
To Be Useful to the World
Women in Revolutionary America, 1740-1790
Joan R. Gundersen(Author)
The University of North Carolina Press
2nd Edition
Published on 30. August 2006
Book
Paperback/Softback
344 pages
978-0-8078-5697-0 (ISBN)
Description
Offering an interpretation of the Revolutionary period that places women at the center, Joan R. Gundersen provides a synthesis of the scholarship on women's experiences during the era as well as a nuanced understanding that moves beyond a view of the war as either a ""golden age"" or a disaster for women. Gundersen argues that women's lives varied greatly depending on race and class, but all women had to work within shifting parameters that enabled opportunities for some while constraining opportunities for others. Three generations of women in three households personalize these changes: Elizabeth Dutoy Porter, member of the small-planter class whose Virginia household included an African American enslaved woman named Peg; Deborah Franklin, common-law wife of the prosperous revolutionary, Benjamin; and Margaret Brant, matriarch of a prominent Mohawk family who sided with the British during the war. This edition incorporates substantial revisions in the text and the notes to take into account the scholarship that has appeared since the book's original publication in 1996.
Reviews / Votes
"Clearly shows the complexity of women's experience in revolutionary America, thus providing an excellent introduction for graduate students and scholars outside the field." - The Journal of American History"More details
Edition
Second Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Chapel Hill
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
Revised edition
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
586 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8078-5697-0 (9780807856970)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
12/2006
2nd Edition
The University of North Carolina Press
€29.49
Available for download
Previous edition

Book
12/1996
Twayne Publishers Inc.,U.S.
€64.64
Shipment within 10-20 days
Person
JOAN R. GUNDERSEN is research scholar in women's studies at the University of Pittsburgh and professor emeritus of history at California State University, San Marcos. She is author or coauthor of four other books, including The Anglican Ministry in Virginia, 1723-1776: A Study of a Social Class.