Daughters of Liberty
Encyclopedia
The Daughters of Liberty were a successful Colonial American group, established somewhere from 1769-1770, that consisted of women who displayed their patriotism by participating in boycotts of British goods following the passage of the Townshend Acts
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were a series of laws passed beginning in 1767 by the Parliament of Great Britain relating to the British colonies in North America. The acts are named after Charles Townshend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who proposed the program...

. Using their feminine skills of the time, they made homespun cloth and other goods. To call attention to this effort, they would hold spinning contests in the village squares. These contests were called "spinning bees" and were widely attended by females and often males as well. Their name was inspired by the Sons of Liberty
Sons of Liberty
The Sons of Liberty were a political group made up of American patriots that originated in the pre-independence North American British colonies. The group was formed to protect the rights of the colonists from the usurpations by the British government after 1766...

, who were established shortly before the Daughters of Liberty.

The Daughters of Liberty used their traditional skills to weave yarn
Yarn
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery and ropemaking. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufactured sewing threads may be finished with wax or...

 and wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....

 into fabric, known as "homespun". They were recognized as patriotic heroines for their success, making America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 less dependent on British textiles. Proving their commitment to "the cause of liberty
Liberty
Liberty is a moral and political principle, or Right, that identifies the condition in which human beings are able to govern themselves, to behave according to their own free will, and take responsibility for their actions...

 and industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...

" they openly opposed the Tea Act. They experimented to find substitutes for taxed goods such as tea and sugar. Discoveries like boiled basil leaves to make a tea like drink, referred to as Liberty Tea, helped lift spirits as well as allowed for kept traditions without the use of British taxed tea.

They also had a large influence during the war, although not as large an influence as the Sons of Liberty. For example, in the countryside, while Patriots
Patriot (American Revolution)
Patriots is a name often used to describe the colonists of the British Thirteen United Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution. It was their leading figures who, in July 1776, declared the United States of America an independent nation...

 supported the non-importation movements of 1765, and 1769, the Daughters of Liberty continued to support American resistance. They helped end the Stamp Act in 1766. In 1774, the patriot women helped influence a decision made by the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....

 to boycott all British goods. In order to support the men on the battlefield, the women made bullets and sewed uniforms. They raised funds for the army and made and circulated protest petitions.

Women Associated with the Daughters of Liberty

Sarah Franklin Bache
Sarah Franklin Bache
Sarah Franklin “Sally” Bache was the daughter of Benjamin Franklin and Deborah Read.Known as "Sally" throughout her life, she was an ardent American patriot during the Revolutionary War through relief work and as her father's political hostess...

 was a Daughter of Liberty along with Martha Washington
Martha Washington
Martha Dandridge Custis Washington was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington is considered to be the first First Lady of the United States...

. They were relevant in the shaping of American history.

Esther de Berdt
Esther de Berdt
Esther de Berdt Reed was active in the American Revolutionary War as a civic leader for soldiers' relief, who formed and led the Ladies Association of Philadelphia to provide aid for George Washington's troops during the war.-Early life:Esther de Berdt was born in London, into a family descended...

 Reed, a London-born woman who worked to raise money in Philadelphia, went with over three dozen women door to door in support of the Revolutionary War, more specifically to address General George Washington's complaints. She helped to organize a woman's group, which used the money to sew linen shirts for the soldiers of the Continental Army. Esther was married to Joseph Reed
Joseph Reed (jurist)
Joseph Reed was a Pennsylvania lawyer, military officer, and statesman of the Revolutionary Era. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and, while in Congress, signed the Articles of Confederation...

, one of George Washington's aides-de-camp, and later a delegate to the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....

.Martha Washington
Martha Washington
Martha Dandridge Custis Washington was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington is considered to be the first First Lady of the United States...

, George Washington's wife was also part of this group.

Deborah Sampson
Deborah Sampson
Deborah Samson Gannett , better known as Deborah Sampson, was an American woman who impersonated a man in order to serve in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. She is one of a small number of women with a documented record of military combat experience in that war...

disguised herself as a man and enlisted as a Continental Army soldier 1782-83 was wounded twice and was later awarded a soldier's pension.

External links

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