Colonial Women Different Experiences in Colonial America

Colonial Women

Different Experiences in Colonial America

One of the central debates in the lives of early colonial women relates to their quality of life. Some have proposed that there was something of a golden age for women in the Colonial America while on the other end of the spectrum many believe that this notion is completely untrue (Norton, 1984). This seems odd to some as women born into slavery were owned and subject to sexual exploitation from their master and their trials published (Jacobs & Child, 2008). In fact, the treatment of women and their inclusion or exclusion from social circles is definitely different depending on a range of socio-economic factors as well as even location.

Some local cultures treated women far differently than the regional or national cultures. To summarize an era as a golden age for women is almost certainly an overgeneralization unless is specifically targets a very narrow and well defined population. . However, in 1920 was the first year in which American women were allowed to vote in the democratic United States which was another major milestone. This was followed by the civil rights movement and the ending of segregation in the South. However, if women did not face unequal situations within society, then it is likely that they could not have mustered the political force to challenge the system for their voting rights. This paper will analyze some of the Treatment of Women

The treatment of women was in a large part perpetuated by their inability to be represented in the political sphere. While it seems clear that many women did actually receive fair and equitable treatment in some local cultures, there were more that did not. There are a plethora of different forms of oppression that women experienced in the nineteenth century. To have any chance to overcome the oppression that they faced they had to engage through the political system. However, since they did not have the right to vote, they had little options for a political solution. Thus while some women may have lived under good circumstances, others felt the need to change their circumstances through the political system which required a vote.

One interesting aspect to consider about women's rights in a society is that they often participated in the economic system through either direct or indirect means. Since economics and politics often form an interwoven web of interests, studying the role of women in the economy can often provide a sense of perspective on their standing in the political system. Some women were even allowed to enter the court system to collect debts and engage in other business. One article tells the story of how a court in North Carolina in the eighteenth century allowed some women to do just that. The court records of Albemarle, North Carolina, during the years of proprietorship, from 1663 to 1729, reveal subtle examples of Carolina women's participation in early colonial economic affairs; debt suits and the accompanying surviving accounts show varied economic relationships forged by ordinary keeper and merchant wives in the community and speak to the diversity of experience in colonial women's lives (Rutz-Robbins, 2006).

Instances such as this are especially interesting and do provide examples of women being able to participate in certain aspects of the political system. Other cases seem to tell similar stories and give some credence to women having more egalitarian privileges in some aspects of society. Yet these privileges only had certain advantages and were superseded by other oppressive measures. For example, when a widower went to court and was awarded some form of property then this property was considered to be hers. However, if the women did remarry then all of the property that they she had claims to would then belong to her new husband. Some women who owned property would avoid remarrying for the sheer fact that they would lose their property to their new husband.