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Recommended: American Social changes in the 19020s and 1930s
Caroline Phelps provides an insightful look into the changing face of America including: The changing American economy, the prominence of the American Fur Company, and a shift in white and Indian relations. The years of Caroline Phelps’ life are some of the most significant years of our countries existence. There were many revolutionary modifications to our country and through this journal we can get a clear perspective of life in the mid 1800’s.
We pick up with Caroline Phelps’ Life on March second, 1830. This is an important day in her life, as it is her wedding day. William Phelps, her husband is a rugged frontier fur trader. Caroline’s parents did not approve of William because of his jagged lifestyle. “He (her father) said William was wild and careless and I would have to live like a squaw if I married him.” Throughout the next few years we see some character traits of Caroline. She lives a very demanding lifestyle; her husband is hardly home and is gone for months at a time. Caroline also deals with many hardships with little complaint showing she will do what it takes to get by.
“I was so sick I could hardly get along and an old Indian carried my child on his back. We went up a cliff that had cedar bushes to pull up by. The bushes gave way and I rolled down I don’t know how far and injured my nose. It bled all over my clothes. I was fatigued. I thought I would never get there. By this time, my dress was covered with blood and my face and hands besmeared all over.”
This quote clearly demonstrates Caroline’s ability to persevere through almost anything. During her life Caroline had three kids, one of which is doubtful be her husbands. There is speculation that it may be an Indians’. Caroline learns to become trusted friends with the Indians, William’s business partners. The Indians do many things for the Phelps’ including; taking them places, guiding them to their destinations, and even helping move things from their houses. This can be seen in the following quote, “I then gathered a few things and got the Indians to take them to a little hill where Eliza was.” Caroline also plays a crucial part in the operation of her husbands fur trade business. She does all the behind the scenes work including keeping the store up, and the accounting.
James, Edward, Janet James, and Paul Boyer. Notable American Women, 1607-1950. Volume III: P-Z. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971. Print.
The chain of letters reveals the beginning of a major change that will happen in the near future, supporting the development of women's rights. Industrialization had a major impact on the lives of every American, including women. Before the era of industrialization, around the 1790's, a typical home scene depicted women carding and spinning while the man in the family weaves (Doc F). One statistic shows that men dominated women in the factory work, while women took over teaching and domestic services (Doc G). This information all relates to the changes in women because they were being discriminated against and given children's work while the men worked in factories all day.
The Jump-Off Creek introduces the reader to the unforgiving Blue Mountains and the harsh pioneer lifestyle with the tale of Lydia Sanderson, a widow who moves west from Pennsylvania to take up residence in a rundown homestead. She and other characters battle nature, finances, and even each other on occasion in a fight for survival in the harsh Oregon wilderness. Although the story is vividly expressed through the use of precise detail and 1800s slang, it failed to give me a reason to care because the characters are depicted as emotionally inhibited.
In “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson,” Mary Rowlandson, a Puritan mother from Lancaster, Massachusetts, recounts the invasion of her town by Indians in 1676 during “King Philip’s War,” when the Indians attempted to regain their tribal lands. She describes the period of time where she is held under captivity by the Indians, and the dire circumstances under which she lives. During these terrible weeks, Mary Rowlandson deals with the death of her youngest child, the absence of her Christian family and friends, the terrible conditions that she must survive, and her struggle to maintain her faith in God. She also learns how to cope with the Indians amongst whom she lives, which causes her attitude towards them to undergo several changes. At first, she is utterly appalled by their lifestyle and actions, but as time passes she grows dependent upon them, and by the end of her captivity, she almost admires their ability to survive the harshest times with a very minimal amount of possessions and resources. Despite her growing awe of the Indian lifestyle, her attitude towards them always maintains a view that they are the “enemy.”
While attending the Quaker boarding school she met James Mott, her future husband. The couple married in 1811 and moved to Philadelphia. Soon after they had six children. Five of which grew into adulthood. In 1817, Lucretia’s youngest son passed away at the age of three of disease. A couple of years before her son’s death, a family tragedy happened in 1815 when Lucretia’s father died, leaving her mom in debt and the whole family in financial hardship. While in financial need, James Mott found a job in his Uncle Scott’s cotton mill, sold plows and afterwards became a bank clerk. His boycott of slave products lead him to selling mainly wool, rather than cotton because he too believed that ...
During the nineteenth century, America went through a number of social, economic and political changes. Revolutions in manufacturing and commerce led to substantial economic growth. Several cultural movements reformed American society. Mary Paul, once just a normal girl from Vermont, led a life that was shaped by the changes of the 1800's. The information gathered from Mary Paul's letters to her father make it clear that Mary's life experiences turned her into anything but an average woman. However, in the scope of the economic and cultural reforms of the nineteenth century, Mary Paul represents the average American.
3. Divine, Breen, Fredrickson, Williams, eds., America Past and Present Volume II: since 1865 sixth edition (New York: Longman 2002).
Wright. He was described to be “a good man” who was hardworking, honest, and one who only wanted peace and quiet. Taking on the role of a housewife while her husband was out working and providing for the small family, Minnie Wright was basically confined to her home and her domestic duties. Not to mention, Mr. Wright lived a very frugal lifestyle, which, I’m sure, his new wife was not accustomed to. The transition was hard for Minnie considering she was used to a very social lifestyle. She decided to buy something to cure her
Kate Martinson’s diary provides an insight into life in the late nineteenth century that is usually unseen. Entries are written almost every year and are often poignant and descriptive. Kate Emily Anderson Emerson Martinson is a complete contrast to our perceptions of the nineteenth century woman. Not only does she feel restricted and a failure for not fulfilling the perception of a true woman, but she seems to fulfil the roles of both husband and wife within her marriage. She is responsible for both the families’ moral and economical wellbeing, and initiates a divorce and an independent life when her husband reveals he has another family. This essay argues that Kate Martinson is atypical, and challenges our original interpretations of a nineteenth century woman.
I think that this narrative is important for us to read in order to understand the mind-sets of the colonists and the Indians at the time of King Philip’s War. I believe that it is an excellent source, and really allows the reader to get a peak at what life was like during the 17th century. I also think that it is amazing that she is the second “American” woman to write and publish a book, and it is interesting to see how strong she was to preserve her own life in such an unfamiliar and “uncivilized” situation.
In this small town, in which the story takes place, women are treated as if they are less than the men. Tessie Hutchinson was even told to “‘Shut up, Tessie”’(Jackson 5) by her own husband while revealing her thoughts that the process was unfair. To readers, it is clear that this ceremony is completely random and that Tessie’s husband, Mr. Hutchinson, had an equal chance of pulling the cursed paper along with everyone else. It could have been any family, but Jackson chooses to emphasize the family that has an outspoken and strong-willed woman. Not only does Tessie advocate that Mr. Summers
Caroline Earle White and some fellow WPSPCA, the Women's Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, hated the way that carriage drivers treated their horses. Ever sense Caroline was a young girl she hated the carriage driver’s ways to take care of their horses. She was inspired to
Mary Wilkins wrote her short story, “The Revolt of ‘Mother’” which mainly focused on a woman to stand up against an authoritarian husband. She wrote it during the time when woman had no voice and counted as a second citizen if not a slave. The writer realized that speaking out is the only chain breaker, especially for the character of Sara Penn to free herself and others from the cage in it since she was seen not as better than as the cow Mr. Adoniram had. He built a new bunny for his animals while his wife stayed in an old, wall-paper tear, and a roof issue home. More than that, she waited for about 40 years to have a new house expecting him to build her. However, instead of keeping his word, he built a bunny to his animals while his wife
As for interpreting the choosing of words in Martha’s diary, Ulrich compared the work of Albertus Haller. Albertus had written works which were ‘published in America in Martha’s lifetime’. One of the works had described the structure of ‘lungs’. In contrast, Martha did not use the term ‘lungs’, but ‘lights’. This comparison led to a conclusion that Martha was characterised by ‘rural experience as much as rural education’. This helped to explain that Martha was not receiving formal education for man-midwifery, or for broader medicine, which
...." Encyclopedia of the United States in the Nineteenth Century. Farmington: Gale, 2000. Credo Reference. Web. 23 April 2014.