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Loosening the Bonds: Mid-Atlantic Farm Women, 1750-1850
The first book to investigate the rich and complex lives of rural women during the late colonial and early national periods. Jensen focuses on women in the Philadelphia hinterland and shows how they became an essential part of that area’s rise to agricultural prominence. Examining not only the Quakers, who formed the dominant group in the region, but also black and other ethnic groups, Jensen offers fascinating details on the ways farm women functioned in the varied spheres of their lives. Her book makes a major contribution to women’s history.
- GenresHistory
287 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 21, 2015
I enjoyed this book very much, not least because of its detailed information on the people who inhabited the area where I currently live. I volunteer at an 18th Century historic farm site in the area and this book provided great information on the living conditions and agricultural practices of that time period. It also showed how women's work evolved as the 19th Century unfolded. I was less impressed with the later chapters, especially the one on Quaker women ministers, although I do understand why the author included this facet, given the place of this activity in the overall evolution of women's rights in this region of the country during this time period.
July 18, 2016
I have not read the whole work because its strong focus on labor and the economy is not relevant to my current project. Thus, my review reflects this--via a lack of detail; but, I hope to return and read the whole work at a future date. This work is an essential read for any historian of women, gender, or the Early Republic.
Jensen's overall topic is the lives of women in the rural locations of south-eastern PA and northern DE, the region around Philadelphia. More often, historians have written about women who migrated to factories, to the cities, or to the West. Jensen is correct, though, to point out that the majority of America women before 1850 resided in rural locations. This perhaps less exciting history because it lacks the dramatic changes of migration, is no less important. Nor were women's lives static during the hundred year period, 1750 to 1850, that Jensen studies.
Jensen identifies three spheres of women's lives and these become the three sections of her book. The first is the household and discusses topics like kinship, reproduction, and labor related to domestic consumption. The second sphere was the market. Jensen details how women were crucial components of the shift to capitalism in the United States as traditional crops like wheat and domesticated animals lost value due to the opening of Western lands. Instead, women's production of other farm products, particularly butter, kept families economically afloat and connected to the growing capitalistic and impersonal economy. Lastly, Jensen examines the third sphere for women: the public sphere. Here she notes how women participated in religion, education, and reform to influence the existing and new generations of Americans. In all three spheres, women learned how to survive, have a rich life of friends, family, and knowledge, and to loosen the bonds of patriarchy that kept women in subordinate positions in the family, community, and the law. But, as Jensen notes, women remained subordinate in 1850 and perhaps more divided as class divisions and consciousness increased.
Perhaps a more complete reading would answer this question, but I wonder how representative the region is, especially because of the large presence (in terms of numbers and public positions) of Quakers. The women of this region did not have completely unique experiences compared to white women in much of the Untied States and certainly Jensen's framework of three spheres and bonds is applicable for describing the social and economic lives of women in many regions of the United States.
Jensen's overall topic is the lives of women in the rural locations of south-eastern PA and northern DE, the region around Philadelphia. More often, historians have written about women who migrated to factories, to the cities, or to the West. Jensen is correct, though, to point out that the majority of America women before 1850 resided in rural locations. This perhaps less exciting history because it lacks the dramatic changes of migration, is no less important. Nor were women's lives static during the hundred year period, 1750 to 1850, that Jensen studies.
Jensen identifies three spheres of women's lives and these become the three sections of her book. The first is the household and discusses topics like kinship, reproduction, and labor related to domestic consumption. The second sphere was the market. Jensen details how women were crucial components of the shift to capitalism in the United States as traditional crops like wheat and domesticated animals lost value due to the opening of Western lands. Instead, women's production of other farm products, particularly butter, kept families economically afloat and connected to the growing capitalistic and impersonal economy. Lastly, Jensen examines the third sphere for women: the public sphere. Here she notes how women participated in religion, education, and reform to influence the existing and new generations of Americans. In all three spheres, women learned how to survive, have a rich life of friends, family, and knowledge, and to loosen the bonds of patriarchy that kept women in subordinate positions in the family, community, and the law. But, as Jensen notes, women remained subordinate in 1850 and perhaps more divided as class divisions and consciousness increased.
Perhaps a more complete reading would answer this question, but I wonder how representative the region is, especially because of the large presence (in terms of numbers and public positions) of Quakers. The women of this region did not have completely unique experiences compared to white women in much of the Untied States and certainly Jensen's framework of three spheres and bonds is applicable for describing the social and economic lives of women in many regions of the United States.
September 25, 2011
I had to read this book for Women and Work: An American Experience, and do a book critique. Instead of copying and pasting all 4 pages, here are some key things. This is a very detailed book. There are a lot of a facts, statistics, charts, etc. Most people in my class didn't enjoy it due to the two chapters just on butter. However, if you like that stuff, you will enjoy it. I enjoyed it, but i had to put it down several times, no light reading here!
April 25, 2008
I really enjoyed this book, although my friends that don't study this time frame were less impressed. Jensen demonstrates the complexity of rural women's farm labor as the nation transitioned to a market economy.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews