The lives of women in Colonial America differed significantly depending on their social class, ethnicity, age, and so on. However, what remained a common theme for all of them was the disproportionate rights to responsibilities ratio. Although women did not have the rights and freedoms that they enjoy today, they were expected to be submissive to their husbands and play the traditional wife and mother roles. Nevertheless, there were certain areas of colonial life from which men were excluded, such as childbirth.
Women have historically been treated as the inferior gender, and patriarchy was central to the ideals Europeans tried to establish in the colonies. The women were considered to be the property of their fathers until marriage, only to be passed on to their husbands. Although, especially in the early colonial years, dowries were still a popular tradition, women had little control over money and no rights to property. Furthermore, women did not have legal representation outside their marriage. Overall, there were very few areas in the lives of colonial women where they could have any influence. And yet, they were not completely powerless.
The little power colonial women could exercise depended on many factors, such as their environment and social standing. For example, as discussed in class, the Quakers in Pennsylvania saw women become more vocal and assertive. In the experimental lands, women like Anne Hutchinson could even preach to both men and women as part of the Church. However, this authority was limited as soon as authorities felt threatened by it. Furthermore, women had full control over childbirth, although not as much control over raising the children.
However, these little freedoms mostly concerned White women that followed their husbands and fathers to the New World. After the establishment of the racial inferiority of African descendants, Black women became devoid of the little privileges White women had. Gaining all the negative attitudes and expectations Black men had towards them, Black women gained barely any differential for being women. Young Black girls were expected to work under cruel conditions alongside men and older women. White children in Colonial America, both boys and girls, have also considered the property of their fathers. The girls were not given any choice regarding their education, expected to fit the image of a ‘perfect wife’ once they grew up.
It is no surprise that the only areas in which women had any sort of power were the traditionally feminine areas – childbirth and spirituality. And furthermore, those women were only allowed to have enough power to not threaten the patriarchy and the set social and moral rules. Women were given the illusion of freedom and rights, which was more of a tease of the real power they could have had. In the eyes of White patriarchy, the hierarchy was clearly laid out – women were inferior to men, and Black people were inferior to White people. This distinction made what today might seem like normal actions seem like complete rebellion and power exertion in the colonial years. The freedoms that women were allowed depended both on their responsibilities and on their socioeconomic status, race, and age, allowing for a controlled environment for the men.