Anne Hutchinson & Mary Dyer – Both women were 17th Century Bostonians who challenged the Puritan patriarchy. Hutchinson, in 1638 was known as the “most famous or infamous woman” in Boston. She had interpreted the Bible differently from the way men (men who were responsible for teaching the Bible) viewed Scripture. Was it predetermination and good deeds – or as Anne suggested, the grace of God that got you in to heaven. The men of the church, seeing a fracture in the faith led by a powerful woman, tried her for heresy and banished her to Rhode Island for her “crime”.

Mary was less fortunate. She converted to Quakerism in 1660, and refused to return to Puritanism, saying that “the truth was more important than her life”. Mary was hanged to death on Boston Common – for being a Quaker.

Phillis Wheatley – One of the central tenets of the justification for slavery was that blacks brought to the colonies were intellectually incapable of caring for themselves. How could it be, then, that a young girl, too frail and sickly to be considered for manual labor grow to become a brilliant poet and advocate for the abolitionist movement? Considered to be too ill for work, her enslavers, taught her to read and write. She would become a celebrated poet who wrote often of morality, Christianity and of course, slavery. Her supporters included Benjamin Franklin and John Hancock, and eventually challenge George Washington’s own justification of being a slaveholder.

Mercy Otis Warren – Simply said, were Mercy Otis Warren a man, she’d have likely been one of the Founding Fathers. Born in Plymouth to a judge, James Otis, Sr. and brother to her more famous brother, James Otis, Jr., Mercy fell into the opportunity for an education when it was clear that attempts to educate another brother were futile. Encouraged by her brother, James, she became an author of poems, plays and pamphlets all critical of British rule. She was a confidant and advisor to Samuel and John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry and George Washington. Few men could claim the same. Given that the concept of revolution and ideas of freedom and liberty propelled Colonist to act, Warren must be considered a foundational contributor to the movement for freedom.

Margaret Kemble Gage – Born in New Jersey to parents who were also born in American, Margaret was all-American. But her marriage to a British general forced her to choose between loyalty to her spouse or to her beloved country. She chose the latter. General Thomas Gage, the leader of the army in British North America was the most powerful military man in the country. After his marriage to Margaret, he promoted her brother to a key position among his officers. Margaret, by benefit of her family, was privilege to classified information. Unfortunately for her husband, she also had close friendships among leaders of the Revolutionary movement. This gave her the ability to, perhaps, change the course of history. Dr. Joseph Warren, a close friend of Mrs. Gage (how “close” has been the subject of debate) organized two riders, Paul Revere and William Dawes to ride separate routes to Lexington on the night before British forces marched to Lexington and Concord and inadvertently started a war. How did Warren know about the General’s plans? Signs point to the General’s wife – a woman whose name is mostly lost to the years, but likely played a crucial role in an American victory in Lexington and Concord.