Women in the American Revolution: Gender, Politics, and the Domestic World

by Barbara B. Oberg (editor)

Building on a quarter century of scholarship following the publication of the groundbreaking Women in the Age of the American Revolution, the engagingly written essays in this volume offer an updated answer to the question, What was life like for women in the era of the American Revolution? The contributors examine how women dealt with years of armed conflict and carried on their daily lives, exploring factors such as age, race, educational background, marital status, social class, and region. For patriot women the Revolution created opportunities―to market goods, find a new social status within the community, or gain power in the family. Those who remained loyal to the Crown, however, often saw their lives diminished―their property confiscated, their businesses failed, or their sense of security shattered. Some essays focus on individuals (Sarah Bache, Phillis Wheatley), while others address the impact of war on social or commercial interactions between men and women. Patriot women in occupied Boston fell in love with and married British soldiers; in Philadelphia women mobilized support for nonimportation; and in several major colonial cities wives took over the family business while their husbands fought. Together, these essays recover what the Revolution meant to and for women.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, American Revolution

280 pages, Hardcover

First published May 24, 2019

About the author

Barbara B. Oberg, senior research scholar at Princeton University, was general editor of The Papers of Thomas Jefferson from 1999 to 2014.

Reviews

[Amanda Knox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good little collection. It spans women's professions, skin color, socioeconomic statuses, and political devotions. I found the first essay on midwifery the most compelling.

[Cam Larsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read on various women of the mid-late 1700s. As mentioned in the text, women aren’t typically written about from this era or in traditional historical nonfiction works, so this was a refreshing narrative. This isn’t a single author novel, but rather a compilation of various “essays” written from different authors. I will avoid this style of writing in the future as I much prefer a single author writing, although this didn’t impact my rating on this book. The essays themselves seem like they were all written as part of a writing requirement for a doctorate level course on History of American Women or similar. The essays are not as polished as traditional nonfiction works and follow the predictable intro, body, conclusion format reiterating the points made in the beginning and the ending. This can be a little annoying and repetitive when in a 10 page chapter, a half page in the beginning, middle, and ending are almost verbatim the same. It really made me think about the differences between a historian and a more experienced historical author.

The women written about are interesting and definitely extraordinary for the time, however had the same characters been male it’s skeptical they would ever have published text about them. Needless to say, the resolve of the female subjects is remarkable given the patriarchal system of the age.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating glimpse into the lives of women from various walks of life during the era of the American Revolution. This series of essays covers different aspects of women's lives - from women who worked in one of the few fields considered "respectable" work for females, to women across the political spectrum (from Patriot to Loyalist), and from enslaved women to women who enjoyed at least some elements of freedom. A very interesting read.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting information