With the impending 250th anniversary of American independence, much of the focus will be on the Founding Fathers. Women, however, were critical to the success of both the resistance movement against Great Britain and in winning the War for Independence.
Historian Rosemarie Zagarri, distinguished university professor at George Mason University, examines the role of women in the American Revolution, including ordinary women who participated in boycotts against Great Britain as well as more educated women who supported the patriotic cause. Zagarri focuses on Mercy Otis Warren, who wrote plays satirizing British tyranny; Phillis Wheatley, the enslaved poet who won her freedom during the Revolution; and Abigail Adams, who reminded her husband, politician John Adams, to "Remember the Ladies" when making laws for the new nation. She also draws connections between early women’s activism and later efforts to expand women’s rights.
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