American History The Eyes Of A Woman - 1171 Words

Through the Eyes of a Woman The first day of class, I was shocked that I had never thought of how gender shapes our world today, let alone early America. In high school history classes, the history we studied always seemed to revolve around men and women were never really discussed. I had the notion that women just took a back seat throughout history, when in reality, they played an integral part in shaping early America. The role of gender transformed our country throughout the centuries. When we place women at the center of our analysis of early America, we see history from a fuller, more accurate perspective. The influence of women in American history was critical in the development and establishment of our country. There are†¦show more content†¦The roles women played in early America had a significant influence on a woman’s gender. Housework was a role usually appointed to Chesapeake women. Beatrice Plummer, a mid-18th century woman, spent her days cookin g, brewing beer, baking, tending the fire, and slaughtering pigs. Through the eyes of Beatrice, the strenuous labor she undertook each day, the arrangement of her house and its location geographically, and her interdependence upon other women, defined her gender. Whereas through the eyes of Magdalen Wear, another woman of early America, her gender was very different. Magdalen lived more impoverished than many; she resided in a one-room house and lived a consumer lifestyle rather than making things herself to survive because she did not have the necessary resources. An early American farm woman from northern Iowa said: â€Å"I plant the garden, I feed the chickens, I sell the eggs, I put up a year’s worth of vegetables. I don’t have time to work!† Housework on the farm was a full-time job in itself; her work around the house allowed her husband to go out and do more labor intensive work to support their family. Housework subsidized the house and the economy; without the role of the woman around the house, families would have not been able to support themselves and survive in early America. When we look at history through the eyes of different