Books like Independent Dames by Laurie Halse Anderson

Julia Gracey, a self‑reliant teacher, faces challenges when Professor Gerard van der Maes—her charismatic colleague—offers timely solutions that test her independence.

Biographical account of Harriet Tubman, the 19th‑century African‑American woman who escaped slavery and guided many others to freedom via the Underground Railroad.

Her only salvation was the stranger Jo Davidson scoffed at the idea of accepting at face value a stranger's offer of help and company. She was not that naive! But when a mountain storm created plumbing problems in her new tent, she had to turn to someone.... Conrad Wyatt was unlike any man she'd ever met. He was direct and forceful--unafraid to speak his mind or express his desires. Immediately he reduced their conflict to its most basic element: the powerful attraction between them. In the clear light of the Canadian Rockies he challenged Jo's determined independence and exposed her elemental need for love.

Raphael explains the central purpose of his "people's history" thusly: "By uncovering the stories of farmers, artisans, and laborers, we discern how plain folk helped create a revolution strong enough to evict the British Empire from the thirteen colonies. And by digging deeper still, we learn how people with no political standing -- women, Native Americans, African Americans -- altered the shape of a war conceived by others." After carefully reconstructing the histories of all these groups, he concludes: "The story of our nation's founding, told so often from the perspective of the 'founding fathers,' will never ring true unless it can take some account of the Massachusetts farmers who closed the courts, the poor men and boys who fought the battles, the women who followed the troops, the loyalists who viewed themselves as rebels, the pacifists who refused to sign oaths of allegiance, the Native Americans who struggled for their own independence, the southern slaves who fled to the British, the northern slaves who negotiated their freedom by joining the Continental Army". Raphael's account rings true: these people made the American Revolution. - Marcus Rediker, University of Pittsburgh.

A graphic‑novel retelling of Molly Pitcher, the spirited Revolutionary War heroine who helped defend the fledgling nation.

Bess Steed Garner inherits wealth and a legacy of determination in early 20th‑century Texas, navigating love, marriage, motherhood, and societal expectations with courage and independence.

Seventeenth‑year-old Jackie Mitchell becomes history’s first professional female pitcher when she faces Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in a 1931 exhibition game.

Profiles prominent women who played significant roles in the American Revolution.

Cokie Roberts presents concise biographies of influential American women who shaped the Revolution and the early United States, highlighting their political activism and contributions to the nation's founding.

A nineteen‑year‑old woman, posing as a man, serves as a nurse in the Civil War and later becomes a spy for the Union Army.