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Jan Stover
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« on: July 14, 2009, 11:11:56 PM » |
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The Mothers Institute will be hosting its Book Club the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month at the office in Greenville, Illinois, to discuss a selected book.
Our July/August selection is Founding Mothers:The Women Who Raised Our Nation by Cokie Roberts. We invite members here (who can't attend the Book Club in person) to read this book on your own and discuss it with us here via this thread.
Jan
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Founding Mothers is 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. Author Cokie 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.
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« Last Edit: July 14, 2009, 11:14:40 PM by Jan Stover »
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Jan Stover
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« Reply #1 on: July 16, 2009, 10:05:14 AM » |
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FYI: For those here who are wanting too purchase a copy of the book, Founding Mothers, check out Amazon. They have the paperback edition starting as low as .42 cents plus S/H. Here's the link for buying the book (which also provides an opportunity to read an excerpt from the book as well) http://www.amazon.com/Founding-Mothers-Women-Raised-Nation/dp/0060090251Jan |
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wiksgals
Newbie
Posts: 36
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« Reply #2 on: July 17, 2009, 01:16:11 PM » |
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Got my copy this morning!
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Jan Stover
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« Reply #3 on: July 17, 2009, 02:50:19 PM » |
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Got my copy this morning!
Cool ... looking forward to our LIVE and ONLINE Book Club discussions! Jan |
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Jan Stover
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« Reply #4 on: July 23, 2009, 02:00:34 PM » |
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I am really enjoying the book so far. Its a wonderful eye opener into the lives of the women who gave birth to, raised, befriended, loved and married the men we know as the Founders of America.
Jan
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BettieE
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« Reply #5 on: July 23, 2009, 02:25:48 PM » |
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Got mine just today (ebay for 75 cents). I'm eager to start reading it!
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Jan Stover
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« Reply #6 on: July 27, 2009, 10:01:45 AM » |
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Got mine just today (ebay for 75 cents). I'm eager to start reading it!
Bettie ... hope you're enjoying the book as much as I am! Jan |
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Jan Stover
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« Reply #7 on: July 28, 2009, 02:07:53 PM » |
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For those interested in joining our book discussion here, below are a some of the questions we will be posing/contemplating during our Live Book Club tonight (and throughout the month of August).
Whether you have just started reading the book, are a portion of the way through, or have read it cover to cover, you'll be able to find questions in this list you can relate to and discuss.
Note: This online discussion is not limited to a set time of day (or week) so feel free to post your answers, comments and observations about the book via this thread at your convenience!
Jan
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Book Discussion Questions for Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation
1. What inspired you to read Founding Mothers? Why do you suppose the contributions of women in the Revolutionary era have been largely overlooked by historians? Would the founding of the nation have occurred without these women?
2. Which woman would you say had the single greatest impact during the Revolution? How about during the first years of the new government?
3. Despite a lack of legal and social rights, including the right to own property and receive a formal education, how did the women presented in Founding Mothers assert their authority and exercise their intelligence?
4. How did life differ for women depending on where they lived --- the North versus the South, the city versus rural areas? How else did geographical circumstances impact their lives?
5. Women often accompanied their husbands to army camps during the war, including Martha Washington, Kitty Greene, and Lucy Knox. Were you surprised they chose to do this? How did these three women in particular contribute to the often harsh life of a military camp and foster the war efforts?
6. By telling the stories of our Founding Mothers, this book also sheds light on the men of the time. Did you learn anything new about these men, including Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, and Alexander Hamilton, seeing them from the perspective of their female contemporaries?
7. How important was the "civilizing" role that women played in the years leading up to, during, and after the Revolution? Can you reference examples from the book that show how integral it was for the women to be able to step in and "calm down the men," or even to act as intermediaries, as Abigail Adams did in the dispute between her husband and James Madison?
8. Catharine Macaulay supported the American Revolution and was a vocal proponent of democratic governments in general. Why did Macaulay, an Englishwoman, take such an interest in the American cause? How did she contribute to it?
9. How did Martha Washington define the role of First Lady? Are her influences still evident today? Her political savvy was remarkable, but is there anything that can be learned from Martha Washington on a personal level?
10. Only a limited number of women could have accomplished what Abigail Adams and Mercy Otis Warren did -- those who had access to the men shaping the future of the nation. What about the women who didn't have the advantage of providing direct counsel or publishing their discourses? How did they contribute to the Revolutionary War and the founding of the nation?
11. Cokie Roberts intersperses her thoughts and commentary throughout the book. Does this enhance the narrative? In what ways?
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TinasTribe
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« Reply #8 on: July 28, 2009, 08:29:08 PM » |
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Getting on here a little late today ladies .. I do apologize for that.
I read this book when the liberty bug first bite me. I found it very inspirational and well written. The women of those times had to be so many things and their struggles were great but they moved with purpose and devotion to a cause that allow us to be the women we are today. I look forward to hearing what you think of the book.
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Jan Stover
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« Reply #9 on: July 29, 2009, 08:09:01 AM » |
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While we only had 3 moms able to participate in our live book club, our discussion was interesting, lively, and left us looking forward to our next meeting (Tues. August 11th). Since none of us had read the book in its entirety yet, several of the questions will be more thoroughly discussed in future meetings --- but in the mean time, I wanted to posts a synopsis of sort to the questions we did answer and look forward to members here adding their thoughts on the book and these questions specifically.
Jan
1. What inspired you to read Founding Mothers?
I remember seeing several interviews with author Cokie Roberts when the book was first published and I always thought it would be an interesting read. As luck would have it, my brother was in a thrift store a while back and noticed the book on sale for only $3 (the hardback version none the less) He bought it for me, and it became our first MI Book Club selection.
The other moms were less familiar with this title (although familiar with Cokie Roberts) but agreed that the title itself was intriguing enough to want to see what the book had to offer.
Why do you suppose the contributions of women in the Revolutionary era have been largely overlooked by historians?
We all pretty much agreed that considering the way women were generally viewed during this era (valuable in the domestic sphere, but not appropriate in the political arena) history did not record/promote their words and deeds with the same expectations as it did those of the men (although John Adams appears to have known that the correspondence between he and Abigail should be preserved as their letters would be a valuable account of the times)
As such, it seems history books and classes have taught only the Founding Fathers' side of the Revolution until recently.
Would the founding of the nation have occurred without these women?
The general consensus was no.
2. Which woman would you say had the single greatest impact during the Revolution? How about during the first years of the new government?
We felt these two questions were best left to a later date for discussion until after we have finished reading the book.
3. Despite a lack of legal and social rights, including the right to own property and receive a formal education, how did the women presented in Founding Mothers assert their authority and exercise their intelligence?
Many of them were in direct contact with the Founding Fathers and were able to intelligently express their personal opinions and offer reports and assessments of their local communities' dedication to the cause. They wrote (and had published) articles, poems, plays and songs which promoted independence: they planned and carried out local boycotts on stores which sold English goods, etc ...
4. How did life differ for women depending on where they lived --- the North versus the South, the city versus rural areas? How else did geographical circumstances impact their lives?
We want to discuss this future as we continue reading ... but it was mentioned that Abigail Adams commented on how she had never traveled south and had little understanding of her southern counterparts.
5. Women often accompanied their husbands to army camps during the war, including Martha Washington, Kitty Greene, and Lucy Knox. Were you surprised they chose to do this? How did these three women in particular contribute to the often harsh life of a military camp and foster the war efforts?
More discussion on this will follow as we get further into the book ... but we did bring up the account of Mary Pitcher (whether an actual women or a composite of many women who had helped the men in the army camps and on the battle field) by bringing them water and caring for them in a variety of ways.
6. By telling the stories of our Founding Mothers, this book also sheds light on the men of the time. Did you learn anything new about these men, including Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, and Alexander Hamilton, seeing them from the perspective of their female contemporaries?
The general consensus was "yes" we did learn about these men through the eyes of the women, and we plan to discussion this more next time ...
7. How important was the "civilizing" role that women played in the years leading up to, during, and after the Revolution? Can you reference examples from the book that show how integral it was for the women to be able to step in and "calm down the men," or even to act as intermediaries, as Abigail Adams did in the dispute between her husband and James Madison?
The idea of women helping to civilizing and calm the men seemed to be an accepted view of the day and we plan to site specific examples and discuss them more thoroughly later.
8. Catharine Macaulay supported the American Revolution and was a vocal proponent of democratic governments in general. Why did Macaulay, an Englishwoman, take such an interest in the American cause? How did she contribute to it?
We felt that she saw one set of rules being applied to those living in England and another set of rules being applied to those in the colonies and viewed that as wrong.
9. How did Martha Washington define the role of First Lady? Are her influences still evident today? Her political savvy was remarkable, but is there anything that can be learned from Martha Washington on a personal level?
To be discussed after reading the book fully
10. Only a limited number of women could have accomplished what Abigail Adams and Mercy Otis Warren did -- those who had access to the men shaping the future of the nation. What about the women who didn't have the advantage of providing direct counsel or publishing their discourses? How did they contribute to the Revolutionary War and the founding of the nation?
There were many ways these women helped --- participating in the boycotting of English goods and the stores who sold them; producing their own cloth, dyes, food, etc and then building an affective bartering community among themselves to utilize each others products and services; giving up their sons and husband to fight in the war and more!
11. Cokie Roberts intersperses her thoughts and commentary throughout the book. Does this enhance the narrative? In what ways?
We thought her commentary offered a nice touch without being intrusive on the history she was sharing.
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