Women of the period

Women of the Period

The mid-19th century is characterized by periods of slavery, poverty, and turmoil. But where are women situated amidst all these? This article attempts to take a look at different kinds of women during this notable period in history.

A female slave, usually of black descent, has no rights or possession at all. Everything is sanctioned by her master. Even the rape of a female slave cannot be considered crime per se. At the most, it is considered a crime of trespassing another's property ("Slavery in America," n.d.).

A plantation wife, on the other hand, works alongside his man on the field. When she gets home, she has to fulfill domestic duties such as household chores and attending to the needs of her husband and children (Collins, 2004).

Of a relatively higher status than the two mentioned above is the sharecropper's wife as her family is entitled to a share of the crops (Ayers, 2003). This share entitles her family to some possessions and consequently to some degree of personal autonomy (Zieger, 2003).

The family of a yeoman is usually self-sufficient and normally they would add children to increase their workforce (McCurry, 1995). Hence, it can be inferred that one of the major roles of a yeoman wife is to produce offspring to bolster the family's economic gain. Submissiveness is one of the characters that may well define a yeoman's wife (ibid.).