Early America, Sex, Marriage, family #19


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Topic: Religions > Atheism
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Date: 01 Oct 2006 11:38:31 AM
Object: Early America, Sex, Marriage, family #19
(forgot the source)
PART 19
EARLY AMERICA
SEX, MARRIAGE, CHILDREN, GAYS, LESBIANS, BOYS AS GIRLS, ABORTION,
BREECHING, FAMILY AND OTHER MYTHS
CHILDREN
Pregnant women looked forward to birth with a mixture of joy and fear
because of the risks entailed. After the colonial period women created the
"virtuous woman" who loathed sex, as a way of breaking the natural
reproductive cycle and reducing their risk.
Most women delivered at home, sometimes with the assistance of a MIDWIFE.
Because of the high natural mortality associated with childbirth, midwives
were especially susceptible to complaints of negligence or witchcraft. More
often than not, after the first couple of children (after the second or
third child, the birth canal is often enlarged enough that normal birth is
quick and relatively painless), the working-class woman worked (often in
the fields) until she went into labor, stopped long enough to give birth
and secure the baby, and then went back to work. The more fragile lady of
leisure often took more time to recover, but not in every case. Some were
remarkably strong and strong willed.
In the early days special BIRTHING, NURSING or CRICKET STOOLS were
used to position the body vertically for birth. This practice continued
along with the traditional manner of LYING IN in bed. Despite New England
traditions of borning rooms, I am not familiar with any documentation for
such a specific room use in the period.
Most women made pads of dried grass, fuzzed barks, linen, tow or rags for
postpartum and menstrual discharges, as well as swaddling clothes for
infants. Rags were too valuable to dispose of, so they were washed and
reused.
About six weeks after giving birth, women were CHURCHED, or presented in
the church in a purification ceremony descended from the old presentation
in the Temple of the ancient Jews.
Children were not considered special throughout most of the period. Infants
of both genders belonged to the woman's sphere, as they were dependent on
her for their care. Both boys and girls wore dresses, some a simple
T-shaped tunic tied in the back for ease of changing and expansion as they
grew. At about sixteen to eighteen months girls were placed in their first
stays and would remain in them virtually all their lives. Boys were also
placed in stays at an early age, to force them into correct posture. Unlike
the girls' stays, a boy's stays would be removed before he became dependent
on them for support.
The potential for damage to a child's soft head was known, and PUDDINGHEAD
CAPS were made of leather with padded rims and top to protect the head.
Walkers were used, although not commonly, usually made of turned sticks in
a pyramidal form with space for the child to stand in the middle.
At about six years of age boys were BREECHED. This involved removing them
from their dresses and stays, shaving their heads and fitting wigs, giving
them clothing befitting an adult male of their station and expecting them
to act like young adults. The social implications of breeching changed with
time. In the early years, boys were not yet men until they passed through
adolescence. In the middle and later periods, breeching fully initiated
them into the world of men.
Families maintained a distance from children, loving them but expecting
them to die. In part, this was manifested in the manner in which children
were brought up. In general, after infancy children were not brought up as
children but as young adults, contributing to the general welfare as soon
as capable. Playtime was over, although to see play as strictly ended would
be shortsighted, as even adults played many games we associate with
children today. Education and games were mainly designed to ready the child
for the practical needs of life and were focused in two areas: skill
development and mental faculties. The higher the class of the child, and
the later in the period, the childhood, while the working-class child was
simply another mouth to feed and a laborer to help the family community.
SOURCE: The Writer's Guide, Everyday Life in Colonial America From 1607 -
1783. Dale Taylor. Weiter's Digest Books (1997) p 130 - 31
***************************************************************
You are invited to check out the following:
The Rise of the Theocratic States of America
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocracy.htm
American Theocrats - Past and Present
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocrats.htm
The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
[and to join the discussion group for the above site and/or Separation of
Church and State in general, listed below]
HRSepCnS · Hampton Roads [Virginia] SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/
[Its not just Hampton Roads folks who are members, there are members from
all over the US and a couple from overseas as well]
***************************************************************
.. . . You can't understand a phrase such as "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion" by syllogistic reasoning. Words
take their meaning from social as well as textual contexts, which is why "a
page of history is worth a volume of logic." New York Trust Co. v. Eisner,
256 U.S. 345, 349, 41 S.Ct. 506, 507, 65 L.Ed. 963 (1921) (Holmes, J.).
Sherman v. Community Consol. Dist. 21, 980 F.2d 437, 445 (7th Cir. 1992)
.. . .
****************************************************************
USAF LT. COL (Ret) Buffman (Glen P. Goffin) wrote
"You pilot always into an unknown future;
facts are your only clue. Get the facts!"
That philosophy 'snipit' helped to get me, and my crew, through a good
many combat missions and far too many scary, inflight, emergencies.
It has also played a significant role in helping me to expose the
plethora of radical Christian propaganda and lies that we find at
almost every media turn.
*****************************************************************
THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE:
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
****************************************************************
.

 

NEWER
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OLDER