America’s founding fathers are in the spotlight this week, and rightly so. Without the resolute leadership of George Washington, the moral fortitude of John Adams, the fluid pen of Thomas Jefferson and the thoughtful and intellectual genius of James Madison, to name just a few of our nation’s famed architects, there may never have been a successful fight for independence.

Or maybe any fight at all.

But what about the founding mothers of America? After all, without mothers, there are no fathers. Overlooking the important roles they served results in an incomplete understanding of our history.

Women didn’t enjoy widespread political standing in the country until the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which gave women the right to vote. But women have had a foundational influence as mothers and wives on their famous husbands and sons from the country’s beginning.

That influence has been neither incidental nor insignificant.

That’s because great men aren’t born great or courageous. The seeds of extraordinary leadership are always sown decades earlier. First principles are caught and taught around kitchen and dinner tables, and from reading, studying, praying and in countless ordinary conversations.

George Washington has been called the “indispensable man” – a moniker forged in the fire of numerous battles and excruciating hardship. His mother, Mary Ball Washington, was widowed with six children when George was just twelve. Although she became difficult to manage later in her life, he was watching and learning from her as she deftly navigated grief, as well as the many trials and tribulations the family faced on Ferry Farm in Virginia.

Abigail Adams, the wife of John Adams, our second president and mother of John Quincy, our sixth, has been described as one of the most influential women in our nation’s history. The late historian and author David McCullough has suggested that Abigail wasn’t standing behind John Adams, but beside him.

“He (John Adams) felt that women, in general, were probably superior to men,” McCullough told CBS News. “He respected her intelligence, her mind, as he respected, maybe, nobody else.”

President John Adams considered Abigail to be his most trustworthy advisor. Over the years, they exchanged over 1,100 letters. Abigail also homeschooled their children, and she was good at it, too. “Learning is not attained by chance,” she once wrote. “It must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.”

In 1776, while John Adams was in Philadelphia for the Continental Congress, Abigail wrote, “I long to hear that you have declared an independency—and by the way in the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would Remember the Ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors.”

In addition to being an ardent abolitionist (along with John), Abigail was a devout Christian woman. She wasn’t looking to upend every societal norm, but she was urging her husband to help craft a government that would protect women “in imitation of the Supreme Being.” In other words, treat females with the same spirit of love, kindness, and favor we all enjoy from God.

Growing up, I think I knew more about Dolly Madison Ice Cream brand than I did about First Lady Dolley Madison, the wife of our nation’s fourth president. It’s true that she helped popularize the beloved treat by serving it in the White House, but she did a lot more than just that. She’s probably best known for having the sense and courage to save key artifacts when the British torched the White House during the War of 1812.

While James Madison was quiet and reserved, Dolley, who had been widowed, was outgoing and socially engaging. She played a key diplomatic role, first as the wife of Secretary of State Madison during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, and then as First Lady beginning in 1808.

As we approach America’s 250th birthday celebration this weekend, it’s good to recognize the irreplaceable influence these founding mothers and wives had in the creation of our country. Just because they’re not pictured in John Trumbull’s famous painting of the signing of the Declaration doesn’t mean they weren’t every bit as important as the men putting pen to paper that sultry summer.

Woe to those who overlook the gentle and quiet spirit of mothers. The poet William Ross Wallace was correct: “The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.”

Paul J. Batura is a local writer and founder of the 4:8 Media Network. He can be reached via email at Paul@PaulBatura.com or on X @PaulBatura.