborers spread over a vast area to fight with them. The Revolution’s support cut across region, religion, and social rank. Both men and women took part in politics. The war would have failed without their support during the

Have you noticed that in most history text books that the role of woman was

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.

When considering the American Revolution most histories fail to recognize both sides of the fight for liberty. Men were certainly the central figures; however could they have succeeded without the periphery support of women? In her book, Women of the Republic: Intellect and Ideology in Revolutionary America, Linda K. Kerber explores the contribution of women to the war and demonstrates the rising of “Republican Motherhood” during and following the war. Through this ideology, women merged their traditional roles with their new sense of civic duty. In the beginning chapters, Kerber examines women’s engagement in the war effort, explores the emerging idea of female patriotism and states the proper loyalties of married women during the time.

In Paul Revere’s Ride, by David Hackett Fischer, Mr. Fischer describes the challenges of the early American Revolution from both sides. Thomas Gage, a British General, was trying to resist the colonies, but was unsuccessful. Gage was not able to succeed because the British were lacking numbers, and Gage was lacking the mental strength needed to fight. The colonies, led mainly by Paul Revere, were not only strong in numbers and leaders, but were also united in the fact that they were determined to gain their freedom and a democracy.

1. Women: The women were, strangely, the most supportive. Without the women the Americans would never have known that Benedict Arnold was a spy for the British. They also were very useful because like Paul Revere's famous ride, a woman also rode through town warning soldiers that the British were coming. An interesting fact is that there was a Daughters of Liberty that also protested British taxes.

Abigail Adams began writing letters to her husband, John Adams the second President of the United States, as a form of communication. Utilizing letters as their form of media at the time, Adams wrote her husband about her own political ideals and provided her husband with information during the American Revolution. She also sent letters to others about her husband’s ideals to gain support. She was described as what we would call a public relation consult today.

“In both the North and the South, women were forced to take over farms and businesses abandoned by their husbands as they left for war. Women organized themselves into ladies’ aid societies

During the Civil War, women did not wait around for their loves ones to come back from the battlefield. Instead they played many roles that made them important part of the war effort. Many women secretly enlisted in the army – there are records of women cross-dressing in order to be accepted and treated as one of the male soldiers –, some served as spies, smugglers, abolitionists, civil rights advocates, promoter of women’s suffrage, and participated in war relief efforts for both the North and the South, while others became nurses and aides. There were four categories for soldering women: Daughters (or Mothers) of the Regiment, Vivandiere or cantiniere, Battlefield nurse (“soldier nurse”), and Field hospital nurse. In paper

This showed that women were useful in combat as well as the men were. They were able to show their combat skills and their ability to adapt to new changes.

During the Revolutionary War women made their mark; especially, Betsy Ross who created the American Flag, this creation was said to be one of the greatest achievements of the Revolutionary era. Women of this time played an important role in the rebuttal of Great Britain’s high taxes; they made their own clothes and were very willing to alter their patterns of consumption to