Children
By Lily Ball
Per. 6
Children from the
Centuries
th
th
16 -18
A Continent of Villages, 1500
 In most Indian communities, when a couple
separated, the children would almost always
remain with the mother. Indian women were also
able to determine the timing of reproduction and
to use herbs to prevent pregnancy, induce
abortion, or ease the pain of childbirth.
The Expansion of Europe 14921590
 During the time period when infectious
diseases abounded, almost a third of all
children died before their fifth birthday.
Also, similarly to Indian communities, the
women were in charge of childcare.
The Spanish and French in the
Americas, 1492-1701
 During the Destruction of the Indies, Indian
women were so “worn out with work” that they
avoided conception, induced abortion, and some
even “killed their own children with their own
hands so that they should not have to endure the
same hardships.”
 In the communities of Canada, it was typical of
the sons of habitants (small clusters of riverbank
farmers) to “take to the woods” in their youth,
working as agents for the fur companies or as
independent traders.
The New England Colonies
1588-1701
 Massachusetts built an impressive system to
educate its young by creating public schools
that were to be supported by towns with 50
families or more. Towns with 100 families
were to establish a “grammar” school that
taught Latin.
The Seneca Nation of Indians
 Young men were ambitious to begin the practice of war. Many
went out on practice missions as soon as they were big enough
to handle firearms.
 Iroquois children were carefully trained to think for themselves
but to act for others.
 Parents were protective, permissive, and sparing of
punishment. They encouraged children to imitate adult
behavior but they didn’t criticize fumbling early efforts.
 A cool detachment was maintained between children and their
parents, both physically and verbally, avoiding the intense
confrontations of love and anger between parent and child.
 Children learned early the importance of self-reliance and
enjoyment of responsibility.
 The Seneca mother gave birth to her child in the
privacy of the woods, either alone or in the company
of an older woman who served as a midwife. The
mothers prepared for this event by eating sparingly
and exercising freely, which she believed would make
the child stronger and the birth easier.
 A newborn child was washed in cold water, or even
snow, immediately and was then wrapped in skins or a
blanket.
 An infant spent much of its first nine months swaddled
from chin to toe and lashed to a cradleboard.
 Babies were seldom heard crying, but when they did,
the mother always nursed them. It was also a tendency
for a baby to cry when released from the cradleboard.
 Mothers were quick to express resentment of any injury or
insult inflicted on the child by an outsider.
 During the first few years, the child stayed almost constantly
with the mother, in the house or fields, or on the trail, playing
and performing minor tasks under the supervision of the
mother.
 A mother’s main concern during this time was to protect and
provide for the child by baths in cold water, but not to punish.
 Weaning was not normally attempted until the age of three or
four. The small child was free to romp, to pry into things, to
demand what it wanted, and to assault its parents, with the
most hazardous punishment being water blown in the face or a
dunking in a nearby river.
 Early sexual curiosity and experimentation were regarded as a
natural childish way of behaving.
 Between the years of eight and nine was a time of easy and
gradual learning. Gender roles were laid down and their places
in the community. Girls were kept around the house, under
their mother’s guidance, and assigned lighter household duties
and helping in the fields.
 Boys were allowed to roam in gangs, playing at war, hunting
with bows and arrows, and competing at races, wrestling, and
lacrosse.
 Parents and teachers did not constantly supervise the children’s
playgrounds and the children governed themselves in good
harmony.
 Parents sedulously inculcated hardihood, self-reliance, and
independence of spirit.
 Direct confrontation with the child was avoided, but if things
got out of hand, parents turned older children over to the gods
for punishment.
Sources
•
The Seneca Nation of Indians
Anthony F. C. Wallace
The Death and Rebirth of the Seneca
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1969
•
Out of Many: A History of the American
People, revised third edition
John Mack Faragher, Mari Jo Buhle, Daniel
Czitrom, Susan H. Armitage
Prentice Hall, Inc. 2002
Vocabulary
 Cradleboard- a baby-carrying device where the
child’s feet rested against a footboard, a block of
wood was placed between the heels of a girl to
mold her feet to an inward turn. Over its head
stretched a hoop, which could be draped with a
thin cloth to keep away flies or to protect the child
from the cold. The board and its wrappings were
often lavishly decorated with silver trinkets and
beadwork embroidery.
 Swaddling- the practice of wrapping infants in
swaddling cloths or blankets so that movement of
the limbs is tightly restricted.
 Orenda- magical power grated to the dreamer
(young boy) from the supernatural spirits when a
young boy retires to the woods at puberty under
the stewardship of an old man. During this time,
they fasted, abstained from any sort of sexual
activity, covered themselves with dirt, and
mortified the flesh in many ways. Dreams were
experienced during these periods of self-trial.
Important People
 The mother- the mother is one of the most
important figures in a child’s life. The mother
gives birth to the child and is almost always in its
company during the first nine months of the
child’s life. For young girls, the mother will teach
them how to tend a field and help with tasks
around the house, as is the woman’s position in
the family unit. Mothers will also teach their
daughters how to hoe and plant in the cornfields,
how to butcher meat, cook, and braid corn.
 The father- the father would, in times of
need, instruct their sons in the techniques of
travel, fire making, the chase, war, and
other essential arts of manhood. It was
natural tradition that the man (father) would
teach and advise the sons while the woman
of the household (mother) would instruct
the daughters.
Questions
1) Swaddling a baby means
a. Hitting the baby
b. Wrapping the baby tightly in blankets or cloth
c. Kissing the baby
d. Holding the baby loosely in a blanket
answer: b
2) Which American colony was one of the first to
create an impressive system to educate its young?
a. Virginia
b. New York
c. Connecticut
d. Massachusetts
answer: d
3) Indian women were able to use herbs to
a. Prevent pregnancy
b. Induce abortion
c. Ease the pain of childbirth
d. All of the above
answer: d
4) All of the following is true about a cradleboard
EXCEPT
a. It was a baby-carrying device
b. A hoop near the top could be draped with cloth
to keep bugs and cold away
c. A baby only used a cradleboard for the first
month of its life
d. The baby’s feet rested against a footboard
answer: c
5) Young Iroquois boys were allowed to
a. Roam in gangs
b. Compete at races
c. Complete small household chores
d. Only a. and b.
answer: d
6) An Iroquois mother gives birth to her baby
in
a. The privacy of the woods
b. The longhouse in which she lives
c. The presence of her family
d. Only the presence of her husband
answer: a
7) After giving birth to her baby, the first
thing an Iroquois mother does is:
a. Washes the baby with warm water
b. Swaddles the baby in a blanket
c. Washes the baby with cold water
d. Feeds the baby
answer: c
8) An Iroquois mother prepares for childbirth
by
a. Resting for several weeks beforehand
b. Eating healthier foods
c. Eating sparingly and exercising
d. Swimming frequently
answer: c
9) Which of the following is NOT true?
a. Children governed themselves in good harmony
b. Children were constantly under adult
supervision
c. Parents instilled self-reliance and independence
of spirit in their children
d. Early sexual curiosity was regarded as natural
childish behavior
answer: b
10) Which of the following statements IS true?
a. Iroquois parents constantly punished their
children
b. Children were not taught to enjoy responsibility
c. Parents maintained a cool detachment from their
children
d. Children were taught to think for others and act
for themselves
answer: c
The Cultures of Colonial North
America, 1700-1780
 High fertility played an important role
in population growth. It was common
for women in the British colonies to
bear seven or more children. The levels
of infant mortality were low and there
were also no famines in North
America.
Husbands and Wives, Parents
and Children in Puritan Society
 Both spouses shared an important joint responsibility in the
“putting out” of children into foster families.
 Impotence in the husband was one of the few circumstances
that might warrant a divorce. This reflected the felt necessity
that a marriage produces children.
 From a child’s standpoint, the Biblical commandment to
“honor thy father and mother” was fundamental--and the force
of law stood behind it.
 The law stated that “if any Childe or Children above sixteen
years old, and of competent understanding, shall curse or smite
their Natural Father or Mother; he or they shall be put to death,
unless it can be sufficiently testified that the Parents have been
very Un-Christianly negligent in the Education of such
Children, or so provoked them by extreme and cruel
Correction, that they have been forced thereunto, to preserve
themselves from death or Maiming.”
 Similar punishment was authorized for “stubborn or
rebellious” behavior, or any habitual disobedience. Not one
child, it turns out, was ever put to death according to these
laws.
 A child less than sixteen years old was excluded from these
prescriptions; he was not mature enough to be held finally
responsible for his actions.
 Disobedience and disrespect on the part of younger children
were surely punished, but on an informal basis and within the
family itself. The purpose of this punishment was to form right
habits; it was part of a whole pattern of learning.
 For those children of more than sixteen years of age, ultimate
responsibility could now be imputed, and an offense against
one’s parents was also an offense against the basic values of
the community.
 A child did have the right to protect his own person from any
action that threatened “death or maiming.” Parents shall not
take matters completely into their own hands; the child shall
have his say I court and he may try to show that his behavior
was provoked by some cruelty on the part of his parents. Only
a few cases of youthful disobedience ever reached the Courts.
 In some of the wills bequests to certain children were made
contingent on their maintaining the proper sort of obedience.
 The parent for his part must accept responsibility for certain
basic needs of his children; for their physical health and
welfare, for their education, and for the property they would
require in order one day to “be free themselves.”
Before the Birth of One of Her
Children
Anne Bradstreet speaks about her fear
of losing her life in childbirth, or
losing her baby once it is born. Many
women back in the colonial era died
during childbirth and it was a
common fear.
The Duty of Children toward
Their Parents, 1727
 Children should obey their parents and the
Lord for it is right.
 Children should confess their sins and be
punished for those deeds done wrong.
 Any child who curses their mother or father
shall be put to death and out in obscure
darkness.
Good Manners for Colonial
Children, 1772
 At home: bow, uncover, always bow towards parents when they are seated, and
never speak to thy parents without some title of respect.
 Never dispute with thy parents and never hesitate to obey their commands.
 Ask permission to leave the house and return when told to do so.
 Use respectful and courteous language towards the servants.
 Do not quarrel or grumble.
 In their discourse: only speak when spoken to by strangers.
 Be a respectful distance away when speaking to someone.
 Speak with not a loud or soft voice and with no stammers or stumbles upon
words.
 Always speak with a title of respect.
 Discuss appropriate matters with superiors.
 Do not boast in the company of others and never interrupt when someone is
speaking. Do not laugh at someone else’s story. Let thy words be modest and
do not repeat words over again.
Vocabulary
1)Primer: refers to an elementary textbook used in schools in
Colonial America for young students.
2)“Put Out” a child: refers to the concern that parental love and
affection might inhibit the proper, disciplined upbringing of
children was a frequent cause of this action; putting children
into foster families.
3)Castas: persons of mixed backgrounds (referring to ethnic
backgrounds)
4)Mestizos: people of combined Indigenous American and
European ancestry
5)Mulattoes: people with one white parent and one black parent
Important People
 Edward Bumpus: in 1679, was the first
and only child to have had the consideration
of the death penalty in colonial America. He
was whipped at the post for striking and
abusing his parents. His punishment was
alleviated in the regard that he was mentally
ill, or “crasey brained.”
 Anne Bradstreet: was a very influential woman
of her time. She expressed her thoughts and
feelings through poetry and literature, for instance
her poem “Before the Birth of One of Her
Children” written in 1758. This was a very
powerful poem in that it mentions the fear of
losing one’s life in childbirth or losing the life of
one’s child. Many women died in childbirth so
these were not uncommon fears for the women of
this time.
Sources
 Out of Many: A History of the American People, revised third edition
John Mack Faragher, Mari Jo Buhle, Daniel Czitrom, Susan H. Armitage
Prentice Hall, Inc. 2002
 A Little Commonwealth: Family Life in Plymouth Colony by John
Demos
Reprinted by Oxford University Press, Inc. 1991
 Anne Bradstreet, Poems of Mrs. Anne Bradstreet Boston, 1758
 Paul Leicester Ford The New England Primer (New York: Dodd,
Mead & Co., 1899)
Facsimile reprinting of 1727 edition
 Eleazer Moody, The School of Good Manners. Composed for the help
of Parents in Teaching Their Children How to Carry It in Their Places
During Their Minority (Boston: Fleets, 1772)
Questions
1) “Putting Out” one’s child refers to
a. Children being sent to foster families
b. Children being forced to live outside
c. Children being sent to live with a relative
d. Children being neglected in their homes
answer: a
2) The first and only child ever considered for
the death penalty was
a. Edward Boyle
b. Jonathon Cole
c. Edward Bumpus
d. Benjamin Burton
answer: c
3) A person with both a white and African
American parent is known as
a. Mulattoe
b. Mestizo
c. Casta
d. Mezcla
answer: a
4) Which of the following statements is false?
a. High fertility played an important role in
population growth.
b. It was common for women in the British
colonies to bear seven or more children.
c. Infant mortality was extremely high in America.
d. There were no famines in America during this
time.
answer: c
5) “Before the Birth of One of Her Children”,
a poem by Anne Bradstreet, was written in
a. 1793
b. 1809
c. 1652
d. 1758
answer: d
6) A primer is which of the following
a. An elementary textbook used for young students
in Colonial America.
b. A newspaper published monthly in Boston.
c. A newspaper published in Virginia on a daily
basis.
d. A book on how to be an effective parent.
answer: a
7) Colonial children were expected to
a. Acknowledge their parents as Sir and
Madam.
b. Bow in an elders’ presence.
c. To not speak until spoken to.
d. All of the above
answer: d
8) Which of the following is true?
a. A child did not have the right to protect himself
from death or maiming.
b. A child was not expected to treat servants
respectfully.
c. A child under sixteen was excluded from harsh
punishments.
d. A child was never allowed to speak with
strangers even when spoken to.
answer: c
9) Castas are
a. Persons from Latin America.
b. Persons of a mixed background.
c. Persons with both a white and a Native
American parent.
d. Persons native to Canada.
answer: b
10) People of combined Indigenous American
and European ancestry are called
a. Indentured servants
b. Mestizos
c. Mulattoes
d. Latinos
answer: b
Slave Children, 1770s
 Women and children worked alongside the men
on plantations.
 The owner of any plantation was free to split up a
couple or family at any time, simply by selling
some of the slaves.
 Slave children were sent into the fields at about 12
years old where they worked from sun up to sun
down.
 Slaves in America were not born free.
 Some masters’ wives and/or daughters would
educate many slave children at night in shadowy
rooms and they would read by firelight.
 The children of freed slaves would sometimes
sneak to secret schools in churches while risking
their lives to do so.
 Africans came from a strong tradition of extended
families which were torn apart at slave auctions.
 Mothers were often separated from their children.
 Oftentimes, when a girl slave became a woman,
she was forced to have kids in order to create more
slaves for her master.
 Even at the age of 12, girls would produce
children for their master.
Vocabulary
 Concubine- a woman who lives with a man but
has lower status than his wife or wives. Ex:
Thomas Jefferson had a concubine and produced
slave children with her whom he later freed.
 Midwife- a person trained to assist women in
childbirth.
 Polygamy- the practice or custom of having more
than one wife or husband at the same time
(common with slave owners).
Important People
 Thomas Jefferson- after his wife died in
1782, he kept her slave half-sister, Sally
Hemings, as a concubine and had children
with her. Either before his death or in his
will, he freed all of Sally Heming’s five
children. These were almost the only slaves
which he ever freed.
 Abigail Adams- (1744-1818) she had three sons
and two daughters with her husband, John Adams.
Abigail had her first child ten days shy of nine months
after her marriage and was thus working immediately as
a mother. John Adams went to Philadelphia to serve as
his colony’s delegate to the First Continental Congress
while Abigail remained at home to care for the finances,
farm, and children. She also practiced law in Boston
nearby and was greatly respected, especially by her
husband. This separation lead to a lifelong
correspondence between Abigail and John through
passionate and intellectual letters . She was one of the
first females to hold any official government position.
Abigail Adams stood strongly for women’s rights and
proved that women, even mothers, could be politically
influential in society.
Sources
•
BBC Home, Freedom Fact Files- life as a slave
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldclass/freedom_slavery.shtml
•
THE SLAVE CHILDREN OF THOMAS JEFFERSON
•
by Samuel H. Sloan, 320 pp., published by Kiseido
•
•
•
http://www.anusha.com/slaves.htm
http://www.benjaminschool.com/lower/hagy1/slave_life.htm
Myers, Walter Dean. Now is Your Time!: The African-American
Struggle for Freedom. page 40-43.New York Scholastic Inc. 1993
•
Salerno, Marilyn G. "Steal Away to School." Cobblestone: AfricanAmerican Education: A Proud Heritage. Cobblestone Publishing
Company, February, 1998. By Benjamin A. Haley, Alex. Roots. New
York. Doubleday. 1976. By Felicia R.
Questions
1) Which of the following statements is true?
a. Children were not allowed to work on
plantations under the age of sixteen.
b. Slaves in America were born free.
c. Slave mothers were often separated from their
children.
d. A midwife is a man’s second wife.
answer: c
2) A midwife is
a. A man’s second wife.
b. A person trained to produce children.
c. A woman who has had more than one
husband.
d. A person trained to assist women in
childbirth.
answer: d
3) Slave girls were often forced by their
masters to produce children.
a. True
b. False
answer: a
4) What famous man was known for keeping
a concubine and producing slave children?
a. Thomas Jefferson
b. John Adams
c. George Washington
d. John Hancock
answer: a
5) Which is true of Abigail Adams?
a. She had five children with her husband
John Adams.
b. John and Abigail wrote letters to each
other while he was away for business.
c. She was a very influential political figure.
d. All of the above
answer: d
6) Who was Sally Heming?
a. Abigail Adam’s midwife.
b. Thomas Jefferson’s concubine.
c. An advocate for women’s rights.
d. A slave set free during the revolution.
answer: b
7) Which is true of polygamy?
a. It was a card game common in the south.
b. It dealt with the issues of slave masters
and illegitimate childbearing.
c. It was the practice of having more than
one wife or husband.
d. It meant having more than one child with
the same person.
answer: c
8) Slave masters
a. Were not allowed to separate mothers
from their children.
b. Would send children as young as 12 to
work out in the fields.
c. Taught all the slave children how to read.
d. Never took slaves as concubines.
answer: b
9) Slave children
a. Worked alongside men and women on
plantations.
b. Were not born free in America.
c. Were sometimes educated by their
master’s wife or daughter at night.
d. All of the above
answer: d
10) Slave auctions would
a. Separate families from one another.
b. Reunite loved ones.
c. Sell slave mothers with their children.
d. Consist of only male slaves being sold.
answer: a