America’s Founding Women

By: Cassandra Good, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Cassandra Good

Length: 4 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Many of us are intimately familiar with the stories of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America; we know their names, and we revere their contributions to history. Women, on the other hand, have often been discussed on the peripheries of sweeping historical narratives, including the era of the American Revolution and the early decades of the nation’s founding. But the work of gender historians over the past 50 years has brought the stories of women out of the shadows and into the light. As you will see through the women that you will meet in this course - including Elizabeth Oliver Watson, Abigail Adams, Nancy Ward, Dolley Madison, Elizabeth Freeman, and many others - they were actually at the very center of the major events of early American history.

In the 10 lessons of America’s Founding Women, you will uncover the very real stories of the women who helped shape the United States as it underwent its transformation from a British colony to a fledgling nation. Professor Cassandra Good will help you understand what life was like for women during the American Revolution, and beyond, and how these women balanced the rigid social expectations of the late 18th and early 19th centuries with their own talents and desires. You will examine the ways they used the power that was granted to them in the home and in their communities and how they forged their own paths in opposition to the limitations imposed on them.

As you study the lives and contributions of these influential women, you will trace the gains and losses toward acquiring women’s rights that they experienced in the early decades of US history. You will better understand how these complex and remarkable women played a vital role in the creation of a nation.

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Great read!

Interesting and informative short lessons on women in history. The author has done a fantastic job narrating her book. Easy listening. I’ll definitely have her read the book to me again!

Great information!

Listening again...this time more intently! So much a young woman should know! I believe there should be more emphasis on this earlier in life!

Interesting Women's History

This book had a lot of interesting historical information, and it is fairly well written. I was listening to Women's History for a month, and was happy to find this. There was a plethora of information which was organized well. Parts of it were better than others. thus the four stars. The author read it, and they are lectures, but parts were weak and felt rushed. Otherwise she did a more than acceptable job. I think that a class taught by her would be even better than listening to these lectures in a vacuum.

If you are at all interested in the early history of women in this country then I would recommend this book. To me, one of the most interesting aspects was how instrumental women were in the boycotts of British goods in the years leading up the American Revolutionary War. I was recently looking at a book of early American crafts that talks about women making and decorating fabric.

It’s about time!

It’s about time we heard about some of these incredible women. I get so weary of hearing about men men men men sometimes that I want to scream. Not that I am against having great men, Lord knows we need all the greatness we can get, but these women! Great Women do not get the recognition they deserve. Thankfully, things are changing little by little. Thank you, Cassandra Good, for bringing these to our attention!

Colonial America is my jam

I love learning new things about a subject I love. This lecture series taught me more about one of the founding mothers I knew little about: Louisa Adams. It's gripping and informative and if you love history, definitely listen to it!