History is usually a guys' club. We hear about the "Founding Fathers" constantly, as if they built a whole nation while their wives just sat around knitting socks or churning butter in the background. Honestly, it’s a massive oversight. When Cokie Roberts released her Ladies of Liberty book (officially titled Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation), she wasn't just writing another dry history text. She was correcting the record. She went digging through dusty archives, personal letters, and private journals to find the women who were essentially running the show while the men were busy arguing about the Constitution.
You've probably heard of Abigail Adams. "Remember the ladies," right? But Roberts goes way deeper than the standard textbook blurbs. She looks at the period from 1797 to 1825. This wasn't a peaceful time. It was messy. It was the era of the Jeffersonian transition, the War of 1812, and the messy expansion of a young, fragile country.
The Women Nobody Talks About
While the men were debating policy, women were doing the heavy lifting of social infrastructure. Take Isabella Graham. Most people couldn't pick her out of a lineup, but she basically invented the modern American charity system. In the Ladies of Liberty book, Roberts highlights how Graham started the Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children in New York.
It wasn't just a hobby.
These women were savvy. They knew how to raise money, navigate legal systems that didn't even recognize them as full citizens, and build institutions that lasted centuries. They were the ones creating orphanages and schools. Without them, the "Great Experiment" of America probably would have collapsed under the weight of its own poverty and lack of social services.
Then there’s Dolley Madison.
People remember her for saving the portrait of George Washington when the British burned the White House. That's a great story, but it's only about 5% of who she was. She was a political powerhouse. She used her "social" events to bridge the gap between warring political factions. If two politicians hated each other, she’d get them in the same room with some good food and a little charm, and suddenly, they were talking. She was the glue. Roberts makes it clear that Dolley’s "squeezing" (her term for her crowded parties) was a calculated political tool. It wasn't just about the parties; it was about the power.
Elizabeth Bayley Seton and the Education Revolution
You can't talk about this era without Elizabeth Bayley Seton. She’s famous now as the first American-born saint, but Roberts looks at her through a more practical lens. Seton was a widow with five kids. She was broke. She was an outcast because she converted to Catholicism. Despite all that, she started the first free Catholic school for girls in the U.S.
Think about the guts that took.
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She was operating in a world that was openly hostile to her faith and her gender. She didn't just survive; she built a network. Her work laid the groundwork for the entire parochial school system in America. Roberts writes about her with a sort of gritty admiration because Seton wasn't some ethereal figure—she was a woman dealing with cold winters, sick children, and a total lack of funds.
Why the Ladies of Liberty Book Still Hits Different
Most history books focus on the "what." This book focuses on the "how." Roberts spent years reading letters. That’s where the real stuff is. In letters, these women dropped the formalities. They complained about their husbands. They worried about their kids' fevers. They gave blistering political advice.
The Ladies of Liberty book works because it treats these women as humans, not statues.
Take Louisa Catherine Adams. Being the wife of John Quincy Adams was not a walk in the park. The man was brilliant but, let’s be real, he was a total pill. He was grumpy and socially awkward. Louisa was the one who had to navigate the courts of Europe and the drawing rooms of D.C. to make him likable. Her journals are heartbreaking and hilarious at the same time. She felt like an outsider in her own family, yet she was arguably the most sophisticated person in the room.
The Reality of "Republican Motherhood"
There’s this academic term called "Republican Motherhood." It’s basically the idea that women’s primary role in the new republic was to raise virtuous sons to be good citizens. It sounds a bit patronizing now, doesn't it? But Roberts shows that women took that narrow opening and blew it wide open.
They used the excuse of "educating their sons" to demand better education for themselves.
If they had to teach the future leaders of America, they argued, they’d better know their history, philosophy, and math. It was a clever workaround. They were playing the long game.
Behind the Scenes of the Research
Cokie Roberts wasn't just a journalist; she was a bit of a history detective. She grew up in a political family—her parents were both members of Congress. She understood the "room where it happens" because she had been in those rooms her whole life. This gave her a unique perspective when reading 200-year-old letters. She could spot the political maneuvering in a "casual" note about a dinner party.
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She focused heavily on primary sources.
- Personal diaries.
- Family correspondence.
- Newspaper accounts from the 1800s.
- Records from early benevolent societies.
She didn't want to rely on what men wrote about these women. She wanted to hear from the women themselves. That’s why the Ladies of Liberty book feels so intimate. You aren't just reading about history; you're eavesdropping on it.
Sacagawea and the Myth vs. Reality
Roberts also tackles figures like Sacagawea. There’s a lot of romanticized nonsense out there about her. People act like she was a "guide" leading Lewis and Clark through the wilderness. In reality, she was a teenager with a newborn strapped to her back. She was an interpreter and a symbol of peace. Because she was there, other tribes knew the expedition wasn't a war party. Roberts highlights the sheer physical endurance required of her, which often gets overshadowed by the "legend" version of her story.
The Complicated Legacy of the Founding Era
It’s easy to look back and want everything to be perfect. It wasn't. The Ladies of Liberty book doesn't shy away from the contradictions. These women were living in a society built on slavery. While they were fighting for their own voices to be heard, many of them were also part of a system that silenced others.
Roberts includes the stories of women like Ona Judge, who escaped from George Washington’s household. She includes the perspectives of Native American women who were watching their world be dismantled.
It’s messy history.
But that’s why it’s important. If you only read the "heroic" version of history, you’re missing the truth. The truth is that the early United States was a place of incredible innovation and devastating injustice, often at the exact same time. The women in this book navigated that complexity every day.
How to Use These Insights Today
Reading about these women isn't just a history lesson. It’s a blueprint for influence. They didn't have the vote. They didn't have legal standing. They couldn't own property in many cases. Yet, they changed the country.
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Focus on the social fabric.
These women realized that laws are only one part of a society. The "soft power" of community, education, and charity is what actually holds things together. If you want to make a change, start with the people around you, not just the policy.
Write everything down.
We know these stories because they kept journals and sent letters. In our digital age, we’re losing that. If you want your perspective to survive, you have to document it. History is written by those who keep the best records.
Master the art of the "soft" pivot.
Dolley Madison didn't storm the floor of Congress. She hosted a party and changed minds over dessert. There’s a lesson there about finding the "third way" to solve a conflict when direct confrontation isn't working.
Identify the gaps in the narrative.
Whenever you’re looking at a project or a piece of news, ask: "Who isn't being mentioned?" Usually, there’s a whole team of people—often women or marginalized groups—doing the work that makes the "leader" look good. Find those stories.
The Ladies of Liberty book reminds us that the American story is much bigger than a few guys in powdered wigs. It’s about the mothers, the entrepreneurs, the educators, and the organizers who saw a gap and filled it. They didn't wait for permission to lead. They just did it.
If you're looking to dive deeper into this, the best move is to pick up a physical copy and look at the bibliography. Roberts lists an incredible array of primary sources that can lead you down a dozen different historical rabbit holes. Start with the letters of Abigail Adams or the journals of Louisa Catherine Adams. You’ll find that their voices sound surprisingly modern, dealing with the same anxieties and ambitions we deal with today.
History isn't over; it's just waiting for someone to tell the rest of the story.