Summary Of Carol Berkin's 'Revolutionary Mothers'
Daniel Mitchell
Mr. Domingue
History 1301
September 27, 2014
Courageous Women In the book Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America’s Independence, author Carol Berkin provides a voice for the women of the American Revolution. Berkin exposes the war through the eyes of patriot and loyalist, American and British, Native American and African-American women. In doing so, the author permits the reader to comprehend the war not as black and white, but rather in shades of grey. Berkin reasons “it is important to tell the story of the revolution and its aftermath with the complexity it deserves” (Berkin, xi). The ultimate goal of the book explains the impact women had on the outcome of the Revolutionary War. In the seventeenth century, women had the task of maintaining the household and the garden, and processing raw materials, such as food …show more content…
Many ethnicities faced difficulties during the American Revolution. Native Americans chose to fight for the British or the Americans, in hopes that the winning side would reward land. During the war, the Iroquois Confederacy, the Mohawks, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Seneca fought for Great Britain, while the Oneidas and Tuscaroras fought for America. The wives of Loyalists, American colonists who remained loyal to the British Empire, suddenly found themselves alienated in a place they once called home. The single most interesting story in the book describes Loyalist Frederika von Riedesel, the wife of a German general who fought in the pivotal Battle of Saratoga. The von Riedesel family endured captivity, and long forced travels. Eventually, Frederika befriended Thomas Jefferson during a stay in Virginia and returned to Europe, with the good will of major players on both sides of the
Mr. Domingue
History 1301
September 27, 2014
Courageous Women In the book Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America’s Independence, author Carol Berkin provides a voice for the women of the American Revolution. Berkin exposes the war through the eyes of patriot and loyalist, American and British, Native American and African-American women. In doing so, the author permits the reader to comprehend the war not as black and white, but rather in shades of grey. Berkin reasons “it is important to tell the story of the revolution and its aftermath with the complexity it deserves” (Berkin, xi). The ultimate goal of the book explains the impact women had on the outcome of the Revolutionary War. In the seventeenth century, women had the task of maintaining the household and the garden, and processing raw materials, such as food …show more content…
Many ethnicities faced difficulties during the American Revolution. Native Americans chose to fight for the British or the Americans, in hopes that the winning side would reward land. During the war, the Iroquois Confederacy, the Mohawks, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Seneca fought for Great Britain, while the Oneidas and Tuscaroras fought for America. The wives of Loyalists, American colonists who remained loyal to the British Empire, suddenly found themselves alienated in a place they once called home. The single most interesting story in the book describes Loyalist Frederika von Riedesel, the wife of a German general who fought in the pivotal Battle of Saratoga. The von Riedesel family endured captivity, and long forced travels. Eventually, Frederika befriended Thomas Jefferson during a stay in Virginia and returned to Europe, with the good will of major players on both sides of the