HIST405N Week 1 Assignment: Case Study: Women in Colonial America

Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:

  • Textbook: Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4
  • Lesson
  • Minimum of 1 scholarly source (in addition to the textbook)

Optional Resources to Explore
Feel free to review the library guide for scholarly sources and videos at the following link:

Introduction
The purposes of each case study assignment include the following:

  • To hone your abilities to research using scholarly sources
  • To advance critical thinking and writing skills
  • To compile a response to the prompts provided
  • To explore a historical topic and make connections to change over time

Instructions
Pick one (1) of the following topics. Then, address the corresponding questions/prompts for your selected topic:

Option 1: Exploration and Effects on Native Americans

  • Explain what motivated the European world powers to explore the Americas.
  • Describe the economic effects of exploration based on the Colombian exchange.
  • Analyze the effects of exploration on Native Americans.
  • Based on research, analyze if Europeans might be held accountable for transmitting Old World diseases to people in the Western Hemisphere.

Option 2: Slavery vs. Indentured Servitude

  • Explain how and why slavery developed in the American colonies.
  • Describe in what ways the practice of slavery was different between each colonial region in British North America.
  • Analyze the differences between slaves and indentured servants.

Option 3: Women in Colonial America

  • Pick two colonies (New England, Middle, or Southern colonies) and explain how women’s roles differ in the two colonies of your choice.
  • Describe what legal rights women held during the colonial period.
  • Analyze how Native women’s lives were different from colonial women’s lives.

Make sure to use your course text and incorporate an additional scholarly source from the Chamberlain Library in your response.

Writing Requirements (APA format)

  • Length: 1-2 pages (not including title page or references page)
  • Use standard essay writing process by including an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
  • 1-inch margins
  • Double spaced
  • 12-point Times New Roman font
  • Title page
  • References page (minimum of 1 scholarly source)
  • No abstract is required
  • In-text citations that correspond with your end references

SOLUTION 

Case Study: Women in Colonial America

Throughout the colonial age, women’s experiences significantly varied between different colonies, among various ethnic discourses. In New England, the Puritan settlers developed stringent religious practices dictating that women were inferior to their spouses and should dedicate themselves to rearing “God-fearing” children. Wives of the Puritan settlers rarely worked in the fields with their husbands, but it was different in German communities within Pennsylvania where women largely worked in stables and fields. In the southern colonies, women were also tasked with raising children but also assisted their husbands in supervising works in the plantations (Hoffer, 2019). The ordinary woman had both the outdoor and in-house duties and was expected to show respect to the husband by bowing down. During the colonial era, a majority of people resided on farms and women could do the tedious work as the husbands attended to more important chores. In totality, the role of women in colonial America was mainly determined through patriarchal systems.

In the colonial period, women had limited legal rights and freedoms. They were obligated to obey the men in their lives, be they their fathers, husbands, or brothers. ….please click the purchase button below to access the entire solution at $10