Introduction

Introduction

History texts tend to leave out women's history. While we can't rewrite history in a day, we can focus on a given time period and unearth the missing information so that we may integrate it into a more accurate historical picture. In this webquest, we will be focusing on women of early American History.

Women from this era came from all socio-economic, cultural and racial backgrounds. Their lives were different, often depending on the region and circumstances of their lives. They also shared some similarities such as political status. Could any woman vote during this era - aristocrat or slave? Were they the wife of a southern plantation owner? Were they a slave or indentured servant? Were they a midwife or the wife of a future President? Were there lives easy or difficult? In what way? Through a comparison format, we will uncover this important historical information.

You will work in groups to contrast two women's lives from this era as well as answering the following three guiding questions:

1. From your research, describe what women's lives were like in early American History?

2. Why do you think women's history tends to be overlooked from this time period?

3. How did specifically studying early American women's history affect your historical understanding of this era?