Carol Berkin's Revolutionary Mothers

Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America’s Independence by Carol Berkin, is based on the argument that the American Revolutionary War is a story of both men and women. According to Berkin, Women, same as men, played a vital role in freeing the American people from the British colonialists in many ways that most history books never lets out, but even if they ever care to mention, their role is often greatly romanticized. In this book, the author proves that women actually played a critical part in the Revolution by documenting a social history that lays focus on the women of the time. Native Americans, colonial white women, and the African-American women of all social classes, and regardless of the sides they took in the long struggle between the Patriots and the Loyalist have been covered in great details. To cut the long story short, Ms. Berkins has done a stellar job in presenting the
Berkin has gone just to prove her argument and to make her work credible. A total of 211 footnotes has been used in the 180 pages of this book. The footnotes are references to extensive literature that the author has borrowed from. Quite evident, is her use of primary sources that ranges from memoir, letters of correspondence, and personal diaries. Records from the colonial associations, legal opinion, and news articles of that time are also some of the resources that have been widely used. On the other hand, quotes from historical books that pays attention to women and their unique contribution to the Revolutionary War, and biographies of individuals who lived during this period, have also been cited as part of the secondary sources. It is also worth noting that most of these books were published in the 1800s through to mid-1900s. The sources shade more light on the lives and perspectives of women in the country’s fight for independence and serves to authenticate this book as an accurate and reliable academic