NATIONAL "WOMEN'S HISTORY" MONTH

Glory, Passion, and Principle. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin -- these are the names we typically associate with the American Revolution. But was American History solely written by men? Were there no influential women? No women who had an impact on the founding of America in its crucial, formative years, in its fight for independence? Indeed, there were -- although their contributions have been overlooked or ignored for over two hundred years. Until now.
Glory, Passion, and Principle is an extraordinary journey through revolutionary America as seen from a woman's perspective. Here are the lesser-known stories of eight influential females who fought for freedom -- for their country and themselves -- at all costs. Whether advising prominent male leaders in political theory (Abigail Adams), using their pens as swords (Phillis Wheatley, Mercy Otis Warren), acting as military spies (Sybil Ludington, Lydia Darragh), or going to battle (Molly Pitcher, Deborah Sampson, Nancy Ward), these women broke free of the limitations imposed upon them, much as our forefathers did by resisting British rule upon American soil...and laying the groundwork for the United States as we know it today. 973.3082 BOH

 

Founding Mothers. While the "fathers" were off founding the country, what were the women doing? Running their husband’s businesses, raising their children plus providing political information and advice. At least that’s what Abigail Adams did for John, starting when he went off to the Continental Congress, which eventually declared the independence of the American colonies from the British. While the men were writing the rebellious words, the women were living the revolution, with the Redcoats on their doorsteps. John’s advice to Abigail as the soldiers approached Braintree: if necessary "fly to the woods with our children." That was it, she was on her own, as she was for most of the next ten years while Adams represented the newly independent nation abroad.

Abigail Adams is the best known of the women who influenced the founders, but there are many more, starting with Martha Washington, who once referred to herself as a “prisoner of state” for the constraints placed on her as the first First Lady. She was the one charged with balancing the demands of a Republic of the "common man" on the one hand, while insisting on some modicum of courtliness and protocol so that the former colonies would be taken seriously by Europe. She also took political heat in the press from the president’s political opponents when he was too popular to criticize.

And there are women like Esther Reed, married to the president of Pennsylvania, who, with Benjamin Franklin’s daughter Sarah Bache, organized a drive to raise money for Washington’s troops at Valley Forge. In 1780 the women raised more than three hundred thousand dollars. Reed wrote a famous patriotic broadside titled The Sentiments of an American Woman, calling on women to wear simpler clothing and hairstyles in order to save money to contribute to the cause. It worked! The women who ran the boarding houses of Philadelphia where the men stayed while writing the now sacred documents of America had their quite considerable say about the affairs of state as well.

This will be the story of some of those women, as learned through their seldom seen letters and diaries, and the letters from the men to them. It will be a story of the beginnings of the nation as viewed from the distaff side. 973.30922 ROB

 

Bone Detective. Diane France loves bones. Why? Because they talk to her. Every skeleton she meets whispers secrets about the life—and death—of its owner. Diane can hear those secrets because she’s a forensic anthropologist, a bone detective. She has the science skills and know-how to examine bones for clues to a mystery: Who was this person and how did he or she die?

Bones tell Diane about the life and times of famous people in history, from a Russian royal family to American outlaws and war heroes. They speak to her about murders, mass disasters, and fatal accidents. One day she’s collecting skeletal evidence at a crime scene. A phone call later she’s jetting to the site of a plane crash or other unexpected tragedy to identify victims.

Bone Detective is the thrilling story of a scientist and her science. To tell this true tale of adventure, author Lorraine Jean Hopping drew on firsthand accounts from Diane and her friends, family, and colleagues. How did a small-town girl full of curiosity and mischief become a world-famous bone detective? The life story of Diane France will intrigue and inspire readers of all ages. YA B FRANCE

 

Queen of Inventions. Looks at the history of sewing and how it was transformed in the 1850s when an American inventor, Isaac Singer, not only invented a practical sewing machine, but also a way for everyone to afford one. J 681.7677 CAR

 

Other titles include:

Wild Rose by Ann Blackmar

We Made a Difference by Ethel Barol Taylor

1001 Things You Should Know About Women's History by Constance Jones

A Chronology of American Women's History by Doris Weatherford

In Our Own Voices by Rosemary Ruether

Amelia to Zora by Cynthia Chen-Lee

Women of Hope by Joyce Hansen

A Separate Battle Ina Chang

Let Me Play Karen Blumenthal

Eleanor Roosevelt by Russell Freedman

Anne Frank by Ann Kramer

Elizabeth by Simon Adams

Disappearance of Amelia Earhart by Patricia Netzley

Jane Addams by Judith Bloom Fradin

Rosa Parks by Mary Hull

Mae Jemison by Stephen Feinstein

Zora Neale Hurston by Laura Baskes Litwin

Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges