Women in America

1. Women in America

2. Women’s History

3. Bellwork 1/8/08 Which women from the Chart IN YOUR OPINION is the most important and why? Keep your Chart on your desk.

4. Colonial Times • Especially in poor families, woman’s role was domestic • She was not allowed to own property, sign contracts, keep her own wages, or bring lawsuits • Male population far outweighed female population • Divorce was rare • If it did occur, woman was considered to be at fault • Children were given to father

5. Colonial Times • Marriage typically occurred around age 13-14 • If women were not married by age 25, they were socially humiliated • Widows were pressured to marry as soon as possible • (some states proposed laws to REQUIRE widows to remarry within 7 years) • Women were considered ‘legally dead’ once they were married • They were legally one with their husbands

6. Colonial Times • Women were considered ‘legally dead’ once they were married • Women had no control of their earnings, inheritance or property • Could not appear in court • Could not vote • Husbands could legally beat their wives • If a wife ran away, she was considered a thief because she was ‘stealing’ the clothes she was wearing • Murder • If a man murdered his wife, he was hung • If a woman murdered her husband, she was burned alived

7. Southern Colonies Women could own land Powerful influence in early colonial history because men often died young in the south from disease.  As a result of the absence of young men, women were often given the power to own land and also control the land they owned.  As European men gained resistance to the harsh conditions, women started to lose some of their authority outside of the home.

8. Republican Motherhood • Concept arose after the American Revolution • Colonists were rebelling against England • Believed in governing the nation as a republic..with an emphasis on liberty, rule by the people and civic virtue practiced by citizens • This concept should be passed down to children at a young age by the mother • This would ensure the central position of these ideas in the youth of America’s mind

9. Lowell’s Mill 1830s • First mill to employ young women only (and not families) • Women were traditionally employed in textile work • Women were not expected to support families so could be paid less

10. Lowell’s Mill 1830s • Sleep 6 to a room • 3 beds to a room • No privacy: impossible to read and write alone • Had a moral code they had to live by or be reported to authorities

11. Lowell’s Mill 1830s • 7000-8000 women • 13 hour work days • Boarding house • 4:30 am bell rings; girls must be in Mill at 5 am • 7 am 30 minutes for breakfast • Noon 30 minutes for dinner • 7 pm Evening bell rings for close of business • Work on cotton looms all day

12. Cult of Domesticity – Btw 1820 & Civil War • Growth of industries & businesses created a new middle class • The Middle class consisted of families whose husbands worked as lawyers, office workers, factory managers, merchants, teachers, physicians and others.

13. Cult of Domesticity – Btw 1820 & Civil War • Differed from pre-industrial families • They did not have to make what they needed to survive • When husbands went OFF to work, they helped to create the view that men alone should support the family • This belief held that the world of work, the public sphere, was a rough world, where a man did what he had to in order to succeed, that it was full of temptations, violence, and trouble.

14. Cult of Domesticity – Btw 1820 & Civil War • Differed from pre-industrial families • A woman who ventured out into such a world could easily fall prey to it, for women were weak and delicate creatures. A woman's place was therefore in the private sphere, in the home, where she took charge of all that went on. • Middle-class family came to look upon itself as the backbone of society • Ideas about how women should behave were communicated through magazines, religious journals, advice books, newspapers, fiction, etc.

15. Cult of Domesticity – Btw 1820 to Civil War • 4 parts • Piety • Religion • Purity • Women should be pure in every way • Reflected in culture • Instead of talking about legs, they were limbs (even when talking about the legs of chairs) • Instead of breast meat, it was white meat • Women began to decorate the legs of chairs, pianos, tables with fabric so they would not be reminded of legs • Authors were separated on the shelves by men and women unless they were married to each other • The myth of storks bringing babies emerged • As did the myth of babies coming from cabbage patches • Submissiveness • Domesticity

16. Cult of Domesticity – Btw 1820 to Civil War • 4 parts • Submissiveness • Considered the most feminine • Passive bystanders, submitting to fate and to men • "It is certain that in whatever situation of life a woman is placed from her cradle to her grave, a spirit of obedience and submission, pliability of temper, and humility of mind are required of her.“ • The Young Ladies Book • Reflected in her clothing: tight corsets which closed off her lungs and pinched her inner organs together • Large numbers of under garments and the weight of her dresses which limited her mobility

17. Cult of Domesticity – Btw 1820 to Civil War • 4 parts • "A really sensible woman feels her dependence. She does what she can, but she is conscious of her inferiority and therefore grateful for support." • "A woman has a head almost too small for intellect but just big enough for love." • "True feminine genius is ever timid, doubtful, and clingingly dependent; a perpetual childhood."

18. Cult of Domesticity – Btw 1820 to Civil War • 4 parts • Domesticity • Woman's place was in the home. • Woman's role was to be busy at those morally uplifting tasks aimed at maintaining and fulfilling her piety and purity.