today we're looking at women's role during the american revolution
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the questions down in the description during the american revolution much of what historians focus
on are the actions of men major decisions of the continental congress and military actions
were all dominated by men and so much of the focus of historic study is on on men however
it's very clear that the americans would not have been victorious if not for the contributions and
actions of women if we go back even before the first shots were fired in the american revolution
women were at the forefront of protests against british regulations and taxes going back to the
stamp act passed in 1765 the sons of liberty was established to organize protests against the act
but simultaneously the daughters of liberty was established as well since many women were
in charge of households and the primary person in charge of what goods were being purchased
for their homes women really led the charge in boycotting british goods interestingly one of the
forms of protest women took part in was spinning cloth since britain was the primary supplier of
textiles or cloth to the colonies the act of making your own cloth was a way of protesting
british rule once fighting began women again played an important role in supporting the armies
women were not allowed to serve in the military but the armies fighting in the war could not have
functioned if not for their efforts since the continental congress did not have the authority
to tax they had a difficult time in trying to support the war so women took it upon themselves
to provide what they could to the armies by making bullets sewing blankets and uniforms for the
armies they also organized fundraising campaigns to provide money to feed and clothe troops
women traveled with the armies as they marched and provided important labor needed to keep the
army functioning such as making sure troops were fed and caring for the sick and wounded troops
providing intel to the continental army by spying on the british was another way women
supported the american cause since british troops were several times quartered or stained in homes
of towns that they occupied women would overhear their discussions and then pass the information
onto the americans there's several fascinating stories of how women secretly passed information
but one unique system of getting messages out was developed by anna smith strong
who lived in new york she developed what became known as the clothesline code strong would hang
a petticoat or an underskirt on her clothes line and that was the signal that she had information
to pass along to the american army and then she would also hang handkerchiefs on the line
and she lived along the shore of long island so each handkerchief indicated a cove along the shore
and so the petticoat with two handkerchiefs meant there was information hidden in the second cove
from her home the british never caught on to this and actually the information she gathered
was passed on directly to george washington and was instrumental in helping him continue the war
on the home front women picked up the void left by men going off to fight in the war
in a society where most people were still farming or involved in agriculture women took over farms
and planting and harvesting of crops in addition to being responsible for taking care of homes
they were also taking over businesses and beyond simply supporting the fight there were some women
who physically joined the fight there were some women that disguised themselves as men in order to
enlist and fight in the army probably one of the most famous instances of a woman being involved
in battle occurred at the battle of monmouth courthouse in new jersey on june 28 1778 with
the actions of molly pitcher now many historians believe her real name was molly hayes and she was
the wife of william hayes who was an artillery man in the continental army she got the nickname
molly pitcher because at the battle of monmouth courthouse it was an extremely hot day and she
ate it in the battle by bringing buckets of water to the front to pour over the cannons to keep them
cool but then also to keep the the men cool as well it's said that when her husband collapsed
because of the heat she took up her husband's position next to the cannon and continued loading
and firing it throughout the battle even having a british cannonball or shell ripped through her
skirt she was wearing but she was unhurt the ideas promoted through the revolution of freedom and
and liberty caused many women to begin to question their position in society where
again they were not treated equally some such as judith sergeant murray from massachusetts
argued that the revolution had demonstrated that women were just as smart as men and therefore
should receive the same education and be offered the same opportunities as men abigail adams the
wife of john adams but also his closest advisor and arguably equal equally responsible for many of
his ideas on liberty that he advocated she pushed for more rights for women when she advised him
while he was serving in the continental congress she wrote him and said i desire you would remember
the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors i hope you can see that
women played an extremely important role in the american revolution although maybe not always
given the credit they are due if not for the efforts of women the revolution would have had
a very different outcome so with that hopefully you learned something and thanks for watching