The Intimately Oppressed

1. The Intimately Oppressed By Brooke Cordova

2. Beginning in 1619, ninety black female slaves arrived in Jamestown “sold with their • own consent… (Zinn 104)” They were treated horribly, hardly paid, and often sexually • preyed upon by their owners. • The conditions they endured on the ships was disgusting and tragic, as women gave • birth while chained to other dead slaves. All kinds of bodily fluids surrounded them, • sometimes in such quantity that they could barely breathe. • Female white slaves experienced terrible conditions as well, but not to the same • degree as black slaves. Skin color still separated even the classes of slaves. • Comparatively, women from the Plain tribes were treated with a small amount of • respect and often became tribe counselors and chieftains if their men died in battle.

3. Rebellion? • Rebellion was rare for women at that time, since men controlled everything. • Anne Hutchinson was one of the first women on record to “rebel” against the teachings of the church, claiming that she could interpret the teachings of the Bible by herself. • Abigail Adams followed in her footsteps by urging her husband to acknowledge the female protests that were beginning to arise and “be more generous to them than your ancestors (Zinn 110).”

4. Independence…For Some • While the Declaration of Independence claims that “all men are created equal,” the writer, Jefferson, didn’t really believe that and subsequently ruled women and people of color out of the same rights Americans had fought and died to receive. • This began an era of trying to control women.

5. The Impossible Woman Women began to write books on what other young women should be doing in order to be the perfect lady. In The Young Lady’s Book of 1830: “…in whatever situation of life a woman is laced from her cradle to her grave, a spirit of obedience and submission, pliability of temper, and humility of mind, are required from her (Zinn 113).” Another book ended it’s rules for conjugal and domestic happiness by suggesting to women: “Do not expect too much (Zinn 113).” Women were expected to do and to be everything to their husband and their children, yet not have any ambitions of their own.

6. The Ball and Chain • Women were expected to birth numerous children and often found themselves dreading the arrival of a new little one. • Marriage enchained and children doubled the chains (Zinn 114) Women looked desperately for some form of birth control other than abstinence, which only angered their hard-working husbands. • Oftentimes, poor women survived several of their young children’s deaths and gave birth until they died.

7. Upper Class Women • Upper class women struggled terribly as well with their “difficult” days spent rearranging their skirts, planning parties, and being driven around in coaches. They claimed to feel trapped by having one or two children, and too too many societies to attend. • to.

8. Middle Class Women • These women potentially struggled the most. Awarded with some schooling that stimulated their minds, they were barred from higher education, were forced to work to support their families, and were involved in many protests against factories. • They took up writing for women’s newspapers and formed many movements in regards to women’s rights, sexuality, antislavery, and so on.

9. Emma Willard • Emma Willard addressed the New York legislature in 1819 on the subject of education for women, pointing out that women’s education had become a primping for social beauty (Zinn 117). • She later founded the Troy Female Seminary in 1821, which became the first higher education school for women.

10. From Then On… • Women continued to struggle to attend male colleges, fighting rejection, obvious prejudice, and in Antoinette Brown’s case, her name was left off the list of male graduates at Oberlin College. • Another Oberlin girl, Lucy Stone, refused to write her commencement address after she learned it was to be read by a man instead of her.

11. Lucy Stone • After her refusal to write the commencement address, Lucy Stone went • on to lecture for women’s rights many times, and was often accosted for • her work. • She married Henry Blackwell, but refused to take his last name and • remained “Mrs. Stone” for the rest of her life. • She later refused to pay her taxes because she was not a part of the • government and the officials took all her possessions, including her baby’s • cradle, as a form of payment (Zinn 119).

12. Fashion • As these women began to spark a fire in women’s rights, women’s fashion also changed. • Amelia Bloomer changed fashion forever with her invention of the bloomer, which freed women up quite a bit to move freely.

13. The Declaration of Principles • 68 women and 32 men signed a document for women’s rights, read in the same style and rhythm as the Declaration of Independence and read it aloud at a local meeting. • This document detailed the grievances of women, such as no rights in divorce cases, no rights to wages or property, no entrances to colleges, etc.

14. (Continued) • As the Declaration of Principles came to a close, the women made a very moving statement against men, “He had endeavored, in every way that he could, to destroy her confidence in her own powers, to lessen her self-respect, and to make her willing to lead a dependent and abject life…(Zinn 123).” • If men had not known before then, they knew now…the revolution of women had begun.

15. So What’s The Point? • The title “The Intimately Oppressed” was chosen to illustrate that all women might not have been slaves sold into bondage, but they were all oppressed by the closest aspects of their lives: their husbands, their culture, and their lack of rights. • However, they did not back down. As illustrated all through Chapter Six of Zinn’s book, women pushed back hard and eventually gained the rights, birth control, and freedom from intimate oppression that they deserved. The End

16. Works Cited • Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States. New York: HarperCollins, 1980. Print.