Women's Caretaker Role in US History: A Zinn Perspective - Essay Sample

Introduction

Women are the caretakers of everything. They take care of the children and the elderly. They are always at the lead in creating a suitable environment that feels comfortable for everyone in a family. Having to do that, it shows that they can take care of things at a larger scale. Therefore, looking into History of America from Howard Zinn point of view on the Intimately oppressed chapter in the people's history of the United States book, this paper get to discuss a way in which women can get to know their rights, problems faced at the time, their solutions and how women fought to have a say in the society.

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To begin with, the author tries to show how the role and position of a woman in society got violated. Women in America were treated very severely different from how Zuni and tribes of the mid-west treated women. In the Mid-west, they understood the role of a woman in society. They were treated with respect. They even held essential positions in the community. On the other hand, in America, they were treated as servants. They were treated as house slaves. They only had the right to live. Even after getting married, their husbands were restricted by this right not to kill them since they treated them harshly as slaves.

Women in America faced the issue of the lack of freedom to express themselves and participate in public affairs. Those who tried to enlighten others were put into trial and even banished. In this case, Anne Hutchinson, who wanted to hold meetings and criticize the local ministries. Though with time, women started to participate in public affairs during the revolution time due to the necessities of the war. This gave them a chance to form patriotic groups in which they enlightened each other on the rights they were being deprived of in society. Changes started to take place between revolutionary and civil war, where women began to do jobs that even men did.

Besides, despite facing the issue of discrimination, the feminist movement was in full swing during the factory era. Low-class women that worked in the factories faced harsh condition opposite to the high-class women. Nancy Cott a young woman who worked in the factories, even pointed out that it is the harsh conditions that kept them together.

Susan B. Antony is another woman that was arrested and put into trials five times for having attacked the government in her speeches. She tried to show how inhuman the government was in not paying attention to what the women went through. By being the voice for the women-led to her to get five times of arrest and trials.

Moreover, Emma Willard, in 1821, formed the Troy female seminary, which is aimed to educate children. By doing this, she created away women who could get educated in a way that they got to understand their rights. Women struggle in getting their rights was a hectic process where even Abigail Adams wrote a book on how men could be tyrants if they could. Therefore, to name but just a few, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Maria Stewart acted as voices of the women during the time.

Conclusion

To conclude, it is correct to say being educated is the only way that women can get to understand their rights. This is why they were not even allowed to read books that would enlighten them. The men feared that they would realize their potential, thus breaking the chains of being inferior. Therefore, being illuminated in what position the women hold in society can help in pushing a community in the right direction.