Carol Berkin Revolutionary Mothers Summary

“Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America’s Independence” By Carol Berkin portrays the lives of women during the Revolutionary War. The book touches on the parts of war that aren’t usually talked about including stories of women who were raped, murdered, and had everything taken from them, but continued to and live with bravery and courage. It views the struggle through the eyes of the women whom were in the middle of the prolonged violent conflict of the war.
The Author, Carol Berkin, lives in New York City specializing in the history of American Women. She is the professor of American history at Baruch College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Her other illustrations include, A brilliant Solution:

Inventing the American Constitution, First Generations, and Jonathan Sewall. Berkin received her B.A from Barnard College and her M.A. and Ph.D from Columbia University where she was also given the Bancroft Dissertation Award.
Those who are interested in the roles of women back in the time period of the Revolutionary war would enjoy pursuing this book.

Carol Berkin’s theme of writing takes a twist. She has a standpoint of feminism and the focus of women’s significance in wartime undertakings. In historical books many of the same stories from the Revolutionary War are accounted for and follow a similar theme, but Revolutionary Mothers attracts readers who are fascinated in the deeper life behind the battlefields.
Berkin brings the book to life through these women’s individual stories using quotes and anecdotes. The sources, references, and documents allow the readers to be pulled into the factual ideas of the past. She uses documents such as Directives from the American Command, The Book of Negroes, and the Philipsburg Proclamation. The sources help reader’s to become more understanding of if and why they were supporters of either the British or the

Americans.
Within the book, readers get to experience what life was like for the fortunate and the less fortunate women. People tend to learn the general basics about the Revolutionary war, but the mention of women in the era is very slim. What makes Revolutionary Mothers “new,” is its focus and recognition of both genders, men and women. When writing this book, Berkin was not trying to find reasons as to why women had more important roles than men, but rather to tell of how females dealt with the war themselves. She wanted to make a point and create a way for readers to become aware of some of the details that are not always talked about in history. Without women, the war would have a totally different outlook.
In the Revolutionary War there was no specified date as to when women made their big appearance. Chapter one’s main focal point is around the idea that women played the role as a wife who cooperates and obeys as well as a caretaker and mother to the children they bore. After battle began, many women felt as if there was something they should be able to contribute. They wanted to be strong protectors and leaders of groups. Even through their strive to become well known and active in society, they remained with the same stereotypical title, helpers and followers of men. “A women’s truths was that God had created her to be a helpmate to man and Nature had formed her for this purpose.” (Berkin 4). Women had the tasks of cooking, cleaning, and providing clothing for her family. They faced the struggle of being trapped into what society said women were good for.
The battles took place not only in the fields, but also in the places where population existed. Husbands left their wives in order to enlist in the war. This caused women to have to take over men’s duties at their homes. They were in charge of tending to the crops, cattle, and heavy lifting jobs that were not hard for the men to do, but for women, it was often brutal. Children were still in need of the same mother figure to keep them safe and nourished through the hard times. Women were forced to have their houses prepared to house soldiers throughout the war as well. In many places towns and houses that belonged to these women’s families were robbed and destructed. Soldiers would force entry and often raped and killed the women whom had been inside. Even in times of trouble, women had to put on a face of bravery and confront these war time problems alone in order to be strong figures for their children and peers to view to help prevent much distress.
Those of the women who did not want to stay back at home due to reasons such as belongings being obstructed, followed the soldiers.

They were known as, “camp followers.” Most were in poor situations and longed for a different approach to life, so they wanted to proceed by following the troops. Some were obedient to generals commands, but many were not. Those that obey, served as either washers, cooks, nurses, or some tended the sexual needs of the men. Those who did not obey were looked upon by the soldiers as, “living pieces of ‘baggage.’” (Berkin 51). They only had the clothing items that they brought with them at the beginning of their connection with the camps. Because there was shortage of clothing, they were forced to use the remaining clothing that was stripped off of soldiers who had fallen and

passed.
General’s wives had much better lives. They were still in distress due to separation from their husband’s for very long periods of time, but they were treated very well. Many of these general’s wives made trips to visit their husbands due to separation for too long. On their journeys to their husbands, they received much like royal treatment. They were granted extravagant places to sleep and much nourishment.
The American population consisted of both patriots and loyalists. Those of the women who supported the British lost the right to live in their homeland. A large number of families withdrew to England. In contrary to American women, Native American women had more involvement and less of a title of being helpmates to men. When Americans claimed victory of the war, the native women’s role in society became much like the whites. The African-American women had lives of struggle throughout the war. Britain offered the slaves a reward of freedom due their participation in helping the British fight. Many accepted this offer, but those who did not remain slaves and still lived lives in harsh predicaments.
Women faced roles as spies and couriers to discover and retrieve information to help the different troops in the Revolutionary War. Attributions of this heroism usually went to men. Women often don’t receive much recognition of this bravery. “What is less well known is that women and girls earned a place in the pantheon of heroes too.” (Berkin 135). If one of these spies were to be discovered they were to be punished. In comparison to men, many women showed signs of having less fear than men.
The Revolutionary War proved to be a time where women gained some independence that they didn’t have prior to the battles. When war was over however, society mainly went back to the way it was before. Women whose husband’s survived, became helpmates to their men again. Men continued to hold dominance over women.
Berkin’s use of pictures at the beginning of each chapter are not necessary, but they can be helpful to readers who like to imagine what the setting might have looked like. When reading this novel, readers can easily catch on to the bias that Carol Berkin strongly believes that women were not given the treatment they deserved. Women played great roles and are not recognized for their duties as they should be. Revolutionary Mothers is full of facts, stories, and experiences that these women encountered during one the most important time eras in history. Without women, the outcome of the war and how history stands today, could be completely different.