Essay Example on Women in Colonial America: A Diverse Role in Society

Introduction

Women lives during colonial times were diverse than the present days. During then, women were anticipated to get married, have offspring, work in the home and obey their husband. Despite the limitation placed on women, they played a substantial role in the growth and existence of the American colonies. It was through the strenuous hard work of women that the United States of America was built on. The purpose of this essay is to discuss how the women role in middle and England colonies differ in the characters of women, the lawful rights of women held during the colonial period and how the lives of the native moment were different from colonial lives.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Women Role in Middle and England Colonies

The role of women in the middle colonies practised agriculture activities than the England colonies. The soil of England was rocky and infertile, and therefore farming was challenging for the women ("Introduction - U.S. History - OpenStax", 2020). In the Middle colonies, the soil was soft and pliable which made it easier for the women to practise farming whereby, the shorter winters meant that they could grow a large variety of crops such as potatoes, Peas, wheat and maize.

In England colonies, the role of women was based on large families indicating that as a wife, you would always be producing children ("Introduction - U.S. History - OpenStax", 2020). The lives of women consisted of taking care and raising children along with the typical households' chores of cooking and cleaning. On the other hand, the role of women in the middle colonies made candles, butter, clothing and soaps as we as raising children, cleaning and cooking (Brekus, 2017). While the leading role of women in England colony was to look after children and doing house chores, Women in the middle colonies focused on making goods and looking after the family.

Legal Right of Women During Colony During the Colonial Period

In legal State, the legal status of free women depend on marital status. Women who were not married; for instance, widows had a legal right to live in the area of their choice and support themselves in any occupation that did not require a license or a college degree. Importantly, single women had the right to join into agreements, buy and sell real estate and accumulate personal property ("Introduction - U.S. History - OpenStax", 2020). The personal property consisted of anything that could be moved as cash, livestock's, and bond. Furthermore, married women had few legal rights since they were predictable to submit their husband and men in their life, such as father, brother sand grandfathers.

How Native Women's Lives Were Different from Colonial Women's Lives

Native women operated in ways that complemented each other, rather than existing in total quality. There was the existence of equality between women and men, unlike the lives of colonial women where women were only allowed to look after children and obey their husbands. In colonial lives, women were to bear children, raise them, and carry out house duties. However, the lives of native women were different since women and men worked equally hard and were similarly valued in society (Brekus, 2017). Men were responsible for hunting, defending their community, and engaging others in warfare. They made weapons and carried out political roles at a higher rate than native women: However, women held political positions, unlike colonial women where women were not allowed to stay any political purpose but instead to be entirely submissive to their husbands.

References

Brekus, C. A. (2017). Women and Religion in Colonial North America and the United States. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History.

Introduction - U.S. History - OpenStax. Openstax.org. (2020). Retrieved 8 March 2020, from https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/1-introduction.