Colonial Women's Role In Colonial Society

Gender, Race, and Rank in a Revolutionary Age, was written by Betty Wood and surveys the diverse groups of women around the time of the revolutionary era. Dr. Betty Wood is a prominent scholar and has written many articles and books in the specific areas of early American and African American history in the colonial and revolutionary era Lowcountry. Because women’s history during that era is not well documented, her analysis of early American women during the revolutionary era is important. This book shows how women were linked by gender but divided by their race and social positions; it survey’s how their race and social standings affected their relations and encounters with each other during the fast growth of a slave based plantation society.

Whereas in the middle colonies women’s roles were more simple and common. They were expected to clean the house, cook all of the meals within the household and make goods which consisted of candles, butter, clothing and soap. They were also expected to take care of the children and watch after them with no complaints. The roles of women in the southern colonies did not differ as far as the way they were treated but it did differ in the many things they were expected to do for the family and colonies all

Women were considered inferior to men; they had to rights and most of all no voice. Typically, as the old saying goes ‘they were to be seen and not hear’. Revolutionary Mothers, by Carol Berkin tells of the general stereotypes of women in America, the roles in which they played during the America revolution, and lastly it tells the story of the women through their own words. Stereotypes of Women In chapter one, Berkin states “God had created her to be a helpmate to man….and formed her for this purpose…to be frugal, and obedient (2005, p.4)”.

In colonial America, white women and white men had two different and distinct roles, whether it may be the first migration, the transitional period, or the revolutionary era, women had to the responsibility of taking care of domestic matters. In the early colonial period, women had the expectation and role of ensuring the colony’s survival and longevity through childbirth and rearing. As new colonies emerged and the original colonies of New England and Chesapeake expanded, women were not only responsible for birthing children, mostly boys that will inherit their father’s wealth, now they were also expected for the moral upbringing of their children. Women, in predominantly patriarchal religious communities like the Puritans, had to raise religious

Surprisingly, Native American women had more freedom than the white women in the Chesapeake, Middle Colonies, or New England region. Some Native American women were given rights such as controlling land, political power, marriage and divorce in choice. There were matrilineal kinship system, in fact, marriage was not the most top rite of passage for them. The author covers around the 1600s- 1800s century time period while focusing on mainly white women but also women of color.

Men believed that women served only one purpose which was to take care of the household. Being a wife and a mother was considered

For women in the Southern Colonies had very few legal rights such as not being able to vote or preach. Most women had difficult jobs most of the women 's jobs were being homemakers. Life for the women were hard and unforgiving. Life for the colonial women had to work on farms.

Not all women were able to isolate themselves outside of colonial communities, some of these “women challenged authority

The first colony was founded at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. Many of the people who settled in the New World came to escape religious persecution and various other reasons. In this paper we will explore the many roles both male and female colonists as well as Native Africans played. In the colonies gender played a large role in everyday life.

Evodie Saadoun Trevor Kallimani Hist 210 13th October 2015 Women in the American Revolution There is a proverb that says, “The woman is born free and remains equal to men in rights”. Since the eighteenth century, women still try to be equal to men and try to be independent. During the American Revolution, women were dependent on their husband. This meant they had to cook, clean and take care of their children. They were not allowed to do what they wanted.

Looking back to the Puritan society, the equality between males and females is one of the most controversial faults of the time. The Puritan’s did not view males and females as equal. The Puritans thought of women to be not important in comparison to men. The authorities gave specific rules and expected the people to follow the rules, or they would be punished. In modern day American society, men and women have some of the same roles.

Women in the 1600s to the 1800s were very harshly treated. They were seen as objects rather than people. They were stay-at-home women because people didn’t trust them to hold jobs. They were seen as little or weak. Women living in this time period had to have their fathers choose their husbands.

Gender roles in the 1900s were expectations that society had to follow in order to have balance. However, women were the ones who carried the weight of the load in the family. In the article "I Want a Wife" by Judy Brady gave an overview of the expectations women had to undergo in society. A wife had to to keep everything in check from the care of the children to having everything prepared and ready, and filling the needs of everyone else.

The Homestead Act is a special Act that promoted migration to the western part of US. Public lands were made easily accessible to settlers with a small filing fee in exchange for 160 acres of land to be used for farming. Homesteaders received ownership of the land after continuously residing on the land for five years. Homesteaders also had an alternative of acquiring the land from the government by paying a specified amount per acre, after six months of residency. The Homestead Act resulted in the distribution of million acres of public land (Library of Congress n.p).

Although gender roles have changed over time, where males and females have become more equivalent , a certain level of behaviors and tasks which are acceptable for men and women still exist today. Alternatively of women and men steadily playing the gender roles they always play, they should change it around and try to do something divergent when being defined in a category of gender roles. However, women are becoming equal to men in our generation. For instance , would be men can take supervision of the children when the women go to work. Women are more maverick that they don’t need to depend on a man.