First Came a Shift in the Thought Process:
In early colonial society, sermons and lectures on being submissive had a great influence on women of the 1700s. These women often wrote of their station in society. Elizabeth Graeme wrote in 1765 “A Woman’s Glory is to shine unknown” (Graeme, 1765) while “White women. . . in the mid-1760s offered profuse apologies whenever they dared to discuss politics” (Norton, 156). Furthermore, women who dared flee oppressive households were publicly ridiculed. The men left behind would take out notices in the newspapers stating “that a wife had not only eloped from my. . . Board, but otherwise behaves in a very unbecoming manner toward me” (Berkin, 9).
In the Boston Gazette Newspaper below, find the article that talks about 18 girls who met to spin cloth. How many hours did they spin? How are they described?
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Newspaper Courtesy of Massachusetts Historical Society
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As boycotts began, however, women’s roles abruptly changed and they became unintended political activists. They were asked and expected to manufacture goods in order to replace the goods being imported. Some even had to learn entirely new time intensive skills. This added tenfold to their already long list of chores and workload. They were bombarded with messages full of propaganda that it was their patriotic duty to manufacture ‘Liberty Cloth,’ ‘Liberty Tea,’ and the like.
Women were publicly praised for their efforts as part of colonial propaganda--as seen in the example to the left. The Boston Gazette seen here reported that 18 daughters of liberty gathered at the house of Dr. Ephraim Brown. “There they exhibited a fine example of industry, by spinning from sunrise until dark, and displayed a spirit for saving their sinking country, rarely to be found among persons of more age and experience.”
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Women of the 18th century used imported pins not only for mending and sewing but also for pinning the front of their dresses and sleeves to their bodices. They even used the pins to hold the baby diapers together. One could go without tea or make an amiable substitute, but if they couldn't pin their bodices together in the front or a diaper on the baby - well, that was just altogether unacceptable. Therefore, pins - brass pins, in particular, were an import that was in high demand. However, these pins became a boycotted good and an example of women’s dedication to the cause. The ladies of the colonies had to then find a substitute for this necessary item.
Watch the following two videos. What is surprising about the layers of clothes the women had to wear? What are some similarities and some differences in the way the two different classes of women dressed? What did they use to hold the dress together?
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As a further example, at one point during the non-importation of British goods, Abigail Adams even begged her husband to bring her a bundle of pins because they were desperately needed. See the last paragraph of the following letter for her request, as well as the cost of the pins. The transcript can be found in the PDF below.
How much do the pins cost for a bundle? What did the cost before the boycotts started? Why would that cost increase?
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Letter courtesy of Massachusetts Historical Society
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Newspapers profusely published articles stating how much the economy of the colonies depended on the actions of the women – including abundant information on spinning bees and how to go about the industry of spinning the materials (Norton, 166). Women also wrote poems for the broadsides where they tried to further their cause and chide the men for not doing enough.
Examples of these will be found in the following pages.
Examples of these will be found in the following pages.