...considered inferior to men. It was preferred that a woman remained in the home rearing children and managing the household. This was also true in the U.S. during the 1600-1700s. Women in the U.S. were not allowed to vote, own property or even own a business on her own. It was pretty much understood during the early develop of farms in the U.S. that women were physically incapable of doing manual labor like men. The natural result of biological differences between the sexes supported the point of view that believed women were unable to compete with men at jobs that required strength and intelligence. It was believed that women are naturally more emotional and therefore less decisive than men. Many believed that they were also less intelligent and with an inferior quality of creativity by nature. Many sociologists and anthropologists maintain that various cultures throughout the world teach girls to behave according to negative stereotypes of femininity, thus keeping alive the idea that women are naturally inferior. Overtime through war, a changing job market due to the introduction of new ways to produce, the decrease in manual labor jobs, divorce and the development of women’s groups, the U.S. was to notice the impact of women in their society and make changes to better accommodate her. There were toward the end of the 1700s women were becoming more vocal about equally between the sexes. An increased in literature written by women also began to happen at this time. The division of tasks...
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...various socioeconomic statuses such as the high and low classes, as well as those who supported Loyalist and Patriotic causes during this lengthy battle for Americas Independence. Overall, Berkin has constructed a piece of literature that attempts to depict the real influence of both average common folks as well as famous women have had in our history and how they were affected by the Revolutionary war. By using many different sources and numerous footnotes throughout her 120 page book , Berkin defends her stance on the roles of many women throughout history and their influences. Berkin position is backed up by using diaries from numerous women written during the days of the Revolution, memoirs, legal opinions, law books as well as news paper articles. Also to discredit any other possible arguments, Berkin uses secondary sources such as; literature that women have composed during the colonial periods, and biographies, all form various ethnic races during the 1700’s. Berkin also includes more contemporary pieces from the 1800’s to the 1900’s in order to encompass the full impact that women have had on the American Revolution. By incorporating first person point of view...
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...During the 1700s, European thinkers were impressed by scientific discoveries in the natural world. They believed they could also uncover the scientific laws that governed human life. After discovering the laws of the universe, people could use the knowledge to help society improve. As the Scientific Revolution advanced, many educated Europeans came to believe that “reason” was a better guide than faith or tradition. To them, “reason” was the light that burned the darkness away and showed the way to the truth. Hence, the 18th century was labeled as the Age of Enlightenment. The Age of Enlightenment is one of the main causes of the the American and French revolutions, it is also considered as a predecessor to the Industrial Revolution. The Age of Enlightenment was influenced by the ideas of several different revolutionary thinkers, but two of the biggest thinkers of the seventeenth century, Isaac Newton and John Locke, are often referred to as the “father of Enlightenment”. The American Enlightenment, more moderate than in...
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...Timeline of Women’s Rights Starting in the late 1700’s states started to write legislation to remove the right of a women to vote. This first started with the State of New York with Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New Jersey closing folling suiit. Then in 1848 women collected together in Seneca Falls, New York in what would be the first influential women’s rights convention completely organized by women in the western world. Topics discussed such as law and what role women played in modern society. One of the resutling factors of this convention was the Declaration of Sentiments that served as a foundation of the women’s suffarage movement. Such conventions happened on a regular bases, leading to annual events up until the start of the civil war. In the mid to late 1800’s Susan B. Anthony began her persuit of women’s rights by traveling across the country and lectured for the right for women’s vote. She also campainged for the end of slavery, for the right for women to own property and advocated for women’s labor organizations. On November 18, 1872, her sufferage efforts resulted in her arrest after she participated by voting in the presidential election on November 5, 1872. After her trial and conviction she was charged a $100 fine but never paid it, but continued in her determination in supporting women’s rights. It was fourty three years after Susan Anthonly’s arrest that Jeanette Rankin, a Montana Republican carried the distinction to be the first women elected...
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...Rosemarie Zagarri Revolutionary Backlash transforms the field of women's history and the standard political narrative that still has an effect on United States history. Many define the Revolution as a forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system. Women in the 1700’s define American Revolution as the profound change in political status and rights of women. Overall, Zagarri being a female has a better understanding of the struggle in gaining women’s rights. White males marginalized those who could not vote, mainly women however all was not lost. Women had already commenced to participate in charitable movements, non-profitable societies, and convivial reform organizations. Through these organizations, women found another way to practice politics. Many women took advantage of these opportunities and actively engaged in American political culture through the early Federal period, but a conservative...
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...Revolution to represent all the women that played an essential role until the end of the war. Generally, the. We generally associate the war with the well-recognized male figures like George Washington, Francis Marion, and Paul Revere. What is less often acknowledged are the heroic women? (Xi) In colonial society, females were viewed inferior to males. The moment they got married, all their rights were stripped from them. Everything that they’ve owned prior to marriage was no longer there’s, even the clothes on their backs now belonged to their husbands. One entitlement that married women were granted through wedlock was that if they ever became widowed, they were to be given one-third of their property, as the rest would be disbursed back to the government. Women that did marry were called “feme covert”. The women that decided not to marry were called “feme sole” which meant ‘woman alone’. A feme sole had the rights that wedded women were not able to obtain. Some of these included the right to sue and be sued back, to be able to purchase and sell...
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...The abolitionist movement, which started in the late 1700s and gained strength in the 1800s, was a key effort to end slavery and the slave trade. It was initially driven by religious groups like the Quakers, who saw slavery as morally wrong. Notable leaders such as William Wilberforce in Britain, and Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman in the United States, played vital roles in this movement. They used books, speeches, and acts of civil disobedience to spread their message and help slaves escape. Despite strong resistance, especially in the Southern United States, they achieved important victories. This movement led to the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 in the British Empire and, in the United States, the Emancipation Proclamation and the...
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...both men and women played an important role during the revolutionary war. According to her book, women played an amazing role during the war, but despite the facts that women contributed to the growth of our nation, most history books did not acknowledge them. She proves the important roles women played during the war by writing this amazing book that focuses on the struggle women went through during the revolutionary war. She focused on every race, class and color of women like the African Americans, whites, and Native Americans. Berkin also focused on all social classes, low, middle, and high. She explains the level of loyalty and support women showed to their husbands. The book proves the role women of all class and color played during the war. Berkin used several sources to prove her thesis, she cited hundreds of sources by using the last few pages of the book. These sources were gotten from few history books that discussed the role of women during the colonial period,...
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...Tale, won her the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1991. She also assisted with a documentary production of her book which aired on PBS. Her work can also be found on the award-winning website, dohistory.org (Ulrich, 1990). In the eighteenth century women didn’t play a role in politics or hold any high position in their community which was worth noting. Because of this, the lives of these women are left somewhat a mystery. Ulrich uses the diary of Martha Ballard, a midwife who practiced in Hallowell, Maine, along with other documents such as: prison logs, newspapers, court documents, and town records to bring to life the lives of late eighteenth century women. Ulrich’s purpose for this book is simple, she shows the day to day lives of women in the late eighteenth century and how they played a crucial role in their society. Ulrich organizes her book into chronological chapters providing excerpts from Ballard’s diary at the beginning of each chapter. Following the diary entries Ulrich then goes into detail using other documents to give an analysis and to discuss the events surrounding the entries of Martha’s diary. Using this technique the reader is able to look back in time and understand women played a larger role in their communities rather than just being a mother and...
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...Women’s Roles Then & Now Samuel N Kimani Strayer University Professor Flanagan HUM 112 World Cultures II November 26th, 2011 The idea of the good Mother is gift in many creation stories. In India, Mata Devi squeezed milk from her "ample breasts" to produce for all of personalities. In Assyria and Polynesia, the good Mother birthed only 1 egg from that all mankind originated. In Babylon, Ishtar gave birth from her "cosmic uterus" that is drawn out within the stars, where as Gaea, in Rome, emerged from the "primal vagina." And in Greece, "Mother Earth" formerly became Eleusis, who gave birth to a sheath of corn each year, associating ladies and fertility with crop and harvesting. Apart from the facility of fertility, the goddess conjointly had the facility of death. If the good Mother may bring man into the planet, it appeared possible enough that she may take him out. In mythologies, goddesses rounded up the dead "like a sheepdog" (Miles) Rosalind Miles, The Women's History of the planet.1989. Florence Nightingale, the daughter of the rich landowner, William Nightingale of Embly Park, Hampshire, was born in Florence, Italy, on twelfth might, 1820. Her father was a Unitarian and an affiliate of a reforming British political party that supported the nobility and later the business community, finally turning into the core of the Liberal Party who was in opposition to enslaved labor, particularly for low wage and underneath unfit...
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...Devi squeezed milk from her "ample breasts" to feed all of mankind. In Assyria and Polynesia, the Great Mother birthed only one egg from which all mankind originated. In Babylon, Ishtar gave birth from her "cosmic uterus" which is drawn out in the stars, where as Gaea, in Rome, emerged from the "primal vagina." And in Greece, "Mother Earth" formerly became Eleusis, who gave birth to a sheath of corn every year, associating women and fertility with crop and harvesting. Aside from the power of fertility, the goddess also had the power of death. If the Great Mother could bring man into the world, it seemed feasible enough that she could take him out. In mythologies, goddesses rounded up the dead "like a sheepdog" (Miles) Rosalind Miles, The Women's History of the World.1989. Florence Nightingale, the daughter of the wealthy landowner, William Nightingale of Embly Park, Hampshire, was born in Florence, Italy, on 12th May, 1820. Her father was a Unitarian and a a member of a reforming British political party that supported the aristocracy and later the business community, finally becoming the core of the Liberal Party who was against enslaved labor hard work, especially for low pay and under bad conditions . As a child, Florence was very close to her father, who, without a son, treated her as his friend and companion. He took responsibility for her education and taught her Greek, Latin, French, German, Italian, history, philosophy and mathematics. Florence, went to Kaiserwerth, Germany...
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...economic, and religious freedom, protection of rights and property, and individual responsibility and natural rights greatly influenced the new nation's government. These ideas began to affect American culture, such as women's roles, family roles, education, and religion. One of the primary changes resulted from social structures. Family members usually had specific roles during the colonial era. Fathers were revered and were considered the heads of their household and the custom of primogeniture was present, which meant that a family's firstborn son inherited the family's wealth. Furthermore, women had subordinate roles in society during the colonial era....
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...Their political, social, and economic roles in society were altered greatly when women were given certain rights that allowed them special privileges. Women’s lives change in the 19th century economically due to the 2nd industrial revolution, politically due to an overall push for equality, and socially due to freedom and a large time of leisure on their hands. The 2nd industrial revolution brought on many job opportunities that women could work in, and the push for equality was supported by allowing women to work at white collar jobs and such. Also, because of their rights being enacted many women had the freedom to experience and explore new things that they hadn’t had in a domestic housewife...
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...Gender Role Analysis The roles of gender in today’s society vary according to history, one’s personal biases, environment, and society’s input in education, government, and the workplace. History has shown that gender roles have made great strides of accomplishments in roles that were once very similar in each area of life; particularly the role of females in that they were considered to be the property of men and played the role of the helpmeet, which was a biblical term that was taken to what is considered extreme in today’s U.S. culture. Through various social movements throughout history gender roles have changed greatly. Those changes that were affected by such social movements caused great opportunities and advancement for women and minorities in education, government, and the workplace. Social Movements From the beginning of this nation women did not have the same rights as men and were considered to be more of a second class citizen. In the early years of this nation, women along with minorities were considered the property of men. Women were not permitted to be educated in most cases, did not count as a citizen, could not vote, could not own anything, could not enter into contracts, obtain credit, work without her father or husband’s permission and could not even receive a paycheck in her own name. Social movements have made great impacts on gender roles in society throughout history. From social movements in the beginning of this nations’ history such as...
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...Through this women’s literature course I not only learned about remarkable women but I also learned who I really am as a person as well and I was given reasons to cherish the life I have today. Women are the back bones of this world and they are the motivation for one woman to another. Over the years women have created hope for many and through that hope freedom was gained, because it’s mind over matter! I was asked the question How does power, freedom, and choices relate to Women’s Literature? Well power, freedom and choices relate to woman literature physically and emotionally in many ways. The women that I have had the opportunity to learn about in Women’s Literature 150 are extraordinary women. The choices that they have made in their lives were dramatic ones, which led to the power and the freedom that women today have. Women such as Margery Kempe, Anne Bradstreet, Phillis Wheatley, Mary Wollstonecraft, Isabella Baumfree, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Jane Austen, Harriet Jacobs, Kate Chopin, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Zora Neale Hurston, Gwendolyn Books, Sylvia Plath, Jamaica Kincaid, Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, and Adrienne Rich, all played a significant role in why most women no longer visualize themselves less valuable than men in our societies, and I will give reasons through words from some of the women above to explain how power, freedom and choices relate to women’s literature from the past and today. In the time that these women were growing up men were superiors...
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