Founding Mothers by Linda Grant De Pauw

First published: 1975; illustrated

Subjects: Gender roles, jobs and work, social issues, and war

Type of work: History

Time of work: 1776-1787

Recommended Ages: 15-18

Locale: Colonial America (later the United States)

Principal Personages:

• Abigail Adams, the wife of Patriot leader John Adams and an advocate for women’s rights
• Martha Washington, George Washington’s wife, who helped coordinate the “Association” that raised money for soldier’s needs
• Daughters of Liberty, a group of women who organized to support the Patriot cause
• Mary Hays, a woman who fought with the Continental soldiers after her husband was wounded at the Battle of Monmouth and became known as “Molly Pitcher”
• Deborah Sampson, a soldier in the Continental Army disguised as “Robert Shurtluff”
• Phillis Wheatley, a slave who became the first published black female poet
• Sybil Ludington, a sixteen-year-old girl who rounded up her father’s militia to fight the British in Danbury, Connecticut
• Mercy Otis Warren, a playwright and historian who became an active Patriot propagandist

Form and Content

Since half of the American population in the revolutionary era were women, it is fitting to study the roles that they played and how they influenced the formation of the country. In Founding Mothers: Women of America in the Revolutionary Era, Linda Grant De Pauw has supplemented extensive historical research with excerpts from primary source material, such as diaries, newspapers, and books. Working from the premise that women of this tumultuous era had more opportunity to participate in various occupations and roles than those who followed in the nineteenth century, De Pauw dispels the notion of women in the revolutionary era as “the weaker sex.” Founding Mothers presents the stories and words of women of different lifestyles, ethnic backgrounds, social classes, and political affiliations. It is a major step in looking at the past without gender biases.

The first three chapters of the book look at women’s world in general: marriage and the responsibilities of caring for the domestic triad of home, husband, and children. This examination includes women’s financial contributions, as they stemmed primarily from household industry. Women’s legal rights, especially pertaining to marriage and property, are also outlined. Chapters 4 and 5 show some of the ethnic diversity of the population in the revolutionary era. Black women (mainly slaves) and American Indian women (a vital element to their societies) were a part of this era, but they are usually discussed collectively with their white sisters. Political beliefs underscore the lives of Loyalist women and Daughters of Liberty in the next two chapters. The book concludes with the impact of the war itself on women and their rights, which ironically seemed to fade following the American victory. A detailed index and table of contents help the reader locate specific data. A supplemental reading list of books and articles, divided by chapter topics and fairly contemporary to De Pauw’s work, is included. No references are provided for the material cited in the text itself. Wood engravings, skillfully crafted by Michael McCurdy, introduce each chapter. This artistic medium was common in the revolutionary period and visually supports the content of the text. There are no drawings, paintings, or engravings of the women themselves.

Critical Context

Linda Grant De Pauw is a professor of history at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and most of her writing is scholarly, but she has written several books for juvenile readers. Founding Mothers, her first book, was written especially for the American bicentennial celebration in 1976 and was named an American Library Association Notable Book and a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. These awards surprised De Pauw because she did not consider herself a juvenile author.

Founding Mothers is included in sales materials of the National Women’s History Project, headquartered in Windsor, California, and is often cited in books about women’s history written for adults.

Building on a theme she introduced in that book, De Pauw wrote Seafaring Women (1982), which chronicles the stories of women who went to sea—some in traditional roles (the wives of whalers and traders) and some mastering the sea as pirates and sailors. The author again punctuated her research with excerpts from letters and journals, and her chapter on seagoing careers should entice would-be sailors among young women.

Although De Pauw has not been a prolific writer for adolescents, she has made a significant contribution to their literature. By raising awareness of women’s roles in America’s past, she made evident the parallels to current views of women’s rights and roles. Moreover, her differentiation of women’s roles according to ethnicity and social class provides a more realistic overview of women’s contributions to society. Finally, because students generally prefer reading stories rather than factual data, nonfiction is often viewed as the stepchild of fiction, an opinion also precipitated by the lack of quality nonfiction. While De Pauw’s style of writing reflects her scholarly background, the fascinating information and anecdotes that she includes will entertain and act as a springboard for additional reading.