Introduction
We're used to thinking of the American Revolution as the story of "Great Men." But women were active and engaged participants of every part of the war, and the full history of this time period is incomplete without these stories.
Examples of Primary Sources
NYPL Digital Collections Image ID: 485600
Eliza Wilkinson- Account of the Looting of Her Sister's Home by British Soldiers, available online
Phillis Wheatley- Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, available online
Mercy Otis Warren- The Adulateur, available online with a library card
Abigail Adams- John Adams and Abigail Adams letters, available online
More Archival Collections
To locate primary sources, consider archives with specialized collections.
- National Women's History Museum
- Women's History, Library of Congress
- Women's History, National Archives
- American Revolution Institute: Women in the Archives
- Daughters of the American Revolution Department of Archives and History
Or, search ArchiveGrid for archival collections of more than 1,400 institutions including libraries, museums, and historical societies.
Suggested Search Terms and Recommended Titles
Find resources in the NYPL Research Catalog by keyword searches or try the following subjects:
United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Women.
Women -- United States -- Social conditions -- 18th century.
Women -- Political activity -- United States -- History -- 18th century.
Want to find these books at a library near you? Try searching WorldCat!
Revolutionary Mothers by Call Number: JFE 05-2861ISBN: 1400041635Publication Date: 2005-02-01The American Revolution was a home-front war that brought scarcity, bloodshed, and danger into the life of every American, and Carol Berkin shows us that women played a vital role throughout the struggle. Berkin takes us into the ordinary moments of extraordinary lives. We see women boycotting British goods in the years before independence, writing propaganda that radicalized their neighbors, raising funds for the army, and helping finance the fledgling government. We see how they managed farms, plantations, and businesses while their men went into battle, and how they served as nurses and cooks in the army camps, risked their lives seeking personal freedom from slavery, and served as spies, saboteurs, and warriors.
Women in the American Revolution by Call Number: JFF 18-433ISBN: 9781476671963Publication Date: 2018-01-19Without the support of American women, victory in the Revolutionary War would not have been possible. They followed the Continental Army, handling a range of jobs that were usually performed by men. On the orders of General Washington, some were hired as nurses for $2 per month and one full ration per day--disease was rampant and nurse mortality was high. A few served with artillery units or masqueraded as men to fight in the ranks. The author focuses on the many key roles women filled in the struggle for independence, from farming to making saltpeter to spying.
Women Patriots in the American Revolution by Call Number: JFF 19-1010ISBN: 9780806358741Publication Date: 2018-08-02Historians and genealogists have mostly overlooked the role of women in the American Revolution, even though women's roles in working their farms, raising their children, and generally supporting the morale of the Patriot side were of great importance. The suffering of the men at Valley Forge, on the British prison ships, and during long marches is well documented; however, women also faced daily pain and hardship. Many times they watched their homes burn, were threatened with physical harm, or had to bury their loved ones. Women also faced dangers working as spies, nursing, boycotting British goods, publishing writings in support of the American cause, and, when necessary, defending their homes against attacks from the British or their allies.
