The Woman in American History

Readings for discussion:
From the attachment titled “Women and Work in Early America” please read the introductory paragraph for the chapter which is on page 58 and read document 4 which begins on page 62 and ends on page 63. Also read document 5 which begins on page 64 and ends on page 65.
Document 4 “Mary Prince Describes Her Work as an Enslaved Salt Raker” p. 62
Document 5 “Eulalia Perez Recalls her Work in a Mission in Spanish California in the Early Nineteenth Century” p. 64
You had two readings – one was document 5 about Eulalia Perez, a woman in Spanish California in the early 19th century and document 4, about Mary Prince who was an enslaved salt raker also in the early 19th century. These two documents demonstrate some of the types of labor that women did in the early 19th century. During this time, a woman’s “proper” role was that of wife and mother and her work was usually done within or around the home. However, we see that even though gender roles for women were very strict, women still had to labor outside of the home for different reasons.
The other elements to add to this are race and ethnicity. Eulalia was a woman of Spanish descent in Spanish California. Her Spanish bloodline placed her above other women in the region and even sometimes above men. As a Spanish woman we see that she had some authority over the Native American women and men in the Mission and she was given many responsibilities. However, being a woman still meant she had limitations and expectations.
On the other hand, Mary Prince was born into the system of slavery and therefore she no rights over her own body and life. She gained nothing from her labor.
Looking back at Anne Hutchinson’s story we also see that she worked outside of the home and helped her community as a healer and midwife.
These are just three examples of the many ways that women labored before the industrial revolution and before women stepped into wage labor in large numbers.
PROMPT
What do you think about women’s contributions during that period? Was their labor necessary and who benefited from it? Did anything surprise you from these readings?
please use these two readings as my source. please write one complete page for my discussion, and one complete page for replying my classmates’ discussion.page

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