Document 6.5 Christian Barnes, Letter to Elizabeth Inman, April 29, 1775
Document 6.6 Deborah Champion, Letter to Patience, October 2, 1775
Document 6.7 Abigail Adams, Letter to John Adams, March 31, 1776
Document 6.8 Esther De Berdt Reed, The Sentiments of an American Woman, 1780
Document 6.9 Elizabeth “Mum Bett” Freeman, 1811
Interpret the Evidence
What types of activities did female patriots undertake in the service of American independence (Documents 6.6, 6.7, 6.8, and 6.9)? What challenges did female loyalists face (Document 6.5)?
How did assumptions about the proper roles of elite white women prior to the war shape their experiences during the Revolution (Documents 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, and 6.8)?
How did Deborah Champion, Abigail Adams, Esther De Berdt Reed, and Bett (Elizabeth Freeman) create new opportunities for themselves during the Revolution, and how did they demonstrate their new roles in words or images (Documents 6.6, 6.7, 6.8, and 6.9)? How were these roles shaped by their race and class?
What dangers or limits did women face during the war (Documents 6.5, 6.7, and 6.9)?
How did women justify their public and political actions (Documents 6.6, 6.7, and 6.8)?
Put It in Context
How would you compare white women’s experiences of the American Revolution to those of African American and American Indian women and to the experiences of white men?
How did the efforts of patriot women shape the outcome of the war?
Exploring American HistoriesPrinted Page 204
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