COLONIAL

Is the US a democracy or a republic?

• This question is central to understanding the political system in the United States.

Colonial Era/Early America

Early Settlements (1600s)

• Notable skewed sex ratios in colonist populations:

  • In Southern colonies, particularly Virginia, men significantly outnumbered women.

  • Example statistics:

  • Early 1600s: Ratio of men to women was 6:1.

  • Late 1680s: This ratio decreased to 3:1.

• High mortality rates affected the population:

  • Death rates exceeded birth rates until the 1690s.

  • Estimated median age at death in Chesapeake Bay area colonies:

  • Women: 39 years

  • Men: 48 years

  • Children faced high mortality risks; over two-thirds lost one or both parents before reaching 13 years of age.

Marriage Patterns

• Colonial settlers typically married at young ages and often remarried:

  • Average age at first marriage for American-born colonists was estimated at 15 to 17 years.

  • Many individuals were widowed and remarried 2 to 3 times.

  • Average number of children born to women in Virginia ranged from 9 to 11, surpassing the average of six children back in England.

Impact on Institutions

1. Creation of Orphan Courts:

   • Established to manage the welfare of orphaned children.

2. Widow's Rights and Property Ownership:

   • Women often gained substantial autonomy in widowhood.

     • Coverture limited a woman's rights in childhood, marriage, and spinsterhood but did not apply once she became a widow.

     • Most significant right for widows was inheritance from their husbands. The state mandated that at least one-third of the estate must go to the widow.

     • Consequently, although limited, widows could own property.

Indigenous Women

• Pre-colonial Societies:

  • Women in North America lived under predominantly matriarchal or matrilineal societies, holding more rights than their European counterparts.

  • Women played key roles in farming and governance:

  • They had the authority to nominate and impeach leaders, veto wars, and even hold chief positions.

  • Divorce and ownership of property were common practices.

  • Average number of children per family was 2 to 3, with abortion practices noted.

• Iroquois Confederacy:

  • Their constitution, known as the "Great Plan of Peace," served as an inspiration for the Founding Fathers and exemplified principles of federalism and checks and balances.

Independence & Early Republic

Women's Political Involvement

Revolutionary and Early America

• During the American Revolution, women participated in political organizations, diverging from the religious and charitable groups dominant in the 19th century.

• Evidence suggests that wealthy women, likely widows with property, exercised their right to vote during this period.

• The New Jersey constitution (1790-1807) was notable for being the first to explicitly include "she" in its text regarding voting rights.

Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792)

• Introduced the phrase "women’s rights" into public discourse post-Revolution.

  • Focused chiefly on the lack of educational opportunities for women.

  • Wollstonecraft notably asserted, "I may excite laughter, by dropping a hint, which I mean to pursue at some future time, for I really think that women ought to have representatives."

Suffrage Reforms in Early 19th Century

• Male suffrage during the colonial era was inconsistent, with voting often restricted to white male landowners over 21 years of age; New Jersey was an anomaly, providing broader access.

• Various states enacted laws barring specific religious groups from voting, including Catholics, Jews, and Quakers.

• Key legislative changes over time:

  • 1790: Naturalization Law restricted citizenship to only free white immigrants.

  • 1792: New Hampshire removed landownership requirements for voters.

  • 1807: New Jersey barred women and black men from voting.

  • 1821: New York imposed stringent property requirements that effectively disenfranchised black men.

  • 1842: Dorr War/Rebellion highlighted conflicts over voting rights.

How Women Lost the Right to Vote

• As women became increasingly politicized, a backlash ensued, resulting in:

  • Partisanship and accusations of voter fraud leading to shifts in electoral regulations.

  • Ideologies from the Age of Enlightenment evolving into notions of biological determinism affecting perceptions of women’s rights.

  • This backlash was not limited to white women, as seen in the Cherokee constitutional convention of 1827.

Women & Religion in Early America

Quaker Influence

• Quakers, who followed George Fox, emigrated to the colonies to escape religious persecution in the 1600s.

• Their beliefs centered on equality for all individuals, advocating that both men and women are equal in the eyes of God and should be guided by their inner conscience.

• Quakers played significant roles in abolitionist movements; many societies and activists were founded on their principles.

The Second Great Awakening

• An evangelical revival led to a massive increase in Christian (especially Protestant) conversions in America.

• A noted scholar, Donald Matthew, termed it "the greatest organization and mobilization of women in American history" in 1969.

• The revival resulted in increased public roles for women within religious contexts.

The 'Feminization' of Religion

• Recognized during the 17th century, religious leaders noted a significant female predominance in church attendance, a trend that persisted into the 18th century and was amplified during the Second Great Awakening.

Church Membership Statistics (Massachusetts and Connecticut)

(Source: 1993, Volume 13 Religion)

Ethical Questions

• Is religion a liberating or an oppressive force for women?

References

1. Berges, S. (2013). The Routledge guidebook to Wollstonecraft’s A vindication of the rights of woman (1st ed.). Routledge.

2. Curry-Ledbetter, C. (2020). Women’s suffrage in New Jersey 1776–1807: A political weapon. The Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law, 21, 705.

3. De Pauw, L. G. (1977). Women and the law: The colonial period. Human Rights, 7(2), 107–113.

4. History.com Editors. (2018, August 21). Religion in the 13 colonies. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/news/religion-13-colonies- america

5. Janes, R. M. (1978). On the reception of Mary Wollstonecraft’s: A vindication of the rights of woman. Journal of the History of Ideas, 39(2), 293–302. https://doi.org/10.2307/2709106

6. K. G. Saur. (1993). Religion (Vol. 13). Berlin, Boston: K. G. Saur. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110974942

7. Museum of the American Revolution. (n.d.). How did women lose the vote? The backlash. In When women lost the vote: A revolutionary story. https://www.amrevmuseum.org/virtualexhibits/when-women-lost-the-vote-a-revolutionary-story/pages/how-did- women-lose-the-vote-the-backlash

8. Miller, R. J. (1993). American Indian influence on the United States Constitution and its framers. American Indian Law Review, 18(1), 133-160.

9. National Humanities Center. (n.d.). Religion and the founding of the American Republic: Mid-colonies. https://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/eighteen/ekeyinfo/midcol.htm

10. PBS. (n.d.). The great awakening and enlightenment. In This far by faith: African American spiritual journeys. https://www.pbs.org/thisfarbyfaith/journey2/p3.html

11. Schaaf, G. (1988). From the Great Law of Peace to the Constitution of the United States: A Revision of America's Democratic Roots. Am. Indian L. Rev., 14, 323.

12. U.S. History. (n.d.). Religion in the colonies. https://www.ushistory.org/us/22c.asp

13. Zagarri, R. (1998). The rights of man and woman in post-Revolutionary America. The William and Mary Quarterly, 55(2), 203–230. https://doi.org/10.2307/2674384

14. Zagarri, R. (2011). Revolutionary backlash: Women and politics in the early American Republic. University of Pennsylvania Press.