The author Carol Berkins was born on the first of October 1942 in Mobile, Alabama, and She is a divorced mother of two, a daughter and a son. She is a history professor, Emerita, of Baruch College, and she was also employed as a commentator for many television history documentaries. Carol Berkins got her B.A. from the College Barnard in 1964 and her Ph.D. from Columbia. Her publications include Revolutionary Mothers, which became her first publication. Another publication was A Brilliant Solution which was awarded the Colonial Dames of America. She received The Bancroft Dissertation Award from the Bancroft enterprise and also a conveyance from the National Assurance for the humanities. Berkins felt that someone needed to tell the truth about America, which motivated her to write her books. She also wanted to offer all daughters a chance to claim the resourceful and strong women as their heroes.
In this book, Revolutionary Mothers, Carol Berkins majorly shows the vital role women played during the American Revolution war and America’s real struggle before independence. The ladies were the most diligent at home; they raised capital for the fledgling country. Women were arranging patronage of the British wares, and they managed the family business while striving to keep the normality of having a husband around but minimally. This is because husbands, fathers, and brothers had died during the war. The book sheds light on the real struggle and shedding of blood that Americans went through during their struggle for independence and prompted its publication. Carol Berkins also shows what happened after the war, more so where the women were not given equal rights as their husbands during the drafting of the constitution.
The problems that the Americans, in general, went through are also brought out in this British army, were brutal, which led to a lot of Americans losing their lives. There was no proper communication between the troop members or even with the commander. There was an insufficient supply of needs, no suitable clothes for them, and no capital for them to purchase. Widows were left behind with children to tend to orphaned children were also left behind with nothing since a lot of property was destroyed too during the war. People were left with permanent scars to be remembered for good. For example, Margaret Corbon got an injury that was to stay, which led to her compensation. Poor weather conditions were another problem, mainly when they fought during winter. This brought about the risk of freezing since there were no proper warm clothes to put on. Women risked their sanity when they went to work at the military camps where some military men wanted to take advantage of their desperate situations to have sex with them. Some agreed because that was the only way they could feed their children.
The first weakness of this book Revolution Mothers, is that the way Berkins portrays the war is too ambiguous. She shows that the women were too frightened with their husbands at war, and they went ahead to beg them to come home. They were so distressed with their poverty too. “The kids will die of hunger, or they might freeze due to the bad weather condition without a proper shed, we do not need food neither can we get any-please to come home,” wrote one of the distressed solder’s wives. Due to poverty, women decided that they would no longer stay at home, so they followed their husbands to the military units where they did all the work, especially the house chores. Cooking and cleaning was their primary job, but few went to the battlefield like Margaret Corbin and Deborah Sampson, to the extent that Margaret was permanently injured.2 This is clearly shown after the war because the women could not fight to be given equal rights as men meaning that how they are portrayed during the war is a clear exaggeration.
The second weakness of this book is that the strength of women shown during the war was not shown after independence. Carol Berkins appreciates women’s qualities such as mental strength, physical strength, courage, and resourcefulness. However, the women did not show these qualities at the end of the war; they did not rise to demand equal rights when the constitution was drafted. Their effort to reach out to be given equal rights as those of their male counterparts was weak. They thought that their attempt to help the men whose job was to run the country was little. Adam Smith suggested “Remember the ladies” to the political leaders, but no one among the political leaders considered this suggestion as they made the laws. We as readers are left wondering where the courage, mental toughness, and physical strength that women went. They could have applied the strength and unity they had during the war after the end of chaos.
The first strength of this book is that it shows the actual capability of women. Ladies are regarded as weakling in society and as dependent on men. Carol Berkins portrays what women can do as she clearly states their contribution towards the struggle for independence. Carol Berkins also used quotes to help readers know women’s intentions and why they were giving support to either America or Britain. Women going to work in military camps clearly shows their determination to earn something to feed their children. She also shows how some women participated in the war, for example, Margaret Corbon, who was injured permanently. From the source “Revolution of women, “Carol Berkins tries to show that women were heroes in their way and not as they were assigned their roles.” Adam Smith, a woman, also made an effort to tell the political leaders to remember the ladies while making the new constitution.
The second strength is that it shows the real struggle that America went through before independence. America is the most prestigious country with the commander, challenging weather conditions, lack of supplies like food, clothes, and money. Leaving their poverty-stricken families behind was also a challenge. “I am without bread, “one of the wives left behind wrote to the husband at war. This shows why America decided to unite to eradicate their infringing poverty and that building present America was not easy. A massive area was left from the war, and the paper money that was given had no virtual value. The British started to occupy the old forts in the Northwest to contravene the peace treaty that was supposed to end the war in 1973. People tend to think that it has been smooth for the Americans from scratch, that they had no struggle against something or any challenge to overcome. Carol Berkins brings out the natural face before independence how the Americans were stricken by poverty. The troops had to suffer leadership miscommunications during the war.
Racism is brought out in this book since the Black people were committed during the war they fought on the American side at the battlefield; even those enslaved still sided with the Americans. In Virginia alone, there were more than 150 black men who fought in the state navy. The Americans used them as wagoners, cooks, waiters, pilots, and non-disabled seamen. There was hope for the black men after independence was announced by the government because Congress had started a policy to exclude the black people from the army, yearning for freedom was rising. Fifty years after the Americans had defeated the Britains, they forgot the Black peoples’ participation in the fight for liberty; they were not even appreciated after the war. No single speaker during the 1876 Centennial Celebration of Revolution in Philadephia acknowledged the black people.
Some important lessons can be drawn from this book. First, we learn the place of women in society. Women were brought out as helpers; they cooked for the military men at the military camps. The women cleaned, mended clothes, washed, and provided medical help when there was a need. Sometimes they were forced to go to the battlefields to help their husbands. Women also participated in agriculture to ensure the Men at war stayed healthy. We also learn that there is victory after every struggle. America is regarded as the most developed country globally with the most prosperous economy. The living standards of the people are high as compared to other nations. Habits that may hinder development, such as corruption and laziness, are shunned to ensure that no one is left behind to suffer. After their brutal war during their struggle for independence, after shedding a lot of blood and losing their loved ones, they were to attain their goal.
We also learn the importance of unity; the women united to boycott the British goods, contributing positively to their independence struggle. The importance of consistency is also brought out the women were not consistent with their strength and power after the war, so they were not given equal rights as their male counterparts. The book added to my knowledge of historical events, especially where the women had to boycott the British goods, where some women went to the battlefields, where they left their homes to go and look for jobs in military camps. I was also able to learn about what happened after the war, especially the constitution’s drafting. I can recommend this book to another history class because it has brought out the real America hidden behind the excellent and fancy economy. It has also brought out how countries had to fight brutally to free themselves from their colonizers’ chains. It will not only increase their knowledge of history but also teach them life skills. Working in unity, perseverance, patience is some of the life skills drawn from this book.
Bibliography
B. Oppenheimer, Steven. 2019. “Motivating College Students: Evidence From 20 Years Of Anonymous Student Evaluations”. Higher Education Research 4 (2): 42.
Berkins, C., 2005. Revolutionary Mothers. [online] Downloads.cs.stanford.edu. Web.
McCartney, Margaret. 2017. “Margaret Mccartney: Alarm Overload Makes A Difficult Job Harder.” BMJ, j3593.