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Rewriting the past with woman's touch

FOUNDING MOTHERS The Women Who Raised Our Nation.

Cokie Roberts. Morrow. 384 pages. $24.95.

Cokie Roberts noticed at a young age that tales of our nation's political history, such as that of her ancestor William Claiborne, mysteriously left out women. She has done a great service, then, by unearthing the letters and diaries of the wives, mothers, sisters, daughters and friends of the men who brought our country to independence. She strings together their stories in Founding Mothers .

Roberts writes about women who hoisted the weight of the new world on their ultra-responsible shoulders. She shows us that although men have carried the banners, it has often been women who carried the burdens. Women have worked behind the scenes, not only to keep the thresholds swept and the home fires burning. Their correspondence among themselves, with members of Congress and their husbands, mightily influenced developments on the political front, although they were rarely credited with any such ideas

Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, Martha Washington and others supported the war for independence, all the while reminding their partners of their own needs for freedom. The men might laugh at them, yet relied on them to raise the children, manage the farms and businesses and thus support their husbands' desires to act as statesmen and soldiers far from home.

Adams, who spent many years of the American Revolution tending her children alone at the family farm in Massachusetts, noted to her friend Warren, ''I make no small sacrifice to the public.'' Abigail advised her husband, busy developing new laws, from afar: ''Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.'' Her husband's reply: ``I cannot but laugh.''

Ben Franklin's partner Deborah cared for his Philadelphia property and his apparently illegitimate son -- not her own -- while he conducted his political, intellectual and social life in New York and abroad. Martha Washington helped care for soldiers during the war years.

Roberts' chatty style works well for readers who remember the school lessons of the years leading up to and following the signing of the Constitution. But those less familiar with history and its details may find Founding Mothers a tough read. Roberts, whose knowledge of American history is clearly an integral part of her life, tends to jump from one person or event to another, often in the same long, run-on sentence. You may find yourself re-reading whole pages at a time. The constant shifts from the prose style of 200-year-old correspondence to Roberts' more casual tone also contribute to the confusion.

But Roberts has compiled an important piece of work. Let's ensure that this information finds its way into the mainstream annals of history so that women can share the credit for creating our independent nation. A better understanding of their roles may help us to recognize and realize our strength more fully in the years to come.

Trish Riley is a writer in Sunrise.