The Daughters of Liberty was the formal female association that was formed in 1765 to protest the Stamp Act, and later the Townshend Acts, and was a general term for women who identified themselves as fighting for liberty during the American Revolution.[1]

Activities

The main task of the Daughters of Liberty was to protest the Stamp Act and Townshend Acts through aiding the Sons of Liberty in boycotts and non-importation movements prior to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. The Daughters of Liberty participated in spinning bees, helping to produce homespun cloth for colonists to wear instead of British textiles.[2] Women were also used as the enforcers of these movements because they were the ones responsible for purchasing goods for their households. They saw it as their duty to make sure that fellow Patriots were staying true to their word about boycotting British goods.[3]

The Daughters of Liberty are also well known for their boycott of British tea after the Tea Act was passed and the British East India Company was given a virtual monopoly on colonial tea. They began drinking what was later known as "liberty tea." Leaves from raspberries or black tea were commonly used as tea substitutes so people could still enjoy tea while refusing to buy goods imported through Britain.[4]

Chapters of the Daughters of Liberty throughout the colonies participated in the war effort by melting down metal for bullets and helping to sew soldiers’ uniforms.[5] The famed leader of the Sons of Liberty, Samuel Adams, is reported as saying, "With ladies on our side, we can make every Tory tremble."[5]

Women associated with the Daughters of Liberty

References

Notes

  1. ^ Branson, Susan (2007). From Daughters of Liberty to Women in the Republic: American Women in the Era of the American Revolution. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press. p. 51 – via EBSCOhost.
  2. ^ Allison, Robert (2011). The American Revolution: A Concise History. New York: Oxford Press. ISBN 9780195312959.
  3. ^ "Sons and Daughters of Liberty". ushistory.org. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  4. ^ Perry, Leonard. "Liberty Tea". University of Vermont Extension Department of Plant and Soil Sciences. University of Vermont. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  5. ^ a b Paludi, Michelle A., ed. (2014). Women, Work, and Family: How Companies Thrive With a 21st Century Multicultural Workforce. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, LLC. p. 62.
  6. ^ "Sarah Bradlee Fulton". Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Sarah Bache". American Revolution.org. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  8. ^ "First Lady's Biography: Martha Washington". National First Ladies Library. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  9. ^ Arendt, Emily J. (2014). "Ladies Going About for Money". Journal of the Early Republic. 34 (2): 170. doi:10.1353/jer.2014.0024 – via EBSCOhost.
  10. ^ "Deborah Sampson (1760-1827)". National Women's History Museum. Archived from the original on 11 July 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  11. ^ "Elizabeth Nichols Dyar Memorial History". Daughters of the American Revolution Colonial Daughters Chapter. Maine State Organization Daughters of the American Revolution. Retrieved 6 January 2020.