Blog #7

1. In the years before and during the Civil War women of the North and South were divided mainly by slavery and their views on it. In the South, the wealthy Whites did not want to let go of their slaves, because most of their revenue came due to the cheap labor of slaves. If their slaves were to be freed, they would have no chance of receiving the same income they did previously. In the North, emancipation was seen as the just and moral thing to do, women wanted the black men and women to be freed and become citizens of the U.S. Since women in the North were fighting for their own rights they must have thought it would be just to let slaves have their rights too.

2. The “New South” impacted white and black women in rather peculiar ways. When slaves gained what they always wanted, freedom, they found themselves facing very trying and difficult times. Many slaves tried reuniting with their families, which didn’t always lead to a happy end. Then the introduction of the black codes by the southern states, which limited the rights of freed slaves, gave the slaves an even harder time. Most freed slaves continued doing the work they’ve been doing for years because they didn’t know what else to do. Some, however, did go on to educate themselves and prosper under their new found freedom. White women on the other hand endured the defeat of their Confederacy and along with defeat came poverty. The emancipation of slaves had forced elite white women to start working for themselves. The non-elite whites felt the collapse of the economy even worse and were reduced to almost slave like conditions.

1. The underlying tensions that led to the lynching of Thomas Moss, were basically the frustrations of whites as a result of the emancipation of the slaves. Blacks now posed competition for the whites and so was the case of Thomas Moss. Moss found success in the grocery business and was giving white store owners a run for their money. He was later lynched on the completely false premise of being a sexual predator.

2. Wells was determined to challenge the prevailing opinion about lynching and prove that the reasons and explanations given to justify them were absolutely made up and false. The prevailing opinion was that black men were lynched because they were sexual predators and would sexually assault white women. However, this was often far from the truth. Black men were usually lynched on terms completely unrelated to sexual assault and more along the lines of taking away business from the whites. Also sometimes it was the complete opposite of black men assaulting white women, white men would sexually assault black women and black men would end up being lynched after their retaliation to white men’s crimes.

3. During slavery black women were often forced to have sex and raped by white men since they were considered to be property and nothing else. However, after the slaves were freed legitimate interracial relationships were formed by some. I think that subconsciously the white men who raped black women were doing so out of repressed lust, since it would be completely absurd for them to marry a slave. The accusations of black men raping white women could have been more due to seduction and trickery by white women.

Blog #6

1.Women had very varying experiences in the U.S.’s expansion to the Pacific Coast. For the most part Native Americans populated the areas into which the Americans sought to expand to. Many Native Americans were killed and banished from their homes and some of their women became “domestic servants to women settlers or prostitutes to men.”(208) The White women who undertook these journeys westward found themselves doing much of the same chores they did before, however, this time around they were doing it under the very stressful conditions of travel.

2.Historical developments like early industrialization and the Second Great Awakening played key roles in the push for reform activities by the American women during the antebellum years. Industrialization is known to have made life easier for society, and in this regard it gave people more time and hence opportunity to devote themselves to a larger cause. The Second Great Awakening brought on a chance for women to participate in the spread of the Protestant faith. Although most missionaries were male, it didn’t stop women from forming their own religious organizations.

1.Maria Angustias de la Guerra Ord’s decision to harbor a wanted kidnapper in Jose Antonio Chavez from the U.S. Army forced her to feel both afraid and curious as to what her actions may entail. Ord was upset with the Americans because of their mistreatment of her brothers, so she wanted to see if it was possible to hide a man from the U.S. Army. The source of Ord’s fear was the occupation of her house by the soldiers in search of Chavez, however, Ord didn’t show any signs of fear even when being held at gunpoint. She remained calm and was glad to have not lied to them.

2.Maria drew her strength from the words “love of God” spoken by the soldier who asked her to hide Chavez in her house. Additionally, the absence of her husband at the house gave her extra confidence and willpower to take the situation into her own hands. She felt like she was the one in command and had absolute control of the situation at hand. Due to her husband’s absence she was able to hide Chavez from the army and offer him a safe haven until his injuries healed.

Blog #5

1. What were the implications of the system of slavery for southern white and black women?

The life of a slave woman and an elite white woman in the South were as different as possible. A white woman in the south would rarely be seen doing any sort of work at all. Whereas a slave woman would be almost guaranteed to work in cotton, tobacco, or sugar fields. Some slave women did housework and even raised their master’s children. The elite white women had a great sense of pride in the amount of time they had for leisurely activities. The non-elite white women also rarely saw any field labor, though not having as much free time as their counterparts, they mostly worked inside the house and occasionally performed duties of midwives and nurses.

2. What is the significance of the story of Harriet Jacobs for our understanding of slave women’s

experiences? (pp. 166-167 “Trials of Girlhood”)

Harriet Jacobs’ story shows what kind of horrible experiences slave women underwent at the hands of their masters. She states that turning 15 years old is “a sad epoch in the life of a slave girl.”(166). She goes on to tell how the slave masters would sexually abuse their slaves and that for a slave girl to be born with the gift of beauty in reality became a curse. Also, Jacobs mentions that the mistresses who should have been protecting the victims of these sexual exploits, only exhibited jealousy and rage.

1. How did characters in these two accounts reject and resist the assumptions about black people fundamental to the slave system? On what personal resources did they draw to make their challenges?

Slaves were considered to be of low intelligence and have no real feelings. The story of William and Ellen Craft showed that slaves could potentially have a great amount of intelligence. With their combined thought and effort they were able to trick the system and escape to freedom. Polly Shine on the other hand was interviewed long after slavery was over, she mostly talked about slaves being sold and how hard their workdays were. To grant her and her husband’s freedom Ellen Craft had to pretend to be a white male slave owner. She was white due to her father and grandfather being slave owners, and her husband William was a black slave. Ellen had to sacrifice her femininity and womanhood while William had to learn to call his wife his master. Shine talks about a slave who had a relationship with a girl on another farm, he would constantly go over to see her at the cost of sleep and later on the relationship in general, as he was sold by his master to another man.

2. Both of these stories were written after the fact: the Crafts’ ten years following the emancipation and Polly Shine’s after about seven decades. Evaluate the role memory plays in these accounts, and consider the ways in which it distorts or possibly authenticates the narrator’s experiences.

Since the Crafts’ story was only written ten years after the emancipation, the memories of their escape were still likely to be vivid and provide great detail. Perhaps, the way William talks about his emotions or his wife’s actions was enhanced by the knowledge he received in order to write their story. Shine’s story was written some 70 odd years after the emancipation and that large of a gap in time could be a great key for exaggerating or romanticizing her story. It can be very likely that her story about the relationship between the two slaves was largely if not completely fabricated.

Blog #4

1. What were the major components of the ideology of “true womanhood?” How was this ideology linked to the class structure of early nineteenth-century America?

The major components of the ideology of "true womanhood" were that men and women are complete and absolute opposites of each other. Another component was that society was always split into separate spheres of life like public and private, work and home life, and politics and family. This idea was mainly appealing towards the middle class, in which a man could provide his family with everything they need and the woman could concentrate on creating a stable environment at home. With the spare time on their hands from not working, the middle class women preached the idea of “true womanhood” to the lower class.

2. What is the significance of the Lowell mill girls in the history of U.S. women and work?

The Lowell mill girls were the first fully female labor force in the United States. Spinning cloth had been a household chore for a long time and had now become an incredibly large industry. Since the females who spun cloth at these factories were all young and unmarried, they were able to help their families drastically in a time of increasing expenses. However, as time passed they gained more and more independence and contributed more and more to the economy. They eventually started petitioning the state legislature for normal work hours and wages, this made the push for women into the political process.

1. What is Sanger’s view of the moral nature of women?

Sanger believed that most women wouldn’t normally sell themselves for casual, public, and non-marital sex of their own free will. He argued that they were “deserted, seduced, driven by destitution, or forced into prostitution by some other extraordinary event over which they had no control.”(170) Those who fell on hard times may not have had any alternative way to provide for themselves and those closest to them.

2. What does Sanger think are the cause and consequences of prostitution for women?

Sanger’s survey revealed that women had various reasons for becoming prostitutes. Some chose that style of life for themselves and others were merely left with no alternative to feed themselves. Some of the women were alcoholics and became prostitutes for the sole purpose of obtaining liquor. The low wages of the era gave most women no choice, but to resort to this horrible lifestyle. Consequently, women who chose this life were harshly ridiculed and degraded in public life, while only trying to make ends meet and feed their families.

3. How do Sanger’s conclusions about prostitution reflect the values of his own day?

Sanger may not have agreed with what prostitutes did, however, he was an understanding man and realized that technically none of these women chose to be prostitutes. They all just fell into an unfortunate set of circumstances and had no other method to solve their problems. The society of Sanger’s day looked down on prostitution and upper and middle class women could never understand what could force a woman to take on this horrid lifestyle.

Blog #3

1. The chapter’s introduction ends with the statement, “Although traditional expectations about women’s roles were challenged, they were rarely overturned.” In what ways were these expectations challenged during the revolutionary era? What were the limits to these challenges?

The expectations of women were first challenged during the boycotts of British goods. Women began to make cloth in their households, instead of relying on imports. This solidified a woman’s role as a producer in the economy, however, at first this events’ impact was diminished by the commendations given to men for having the cloth spun at their houses. Later women’s efforts were recognized and credibility was given where it was due. In later years, when the war had finally started women were left with no choice but to take on the duties of a man due to the man’s absence during wartime.

2. The Introduction to Through Women’s Eyes emphasizes that the study of women’s history has transformed the definition of “political” history. In what ways might women’s activity in the revolutionary era be considered “political”? What were the most significant differences among European women colonists?

It is important to remember that slave, Native American, poor, and elite women all had different choices to make. Slaves made the choice to escape slavery, Native American women participated in their councils attempts’ to decide on alliances, and white women made decisions to either take the side of the loyalists or patriots. The European women colonists were divided into the elite and the poor. The elite were able to use their status to encourage Congress on different issues, organize other women to support troops, and even vote by owning property. The poor women may not have had much influence or power, but that did not stop them from contributing. Many of them followed the armies and helped the troops by either cooking, washing, or tending to the sick on the battlefield and off of it.

3. How would you summarize the revolution’s legacies to women?

For some women, the revolution had brought on poverty while to others it brought opportunity. For the Native American women, life had not changed much. Although they were now farmers’ wives and not hunters’ wives, their roles in farming work, livestock tending, and cloth weaving remained as they were earlier. Some African American women were able to escape slavery by fleeing to the British side, while others remained slaves as they were. White women also had a mixed fate as the African Americans did. Many of them now had no husbands which brought about terrible hardships. While some of the more privileged women were now left to manage farms and businesses.

4. What do Rush and Murray see as the benefits of female education? How does the proper education of females differ from that of males?

They believe that female education was an integral part of a family accumulating wealth and bettering the family overall. A woman was to have a more general education and be somewhat knowledgeable of many subjects. A man on the other hand was to be educated in a specific field to become a specialist of the given field. Another benefit to the female education would be to also teach their sons of liberty and government before they carry on with their traditional education.

5. How do Rush’s and Murray’s ideas accord with the ideas associated with Republican Motherhood?

They both agree that education of females will potentially improve society as well as the individual families. With Murray being a woman, however, it is not surprising to see her argue for women to have a deeper education than just the basic as discussed by Rush. Murray’s idea holds a lot of legitimacy, since a woman would be able to take a great workload off a man’s shoulders. For example if a woman was a financial expert she would be able to care of the finances at home in greater depth so the man could focus on his profession.