Case Study: Justice & Women in Colonial America, 1500-1775
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Justice & Women in Colonial America, 1500-1775
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+Honors Colonial American History
Becky Chen
Introduction:
In the beginning of this time period, there was an unmarried woman on the throne in England; she was Queen Elizabeth. Descended from royalty, this was the first time England had ever had a woman rule her people. Yet even with this remarkable step for women, the roles of women in society were still very much limited. Elizabethan England had very clear-cut expectations of men and women; men were expected to support the household, and women were expected to take care of domestic chores. Across the Atlantic Ocean, the colonies in North America were very much the same.
Much of the colonies in North America followed their mother country’s footsteps in gender roles. It was a general trend that colonial society was patriarchal. Men were considered to be the leader of the household, and women were expected to be subordinate to men. The reason for this being that women were traditionally thought to be “weaker” in the general sense of physical work, but also in the sense of emotional well-being. However, there were cases where women were able to demonstrate their worth by pursuing positions such as merchants, printers, and even doctors. In addition, women often had to assume the leadership role if the husband was away or injured.
There were few women who could assume power and make decisions for their family. The few that could make decisions and hold important positions generally had great influence. Women were able to learn how to use the legal systems to receive rights, but at the same time, women were able to learn how to abuse the legal system as well for personal gain and ulterior motives. The following attempts to explain how fair or unfair the legal systems were towards women in different colonies, and how women interacted with the legal
Justice & Women in Colonial America, 1500-1775
-------------------------------------------------
+Honors Colonial American History
Becky Chen
Introduction:
In the beginning of this time period, there was an unmarried woman on the throne in England; she was Queen Elizabeth. Descended from royalty, this was the first time England had ever had a woman rule her people. Yet even with this remarkable step for women, the roles of women in society were still very much limited. Elizabethan England had very clear-cut expectations of men and women; men were expected to support the household, and women were expected to take care of domestic chores. Across the Atlantic Ocean, the colonies in North America were very much the same.
Much of the colonies in North America followed their mother country’s footsteps in gender roles. It was a general trend that colonial society was patriarchal. Men were considered to be the leader of the household, and women were expected to be subordinate to men. The reason for this being that women were traditionally thought to be “weaker” in the general sense of physical work, but also in the sense of emotional well-being. However, there were cases where women were able to demonstrate their worth by pursuing positions such as merchants, printers, and even doctors. In addition, women often had to assume the leadership role if the husband was away or injured.
There were few women who could assume power and make decisions for their family. The few that could make decisions and hold important positions generally had great influence. Women were able to learn how to use the legal systems to receive rights, but at the same time, women were able to learn how to abuse the legal system as well for personal gain and ulterior motives. The following attempts to explain how fair or unfair the legal systems were towards women in different colonies, and how women interacted with the legal
Citations: "Elizabethan Women." Elizabethan Women. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2012. <http://www.elizabethi.org/us/women/>. Sage, Henry J. "Women in Colonial America." Women in Colonial America. N.p., 2007. Web. 12 Oct. 2012. <http://www.academicamerican.com/colonial/topics/women.htm>. Brewer, Holly. "Women in Colonial America." North Carolina State University, n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. <http://www.dlt.ncssm.edu/lmtm/docs/women_col_am/script.pdf>. Taylor, Alan. American Colonies. New York: Penguin, 2001. Print. Dayton, Cornelia Hughes. Women Before the Bar: Gender, Law, And Society In Connecticut, 1639-1789. University of North Carolina Press, 1995. Witkowski, Monica C., ""Justice Without Partiality": Women and the Law in Colonial Maryland, 1648-1715" (2010). Dissertations (2009 -). Paper 27. [ 1 ]. "Elizabethan Women." Elizabethan Women. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2012. . [ 2 ]. Sage, Henry J. "Women in Colonial America." Women in Colonial America. N.p., 2007. Web. 12 Oct. 2012. . [ 3 ]. Brewer, Holly. "Women in Colonial America." North Carolina State University, n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. . [ 4 ]. Taylor, Alan. American Colonies. New York: Penguin, 2001. Print. [ 5 ]. Dayton, Cornelia Hughes. Women Before the Bar: Gender, Law, And Society In Connecticut, 1639-1789. University of North Carolina Press, 1995. [ 6 ]. Witkowski, Monica C., ""Justice Without Partiality": Women and the Law in Colonial Maryland, 1648-1715" (2010). Dissertations (2009 -). Paper 27.