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Women's role in the american revolution
American Revolution impact on women
Women during the war defying gender roles
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Women and such called slaves played a huge role in the revolutionary war. Such as when the men went off to war the women and daughters had to take over the men's jobs such as managing the farm and shops, cutting wood. And the women played a huge role by giving good foods to the many soldiers and like cleaning. Without the women some soldiers would either die of starvation and more but the women played a big role in the revolutionary war. What this document suggests about the role of women in the Revolutionary War is the women were very important to the soldiers. The women made it so the soldiers had clean clothes to wear, the women made it so some of the soldiers didn't starve to death.The women had to do all the chores for the men and they …show more content…
“They served as cooks, seamstresses, nurses, and scavengers of battlefield equipment. They also helped to bury the dead. During battles, women nicknamed “Molly Pitcher” would bring water to swab out the guns and hand powder or shot to the men as they loaded and fired. Women such as Molly Ludwig Hays even filled in for soldiers who were wounded or killed.” (Discovery education 3). The women were just as strong and maybe even stronger than the men and when they had to do a job or were ordered to do something they did it with no complaints or the orders came before the other things they had to do. The impact that the people from these groups have on the outcome of the war is there was the independance of the war and independence meant there would be no more protection from the British and when the french won they then lost peace.. “For this reason, the end of the war led to exile, or forced absence, for many Loyalists. Many found they could no longer live alongside their neighbors. They saw no option but to leave America for British Canada or England, giving up their homes, businesses, and land. Wars are expensive ”(Discovery education
The book begins by explaining the roles that women in this time were known to have as this helps the reader get a background understanding of a woman’s life pre-war. This is done because later in the book women begin to break the standards that they are expected to have. It shows just how determined and motivated these revolutionary women and mothers were for independence. First and foremost, many people believed that a “woman’s truth was that God had created her to be a helpmate to a man” (p.4). Women focused on the domain of their households and families, and left the intellectual issues of the time and education to the men. Legally, women had almost no rights. Oppressed by law and tradition, women were restricted their choice of professions regardless of their identity or economic status. As a result, many women were left with few choices and were cornered into marriage or spinsterhood, which also had its limitations. As a spinster, you were deemed as unmarried who was past the usual age of marriage. Patronized by society, these women were left and stamped as “rejected”. On the other side, If the woman became married, all that she owned belonged to her husband, even her own existence. In exchange to her commitment, if a woman’s husband was away serving in the military or if she became a widower, she could use but not own, one-third of her husband’s property. This left her to manage the land and serve as a surrogate laborer in her husband’s absence. Needless to say, a day in a woman’s life then was filled with a full day of multi-tasking and as circumstances changed, more women had to adapt to their urban
The American Revolution had a significant impact on parts of society that included women, slaves, and Indians. Women actually played a significant role in the American Revolution, even if the proper place for a lady during that time was the home. The Cult of Domesticity agreed with this statement, believing women belonged in the home doing the chores and caring for the children. However, women were beginning to prove that they had a purpose beyond the home. Someone once made a woodcut statue of a patriot woman who was holding a gun and wearing a hat similar to what the men wore during the war (Doc A). Women were involved in the war as nurses, spies and aids. Some even cut their hair short and pretended to be
Before the Revolution, women were not allowed a voice in the political world. They almost had no rights, especially if they were married. They were granted fewer opportunities than men. Women were to stay at home care for the household and family. However, that soon began to change. When the Stamp Act was passed in 1765, it required colonist to pay a tax on every piece of printed-paper they used. Women refused to pay for the shipped items from the mother country, “The first political act of American women was to say ‘No’(Berkin 13). As from then, an uprising in issues began to unroll. Women began to seek their voice been heard and act out on problems that were uprising, such as the British Tea. As the war broke out, women’s lives changed even more. While men were in compact, they kept their families alive by managing the farms and businesses, something that they did not do before the war. As the fighting advanced, armies would rummage through towns, destroying homes and seizing food-leaving families with nothing. Women were attacked while their property was being stripped away from them; some women destroyed their own property to keep their family safe. “Women’s efforts to save the family resources were made more difficult by the demands of the military.
Some women enlisted in the army to fight on the battlefield. Their reasons varied as some fought for money and
The time before the Revolutionary War, women’s main role was in the home. They were the manufacturers of the home, taking raw materials and turning them into household goods. The women were the consumers and before the Revolution they led the boycotts against British goods. During the Revolutionary War, they became the men at home on top of the roles they already had. They became spies, nurses, propagandists, and even took over the battlefield.
Roberts says that if it weren’t for these women our lives today might very well be completely different then they are today. There still might have been poor and unsafe working conditions, unequal wages between men and women, and much more. These women were constantly fighting and influencing their husbands and important men around them to, as Abigail Adams said, “remember the ladies”. George Washington was a man that never forgot to recognize the ladies. Roberts provides a quote from George Washington where he is recognizing the men which we now call the Founding Fathers. He starts by giving credit to the men that formed our nation but also includes that the ladies played a huge role in shaping our country and they are the “best patriots America can boast”. Roberts concludes the book with that statement, which leaves the book at an ending that makes you stop and reflect on the real impact these women have had. Female activists were formed because of the bravery of these women and if it went for them, female activists might not have been as successful as they were. Roberts proves that these Founding Mothers were the foundation and stability behind our Founding
During the war, women played a vital role in the workforce because all of the men had to go fight overseas and left their jobs. This forced women to work in factories and volunteer for war time measures.
It was the middle of the American Revolution, and the Americans were finally winning. Women in the war were doing good too. The revolutionary war was different, because women could actually work in it. Many women worked as nurses during the war. Many leaders actually encouraged women to become nurses, because
Often historical events leading up to the twentieth century are dominated by men and the role of women is seemingly non-existent outside of reproduction. When one thinks of notable and memorable names and events of the Revolution, men are the first to be mentioned. The American Revolution was mainly dominated by men including George Washington, Samuel Adams, and Benjamin Franklin. There is no denying that men were vitally important to the American Revolution, but what were the women doing? Often overlooked, the women of the Revolution played a key role in the outcome of the nation. The women of the American Revolution, although not always recognized, were an influential society that assumed risky jobs like soldiers, as well as involvement
The role of women in the Early Republic is a topic mostly overlooked by historians when dealing with this era of American history. The triumphs of the Revolution and the early events of the new nation were done solely by men. However, women had their own political societies and even participated in the Revolution. Women's roles began to take a major turn after the war with Great Britain. This was due in part to their involvement in the war and female patriotism. Others believed it was due to the easier access to formal education for young women. Whatever the reason, it inspired women to challenge the social structure of the Early Republic. The roles of women were changing in the Early Republic. However, progress was slow and little change followed after the Revolution. This change in social structure elicited two questions. What caused this social change and what was the major setback for the progression of women's rights? These were the questions Linda Kreber's Women In The Republic: Intellect And Ideology In Revolutionary America, Caroline Robbins' review of Mary Norton's Liberty's Daughters: The Revolutionary Experience of American Women, and Sheila Skemp's review of Lucia McMahon's Mere Equals: The Paradox of Educated Women in the Early American Republic attempted to answer. Each of the pieces of literature agreed that the social equality of women was changing, but each offer a unique aspect of what changed it, and what slowed progression of equality.
They were the grease in the gears of war, the individuals working behind the scenes so that the men would be prepared, ready to fight with functioning weapons and operational gear. Many women decided not to stay at home and, rather, accompany their husbands or male relatives with the army. They "traveled with the army to sew, nurse, and wash clothes (Volo 170)." Again, the women did the dirty work to ensure the men were always relatively ready for battle.... ... middle of paper ... ...'
There would be no United States of America today if the American Revolution hadn’t started in 1775. Although the Patriots were able to beat the tyrannical rule of Great Britain, history books fail to acknowledge the role women played in the war. Women weren’t allowed to fight in wars like they are today; therefore, when the American Revolution is discussed women tend to go unnoticed as being influential. During the American Revolution women helped the war effort by spying on the British, writing literature that raised opposition, and forming organizations that provided for the Continental Army.
The document suggest about the role of women in the Revolutionary War is when the men go off to war the women stay home and do their work for the day “Women were actively involved in many aspects of the war for independence. Many men went off to war, leaving wives and daughters at home to do their former work, such as managing farms and shops” (Discovery Education 3.5 pg 3). The daughters and wives of the men stayed home to do their work at home. The women also learned to adjust to shortages of everyday goods “ when salt was scarce, women learned to use walnut ash to preserve meat” (Discovery Education 3.5 pg 3). The women and the daughters mostly did housework and farm work while the men went to war to fight.
The American Revolution changed women’s role in society. Women who ran the household in the absence of men became more assertive. Women were thought to be weaker then men. The country was thought of as a patriarchy. “A patriarchy is a social structure in which the father is the head of the household, and he has absolute authority over his wife and children” (Leach 2). The image of women being weak was challenged when women began to participate in the conflicts, whether it was helping soldiers or being nurses/caregivers. People perceived women as worthless and that they had no value. Men and women are created equal and nobody is more valuable than another. “With the growing emphasis being placed on republicanism, women were expected to help promote these values; they had a special role in raising the next generation” (Kerber 1). The women of this time period were a big influence of the next generation to come. What they did created a huge reflection on them. Equality was a big struggle faced back then and still to this day. The role of these women wasn’t embraced until later on. Women had a lot of responsibilities and that put a lot of pressure on them
Other ways that women helped in the Civil War were by being, cooks, daughters of regiments, flag bearers, laundresses, scouts, seamstresses, soldiers, spies, and vivandières also known as canteen carriers. There was some more jobs that women did to help. There were many women on the front. After the battle had cleared many soldiers would go and check to dead soldiers. More than likely there had been more than one female soldier dead. More than 400