Women's Roles in Colonial New England: A Historical Overview

Introduction: Gender and Colonial Society

Today, women still have not achieved an acceptable level of equality compared to their male counterparts. Yet the struggle for women's rights has improved conditions for modern women tremendously when compared to the roles that women were limited to during the colonial period. In Colonial America, women were often confined to purely caretaking functions, dealing only with domestic and child-rearing matters. Still, even in such constraining times, many women during the American Revolution found ways to truly embody the spirit of independence, thus influencing the future of an emerging nation.

Every society is in many ways characterized by its notions of gender roles. A gender system within any given society "is the way in which this differentiation creates expectations for behavior and apportions power between men and women" (Middleton & Lombard 2011, p. 158). These social structures determine what roles the two sexes are allowed to play within the larger society and can greatly impact individual ambitions and successes. During the Colonial era, gender distinctions carried a much stricter connotation. Gender stratification was actually enforced by colonial law in many colonies across North America. Legal and social mores within New England society at the time heavily restricted the behaviors and actions of women, and "these legal rules made most women legally subordinate to fathers, masters," and even husbands (Middleton & Lombard 2011, p. 158).

Legal Constraints and Gender Stratification

The image of the woman as a delicate being defined the lives of women who were forced into submission to their male counterparts, as they were believed to be incapable of more masculine work and activities. One broadside from 1782 describes women who met a tragic end in Jamestown as "ladies fair," representing the typical image of the helpless young woman considered too delicate for participation in a more masculine world (Library of Congress 1782). Essentially, women were almost completely disenfranchised during the colonial period because of such restrictive gender roles.

Still, there were different roles for women of various racial backgrounds within Colonial society during the 18th century. Creole and other mixed-race women often dealt with greater prejudice and injustice during this period (Berkin 1997). Moreover, enslaved women were forced to live in deplorable conditions, with many being sexually objectified and victimized by their white male enslavers. The intersection of race and gender created layers of oppression that varied considerably across Colonial New England and beyond.

The Role of Wife and Homemaker

Still, this was an era of change. During this period, the notion of what it meant to be an American woman began to take shape. The 18th century brought new opportunities to all New Englanders, including women. The transition into 1700 marked the end of the witchcraft trials (Middleton & Lombard 2011). This ended some of the most dangerous prejudices in the nation's history and allowed for a general improvement in women's position within colonial life. Yet there were still far more men in the colonies than women, causing the gender ratio to be heavily skewed toward a much greater population of male residents (Berkin 1997). As a result, women were often wed off quickly, because there were so many bachelors in the region.

The role of the wife was one of the predominant roles embedded within feminine culture during the colonial period, and it assumed a submissive relationship to the husband. As one 18th-century poem describes, women were "always true to their mate" (Jennings 2003). The wife was almost like property to her husband and could not work or even appear in public without his consent. Contemporary research confirms that "wives, children, servants, and slaves lacked the legal freedom to leave the households in which they resided without the permission of the male household head" (Middleton & Lombard 2011, p. 137). Due to the importance of familial reputation within colonial life, much of the wife's role was to ensure the family's standing remained in good standing with the community (Berkin 1997). Defending the husband, regardless of circumstances, was a major element of a woman's wifely duties (Jennings 2003).

During this period in Colonial history, the average age of marriage for women in the New World was actually higher than in other regions — and even higher than the average age it would be on the American Eastern Seaboard a century later. Research suggests that women typically married in their mid-to-late twenties, especially newly arrived immigrants who were often unable to marry until their period of indenture had ended (Berkin 1997). Yet there were still many cases of women marrying at very young ages and typically marrying men who were much older. In fact, second- and third-generation residents began to revive the tradition of marrying off young daughters. Moreover, in a period where mortality rates were dramatically higher than those of contemporary times, women often found themselves marrying multiple partners after being widowed (Berkin 1997).

Conclusion

Overall, women played a fundamental role in the evolving nature of colonial society in an emerging nation. They served as the foundation for social, religious, and even political endeavors. Most women were the silent supporters of their male counterparts, and although their actions were restricted, their passions were not.