Essay on Life of the Female Pioneer on the Oregon Trail

During the American Revolution, not only did men have to face the struggles of war time atmosphere, but women had to as well. The country during the war was divided into three different groups of people; the loyalists, the patriots and the remaining people who did not care. Catherine Van Cortlandt, a loyalist had to endure different struggles then the patriot women Eliza Pinckney and Abigail Adams. However, parts of their stories are similar when it came to their family struggles.

The Oregon Trail was a very important aspect in the history of our country’s development. When Marcus and Narcissa Whitman made the first trip along the Oregon Trail, many Americans saw a window of opportunity. The Oregon Trail was the only practical way to pass through the Rockies. Pioneers crammed themselves into small wagons to try to make it to the unsettled land; however, 10% of these pioneers died on the way due to disease and accidents.

They had the burdens of traveling while pregnant and childbearing as well as the rituals of attending to the sick and dying and the caring of infants and the caring and irritable children. Women also felt themselves in antagonistic relationship with them but more often than not when they maintain their silence. This is expressed in this journal account written by Miriam Davis, “ I have cooked so much out in the hot sun and smoke, I hardly know who I am, and when I look into the little Looking Glass I ask “ can this be me?” Put a blanket over my head and I would pass well for an Osage squaw.” The Westward Expansion was the leading outlet for women to try to break the stereotype of domestic femininity. Proving yet the strength and courage women have always had.

A woman had a busy domestic life. A woman played the role of wife, mother, teacher and manager. She had to please her husband, bear and raise children, educate her children, and manage all daily household activities. In the home, the woman was the jack of all trades. Part of the role of the female was to take raw goods, and turn them into useful items, such as food, candles, and clothing. Women had to clean, butcher and prepare all game brought home to the family. A woman was a household factory. Many items in the home were created by women. All clothing was made by spinning, weaving and stitching. All cloth was washed by hand without the aid of any machines. Candles were made at home by weaving a wick and pouring hot wax into a mold. A woman had to be educated enough to teach her sons and daughters the skills of life. Women spent the majority of their time performing daily tasks, but still were able to have leisure activities such as painting, embroidery, and charity work. Women had very few legal rights. In the majority of colonies, women had no legal control over their lives. It was the consensus among society that

For Europeans, the to be a member of a family you had to be related to the eldest male in the household. This was a total opposite to the Indian society. For example, in the Iroquois society, family membership was determined by the family of the female. At the head of each family was an elder woman, followed by her daughter, their husbands and children, and finally her unmarried granddaughters and grandsons. When one of the men married, he moved to the family of his wife. This was a very sharp contrast to the Europeans, whom had for centuries, been the top of their social hierarchy. In Europe, the women had a very relatively primitive, limited role in society. They were not allowed to attend or partake in political affairs, with very few exceptions. Now, on the other hand, in Indian society there was a council of chiefs, whom was all male, but they were appointed by an elder women. Also, during their deliberation over issues, the males made the final decision, but would be expelled from the council, if they didn?t conclude to the same decision that the elder woman came to. The women's main job in Indian society, was being in charge of cultivation of, harvest of, and distribution of food. When the men left to go hunting, women were left to run society. The Europeans simply believed that the males were far superior to the family, which is why women could not have jobs, and were left to

This was a very sharp contrast to the Europeans, whom had for centuries, been the top of their social hierarchy. In Europe, the women had a very relatively primitive, limited role in society. They were not allowed to attend or partake in political affairs, with very few exceptions. Now, on the other hand, in Indian society there was a council of chiefs, whom was all male, but they were appointed by an elder women. Also, during their deliberation over issues, the males made the final decision, but would be expelled from the council, if they didn't conclude to the same decision that the elder woman came to. The women's main job in Indian society, was being in charge of cultivation of, harvest of, and distribution of food. When the men left to go hunting, women were left to run society. The Europeans simply believed that the males were far superior to the family, which is why women could not have jobs, and were left to only clean, cook, and various other household chores.

Women helped with the load of the work that men did. They helped with clearing the land in addition to watching over the chores of the house. The women didn’t expect the cold as the old country as said from the interview of Mary Prokop,”That first winter was the very hardest mother had ever experienced and, as she later told us children, at least in the old country, through the food was scarce, they had been been warm. He they were cold and isolated in the unfinished house for the entire severe winter.”(Interview #4)”

As Martha Ballard writes in her diary, "A womans work is never Done as the Song says and Happy is shee [sp] whose strength holds out to the end of the rais [race]." Women, like Ballard, contributed useful and skilled labor, though it was often derided, mocked, or overlooked. However, the work of women varied greatly, due to location, social class, race, time-period, and more. This essay will focus on two very different groups of women, early female settlers of the Chesapeake area during the seventeenth century and the Native American women of the Iroquois Confederacy, spread across northeastern New York and Ontario during the same time period. Through the analysis, the necessity of the study of women 's work will become evident; it aids historians in understanding women 's past: including gender perceptions, the myriad of experiences faced by different women, and the changes over that occurred over time.

The Trails out West, was trails guided to different areas like California and Oregon. It's a group of immigrants seeking to find freedom of religion. The immigrants set out to find a new home and become rich. There was gold in the west and land to be settled. This was an opportunity to those that had nothing but were ambitious and crafty. According to records about 250,000 gold-seekers and farmers were also in search of gold. The trails became famous because more than 500,000 people made the journey out West most were in covered wagons pulled by mule and oxen. They had no gps .. all they had was in their wagon guided by a sense of fate and freedom. MARGARET A. FINK, Oregon Trail Pioneer, 1850 sums up the feelings of a Oregon trail traveler stating: “I think none of us have realized until now the perils of this undertaking”. Despite the difficult task of traveling by covered wagons..shows the spirit and persistence of the American settlers. The Trails out West, was trails guided

Women didn’t have it very easy on the Oregon Trial. They had many chores/jobs they had to get done. And those jobs were no walk in the park. They were hard, laborious, and dirty jobs. They were also often “handed” these jobs. Women were often taken granted for. In the men’s minds, they were trivial, but that was far from true. If women hadn’t gone on the Oregon Trail, it probably wouldn’t have gotten that far. Women and girls play a big rule in Women and girls had to adjust to very rough conditions.

Women, in general, were expected to be able to run their homes, taking care of their spouses and children in whatever form was needed at the

This is especially true of the writing by women of the time. It is a long held myth that the gold rush was almost completely male. Yet, most trail diaries mention the presence of women.4 Still, they were quite a minority. The 1860 census reveals that in San Francisco that year, men outnumbered women three to two. Lopsided though this ratio may be, there were enough women in California to have quite an influence, and perhaps they struggled even more with their new freedom than the men. More restraint was expected from women, and it was their duty to keep their husbands and children proper. How they chose to deal with their new surroundings would have greatly impacted their families. Women offer an interesting perspective, as women were traditionally the epitomes of Victorian morality. Historian Lillian Schlissel writes that unlike the men, “...women did not always see the venture in the clear light of the expectation of success. There were often shadows in their minds, dark areas of reservation.”5 Women usually had little say in the matter of going West; therefore, it is logical that they would see things in a different light than their adventure seeking husbands. Still, many women were able to see the positive aspects of California, if not

Since the British finally let their claims of Oregon land go, this opened land to other people in America to take. A lot of people decided to be brave and take the long trek to Oregon. Considering the economic depression happening, any slight hope of a better life, would seem like a dream. Before traveling, families knew of the dangers that faced them. The dangers were simply multiple ways that anyone in the family could possibly die from. Including a light scare of going the wrong direction. Fur trappers were able to create a “Oregon Trail”, so that people could make it towards Oregon.They also knew of the type of reward they would receive if they were to make it. The reward could of course be more land to farm on. Especially considering the

Before women could pursue the opportunities that California had to offer, they had to embark on and endure the onerous journey to California. Through the tough terrains, survival was difficult. Many of the travelers chose the route that took five to seven months through the Cape Horn route, and the Isthmus of Panama which was difficult due to a small boat and mule. Another way of traveling was on land with wagon or on foot, going through deserts and plains with the difficulty of keeping their family safe and free of disease. Many women journeyed with their father, brother, or husband to the land of golden opportunity leaving behind their entire livelihood. Women who got here to California were pushed. They thrived, notwithstanding

Women went on the Oregon trail to follow their husbands. Land to the west was a new opportunity for families to have financial freedom and a new start. The west meant new opportunities and a way to get out of debt. Catherine Haun and her husband, middle class and educated, fell into financial hard times. They wanted to go on the journey to get out of their debt. They felt as if heading west would be a firmer way to make money than the ways they tried in the past: “It was a period of National hard times and we being financially involved in our business interest near Clinton, Iowa, longed to go to the new El Dorado and ‘pick up’ gold enough with which to return and pay off our debts” (Haun 166) (Sic). As well as the financial benefit, the Haun’s also saw the journey as romantic. They saw it as a romantic wedding tour, or honeymoon, as they had only been married for a few months (Haun 166). Women also