Revolutionary Mothers Summary

Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America’s Independence. By Carol Berkin. 2005. P.194
“Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America’s Independence” focuses on a war that throughout, blurred the lines between the battlefield and the home-front It examines how women's roles were viewed by themselves as well as their fathers, husbands, and sons. The Revolutionary War was a battle that brought bloodshed, danger, and fear into the life of every American, and this novel fixates upon its effect on the women of that era. It recounts the story of not only one woman, but of many, whether they be rich or poor, a Patriot or a Loyalist, white or black or Native American, they all deserve a tribute in the story of our nation’s …show more content…
The primary sources cited in this book include personal diaries, letters, memoirs, and newspaper articles to recall the stories, feelings, and roles of real women from that period. Quotations are respectively taken from books written in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as well. Other sources illustrate the lives and views of women from the Southern colonies, the New England colonies, and the middle colonies to address various perspectives and roles across the whole thirteen colonies. The many sources cited serve to validate Revolutionary Mothers as a reliable and scholarly work about the roles of women in the American …show more content…
Lower class women, who now without their husband working, had no means to support their families so they would follow their husbands to war. These “camp followers” lifestyle is described in chapter four. These women cooked meals and did laundry for both armies. Some served as nurses for injured soldiers or tended to their husbands needs specifically. Some tended to the sexual needs of the soldiers, and these women were known as camp wives, pairing with one soldier throughout the war. Wealthier women had the option of staying home, as their financial state could support them without a working husband. Wives of generals and high ranking officers also had the choice to visit their husbands during the winter when fighting had ceased. Some saw it as their patriotic duty and others simply obliged to please their

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