Perseus Books Group

America's founding fathers established an idealistic framework for a bold experiment in democratic governance. The new nation would be built on the belief that all men are created equal, and are endowed…with a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The challenge of turning these ideals into reality for all citizens was taken up by a set of exceptional American women.

Distinguished scholar and civic leader Claire Gaudiani calls these women social entrepreneurs, arguing that they brought the same drive and strategic intent to their pursuit of the greater good that their male counterparts applied to building the nation's capital markets throughout the nineteenth century. Gaudiani and Burnett tell the stories of these patriotic women, and their creation of America's unique not-for-profit, or social profit sector. She concludes that the idealism and optimism inherent in this work provided an important asset to the increasing prosperity of the nation from its founding to the Second World War. Social entrepreneurs have defined a system of governance by the people, and they remain our best hope for continued moral leadership in the world.

“Daughters of the Declaration will inspire anyone who wants to make a difference in the world. Here is an irresistible history of the brave, brainy, tireless women social entrepreneurs who made all of America a better place. Read this book, then try to emulate them.” —Catharine R . Stimpson, university professor and Dean Emerita, New York University

“Daughters of the Declaration persuasively connects the dots between America’s social entrepreneurs of today and an impressive host of heroic women going back to the Revolutionary War. It spotlights visionary, inventive, and determined black and white women of all creeds who stationed themselves on the front lines of the burning issues of their day and founded what has become America’s ever more dynamic voluntary sector. All who care about America’s social sector are greatly in their debt as well as in debt to the authors of this fascinating book.” —Joel L. Fleishman, professor of law and public policy, Duke University, author of The Foundation, and co-author with Thomas Tierney of Give Smart

“Gaudiani and Burnett explore the fascinating origins of our unique social sector, one of the great secrets of America’s success. America’s wealthy and highly educated forefathers set the stage for robust citizen engagement, but Daughters of the Declaration demonstrates that it was a racially and economically diverse set of entrepreneurial, mostly forgotten foremothers who launched our social sector and made it what it is today.” —Mario Morino, chairman, Venture Philanthropy Partners

"Many grade-schoolers read just about every volume in a public library bookcase devoted to biographies: (oversimplified) lives of presidents, explorers, and inventors, plus the occasional woman (Barton, Nightingale) or person of color (Carver, Washington). Although Daughters may resemble that sort of biographical potpourri, the authors—former Connecticut College president and American philanthropy scholar Gaudiani and her husband, Burnett, a university and corporate administrator—have a broader purpose in examining the work of generations of American women activists, including Mother Elizabeth Seton, Catherine Ferguson, Lillian Wald, Frances Willard, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Frances Perkins.
    "Their subjects are, the authors urge, 'social entrepreneurs' who brought to the issues they championed the same optimism, idealism, and determination—and the same strategic planning, tactical flexibility, and operational creativity—that for-profit entrepreneurs applied to their fledgling industries. In the process, Gaudiani and Burnett maintain, these women developed a vibrant 'social profit' sector, which continues to demand that American society reconsider, in each generation, whether it is living up to the values embodied in the Declaration of Independence."—Booklist