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 ideology of “true womanhood” has to do with the ideology of gender roles. “True Womanhood” took hold in early nineteenth century. This was the time the United States was getting its independence and treating men and women “with almost no common human traits that transcended the differences of gender” (p. 137). According to “True Womanhood”, men and women were total opposites. The True Women were supposed to be a big part of the domestic life. They were supposed to take care of their children’s education, be good moms and wives, satisfy their husbands with their domestic chores, and so on. Men were mostly busy with business and politics.

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

The significance of the Lowell mill girls is the opportunities that women in the history of United States had outside their homes. It started with one of the earliest American Industries with Textile production. “Textile production began as home-based outwork, but by the 1820s it was decisively shifting in the direction of factory labor” (p. 147). It was the most “female dominated” industry. This gave young and unmarried women the opportunity to work away from their home and get paid for their work. This gave the women the chance of independence and possibilities. The implications of the decline of the Lowell system were the wage cuts and the discrimination between men and women. Women were doing the same jobs as men but were getting paid less than men. There also were some cuts in women’s wages that directed these women to strike against the factory.

Textbook document (Chapter 3 pp. 169-173) – “The History of Prostitution”

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

According to Sanger’s estimates six thousand women were “engaged in commercial sex in New York City.” However he did not believe that women became prostitutes by their choice. His view of the moral nature of women was totally different. He considered prostitutes as sex victims who, he believed “they must have been deserted, seduced, driven by destitution, or forced into prostitution” (p. 170). He interviewed two thousand prostitutes and found out that most of these prostitutes were forced to prostitution because of the bad conditions that they were living in. According to Sanger’s views, prostitution was a way for them to be able to earn money to survive. However this also was the reason of their serious diseases.

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

According to Sanger, the causes of prostitution for women are mostly inclination, destitution, seduced and abandoned, drink and the desire to drink, ill-treatment of relatives, as an easy life, bad company, persuaded by prostitutes, violated and so on. First cause is the inclination, “which can only be understood as meaning as voluntary resort to prostitution in order to gratify the sexual passions” (p. 170). In Sanger’s five hundred and twenty-five cases the destitution was the cause of the prostitution. Most of the women became prostitutes because of the poverty they were living in. The consequences of prostitution were the serious diseases and the spreading of venereal diseases.

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

Sanger’s conclusion about prostitutes was as victims. He blames the society that so many women became prostitutes because of all kind of difficulties that they were having in their lives. He came to the conclusion that women did not choose to be prostitutes, they were forced to become prostitutes by their society. He believed that women did not have many choices, and nothing was done to change that fact. He understands how hard was the women’s lives that lead them to the wrong path.

Blog #3

1. This chapter examines native American, black, and white women’s experiences in the revolutionary era and argues that women in all groups faced choices. What were these choices? And what are their implications for understanding women’s participation in the American Revolution?

According to the assigned reading, Native American, black, and white women faced choices in the revolutionary era. However, women in different groups faced different choices. Native American women chose the British side, because of their negative experience with land taking settles. They took the British side because British had worked on controlling the immigrant’s aggression into Indian area. The black slave women chose to escape from their owners in the Revolution and look for freedom. “Especially after November 1775 when Virginia’s royal governor offered freedom to rebels’ slave who agreed to fight for the British,” (p. 78) However, the black women that escaped from their owners did not have an easy life. They were enforced to work for the British, clean the streets, and do all kinds difficult job. They were in a really bad condition and a lot of them suffered with different diseases. When it comes to white women, not all white women went after the dedications of their husbands. “A few took up the patriot cause despite their husband’s loyalty to the British Crown.” The white women, who were left behind because their husbands left them to serve the British, supported the British in other ways: cooking, laundry, nursing and so on.

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

The revolution’s legacies to women had different meaning for different women. For many women, revolution meant suffering, poverty, and difficulties. For the others, revolution was the best way of having new opportunities. The most important legacy of the Revolution for some African American black women was freedom. The African women that had not joined the British were able to have freedom. After the war, the slaves who escaped to the British to find their freedom, were back to New York. Some of them were sold again to slavery. The white women, who were left alone because their husband were serving, became “deputy husbands”, and took care o farms, businesses and so on. Native Americans were under new federal government. After the war ended, a lot of changes occurred in the lifestyle and the roles of men and women in Native American community. However, the Native America women succeeded in adapting to many changes of their traditions.

3. What was “Republican motherhood,” and what is its significance?

Republican motherhood was the ideology of expanding the educational opportunities for women. According to the “Republican Motherhood” the educated women would be assets to the Republic. Because they were being educated, new responsibility were assigned to them. They were responsible to educate their children to become knowledgeable, useful, and devoted citizens for their county. So, many women started attending schools and becoming educated people. Education helped them to achieve a lot more in their lives than before. Some of these educated women became writers, teachers, missionaries, and other professional people. In short, the educated women became more successful and respectful people in their society.

4. What was the impact of the Great Awakening on women’s experiences during the colonial period?

Great Awakening had a great impact on women’s experience during the colonial period. “Known as the Great Awakening, these outpourings of evangelical fervor reached their greatest intensity between the 1750s and 1770s” (p. 96). Great Awakening was a religious movement, and women were active part of this movement. This was a way for the women to express their independence. Women had the right to speak openly in the churches. Their voices were heard and ideas were heard in churches. Men were mostly busy with business and trade, and were less involved in churches. Going to church was a great way for women to feel better and embrace themselves.

Blog #1

Friday, September 7, 2007

About Me

(This was originally published on Friday, September 7, 2007 at 4:55 pm) HAR

I was born in 1986 in Armenia, in town Charentsavan. I lived in Armenia for 17 years and then in 2004 I moved with my family to America. I have graduated my high scool in Armenia. So, I haven't gone to any high school in the United States. I started with ESL classes in Glendale Community College. I have achieved a lot in these couple of years in Glendale Community College. I am taking 17 units for Fall 2007 and working at the same time. This is my last semester at Glendale Community College. I have a high GPA, and I am planning to transfer to USC.

Posted by Sandy21 at 4:55 PM 0 comments

PR #2

I read the Peer Response of Nelly to Judy’s second Blog. I agree that the White American women were treated like slaves. I also think that the reasons that White Women’s lives were equally related to slavery are that they used to be or they still were part of slavery. However, I would like to introduce a different perspective to this statement. I think that all white and black women were all treated as possessions. The role of women in general was neglected. They suffered a lot as a minority in men’s world, and were not respected in their society.

PR # 1

Respond to Kay’s 1st Blog

I think that Kay had an interesting life. I can relate to her life because I have experienced a lot of the things that she did. I am from a Christian family, too. Just like her, I have been going to church a lot. My grandmother used to take me to church with her every Sunday morning. Kay says that she was not planning to stay in the US. She came to the US just for vacation. Just like Kay, I wasn’t planning to stay in America either. However, I ended up staying because of the opportunities. I read that Kay has been dancing since she was seven, she loves dancing, and she is planning to major in dancing. I also love dancing. Dancing is my hobby but not my major. I wish Kay best of luck. I am sure that her dreams will come true if she continues working hard. One day she will open up a dance studio and I might become one of her dance students:-)


Respond to Diane’s 2nd Blog

1. I totally agree with you that the Native American women were hard working. However, from the readings it seems like they did much more than their husbands. According to your description, it seems like Native American women and men used to work equally, doing the same kind of the jobs. According to my understanding, women were the once doing most of the job and the men were lazy. Most of the time men would do the hunting rather than farming, planting, harvesting and so on.

2. I also think that this statement has to do with White women and slaves having similar lives with no freedom. Even though some white women became slave-owners but their lives were jointly engaged with slavery because they had gone through or were still experiencing all that difficulties.

3. I think a little differently when it comes to the differences among European women colonists. I actually see some significant differences. A big difference among European women colonists that I see is the quality of their lives. Some of them were servants, some did just household chores, and some wealthy European women that had slaves for the chores, dedicated their time to other activities . Also, there were religious, cultural and regional differences among European women colonists.

Blog # 2

1. Given the enormous variety among Native American women, are there any generalizations we can draw about their experiences in the era of conquest?

There are some generalizations that we can draw about the experience of Native American Women in the era of conquest. Native American women’s lives were very harsh, complex, full of violence, and painful. Native American women were a big part of all kind of economic activities. They were good at agriculture, hunting, fishing, fur trapping, farming, planting, harvesting, handing and preparing food. “…[Native American] Women had more power and more sexual equality than most European women of their time”(p. 6 ). The Native American women were the ones doing very hard physical activities; the kind of activities that the Europeans were shocked by. The Europeans assumed that lazy husbands of Native American Women were making their women to work just like slaves: in a routine and unimaginative way. When it came to hunting, most of the time the men hunted rather than farming, and the women would skin the animals and prepare the food.


2. What is the meaning of the statement, "Whether they were slave-owners or not, white women's lives were inextricably tied up with slavery" (page 22)?

The meaning of the following statement is that even if the white women were slave-owners or not, their lives were jointly engaged with slavery at one time. The reasons that their lives are equally related to slavery are that they used to be part of slavery before. The largest part of the white woman immigrants were servants. In 1620 and 1621 150 white newcomer women were sold just like slaves. Men bought white women with 120 pounds of tobacco to serve them sexually and by physical hard work. The lives of these white servants were very hard. Women servants were often sent to the tobacco fields, punished, brutally beaten by their masters. “The biggest change in the lives of white women of all classes was the growth of slavery”(p.21). The wealthy people started buying African slaves as their servants, so the number of white women servants got smaller. Some white women even became slave-owners, but their “lives were inextricably tied up with slavery” because they had gone through all that difficulties.

3.What were the most significant differences among European women colonists?

“Between first and second-generation settlers, there were major differences in quality of life, especially in the southern colonies” (p.37). The newcomer European women were mainly servants and hard working labors. In established community, the European women were mostly doing household chores, cooking food, and taking care of their children. Some wealthy European women that had slaves for the chores, dedicated their time to other activities. They studied, played music, did needlework, and so on. Some of them even started to be part of politics and economy. So, the most significant differences among European women colonists were the quality of their lives. Also, there were religious, cultural and regional differences among European women colonists.