Founding Mothers: The Women who Raised our Nation - Hardcover

Roberts, Cokie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060090251 ISBN 13: 9780060090258

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2004

Synopsis

Cokie Roberts's number one New York Times bestseller, We Are Our Mothers' Daughters, examined the nature of women's roles throughout history and led USA Today to praise her as a -custodian of time-honored values.- Her second bestseller, From This Day Forward, written with her husband, Steve Roberts, described American marriages throughout history, including the romance of John and Abigail Adams. Now Roberts returns with Founding Mothers, an intimate and illuminating look at the fervently patriotic and passionate women whose tireless pursuits on behalf of their families -- and their country -- proved just as crucial to the forging of a new nation as the rebellion that established it.While much has been written about the men who signed the Declaration of Independence, battled the British, and framed the Constitution, the wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters they left behind have been little noticed by history. Roberts brings us the women who fought the Revolution as valiantly as the men, often defending their very doorsteps. While the men went off to war or to Congress, the women managed their businesses, raised their children, provided them with political advice, and made it possible for the men to do what they did. The behind-the-scenes influence of these women -- and their sometimes very public activities -- was intelligent and pervasive.Drawing upon personal correspondence, private journals, and even favored recipes, Roberts reveals the often surprising stories of these fascinating women, bringing to life the everyday trials and extraordinary triumphs of individuals like Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, Deborah Read Franklin, Eliza Pinckney, Catherine Littlefield Green, Esther DeBerdt Reed, and Martha Washington -- proving that without our exemplary women, the new country might never have survived.Social history at its best, Founding Mothers unveils the drive, determination, creative insight, and passion of the other patriots, the women who raised our nation. Roberts proves beyond a doubt that like every generation of American women that has followed, the founding mothers used the unique gifts of their gender -- courage, pluck, sadness, joy, energy, grace, sensitivity, and humor -- to do what women do best, put one foot in front of the other in remarkable circumstances and carry on.

About this title

Review:

"Roberts has uncovered hundreds of personal anecdotes and woven them together in a single, suspenseful narrative with great skill."--Washington Post Book World

From the Back Cover:

While much has been written about the men who founded our nation, this history includes only part of the story. Though they may not have signed the Constitution, written the Declaration of Independence, or fought in battles, the wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters behind the scenes of the Revolution contributed to their country's birth as significantly as the men in the spotlight.

New York Times bestselling author Cokie Roberts presents the contributions of these patriots, the women who fought the Revolution as courageously and heroically as the men, often defending the doors of their very homes. The stories of these founding mothers are found in their personal correspondence, private journals, ledgers, and lists. Roberts reveals the surprising tales of fascinating women such as Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, Deborah Read Franklin, Eliza Lucas Pinckney, Catharine Littlefield Green, Esther DeBerdt Reed, and Martha Washington. The extraordinary triumphs of these women created a shared bond that urged the founding fathers to "Remember the Ladies."

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0060090251
• ISBN 13: 9780060090258
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 359