Founding Mothers & Fathers: Gendered Power and the Forming of American Society

Margaret Atwood has noted that one of her inspirations for the "Handmaid’s Tale" was her study of 17th-century Puritan New England. That note in itself might be a reason to dip into this book, and a reader would find some satisfying parallels. But this was not why I read it. I’ve had a long-time interest in the lives and experiences of women (woman studies, as you will) ; I’ve read Mary Beth Norton’s work before (her book on the Salem Witch Trials is one of the best I’ve read, if not the best). and because my family roots almost entirely pass through this period in 17th century New England (literally many hundreds of them) so I read out of interest and curiosity, and because it provides context to my ancestry pursuits (oh, and show more yes, I live in New England). I felt compelled to take copious notes while reading this book, likely one of the reason it took me so long to get through it, and I find these notes of little use in my effort to write a review of this book, nor did notes really enhance my reading (note to self: skip the notes).
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"Founding Mothers and Fathers" is a balanced study of gendered power in the early 17th century colonies of America (roughly 1620-1670), it notes English political and societal precedents (Filmer and Locke’s formulations of political power and the nature of government authority) and how the precedents were applied in the development of the early colonies of America. Because of the availability of records, Norton focuses mostly on two New England colonies (Massachusetts Bay and New Haven) and two in the Chesapeake (Maryland & Virginia). She discusses gendered power within the family, the community and in the state, and how similar these institutions were to each other. She also discusses how differently New England and the Chesapeake develop according to the differing makeup of their populations and their priorities.

One of the strengths of this book is Norton’s inclusion of the voices of real people presented as articulated through court documents or personal writings. And her illustrative examples are both very welcome and wonderfully effective elucidating the practical functioning of the societies. Much more could be included in this review, and if needed, one can search for the copiously more detailed and erudite reviews for this book online. Otherwise, here is a very modest, off-the-top-of-my-head list of some of the many fascinating and interesting bits of content:

*The importance of good relations with neighbors.
*The authority and investigative powers of the midwife.
*The complications or limitations of a widow becoming a head of household.
*How very little men of the time knew about pregnancy & childbirth and that women were known to be ‘especially knowledgable of sexual matters
*The importance of guarding one’s reputation.
*The power and societal functions of gossip.
*In 1648 the New England colony adopted a death penalty for rebellious children over 16 who cursed or struck either parent (very few were prosecuted).
*The most common insults between men (rogue, knave) and between women (whore, jade, thief, toad, slut).
*How in New England the family was the considered the lowest court in the court system.
*The existence of divorce as a legally voided civil contract.
*To sue a wife you had to sue the husband.
*The exceptions to many of the rules and norms.
*That men had many ways to express their anger and thus possibilities of a vengeful attack was endless.
*The standard punishment in Plymouth for adultery was for the woman to wear a badge on their sleeve with the letters “AD” on it for a period of time, and if found without it, she would be branded on her face.
*A misbehaving colonist was more likely to be tried & convicted in NE than in the Chesapeake and differences in law enforcement.
*Whipping was the 2nd most popular punishment in both regions.
*How in a very gendered world, a Chesapeake court handled the case of an ambiguously gendered person. show less