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38th out of 62 books
—
15 voters
Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence
by
Carol Berkin
The American Revolution was a home-front war that brought scarcity, bloodshed, and danger into the life of every American. In this groundbreaking history, Carol Berkin shows us how women played a vital role throughout the conflict.
The women of the Revolution were most active at home, organizing boycotts of British goods, raising funds for the fledgling nation, and managing...more
The women of the Revolution were most active at home, organizing boycotts of British goods, raising funds for the fledgling nation, and managing...more
Paperback, 224 pages
Published
February 14th 2006
by Vintage
(first published 2005)
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Revolutionary Mothers is an important contribution toward our understanding of the Revolutionary War and women in early American society. The book is a study of all women who were affected by the war—at all levels of society and on both sides of the conflict. Bergan begins with a description of the gender roles found in the American colonies before the Revolution. When war breaks out we learn about the wives of patriot politicians and generals, ordinary mothers and daughters, loyalist women, sla...more
While there have been numerous "popular" books about women in the American Revolution, this one stands above the others as history. This is because not only does Professor Berkin have a most readable style but she is a true historian. This book seeks to show the different roles women played in the Revolutionary period through vignettes detailing specific (and, in the case of Molly Pitcher, not-so-specific) women. Highly illuminating for those who may only be familiar with political or military h...more
If you want to learn more about the social history of the United States, not just the cries of Paul Revere, or the exploits of George Washington. If you want to hear the voices that have been silenced for too long, or drowned out by outbursts like Patrick Henry's "Give Me Liberty, Or Give Me Death!" then this is a perfect read for you.
Carol Berkin does a brilliant job of giving voice to the women of the American Revolution. Berkin presents first hand accounts of women who supported men, fought...more
Carol Berkin does a brilliant job of giving voice to the women of the American Revolution. Berkin presents first hand accounts of women who supported men, fought...more
I'm giving this three stars to applaud Berkin for bringing these women and their stories to light. However, I wasn't thrilled by the presentation, There is a lot of room for bringing this exciting era and these women to life. Unfortunately, Berkin's prose and the organization of her material seems hamstrung by her academic background. It is more readable than most academic tracts, but still flat and workaday. If she had only trusted the women's own words from their letters and diaries to give us...more
The reason why I started readiong this book was the history propject, but as i was looking for some qwuotes i got very interested in this book. Even the cover grabs the readers attention, there's a women with a gun in her hands, that women represents all the american first ladies. Berkin calls them "Revolutionary mothers." they were really revolutionary, each first lady lived in sucha different time periods but they have some stuff in commom. I like the wway the author described those first lad...more
You didn't really think that the men did all the work in the founding of our nation, did you? If you believe that all that the women of the Revolution did was stay home, raise babies, and make cookies then you NEED to read this book! This is an inspiration and a must-read for anyone who wants a clear picture of how women purposely, diligently, and decisively aided in the founding of our nation to include some who fought alongside the men. Carol Berkin offers an highly accessible and historically...more
A fascinating, intimate look at a wide variety of women and their experiences during the American Revolution. Ms. Berkin has a nice flow to her writing; I felt like I was reading a story book rather than a history text. The women she profiles are so varied, from Martha Washington to Molly Brant (a Mohawk Indian who married the British northern superintendent of Indian affairs), camp followers to Native American negotiators. I loved her use of first person accounts and appreciated her recognition...more
There isn't a lot of recorded information on women during this era. So much information was general and loyalist, slave, and native women were included to to pad out the information. So the title Revolutionary Mothers was misleading as not all the women discussed were mothers and the were not all patriots. Interesting but not compelling. I did enjoy the quotes from Abigail Adams. At least she felt safe expressing her concerns to her husband about the rights of women.
I swear I already did this review. Stupid phone. Stupid user . . .
The book was okay. There is a lot of material for a good historical fiction writer to use, and more women than I can count who I'd love to know more about. The book was very academic and a little dry at times, but mostly just left me wanting to know more than what is available through historical records. Thus the historical fiction reference.
The information about camp life was probably the best fleshed out section of the book, a...more
The book was okay. There is a lot of material for a good historical fiction writer to use, and more women than I can count who I'd love to know more about. The book was very academic and a little dry at times, but mostly just left me wanting to know more than what is available through historical records. Thus the historical fiction reference.
The information about camp life was probably the best fleshed out section of the book, a...more
I really enjoyed this book, because it gave really good summaries of what different groups of women were experiencing during the American Revolution. Instead of focusing on a single group, it gave accounts for several including Tory women, African Americans, Native Americans, Camp-followers, officers wives, etc. With this said, the accounts were obviously not extremely detailed. However, I think Berkin did a fine job of giving readers a good overview, with some detailed describtions. Berkin's mo...more
I read this for work (was writing an article about women for a magazine article on the American Revolution) and I was really impressed how easy to read this book was. Much more like a book you want to curl up with than a history book, yet chock full of interesting information. If you're a history buff, this is a book for you.
This is more of a brief introduction to the topic than a thorough survey. But it is a good basic introduction. The chapters cover topics like: women and protest (like the boycott of British goods), loyalist women, camp followers, Native American women, Black women, women who spied, etc.
This is an excellent introductory book on the topic of women in the American Revolution. Berkin doesn't just discuss the famous white women, such as Abigail Adams, but instead devotes chapters to slave women's and Native American women's experiences. I felt that a major drawback of this book was its length. I really wish it could have been longer! There were so many figures, and so much material, that I'd be very excited to see an expanded version.
I had to use this book as a reference for an AP United States History term paper. Not only did it help me with my paper, but I found it to be extremely interesting. I wouldn't just read it for pleasure, but I would recommend it for any class studying the Revolutionary War.
Really good. The author tells us the story of the women during the Revolutionary War. Both loyalist, Patriot and even British women. I loved this about the book. We are able to get a view of both sides of the problem. I was lead to understand the issues and the feelings of both sides of the war.
I just recently finished reading this one. I love historical non-fiction, especially about women and this one was very well done. It's not too long, not too short, scholarly, but not boring and pleasantly spiked with humor.
Varied accounts of different classes of women as they were affected by the war. Book can be a bit dry at times but does bring out the resourcefulness, bravery, and strength when their home and families are threatened.
Berkin does a great job here, re-telling the familiar story of the Revolution from different angles. Even the familiar anecdotes of Molly Pitcher and Deborah Sampson Gannett gain new depth and sophistication in Berkin's telling. I think this one will be most appreciated by folks with a pretty solid background in the history of the era.
Fantastic book, great historical addition to my library. Will use it as a reference for years! What a sensitive look at the Women who made a nation, from all sides and many perspectives.
Berkin is an impressive historian, with a terrific ability to relay a story, especially these stories about women in the American Revolution. When I teach American history, I make an effort to point out the lives of those who are marginalized by the standard historical narrative. In all honesty, American historians do attend to these people, so it's not hard to do. Berkin is among the very best, placing their lives in context and place. An easy, engaging read. Highly recmmended!
I read this for a school paper, but I actually love it. I am not into history at all, but I liked the stories. It put a lot of what I have learned in school into perspective.
I liked the topic. The writing was a bit rambling at times and seemed to skip from one woman's story to the next when at times I would have liked a more in depth view.
Apr 15, 2012
Peggymsu Valentine Colombo
added it
Bought it on our trip to Williamsburg and loved it. It discussed how women contributed to the war and how life on the domestic front helped win the war.
very interesting. this book provided a lot of information about the daily lives of women during th american revolution that i had never heard of before. i appreciate the coverage of women's lives in a historical context, which is usually quite rare.
Not a spectacular book, but well-written, interesting and informative. A nice introduction to the topic of how women were involved in the American Revolution.
I really loved this book. I enjoyed the stories of average women that I had never heard of that did heroic things during the Revolution.
Interesting to see how the women added to or helped with the American Revolution.
Very good! My favorite part was the story of Frederika Charlotte Loiuse von Massow, the Baroness von Riedesel from Wolfenbuttel. I must do some research on her. We have friends from Wolfenbuttel, which is a mid-size town in Germany.
I respect the tremendous amount of research that must have gone into this book and I appreciate that women from different sides of the revolution were included. I'm glad there was a little explaination and "back story" and I'm sure that there is a limited number of the accounts of these women, but I just wish there had been less disection of their actions and more stories of what the women did.
Not what I was expecting, but an okay read all the same.
Some fairly interesting tidbits of history. The writing is very much like reading a history text, I have read many other histories and know that the writing can make or break the interesting factor of the book.
I would have enjoyed more depth, but agree with the author that the woman's role was not often recorded in history.
Some fairly interesting tidbits of history. The writing is very much like reading a history text, I have read many other histories and know that the writing can make or break the interesting factor of the book.
I would have enjoyed more depth, but agree with the author that the woman's role was not often recorded in history.
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