Essay Sample on Women in the American Revolution: Activism and Impact

Introduction

The American Revolution is a revolt against colonial British powers which took place between the year 1765 and 1783 (Frey, Hoffman and Albert 310). This revolt led to British being defeated by the American patriots who had formed thirteen colonies with the assistance of France, winning America independence from The Great Britain and leading to the formation of the United States of America. Women activism and protests took a conspicuous role during the lead up to the revolution. This paper elaborates on the impact of women during this time, helping America win its independence.

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The key role of women this time was to manage the household, this enabled the patriotic women to come up with homespun movement where they had to avoid clothes made from British materials. To make this a success they engaged in traditional weaving where they came up with homespun clothes for the whole families.

Secondly, patriotic women also took part in serving the continental army by supplying them with the blankets. Some of them, for example, Jane Mecom, Benjamin Franklin's sister would occasionally be called to share her soap recipe. She would offer enlightenment of how to produce the soap. Avoiding British goods would help avoid direct taxes imposed on Americans (Noble).

Patriotic women also took a very vital role in serving soldiers with water during the war. In the story of Molly Pitcher for example, where a patriotic woman who is believed to have been Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley spending the most hours of her everyday morning serving the soldiers with water just before the battle started (Hays). Hays had discovered a spring where she could fetch water every morning (Frey, Hoffman and Albert 310). The Molly Pitcher nickname was given to several other women who took this vital role of serving soldiers with water. The Molly Pitcher image motivated other patriotic women to take a societal role that collectively played a very big role in the American Revolution.

Additionally, women also did poetic works that passed information to their children, besides, they also taught relevant information to the children since they were the home managers who had to take part in basically all parenting roles. The enlightenment acts brought by women led to more people understanding what was right and what was wrong therefore more patriots who understood that they were being oppressed were raised and they saw the need to act.

Women made nonconsumption and nonimportation a reality as they denounced skills, fabric items from the British. This helped the country avoid British taxation without representation, the stamp act. This is why The Great Britain realized it was becoming more dangerous with more patriotic women involved. For that reason, the society started to conceive it in their heads that women were equally strong and of great impact on society. In contrast, although women did a very vital role in this cause, they had back to assume the roles of both a mother and a father. Some of them had lost husbands and relatives in the war. They still had no farms. It was miserable for them.

Conclusion

In conclusion, as much as the patriotic women during the revolutionary era did not take part actively in the actual, they greatly contributed a great deal by serving the soldiers, taking care of families, and creating enlightenment leading to the American revolution.

Works Cited

Frey, Sylvia R., Ronald Hoffman, and Peter J. Albert. "Women In The Age Of The American Revolution. Perspectives on The American Revolution." The Journal of Southern History57.2 (1991): 310. Web.

Edlow, J. A. "Diagnosing Headache In The Emergency Department: What Is More Important? Being Right, or Not Being Wrong?" European Journal of Neurology, vol 15, no. 12, 2008, pp. 1257-1258. Wiley, DOI:10.1111/j.1468-1331.2008.02280.