Angelica Hudson Dr McWilliams History 1301
Angelica Hudson
Dr McWilliams
History 1301.6316
25 September 2018
Revolutionary Mothers
In the book Revolutionary Mothers by Carol Berkin, discusses the different roles many women of different ethnicities and cultures were forced to face for their Independence. Berkin states how there were a lot more than just three forgotten women who had important tasks to do during the Revolution which included caretakers, political organizers, and even soldiers. Not only were these brave women loyalists but they were also patriots, African Americans and Native Americans. Berkin puts her main focus on the women because they were an importance during the Revolutionary War. Without these women this war would’ve been impossible. Women had an influence on the war and the war had an influence on the women. Berkin argues that the Revolutionary War didn’t just involve men but women as well.
Woman during the Revolutionary War did more than what we know and understand. Berkin mentions how the woman served as “colonists broadened the definition of helpmate to include a woman’s temporary duties as a deputy or surrogate.” Woman helped as much as they could during the Revolutionary War. Majority of the women were mostly at home organizing boycotts of British goods they also were raising funds for the nation while maintaining the family’s business. The Revolutionary War was supposed to be a war for men but there was some woman who risked their own lives to fight in this war. A woman named Margaret Corbin ended up being crippled for life after she took her husband’s place near a cannon at Fort Monmouth. She wasn’t the only woman who had done that there were plenty more others as well. Some women were sent to spy on the enemies despite any obstacles along the way. Sadly, there were even some woman who were raped and even killed based on their political views. (Berkin 35) Berkin talks about female groups such as Native Americans and African Americans. The African American women sacrificed their values less than the others but still managed to have freedom from the British lines. A lot of them ended up joining the loyalists in a way to flee from their masters. Though, “the majority of African American slave women did not flee. Some may have feared for the safety of their children and the rest may have feared if they were captured or returned to their masters.”
The Revolutionary War had a significance to many of woman who lost their lives because they valued things that were very important to them. The ones who went out to spy showed bravery because they had hoped in what they believed in. These women were willing to do any and everything they could so that they could be free from the British. They even took in for the men or their husbands who couldn’t fight just so they could have freedom. They were so selfless and put their own needs aside. The nurses helped a lot during this time period for a lot of the soldiers that were injured so they could go back out and handle business. Many people didn’t think this war would’ve been successful with British being so high maintained and already experienced when it comes to these wars but only because of the help of those women, we wouldn’t have been successful. Berkin makes lots of clear points throughout this book that if it wasn’t for those brave women the success wouldn’t have been a victory. Berkin wants people to give credit for the men who fought, but also to the women who came through to help the nation. Her argument is more then just recognition it is to let people know that women were apart of a lot of things during this war and that their work should no longer go unnoticed but to be recognized that without them we wouldn’t be where we are today.
Lastly, I want to discuss that the Native Americans sacrificed their values during the Revolutionary War because they wanted to change the colonial society. They didn’t want to be under the British empire anymore. The British has held them captive for so many years and they finally wanted to take action. These were men and women with the least experience. These were men and women who didn’t know what they were getting themselves into but because they believed in something so powerful they acted for what they believed in and conquered the British. This book is a great read because it informs readers that although the war was mainly fought by men, that women were doing a lot of behind the scene stuff that know one ever knew about. The reason we know today is because many of them were writing stuff daily in their journals about the things that were going on during this war. Many feared that it wasn’t going to be successful for the patriots and that is why a lot of people were loyalist because they feared they safety. Those patriots didn’t let that stop them even today if we hadn’t of fought that war we would still be under the British empire and things would be a lot worse. That’s why the Revolutionary War is important because those men and women wanted to put an end to the mistreatment they were going through. They were tired of being tortured so they did what the had to do and justice was served.
