Hist 405 Women in Colonial America Essay
Hist 405 Women in Colonial America Essay
Option 3: Women in Colonial America

Pick two colonies (New England, Middle, or Southern colonies) and explain how women’s roles differ in the two colonies of your choice.
Describe what legal rights women held during the colonial period.
Analyze how Native women’s lives were different from colonial women’s lives.
Make sure to use your course text and incorporate an additional scholarly source from the Chamberlain Library in your response.

Women in Colonial America
In the New England and Southern colonies during the colonial period, women’s roles differed significantly due to distinct societal structures, economic activities, and cultural values. In the New England region, which was heavily influenced by Puritan values women primarily took on the responsibility of managing households taking care of children and handling tasks (Richter, 2020). Although their roles were vital for maintaining family and community stability, they often faced limitations in terms of education and legal rights.
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On the other hand, in the colonies like Virginia and Maryland where the economy revolved around tobacco farming and large plantations women’s roles were shaped differently. Wealthier Southern women were expected to oversee affairs, and also played a more active part in managing the households’ economic interests, including supervising enslaved labor (Richter, 2020). The hierarchical structure of society often granted women higher social status and influence within traditional gender expectations.
During the era women had limited legal rights. Married women had property rights as their legal status was usually overshadowed by their husband’s authority under coverture doctrine (Powers, 2022). They were excluded from voting serving on juries and participating in processes. The lives of women differed significantly from those of colonial women. Indigenous societies had structures that often-embraced egalitarian principles. Native women frequently held roles in agriculture, craftsmanship and decision making within their communities.
In contrast to the customs observed in colonies indigenous women frequently experienced greater independence and actively engaged in both economic and spiritual realms. The encounter with European colonizers disrupted these structures leading to significant changes in Native women’s lives as their societies clashed with colonial influences and faced the challenges of cultural assimilation.
 
References
Powers, C. (2022). Women in Colonial America Were More Powerful Than We Give Them Credit For. https://time.com/6157132/colonial-women-history-esther-aaron-burr/
Richter, J. (2020). Women in Colonial New England. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/women-in-colonial-New England/