Women In The 17th Century Essay

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Recommended: Women's roles in society during the colonial ways of life

At the start of America, Virginia’s ratio of men to women was three to one. Therefore the population was, largely dominated by males for the first years. However, women in the 17th Century were considered completely inferior to men in every possible way. The social customs and legal codes of women ensured that they were unable to vote, preach, hold office, attend public schools or colleges, bring lawsuits, make contracts or own property (Shi &Tindall, 2013, P. 111). Women of the 17th century, also had extremely restricted roles within their religion. Typical work duties of women during this time period involved mundane activities around the house, garden, and yard. The gender roles for women was very unbalanced and unfair during the colonial period. Historians’ believed that traditional roles assigned to females, was the contributing factor that created the witchcraft hysteria (Shi &Tindall, 2013, P.138). Most colonists in the new world had deeply rooted conceptions about women, and how they should conduct themselves, as well as duties they should carry out. They believed that women were weak creatures, not endowed with …show more content…

Women with no denomination were allowed to be ordained as ministers. Quakers were the only group that allowed women to hold positions in church offices and preach in public. Puritans cited biblical passages claiming that God required virtuous women to submit to male authority and remain silent in congregational matters. Women that challenged ministerial authority were usually prosecuted and punished. Magisterial Boston minister Cotton Mather, argued that the pain associated with childbirth, which had long been interpreted as the penalty women paid for Eve’s sinfulness, was in part what drove women “ more frequently, and the more fervently” to commit their lives to Christ. This was Minister Mather’s way of saying, women was not the weaker sex (Shi &Tindall, 2013, P.

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