Rights+and+Freedoms

Women
Women in colonial America led very different lives than the women of today. Today's women have more rights than women had back then.

Before women were married they had a lot more freedom than after they were married. They could own property, enter into contracts, and even sue or be sued. After they were married they gave up those rights and were basically governed by their husbands.Many husbands thought of their wives as property that they owned. They were often thought of as "the weaker vessel." People said that women were not as strong mentally, physically, and less emotionally stable than men.

Women were expected to take care of the house and the children. The women were the ones that had the say in how the home was decorated. Men might have a say in how they wanted certain rooms to look, but it was ultimately up to the women. While the man's place was out of they house earning money the women's place was in the home. They were in charge of almost anything around the house, the children, and even the domestic animals such as a dog.

When it came to legal matters women really didn't have much of a voice. Women could not participate in legal matters or hold a place in office. They were also not allowed to vote. The only people that voted were men. Once two people were married the husband and wife were considered "one person at law," so when the husband voted they assumed he was casting a vote the whole family agreed upon.

Not all men treated their wives like they were property. Some husbands even let their wives get jobs. Not all jobs were open to women. A few of the jobs that women could have were painters, midwives, teachers, seamstress, innkeepers, and writers.

If a woman became widowed life became very hard. With her husband gone there was no income and she was forced to find some kind job. If her husband had a business of his own the widow was allowed to take it over. Unfortunately the women only got a dowager's right, which was 1/3 of her husbands property. Also the widow was not allowed to act a a guardian to her children.

We have come a long way since then. Women have a lot more freedoms and rights. I think that a lot of the time women of today take for granted the rights they have.

Sources

Tylor, Dale. //The Writer's Guide tp Everyday Life in Colonial America From 1607-1783//. Cincinnati: Writer's Digest Books, 1999. Print.

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Slaves
As you probably already know slaves did not have many rights in America during the early colonial period.

Most people assume that slavery was first legalized in the South, when really Massachusetts was the first state to legalize slavery. People in the north tended to treat slaves better than in the south, and the relationship between slave and owner was tolerable. They encouraged slaves to convert to Christianity and they usually clothed and fed them better. The New England colonies actually had more indentured servants than slaves. An indentured servant was like a slave, but could work for their freedom and earn it once they were 25 years old.

Some of the worst treatment of slaves happened in the south. A 1662 Virginian law said that any Englishmen child that was born to a slave would be taken as slave and would serve as one their whole life. In Maryland in 1664 their first slave law stated that any slave or black person brought to Maryland would have to serve for life and so will their children. If a slave would show violence to their master for a second time in a row their punishment would be having their nose slit and their faces burned. People did not want to kill their slaves because slaves were thought of as property and no man would want to destroy their property.

There were many laws about slaves and slavery and every colonies law’s vary. All of the colonies agreed that slaves were property and that a slave could not enter into a contract. In 1691 the House of Burgesses banned interracial marriages. If a woman married a slave she and her children would have to serve her master (the woman’s husband) till death. It would be many years and a civil war before people’s view of slavery started to change

Sources

Middleton, Richard. //Colonial America A History, 1565-1776//. 3rd. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2002. Print.

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