The time preceding, during, and immediately after the American Revolution was marked by great social upheaval, and this was reflected in women’s roles, which were in a stage of complex transition. On one level, women were still expected to occupy traditional roles, taking care of domestic tasks, undergoing near permanent pregnancy and childrearing, and remaining within the domestic or private sphere. However, some women were taking on greater responsibilities and venturing further into the public realm.

Importantly, this was not the case for all, or even most, women of the period. Rather, it was being pioneered by women who, by reason of circumstance, had access to greater education, male support and encouragement, and wealth. All of the Founding Mothers were from higher-status backgrounds and had at least some formal or informal education. Indeed, the reason we still have records of their lives is because they were able to read and write and had the social and familial connections to powerful men necessary for their correspondence to be preserved over the centuries.

In focusing on these exceptional figures, Roberts reveals women beginning to push into new realms while continuing to carry out their more traditional domestic duties.

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