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In 1775, Britain ruled 13 colonies on the East Coast of North America.
They stretched from Massachusetts to Georgia. Many colonists were tired of British rule. For years, they had argued with Britain about taxes and laws they thought were unfair. Finally, in April 1775, fighting broke out between the colonists and the British army. The American Revolution had begun.
At the time of the Revolution, women were expected to spend their lives taking care of the home and family. Women cooked meals over an open fire. They milked the cows and fed the chickens. They churned butter and made candles and soap. Most of them even made their family’s clothing. Poor women and enslaved African-American women did all these things. On top of all that, they worked for other people too. Women didn’t take part in politics or business. The world of politics was only for white male property owners.
Still, many women took part in events that led up to the Revolution—and in the Revolution itself. Some of these women were Patriots. They believed in independence for the colonies. Other women were Loyalists. They supported Britain’s king. All these women were very brave to act as they did.
◀ Colonists wanted to protest a British tax on tea. So, on the night of December 16, 1773, some men boarded a ship in Boston. They threw all the tea on the ship into the harbor. This event is called the Boston Tea Party. Sarah Fulton helped the men disguise themselves as Mohawk Indians. Afterward, she helped the men wash off their disguises. That’s why she is called the mother of the Boston Tea Party.
In 1774, 51 women in Edenton, North Carolina, signed a petition. It was a public promise not to buy British goods. Women almost never took a public stand like that! This British cartoon makes fun of the Edenton women for unladylike behavior. ▶
▲ For the first few years, most of the fighting was in the North. Then the British attacked the South. The last large battle was fought in Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781. There were some smaller fights after that.
◀ Mercy Otis Warren was the sister and wife of well-known Patriots. She got her education by listening in on her brother’s private lessons. Warren wrote plays making fun of British rulers. Back then, plays were not staged in New England. Her plays were printed in newspapers.
▲ On the other side, Loyalist women also said what they thought. Many served imported tea. Anne and Betsy Cummings sold British goods in their Boston shop. Patriots wanted them to stop. Betsy said they were trying to “injure two industrious girls who were trying in an honest way to get their bread.”
