Founding Mothers: A Lost Historical Legacy

By Kyle Sondgeroth

AHTC Summer Institute 2008

The Constitutional Convention

As I entered this week’s workshop on the Constitutional Convention, a feeling of both comfort and awe rested in me. The feeling of comfort came from my naïve notion that I knew quite a bit about this era of history. The Revolutionary period of American history had always been a particular favorite of mine, both to study and teach. Additionally, I regarded the Revolutionary period with awe. I have long looked up to the larger-than-life historical figures of this era. Men such as Ben Franklin, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and my all-time favorite, Gouverneur Morris left me with feelings of respect, admiration, and overall appreciation for the works of these men. But what about the women of this time period?

While sitting at the workshop this week, those feelings were still resonating with me. That is until we heard Carol Berkin speak on Wednesday. Her keynote address suddenly changed my views toward this time period. It was as if I had been struck by a lighting bolt. Berkin addressed one particular, and often forgotten, aspect of this era. An aspect, or more specifically, a gender, that left me feeling neither comfortable nor awe-struck. I found that I, like most people, have simply lost the incredible historical significance that Revolutionary women so richly deserve. By examining a key primary document and connecting it to Berkin’s address, it is clear that the history of women during this era has been found, although it was never really lost.

Berkin did a splendid job of bringing the lost history of women to light during her address. As I thumbed through her book, Women’s Voices, Women Lives: Document in Early American History I came across a primary source written in 1780 by Esther DeBerdt Reed that sums up the frustrating legacy women in the new republic would one day encounter. She wrote this document for the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography as a call-to-action for her fellow American citizens. The piece is entitled “The Sentiments of an American Woman” and it can be found on pages 163-165 of Berkin’s book.

Reed begins her writing by explaining that the women of America have played a critical role in securing the independence of this great nation. Reed reminds her readers “the Women of America manifested a firm resolution to contribute as much as could depend on them, to the deliverance of this country.” (p. 163) Just as Carol Berkin stated in her lecture, the women of the American colonies were not just sitting in the house, performing typical domestic tasks, while the men fought for and created a new nation. They in fact, fought hand-in-hand with the men. Reed confirms Berkin’s assertions when she says “Women have been forgetting the weakness of their sex, building new walls, digging trenches with their feeble hands; furnishing arms to their defenders, they themselves darting missile weapons on the enemy.” (p. 163-164) Reed contends women have played a crucial role in the Revolution, sometimes becoming so close to the fighting they were dodging bullets and cannonballs right next to the men. As Berkin noted in her lecture, two women in the war actually did receive military pensions because they were wounded in battle. This is a simply amazing story that somehow escapes the typical historical accords of this era.

What does Reed want? It is an interesting question to ask, and upon repeated reading, it becomes clear she is really looking for the very thing that evades her gender for centuries: historical legacy. The middle of her letter leans heavily on famous historical references including biblical women, Roman female saviors, benevolent Queens, and even French women. She specifically refers to these women as “our allies” whose “flame of patriotism buried under long misfortunes” has just helped the Americans shake off the “odious yoke” of the British. (p. 164) Reed does not appear overly ambitious to secure voting rights for women nor does she mention property ownership, equal educational opportunities, divorce rights, or better pay. What Esther DeBerdt Reed wanted in the 18^th century is the same thing Carol Berkin is seeking in the 21^st century: some much-deserved historical appreciation for the role women played during the Revolution. Reed states in her writing: “But it has been said…in the course of a long war, the view of their distresses may be lost, and their services be forgotten. Forgotten! Never; I can answer in the name of all my sex.” (p. 164) Fortunately, we have intelligent women such as Carol Berkin who are dedicating their careers to making sure the works of women such as Esther DeBerdt Reed are not forgotten.

I chose this primary source to analyze for two of the basic emotions that I explained in the beginning of this reflective paper. One, I felt no level of comfort about the subject of women during the Revolutionary War because I had simply not encountered it in my studies or teaching. Two, I also felt no sense of awe in the way we have remembered women’s contributions compared to those of men during this same time period. I found it hard to believe that the same feelings of awe and respect for our Founding Fathers had been replaced by feelings of disbelief and sadness for our Founding Mothers. I wanted, in some way, to rededicate those feelings of admiration to the women of this time period. Therefore, I began to look through Women’s Voices, Women’s Lives for something I could connect to Carol Berkin’s lecture. Esther DeBerdt Reed’s letter was perfect because it not only captured the patriotism of women at the time, but it also beckoned for the historical legitimacy women of this time so richly deserve.

When I think about my classroom, I can see using this in a few ways. One of my favorite sayings is “history is written by the winners.” I think this is especially true when it comes to the opposite ways we have viewed Revolutionary men and women. We view the men of this period with reverence. We place their pictures on currency, name schools after them, and erect huge monuments in their honor. Yet women are left with very little appreciation for their role in the Revolution. I would use this source to begin my students on a road of critical thinking about history. I would first ask them to name some famous Revolutionary War heroes. I am sure that names such Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin would surface. I would then ask them to name some famous women from this same time period. Odds are not one name would come up. We could then begin a very frank discussion on the role of women during the war and why their legacy seems to have been left out of our country’s history.

I would also use this primary source to remind them how history is constantly being re-written. Women such as Carol Berkin are a shining example of how persistence and dedication to a cause can bring voice to a history written over two centuries ago. Although the letters of women such Esther DeBerdt Reed may have been largely ignored at the time, modern women such as Berkin are bringing them back to life. Students need to understand that history is a living, breathing entity. The role of women during the Revolutionary War may have been thought to be dead, but people like Carol Berkin are resurrecting it. This gives hope and courage to students of another generation to do the same. It in fact may one day instill the same feelings of comfort and awe in the women of the Revolution that the men have enjoyed for years.