Women and the American Revolution

Excerpts from the Paper

Women and the American Revolution
The American Revolution was probably the most important event in the history of the United States. The revolutionary war eventually resulted in the creation of the United States of America. It was a period of ideological and social excitement in which anything seemed possible for the new country.
Many researchers have debated about the political, social and economic effects of the American Revolution on certain groups within American society at the time. In particular the effect of the American Revolution on women has been very contentious. Some researchers believe that the American revolution was positive for women. Other researchers believe that it was actually negative for women.
This essay will examine...

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In conclusion, Mary Beth Norton and Joan Hoff-Wilson provide different interpretations of the effect of the American Revolution on women. Although Norton makes some strong arguments she appears to have failed to realize the real source of the phenomena. Hoff-Wilson clearly demonstrates that these phenomena were actually demographically dependent and not based on the increasing economic, political or social power of women.
Bibliography
Hoff-Wilson, Joan “The Negative Impact of the American
Revolution” in The American Revolution, Northern
Illinois University Press, 1976: 90-101.
Norton, Mary Beth “The Positive Impact of the American
Revolution” excerpted from Chapters 6 and 7 of Liberty’s
Daughters, Little, Brown and Company, 1980: 101-111.