The American Revolution had a deep effect on the philosophical underpinnings of American society. One such effect the Revolution and its democratic ideals had was on the roles of American women played within society.
The Republican Motherhood evolved as a concept during this period, reflecting the importance of republicanism as a dominant American ideology. Because the concept of republicanism required a virtuous citizenry on which a successful republic could then rest, women were perceived as fulfilling an essential role in the household, instilling children with values conducive to a healthy republic. Republicanism also affected a wife’s relationship with her husband, with virtues such as love and affection becoming more essential to the ideal marital relationship than obedience and subservience.
Because of women’s roles during the Revolution, whether they contributed to the war effort via fundraising or stepped in to run a family business in the absence of a male relative, many historians argue that an ongoing debate on the rights of women was begun. Indeed, the 1787 U.S. Constitution does not mention the term “man”, but rather “persons” or “people”. Due to the increased emphasis placed on women’s civic duties within the home, the environment was also more favorable to women’s participation in politics as well as the further education of women. For example, The Gleaner, a three-volume book of political essays and plays self-published in 1798 by Judith Sargent Murray, became a minor classic and was read by George Washington and John Adams. Historian Rosemarie Zagarri argues that in the post-Revolutionary period, a “comprehensive transformation in women’s rights, roles, and responsibilities seemed not only possible but perhaps inevitable”.
Nonetheless, many of the gains made by women during the war did not remain permanent or lead to further strides in women’s rights in the immediate follow up to the war. Women still found themselves subordinated, legally and socially, to their husbands. Furthermore, the opening of possibilities also engendered a blacklash that some argue set back the cause of women’s rights and led to greater marginalization of women within the realm of politics.
American Indian Women
The American Revolution was particularly disruptive to American Indian women who found themselves displaced from the traditional social roles as a result of war-related upheavals and American policy. Post-Revolutionary guidelines called for the “civilization” of American Indian people, which according to the American government entailed shifting American Indian societies from hunting-based to agricultural-based. The irony in this stated policy was the American government’s ignorance as to American Indian societal practices in which agriculture was a widely spread practice, mostly spearheaded by American Indian women. However, the American government overlooked American Indian women’s contributions to the socioeconomic sphere completely due to the belief held by many policymakers that farming could not be significant enough within American Indian society if women were the main contributors to its operation. As a result, American policy focused on encouraging American Indian women to take up spinnign and weaving and forcing men to farm reversing gender roles and causion severe social problems.
African American Women
The period directly following the Revolutionary War was one of great hope and indecision for African Americans. Many had hoped that independence from Great Britain would bring with it the abolition of slavery, but instead, slavery was written into the new Constitution. A massive migration, not unlike the Great Migration many years later, took place at the close of the war with primarily African American women moving to urban areas in the North. Prior to the Revolution, urban populations in the North were overwhelmingly male, but by 1806, women outnumbered men four to three in New York City. Most free African Americans in northern urban centers were employed in “service trades” such as cooking and catering, cleaning stables, cutting hair, or driving coaches.
As with many families affected by the war, African American family life was disrupted heavily in the aftermath of war, especially as slavery became more entrenched and expanded westward. For example, in the Chesapeake region, agricultural and economic patterns changed after the war with many planters moving away from labor-intensive tobacco as a cash crop and diversifying their plantings. Many slaves were sold in the process, usually to the Lower South or West where slave agriculture was expanding. Additionally, many employers in the North refused to house whole families of free African Americans, preferring only to board domestic laborers, who tended to be women. African American women made efforts to continue to support and maintain ties to their kin in these situations, but obstacles remained ever-present and challenging.