Suffer not a Woman to Speak R

“Suffer not a Woman to Speak” describes the hardships colonial women were put through having little social standing in their communities. Women were especially deprived of having a voice in their church and government.

Women were looked down upon in colonial society, especially religions with Calvinistic beliefs. Based off the story of Adam and Eve the common belief was that women were more able to succumb to the devil then men were. Anne Hutchinson a Puritan woman from Massachusetts held prayer meetings at her house, and began to have a great influence in her community. Hutchinson began to have beliefs outside of what the Puritans taught, and was accused of heresy. Since the colony was run by the church she was imprisoned and charged for political treason. Hutchinson was accused of “provoking women to be rater a husband then a wife, a preacher than a hearer, and a magistrate then a subject” and was ordered to leave Massachusetts. This is only one example of women being punished for trying to have a voice. One of the most famous examples of the cruelty towards women was the executions of women during the Salem Witch Trials. In the 1600s, 150 women were imprisoned, and 14 women were actually executed, under belief they had been practicing witchcraft.

Due to the strict beliefs of women’s rights many colonies did not like the Quakers, and believed they preached heresy. This was because of the fact that the Quakers believed in giving rights to women. Quakers girls were the only females who were consistently exposed to reading writing and arithmetic. Women were encouraged to speak out on spiritual and moral issues. The Quakers were also the only colonial group to allow women preachers. Although women were allowed to preach it was still made difficult. Women in the 1600s who tried to preach were jailed whipped and a few occasions hung.

Many laws were made in colonial America to restrict women’s rights. They were treated as property to their husband rather than as people. Women were sometimes abused by their husbands and there were few legal obstacles to prevent them from doing so. Married women had the same rights as “idiots and children” which was practically none. Under “coverture” married women did not have any property or money of their own. Women were given three rights however, the right “to share her husband’s home and bed; a wife’s right to be supported by her husband, and her right to be protected from violence at her husband’s hand.” It was not until the 1800s and the beginning of women’s rights movements that ideas about woman’s legal status began to change for the better.

“Suffer not a Woman to Speak”