Daughters of Liberty: Gender, Popular Culture, and the American Revolution

The American Revolution promised a new political world. But what place did women hold in that world? This talk by Professor Leslie Lindenauer, PhD at Western Connecticut State University explores how the Revolutionary era’s popular culture celebrated female patriotism even as it defined the boundaries of women’s political power. From boycotts and battlefield support to the ideal of the “Republican Mother,” the talk considers how ideas about femininity and masculinity shaped the meaning of liberty itself. By tracing both opportunities and constraints, this lecture invites the audience to reflect on how Revolutionary-era debates about gender continue to echo in American civic life today.