Final answer:
Elizabeth Van Lew expanded the role of women in society by engaging in espionage during the war, showcasing women's capabilities beyond domestic roles, and advocating for social reforms, which challenged the existing gender norms and barriers.
Step-by-step explanation:
Elizabeth Van Lew helped to expand the role of women in society by stepping outside of traditional female roles and contributing to significant social, economic, and political reforms. First, by participating in the war effort through her espionage work, she demonstrated women's capability for critical, strategic engagement in traditionally male-dominated fields. Additionally, Van Lew's work helped dispel the notion that women were suited only for domestic roles, as she showed that they could also excel in areas requiring intellect and courage.
Women like Van Lew, Beecher, and female authors such as Adams, Murray, and Warren were key in pushing new roles for women during and after the American Revolution. They challenged existing barriers in education by not only promoting women as educators, as Catharine Beecher did, but also by taking on leadership roles within social reforms such as temperance and changes to education and employment laws.
Moreover, Van Lew's actions align with the efforts of women who fought against family law inequities, emphasizing the need for women to achieve political power to continue advocating for social reforms. Collectively, the actions of these women laid the groundwork for new opportunities for women to participate in public life and aided in gradually transforming societal views on women's roles, contributing to the expanding influence of women in areas previously inaccessible to them.