Independent Dames
Book Summary:
Independent Dames spotlights the overlooked contributions of women and girls during the American Revolution. Through vivid portraits and lively illustrations, the book highlights spies, writers, fundraisers, nurses, soldiers, and everyday women who shaped the war effort. It reframes the Revolution as a collective struggle in which women played essential but often unrecognized roles.
Recommended Questions:
How does including women’s voices change or expand our understanding of the American Revolution?
What surprised you most about the women you learned about in this book?
Examine the spies and scouts in this book. Why might women have excelled in these roles during the war? In what ways did their actions show a different kind of courage than the soldiers on the battlefield?
How does the timeline at the bottom of each page deepen your understanding of the information presented?
On page 4, the “founding fathers” are listed, and on page 5 a girl holds a flag saying “hi.” If this girl represented an independent dame from the book, what might she say after she said “hi”?
Are women’s stories the only stories that have been overlooked in history? Explain your thinking.
Standards:
NCSS Theme 2: Time, Continuity and Change
The book examines how women influenced major historical events and expands students’ understanding of the Revolutionary era beyond commonly told narratives. By centering women’s experiences, it challenges traditional historical timelines and reveals a fuller picture of how social change occurs. It encourages students to think about who is remembered in history and why.
Social Justice Anchor Standard 11: Recognizing unfairness/stereotypes
Independent Dames helps students recognize how stereotypes about women—such as the belief that they were passive, domestic, or uninvolved in political events—shaped historical narratives. By presenting women and girls as spies, fundraisers, leaders, messengers, and even soldiers, the book challenges those stereotypes and shows the diverse ways women acted with courage and agency. Students learn to see these historical figures as complex individuals, not as a single category of “women of the Revolution,” and understand how harmful stereotypes can erase people’s contributions.
WA History 3: Understands that there are multiple perspectives and interpretations of historical events
Independent Dames highlights perspectives that are often left out of traditional accounts of the American Revolution, especially the experiences and contributions of women and girls. By presenting multiple voices—spies, fundraisers, writers, nurses, soldiers—the book teaches students that history is shaped by many viewpoints, not just the dominant narratives. This supports H3 because students learn to examine diverse perspectives and understand how historical stories can change when new voices are included.
