Women in Early America

by Thomas A. Foster, Carol Berkin (Foreword), Jennifer L. Morgan (Afterword)

Tells the fascinating stories of the myriad women who shaped the early modern North American world from the colonial era through the first years of the RepublicWomen in Early America, edited by Thomas A. Foster, goes beyond the familiar stories of Pocahontas or Abigail Adams, recovering the lives and experiences of lesser-known women—both ordinary and elite, enslaved and free, Indigenous and immigrant—who lived and worked in not only British mainland America, but also New Spain, New France, New Netherlands, and the West Indies.In these essays we learn about the conditions that women faced during the Salem witchcraft panic and the Spanish Inquisition in New Mexico; as indentured servants in early Virginia and Maryland; caught up between warring British and Native Americans; as traders in New Netherlands and Detroit; as slave owners in Jamaica; as Loyalist women during the American Revolution; enslaved in the President’s house; and as students and educators inspired by the air of equality in the young nation.Foster showcases the latest research of junior and senior historians, drawing from recent scholarship informed by women’s and gender history—feminist theory, gender theory, new cultural history, social history, and literary criticism. Collectively, these essays address the need for scholarship on women’s lives and experiences. Women in Early America heeds the call of feminist scholars to not merely reproduce male-centered narratives, “add women, and stir,” but to rethink master narratives themselves so that we may better understand how women and men created and developed our historical past.

Genres: History

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Thomas A. Foster is Professor of History at Howard University, in Washington, DC, and author of Sex and the Eighteenth-Century Man: Massachusetts and the History of Sexuality in America, and Sex and the Founding Fathers: The American Quest for a Relatable Past. He is also editor of Long Before Stonewall: Histories of Same-Sex Sexuality (NYU Press, 2007), New Men: Manliness in Early America (NYU Press, 2011), and Documenting Intimate Matters: Primary Sources for a History of Sexuality in America.

Reviews

[Louisa Olsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I read it for a history class, but it felt like a book I would pick up on my own. Each chapter offers a different look into a specific time/place/community in early America, and shows the very different lives and perspectives present in each one. The chapters, although written by different people, all were very engaging. I didn't want to put it down!

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good non fiction work. A must read for you American History fans.

[becca sporky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book! learning about early American women was fun. There was stuff about Native Americans and slaves and the first president. A good read.

[Mills College Library]

305.40973 W87241 2015