AMERICAN BATTLEFIELD TRUST on THE LIFESTYLE OF AMERICAN COLONIAL WOMEN
Excerpt: The American Battlefield Trust preserves America’s hallowed battlegrounds and educates the public about what happened there and why it matters. As the nation's leading heritage land preservation organization, we have saved more than 57,000 acres of battlefield land in 25 states to date — thanks to the support of our members & partners.
Excerpt from Colonial Women article:
In New England, teachers greatly emphasized literacy for all children to give them the ability to read the Bible as adults, but despite these efforts, female illiteracy became notably widespread, up to 38%, and other regions held even higher numbers. Colonial Virginia and the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam (what became New York) held female illiteracy rates of 70% and 60% respectively. Dutch families in particular only seemed interested in teaching young girls the barest essential reading and writing skills, along with housekeeping and etiquette. Some of the girls from wealthier mercantile families also learned very basic arithmetic and bookkeeping skills. For some families, educating their daughters did not stop at the school house. While lower-class women in the South were barely educated, if at all, upper-class girls from Virginia, for instance, were privately tutored on a variety of subjects, like art, music, dancing, as well as French, all to help maintain an active social life. And thanks to higher rates of literacy, many New England women kept private diaries which contained their thoughts on politics, philosophy, and even some poetry. ...
