It is the only the second week of class, and we are off to the American Revolution and the activism of the Early Republic, especially the activism that grows around the fact of American Slavery. In this week you will read about the American Revolution itself--what is its impact on women, "red, white, and block," so to speak? Does the American Revolution liberate women, does it have no affect, or does it make life more difficult? How does it affect different groups of American women? You will have essays to read, in particular, on the experiences of white and black women here--but how do you imagine the Revolution affects Native American women?

Following the American Revolution, there was a period of "public" or political activism--in the words of one historian, it was a time of "Freedom's Ferment." How does the very first American Women's Rights' Movement develop in these years? Why? What issues of social reform interested women and eventually bring them to rally for Women's Rights? What was Seneca Falls, and how does it develop?

In the chapter on Slave Women--consider, what was the impact of slavery on women, and what were the varieties of their experiences? What were differences over time, and what were differences in experiences between slaves on small and large plantations (as far as generalizations can be made)? In what ways did slave women find empowerment, if at all?

CHAPTER 5: Impact of the American Revolution

Documents: Abigail & John Adams; Molly Brant; Esther De Berdt Reed; Thomas Jefferson; Sarah Osborn; Mary Beth Norton, "Positive Impact of American Revolution on White Women," pp. 120-129; and Jacqueline Jones, "Mixed Legacy of the American Revolution on Black Women," pp. 129-133.

I think you will find these documents interesting, especially the letters between that famous American couple, John and Abigail Adams. Read these few letters carefully, and read John's response--what is his response to the idea of women's rights? The two essays that you read here are about the impact of the Revolution on whtie and black women in particular--how does the impact of the Revolution differ by group? Are there ways in which it has the same overall impact?

CHAPTER 6: Women's Activism in the Early Republic

Documents: Isabella Graham; Anti-Slavery Convention; American Female Moral Reform Society; Seneca Falls; Elizabeth McClintock; Sarah Josepha Hale; Julie Roy Jeffrey, "Ordinary Women in the Antislavery Movements," pp. 152-158; and Nancy Isenberg, "Women's Rights and the Politics of Church and State in Antebellum America, " pp. 158-173.

These documents are also significant--read through them and write down adjectives to describe the activism of these women--why did they become involved in the public world? Upon what authority did they base their activism in the public sphere? Did their justifications change over time?

How do Jeffrey and Isenberg characterize these women? Do you agree or disagree with their characterizations?

CHAPTER 7: Slave Women

Documents: Lucinda; "A Colored Woman;" Mary Still; Rose Williams; Mrs. Virginia Hayes Shepherd; Thelma Jennings, "Sexual Exploitation of African American Slave Women," pp. 183-188; Shirley Yee, "Free Black Women," pp. 188-194; and Loren Schweninger, "Free women of Color in the South," pp. 194-200.

Again, these documents are especially significant--not always easy to read as they are in dialect--but read carefully. Then read the essays by Jennings, Yee, and Schweninger for some insight into the impact of race upon society, politics, and culture in the early Republic. How does Thelma Jennings characterize the experiences of slave women, and how are their lives defined by sexual exploittation?

Shirley Yee addresses the work of free African American women on behalf of abolition. What kind of political work did they do, and to what extent did they work with white abolitionists? Finally, Loren Schweninger describes the lives of free women of color who lived in the South. To what extent were there opportunities for free womene of color in the South to survive outside of slavery?