Liberty's Daughters: The Revolutionary Experience of American Women, 1750-1800

by Mary Beth Norton

First published in 1980 and recently out of print, Liberty's Daughters is widely considered a landmark book on the history of American women and on the Revolution itself.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, American Revolution, American Revolutionary War, Womens Studies, Womens

408 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best Little Free Library acquisition in a while. This was a really satisfying deep-dive into what life was like for American women in the late 1700's. Norton obviously did a whole hell of a lot of research - I'm impressed with how organized and eloquent she is with her presentation of her findings. We get to read snippets of several letters and diaries written by white women, and there's a respectable amount of informed consideration about the experiences of enslaved black women. (That's awkwardly put on my part, because according to the author, there are no surviving letters or diaries from these women.) This was engaging and entertaining reading, all the more so for me, because I didn't think I particularly cared about this time period. Turns out, this is when American feminism first started to wake up. Little seeds of thought starting to germinate.

[Belinda Vlasbaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,25 stars - English Ebook

Review follows later.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastically researched book on the experiences of women during the Revolutionary War. I was enthralled with the book from start to finish and found it wildly interesting. Norton sets the book up nicely in her introduction, and continues to tie her chapters in throughout the book. Wonderful read, should be required reading for every women's historian.

[Mathew Powers · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I mentioned on my review for Linda Kerber's Women of the Republic, this book should be read with Kerber's together. They are both brilliant books. Any book can be seen to have a flaw or two, but they are both, overall, brilliant pieces of scholarship and excellent reads.

[ANGELIA · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good book. I learned a lot about women in one of my fav time periods. I like he way Ms. Norton uses excerpts from actual letters and diaries, rather than just give historic information and her own opinion/interpretation. She looks at things from different viewpoints, covers a broad range of experiences (courtship, marriage, childbirth and rearing, domestic chores, outside work, and careers) as well as diverse backgrounds (urban, rural, Patriot, Loyalist, free white women, black enslaved women) and gives their different perspectives on similar situations, leaving room for individuality and not making any ironclad claims. As is the case in any time period, there are some very happy people, others who are much less so, with most falling somewhere in between.

It's like taking a step back in time, one well worth taking.

[Dr. Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as history books go, this one was not a favorite. It seemed that Mary Beth Horton wrote a dissertation on steroids with her thorough and exhaustive research. She organized the many letters found during her research into cohesive themes, but oh my the names! Horton wrote Liberty’s Daughters under the assumption that we are all as familiar with these historical figures as she. But, we are not. The huge take-away from this book for me was the realization that during times of war, the situation of women improves. “Rosie the Riveter” meet “Eliza the Entrepreneur”!

[Kristina Conrad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this up from the Guilford courthouse military park. What a fantastic read. So exciting to find out that women in 1790s were spreading radical ideas about marriage and child-rearing. What a testament to progress being non-linear. What you gain can be easily lost if you stop fighting for it.

It wasn't exactly the book I was looking for, but nonetheless, Im so pleased I picked it up that day.

[Shannon Owens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the numerous women that Norton brought into the book. Liberty's Daughters was informative and easy to read.

[Matthew Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary Beth Norton is the Xamot to Linda Kerber’s Tomax

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

New insights into how the experience of women in the now US was different because of the unique circumstances of the Revolutionary war. Very interesting and informative, if a bit dry.

[Sachie Nimtz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's a great examination of how the revolutionary War changed the perception of women's role in public sphere. Well researched. Highly recommend.

[Rachel Bernstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

honestly, the secondary source that i use for most of my paper.
READ FOR: HIST413

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

because of the title and where I saw the book recommended I thought it would be a collection of memories/stories of experiences relating directly to the American Revolution.

[Sue Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read about women's roles during the Revolutionary War.

[Mike Emett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Required for Colonial America Reading Seminar Ph.D. course.

[Kaufmak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book. When your work is still considered one of the standards for women's history in the Early Republic, you've done something special. I took one star away because it was a bit slow at the beginning. I know that the early chapters were to establish a starting point to define the cultural shift that occurred during and after the war, they were just a bit more of a slog than the rest of the book. If you feel Ill-informed about the place of women in early US History, this is the place to start.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Literally, a good read. It can be a bit dry in places, but the information being conveyed is so different from what you see elsewhere that you keep going. Colonial women are among the hardest to find information on, so it's amazing how much detail is given about daily activities and their life experiences in general. It's also organized pretty much perfectly; if you're looking for a specific piece of information, you'll know exactly where to go with out much searching.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary Beth Norton is one of America's finest historians. Her work in women's history has been simply outstanding, and doubtlessly has influenced our collective consciousness pertaining to women's contributions to our republic's rich history.

Liberty's Daughters represents Norton's first major foray into the experience of American women during the Revolutionary era.

[Cyndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very informative and well written book about the lives and growth of American women during the revolutionary war. It shows the search for independence of women taking seed. How can a country take its independence without it's occupants doing the same?

[Katie Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

For claiming to describe the Revolutionary experience for America's women, I expected more from Mary Beth Norton.

[Elizabeth Scheller Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very dry reading but extremely informative to an 1812 distaff reenactor.

[Doris Raines · Rating 2 out of 5]

A. Good. Title. There. Is. Know. Reading. Know. Reading. Know. Book. Missing. Words. Where. Is. The. Details.

[A.L. Waddington · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the women who shaped our world today. A great read!