Women's Role Of Women During The Revolutionary War

1100 Words3 Pages

The time before the Revolutionary War women’s main role was in the home. They were the manufactures 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 on the battlefield. After the Revolutionary War the push to go back to normalcy again put women back to where they were before the war as the household manufacturer. Inclusion during this time meant being allowed by society an independent and self-sustaining person. Inclusion also means being able to express an opinion and have that opinion be heard. Through the transition Women during the war ran farms and performed many jobs considered only for men, they were independent back at home. This all disappeared when the troops returned and the new country tried to get on to its feet. Some women remained in roles such as historians recounting the war and recording history. However, even this did not last long. The United States adopted concept of graduate school from Germany. Women were not allowed to attend graduate school and therefore many of the remaining roles women held that made them remotely included socially became professionalized (Berkin). Most of their work became invisible and the women were referred to as amateurs. Many historians consider to this time after the war as gender amnesia because everyone after the war forgot all the women did. Women barely were credited for their contributions. This amnesia caused the women to lose the little inclusion that had and not many fought this because of the urge to go back to normalcy (Berkin). If the need to become a strong and steady nation had not meant a push back to normalcy the women may not have been set back as much in terms of

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