Women in Colonial North America
The status of women in colonial North America has been well studied and described and can bebriefly summarized. Throughout the colonial period there was a marked shortage of women,which varied with the regions and was always greatest in the frontier areas. This favorableratio enhanced women's status and position and allowed them to pursue different careers.
The Puritans, the religious ct that dominated the early british colonies in North America,regarded idleness as a sin, and believed that life in an underdeveloped country made itabsolutely necessary that each member of the community perform an economic function.
Thus work for women, married or single, was not only approved, it was regarded as a civic duty.Puritan town councils 1 expected idows and unattached women to be lf supporting and for along time provided needy spinsters with parcels of land. There was no social sanction againstmarried women working; on the contrary, wives were expected to help their
husbands in theirtrade and won social approval for doing extra work in or out of the home. Needy children, girlsas well as boys, were indentured or apprenticed and were expected to work for their keep. The vast majority of women worked within their homes, where their labor produced mostarticles needed for the family. The entire colonial production of cloth and clothing and partiallythat of shoes was in the hands of women. In addition to the occupations, women werefound in many different kinds of employment. They were butchers, silversmiths, gunsmiths andupholsterers. They ran mills, plantations, tanyards, shipyards, and every kind of shop, tavern,and boardinghou. They were gatekeepers, jail keepers, xtons, journalists, printers,apothecaries, midwives, nurs, and teachers.
