Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence

by Carol Berkin

Book Overview

A groundbreaking history of the American Revolution that "vividly recounts Colonial women's struggles for independence--for their nation and, sometimes, for themselves.... [Her] lively book reclaims a vital part of our political legacy (Los Angeles Times Book Review).

The American Revolution was a home-front war that brought scarcity, bloodshed, and danger into the life of every American. In this book, Carol Berkin shows...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1400075327
• ISBN13: 9781400075324
• Release Date: February 2006
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.83 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

every woman should read this book

good book actually really enjoyed it, i needed it for history and ended up liking the book alot

Entertaining and Informing

Carol Berkin provides an extraordinary depiction of women of the American Revolution, in her book Revolutionary Mothers. Not only does she write about women supporting the war, but she also writes about the lives of women, and the events that followed, after they claimed support for the British. She even provides entire chapters to the lives of Indian and African American women. The book is an easy read, but is fascinating the entire time. One may ask while reading this book, "Does Berikin really justify the magnitude of the women's role in the American Revolution?" I would say abosolutely she does. She revives vivid accounts of women's experiences in the war. One such woman is Abigail Adams. Berkin includes a letter of Adams, saying that she witnessed a merchant who refused to sell coffee at a reasonable price and how a band of women seized the merchant's warehouse and took the coffee. (Berkin, 32) Berkin makes another justified argument when she writes of how women, before the war had begun, shouldered the burden of many of the reforms passed and protested themselves. When the call went out to boycott British goods, women were then not expected to be consumers anymore but rather transform into producers. According to Berkin, they succeeded admirably. I recommend this book to anyone who was like myself. I understood women played an important part during the American Revolution, but I never fully understood what exactly was they did. Berkin fills the blanks in perfectly.

Every woman should read this

Carol Berkin has written a book so interesting that I can cite the women's names and tell their stories to my friends. An outstanding author who has the ability to bring real women of the past into the present by describing the lives and the actions of these women. I've since ordered Berkin's other books. I've recommended this book to all my friends. The creativity and persistence of women to survive and lead productive, heroine lives out of the most extreme of situations amazes me.

Great Read and Women are alive in History!

I read this book for a class where the author came to speak. The book gives women a place in history and let's us all know that, YES, we did live and contribute back in the day.

Women in the Revolution

This book captured the time period of the American Revolution and the role women played in it like no other book I have ever read. I appreciated the focus on particular individuals which really helped bring it to life for me. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to know more about what part women played during the American Revolution. I'm sure you will be both surprised and delighted at your findings.

Loved it!

Never in my history lessons have I heard these stories. The struggles of women during the American Revolution were many. I'm embarrassed that I never considered what they went through; partly because we have always been taught only about the hardships on the battlefield. But, in this book, you will read about the many woman who followed the soldiers (camp followers), women who had no other choice but maintain the farms during their husband's absence, women who volunteered in support of the war (spinners, etc), and general's wives who helped boost the soldiers' moral. There are many interesting facts about Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, and many other "celebrity" wives contributions during the war. A great book that I will talk about for a very long time.