The Colonial Era and Family Fluctuations
In the colonial era women were limited to certain occupations and duties. There were some regional differences in the women and families, but the women were similar in most ways during the colonial era. Women had large families and spent most of their time tending to the children, house work and the farming at times to support their family. As the years progressed women evolved. Women were giving more freedom and independence. With freedom and independence came social classes that families and women were put into according to social and economic status. The American Industrial revolution was a big boom in American history and it effected everyone men and women. Life was changing.
To establish a thriving settlement the Virginia Company officials of London imported women into the colony. The Virginia Company wanted to ensure that Virginia would prosper and plantations grow (Student Guide/ History 211,2004 p.8). Women learned that men were the head of the house hold and they were to be silent and so as her husband wanted. Women continued to learn the role thought out their lives. Young girls also learned this by watching their mother remain silent and do as she was told by her husband. In the colonial era women did not defying a man they could be taking to court and persecuted for that crime or for less. “These women also found out their marriage portions would be inferior to those of their brothers” (America: A Concise History 4th edition, 2009 p.97). As more and more women arrived, marriages and families were created almost instantaneously. In some areas, the average age a woman married was around 20, considerably lower than the average in England. Women also had more freedoms than in Europe. Since there were very few women and a high amount of men, the females were able to select who they wished to marry. High mortality