Season 4, Episode 8 | The American Revolution Was a Women's War

The American Revolution wasn't fought only on battlefields. It unfolded in homes, farms, towns, and military camps, where women faced shortages, violence, displacement, and the enormous responsibility of keeping families and communities alive. In this episode, Savannah Eccles Johnston speaks with historian Carol Berkin, Presidential Professor of History (Emerita) at Baruch College, and author of Revolutionary Mothers, about the essential and often-overlooked role women played in the Revolution. They explore how women became central to colonial boycotts, managed farms while men were away, worked alongside the Continental Army, carried military intelligence, and sometimes disguised themselves as men to enlist. Carol also explains how the Revolution changed women's civic identity. Their wartime contributions challenged long-standing assumptions about women's intellectual and moral abilities and helped expand educational opportunities after independence. Tune in to discover why the Revolution cannot be fully understood without women and how adding their experiences transforms the story from a series of military campaigns into a complex home-front war involving an entire society. In This Episode (00:00) Intro (00:16) Introduction to Carol Berkin (00:59) The myth of women as passive observers (03:13) How the Revolution politicized women (07:21) Why were women essential to colonial boycotts (10:27) Women as spies, couriers, and participants (11:05) Running farms while men were at war (15:27) Violence against women during the Revolution (18:24) Why did women follow the Continental Army (22:42) Who the camp followers really were (23:45) The real story behind Molly Pitcher (26:10) Women disguising themselves as soldiers (27:00) Deborah Sampson Gannett's military service (29:52) Women as spies and military couriers (37:29) How the Revolution changed women's education (42:56) Three overlapping revolutions for liberty (44:09) How including women changes the Revolution (49:06) Recommended books on women and the Revolution Notable Quotes (00:59) “The first thing I'd like to tackle is this myth of women as passive observers of a revolutionary war.” — Savannah Eccles Johnston (08:17) “If women refused to join the boycott, we would still be singing Hail to the King.” — Carol Berkin (29:52) “The idea that the war itself didn't involve women is nonsense.” — Carol Berkin (42:56) “The revolution was a woman's war as well as a man's war.” — Carol Berkin (44:09) “When you include women in the story of the revolution, it changes the nature of the revolution itself.” — Savannah Eccles Johnston (45:31) “You're giving more than half the country an ability to see themselves in the American Revolution and to feel like they're part of it.” — Savannah Eccles Johnston Resources and Links This Constitution   Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-constitution/id1771900485 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IQCq5DUPWlImiAdc4t3pf?si=85085b24b55b4130 Website: https://www.uvu.edu/ccs/projects/this_constitution_podcast.html YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@centerforconstitutionalstu8915/videos Savannah Eccles Johnston https://www.linkedin.com/in/savannah-eccles-johnston-515a72198 https://www.uvu.edu/ccs/people/savannah_eccles_johnston.html Carol Berkin Biography: https://www.womenshistory.org/about-us/supporters-and-sponsors/museum-advisory-council/carol-berkin-phd Books: https://www.amazon.com/Books-Carol-Berkin/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3ACarol%2BBerkin