Women as we have seen and read in the prehistoric days were sidelined and were never given any opportunity. Women’s role was primarily seen as childbearing and child rearing.( Sally G McMillen|). In issue 10 Gerda Lerner in the The Lady and the Mill Girl: Changes in the Status of Women in the Age of Jackson talks about women empowerment but not as convincingly as Nancy F. Cott in the The Bonds of Womanhood”Woman’s Sphere” in New England, 1780-1835.
Sally goes ahead and explains further “Pregnancies, confinements, suckling babies, and nurturing infants were ceaseless and demanding activities for black and white women,” (3). In this she continues and explains how women got children in their early teens to their old age, sick age or till death. We read that most women got children every year of their marriage and they were content. The writer of this article goes ahead and gives several examples of women who did nothing other than bear and nurture children one was married for twelve years and got eleven children whereas Nancy talks about the woman who fought for women recognition.
It makes a lot of sense when the writer says why this was applicable is because one more child means more workers in the farm and also says in the south the farms were very vast and fertile unlike in the north area.
At the same time in the southerners were very religious people unlike the southerners. They didn’t believe in contraceptives they go ahead and say the only way to delay another conception was to go visit a distance relative or childhood friend and stay for some time.
It is actually said that black women were more fertile than white women. Black women managed and aborted more children. This brought more grief to the whole society. This is easily reflected by “While white women rarely did anything to limit their fertility slave women may have been more comfortable with the idea, though how often they aborted fetuses or resorted infanticide is unknown.” This is clearly said that pregnancy time wasn’t a very fun time. Most women lost lives shortly after child birth or during birth thus for the slave woman it worse. The white woman could sometimes decide to have and afford to have a doctor
In this thesis the point is driven home and expounded in a very interesting that statement is so direct and forces you to want to know more about what the writer is writing about.
Thus out of the three articles the most compelling was The Bonds of Womanhood ”Woman’s Sphere” in New England, 1780-1835. Which is comes in relation to the pre civil war period in America. And that is when industrialization began taking shape and women learnt they could more than just give birth.
Works Cited:
Taking Sides: Did the industrial revolution provide more economic opportunities for women in the 1830?. 15 ed.Print.
Mcmillen, Sally G. To make them stand in fear: The slave holding south. 10 ed. Potrait of America. Print.
