Crane & Zagarri: Impact of the American Revolution on Women

ELAINE FORMAN CRANE, HISTORIAN, EBB TIDE IN NEW ENGLAND: WOMEN, SEAPORTS, AND SOCIAL CHANGE, 1630–1800, PUBLISHED IN 1998: “The revolutionary moment was neither radical nor a watershed for American women. Those who disregard America’s commitment to patriarchal rule and plead for a historical interpretation that favors enlightened exceptionalism have overlooked the conditions that made large-scale change all but impossible at that time and place.”_____________________________________________________________________________

ROSEMARIE ZAGARRI, HISTORIAN, REVOLUTIONARY BACKLASH: WOMEN AND POLITICS IN THE EARLY AMERICAN REPUBLIC, PUBLISHED IN 2007: “The coming of the American Revolution . . . created new opportunities for women to participate in politics. Responding to men’s appeals, women engaged in a variety of actions in support of the revolutionary cause, which led women to experience a greater sense of connection to and involvement with the polity. After the war their political contributions were praised, celebrated, and remembered. . . . Women now were seen as political beings who had the capacity to influence the course of war, politics, and history.”