It is no secret that a woman’s life in colonial America was challenging and exhausting. Women played a significant role in their family’s survival, as they were responsible for making most of the necessities, taking care of family members, cooking, and more. They could not be on par with men in their capabilities and often relied on them in all decisions. Traditionally, women were passive and more domesticated citizens of colonial America who did not have the same rights and opportunities as men.
Women’s Roles in the Two Colonies
Women’s roles in the Colony of Massachusetts Bay and the Province of New York had virtually no characteristic differences. For instance, ladies from the New York Colony, one of the Middle Colonies, were assigned exclusively the role of homemakers, caring mothers, and loving wives whose vocation was to clean, sew, cook deliciously, love their husbands, and take care of children and livestock. In contrast, women’s roles in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the largest English settlement, were limited to housekeeping and strict subordination to husbands, but to a greater extent, they were associated with Puritan thought. Hence, females were the backbone of Puritan churches and expert court witnesses; some were allowed to work as healers and midwives (Morris, 2020). Generally, Massachusetts women performed more roles than New York ladies; they were required to work extra on the farm and comprehensively raise their children not only as individuals but also as Puritans.
Women’s Legal Rights
Women’s legal rights during the colonial period were determined mainly depending on the region of residence and local laws. For example, North American legislation allowed wives to have the right to buy and sell property regardless of their husband’s opinions (Hartigan-O’Connor, 2020). Thus, a woman living in New York or Pennsylvania could use these states’ privileges. Nonetheless, by and large, ladies could not vote and participate in the socio-political life of the state; they often lost all their property while married and had no legal rights to any money they earned (National Geographic Society, 2022). Due to the patriarchy, women were assigned a low status (Corbett et al., 2012). Consequently, regardless of the colony, the legal system was mostly on the men’s side and protected their rights (Wulf, 2019). Females were oriented toward the household and motherhood; the maximum they could additionally count on was performing low-skilled work for a relatively lower salary, which, as a rule, was managed by men (Hoffer, 2019). Therefore, compared to men, women, in particular, were deprived of civil and political rights.
Native Women’s Lives and Colonial Women’s Lives: Difference
For the most part, the lives of Native women differed from those of women from the colonies by having more authority and performing more duties and responsibilities. Thus, they were engaged not only in agricultural activities and the manufacture of household items and trade but also fished, ground grain, and prepared hides (Corbett et al., 2012). Furthermore, Native women in some tribes had power and influence; they counseled and passed on the traditions of the tribe, and the way of life of Native women was based on serving the collective tribe (Corbett et al., 2012). Their work and abilities were perceived as on par with men’s, and they could advance their social position by becoming warriors. A slightly different picture took shape in the life of a colonial woman. Indeed, she worked at home but relied entirely on her husband’s actions and decisions.
Conclusion
Summarizing the above, the role of women in Colonial times was often expressed by being a homemaker, mother, and wife. For illustration, in New York, ladies mostly cleaned, sewed, cooked, took care of their husbands, and raised their children, whereas in Massachusetts, women did the same and even more, but in the context of religious beliefs. Women’s legal rights were minimal because they could not express their opinion on the political side of society, vote, and receive fair wages. However, Native American women were also obliged to help men and to be engaged in providing food and comfort, but they had more power and influence than colonial women.
References
Corbett, P.S., Precht, J., Janssen, V., Lund, J.M., Pfannestiel, T., Vickery, P., & Waskiewicz, S. (2012). U.S. History [eBook edition]. OpenStax.
Hartigan-O’Connor, E. (2020). Women, gender, and the economies of colonial North America. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History. Web.
Hoffer, P.C. (2019). Law and people in colonial America (2nd ed.). JHU Press.
Morris, M. (2020). Puritan women in early America. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History. Web.
National Geographic Society. (2022). Women and children in colonial America. Author. Web.
Wulf, K.A. (2019). Not all wives: Women of colonial Philadelphia [eBook edition]. Cornell University Press.