Woman's Role In Western Frontier Life
Men and Women on the Frontier had Specific Duties and Roles
Jun 11, 2009
Gender Based Roles in Frontier Life
The life of the family on the frontier required the cooperative role playing of both the husband and the wife. Each had a conventional role to fulfill and for the most part neither men nor women deviated from their traditional roles. This was caused by the necessities of their lives. As a practical matter women were confined to their traditional roles of frontier homemaker and caretaker of the children. Women adopted these traditional roles because it was understood that a pregnant woman with several other children to care for could not take on a role that would take her too far from the comfort of home. It was also necessary for the frontier man to fulfill his roles and plow the fields, milk the cows, hunt and raise the animals that could later be sold to buy that which could not be produced at home. Even in more modern times, up until the labor saving devices of the 1950s, these roles were still necessary for the successful operation of a farm or ranch.
Historical Interpretation of Women's Roles
As Susan Armitage pointed out in her essay on the challenge of women’s history, this less glamorous role of the homemaker and mother was not as publicized as the role assumed by the husband, and thus her contributions tended to be overlooked by histories. Anyone who grew up within a frontier home would not and could not overlook her role.
The Frontier Experience of Men Verses Women
The “transitional” historians have argued that there are two Oregon Trail experiences, one male and one female, and for some reason this conclusion seemed to be controversial. Of course men and women would experience the adventure (male) and the hardship and sacrifice (female) of the trip west differently. Of course they would have different roles, which were suited to their abilities and skills, and of course they would have different experiences, as defined by those roles and by their own emotional reactions to those roles and the journey.
The Journals of Frontier Women
What was clear in reading women’s journals and letters home is that they were involved in all aspects of their lives and their family’s lives on the frontier, and not just within the home. They were involved in social clubs which yielded considerable political influence, even before women had the vote. These were often benevolent groups which did much of the charitable work within the community and laid the groundwork for social reforms.
The Journal of Narcissa Whitman
As an example, Narcissa Whitman was involved in benevolent work before she applied to become a missionary. Both she and her husband had applied separately to become missionaries and both had been turned down. It was their marriage which allowed them to go on their mission to Oregon Territory. Once on the road and after they arrived at their new home, it was the journals and letters of Narcissa and not writings of Marcus Whitman which defined the life they lived.
The Contribution of Women
When writers of histories mention the contributions of women the suffrage movement always seems to be most prominently written about. I have deliberately avoided this topic, not because it lacks importance, but to emphasize that it is not the only contribution of women to our history. Women have always been at the forefront of social reform movements. They have always been the conscience of the nation. In addition, It was women's contribution to the family home that allowed the west to be settled. It is this contribution, among others, that should be honored when teaching our children about the settlement of the West.
Source: Susan Armitage, "The Challenge of Women's History", Chapter eight of The Changing Pacific Northwest, Interpreting its Past, Edited by David H. Stratton and George A. Frykman, (Pullman: Washington State university Press, 1988) pp. 129-138.
