Wives of the Signers

Great American men have always understood the importance of women. John Adams described them as "the most infallible barometer . . . of morality and virtue in a nation." And Daniel Webster said the "promulgation of sound morals" was a woman's contribution to "the preservation of a free government."

Wives of the Signers, originally published in 1912 as The Pioneer Mothers of America, describes those women who, alongside their husbands, experienced the trials and triumphs of the struggle for independence and the challenge of building a new nation. Who were they?

• Abigail Smith Adams, wife of one president, mother of another, and perhaps the most influential woman of her day;
  
• Annis Boudinot Stockton, wife of Richard Stockton, whose home was looted and burned during the savageries of war;
  
• Deborah Scudder Hart, wife of John Hart, who suffered for months as her patriotic husband was hounded and hunted as a criminal;
  
• . . . and many more.

Wives of the Signers highlights these great American women. Though they did not confront the hail of bullets or cannon, though they did not participate in conventions or congresses, they were at the heart of every soul-stirring historic event. Wives of the Signers is a book about the heart of America.