Essay - First Generations Introduction the Purpose of This Paper Is to...

FIRST GENERATIONS

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this paper is to introduce and discuss the book "First Generations: Women in Colonial America," by Carol Berkin.

THE BOOK

This book, "First Generations," discusses ***** lives ***** women who immigrated ***** America from other countries, and Native Americans that were here when the immigrations started. It then follows through two centuries of life in America, to show how women's lives changed, improved, and/or degraded during this time. It tells in detail how people lived in the 17th and 18th *****, and particularly how women lived.

It is a compell*****g picture of everyday life in Colonial times, and of what women had to endure ***** their short lives. These are women of different ethnic backgrounds, financial circumstances, ***** *****as. Berkin weaves them together to form a t*****pestry of what life was like for early American women, and it is a f*****scinating *****.

For the first time, we can catch a glimpse ***** Coloni*****l America from ***** women's point of view, but not just colonists, Berkin also writes about powerful Native *****n women, black women, and immigrants from several *****, not just England. It is a more complete picture of early women's lives, and an interesting book to read.

The author's arguments are not as much ***** the women as about ***** rights, or lack of *****. She makes it clear ***** ***** was difficult for all these women, indeed for their entire families. "The short ********** often brut*****h life these immigrant women faced was not a uniquely fem*****le experience" (Berkin 7). Women's rights changed from century to century, and the author follows ***** everyday rights, *****owing us to understand just what ***** faced as *****y aged, ***** children, and remarried in this society.

In ***** Century America, single women retained their rights, and were able ***** make contracts, sue, and keep their possessions. This seems normal to us today, but *****, it ***** qu*****e an achievement, because as soon ***** these women married, they lost everything, even the clothing on their backs became the property of their husb*****s. When their husbands died, ***** ***** property and rights through the "dower right," unless ***** course, ***** married again, and then the property reverted to ***** new husb*****, and ********** often stipulated this specifically in ********** wills. "After her death or remarriage the Land is to return to my son Wm. Marriott" (Berkin 19).

Most women enjoyed good relationships with their loved ones, but there ***** some men who looked at their wives as their personal property, to use or abuse as they wished. One man, found beating his wife said she w***** "his servant and ***** slave" (Berkin 31). However, most families w*****ked hard *****gether, ***** enjoyed their leisure time together too.

Berkin s*****s us the difference between societies through a Dutch wom*****n who moved to New Amsterdam when she was a young woman, Marg*****t Hardenbroeck. "Hardenbroeck moved to ***** Amsterdam from the Netherlands in 1659. She served as agent for a cous***** who *****