During the colonial period there were very strict gender roles that men and women were expected to follow. These rules and laws differed from colony to colony, but for the most part they were the same. The women mainly focused on household things, knitting, small gardening, and teaching the scriptures to children (it is important to know that this is directed at white women since black women had no rights). Men held power in relationships, government, church, property, and controlled the family. Men also voted, and their work helped provide for their families and colonies. Both men and women were equally important to the family and to the survival of the colonial population. If one fails, the system will not work. As time went on, however, the system would swing even more in men's favor. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay When they first arrived in America, life was extremely hard for the Pilgrims, there were no stores, no shelters, no farms, and no shortage of women. Life at home was extremely different from the one they had just started. As Jason Ripper states in his book “American Stories: Living American History”: “The first seasons in America had been brutal, unyielding and deadly. The winters were colder and the summers hotter than the English had ever known, and the agricultural prospects were mixed.” Because of this harsh life, women were a necessity to help men with heavy labor. There was help from Native Americans with things like farming, but without both men and women performing their tasks, the colonies would have had a much harder time surviving. Doing work was new to colonial women. Before coming to America, women only did housework. They could not go to school, take up a profession and if they worked they were paid less. So when I came to America, making this transition probably wasn't easy. Interestingly, Native American women were respected much more than European women during the 1600s. Women could do almost everything a man did plus some things like go to war and hunt. The colonel's men found this claim to be "slaves of men" very strange. However, not everyone shared this thought, Benjamin Franklin actually liked the Native American lifestyle. As Jason Ripper says: “Franklin didn't think Native Americans lived in a throwback, caveman state of nature. Rather, he saw that they had sophisticated governments in which men and women participated.” Franklin was way ahead of his time, unfortunately the rest of the colonies did not view women, or Native Americans, the way he did. As time passed and the colonies became more established, the need for women in the fields and other forms of hard labor became no longer necessary. Women returned to their traditional role in society. In the 18th century, women were once again the property of men, but were still extremely important to the function of everyday life. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay The gender roles of the colonies contribute to the growth of the colonies?