Daughters of Freedom

Zinn used Anne Hutchinson to illustrate the inequality women faced for centuries. He expressed that women were not allowed to challenge authority, and were essentially owned by their husbands. Unlike most women at the time, Hutchinson decided to speak out and held meetings criticizing ministers. However, her case was an example of why women never rebelled. “Anne Hutchinson was put on trial twice: by the church for heresy, and by the government for challenging their authority” (Zinn, 109). She was later banished from the colony for simply expressing her opinions.

Women were consistently denied the same rights as men and were expected to blindly obey them.

Until the revolution, it was rare for women to take part in public affairs. However, the revolution led women to form patriotic groups and Daughters of Liberty groups. During this time women became much more active in politics and voiced their opinions. They fought against the British tea tax, wrote articles for independence, and boycotted British goods.

However, men still believed that women should not take part in public affairs, as they should be “too wise to wrinkle their foreheads with politics” (Zinn, 110).

After the American Revolution, women were now taking on jobs outside of the home. Women had always been homemakers and to suddenly see women abandoning that role to work some of the same jobs as men frightened society. The “cult of true womanhood” was created to ease unsettling feelings about women entering the outside world. “It became important to develop a set of ideas, taught in church, in school, in the family, to keep women in their place…” (Zinn, 112)husbands.

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The “cult of true womanhood” required that women tend to their husbands’ needs, remain obedient, and immerse themselves in religion, as men believed it was the only thing women needed.

The “cult of true womanhood” tried to make it seem as though women were being treated equally, yet it “…was a way of pacifying her with a doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ — giving her work as important as the man’s, but separate and different” (Zinn, 114). This was far from equal, as women were excluded from certain professions and were only paid one-fourth to one-half of what men earned for the same job. In addition, women could not choose their husband, could not vote, and could not own property. Ultimately, a woman’s rights did not extend far past the home and she was still expected to cater to men.

Workers’ strikes, protesting the low pay and long hours, influenced countless women to fight for many other causes. “They were taking part in all sorts of movements, for prisoners, for the insane, for the black slaves, and also for all women” (Zinn, 124). Middle-class women started fighting for education and became teachers, and they read and wrote more. Due to this, “Literacy among women doubled between 1780 and 1840” (Zinn, 117). Women were no longer hiding their opinions, as they became speakers and advocates. After being excluded from the World Anti-Slavery Society Convention, women decided to create the first Women’s Rights Convention. Consequently, this encouraged women all over America to host their own women’s conventions, expanding the fight against the oppression of women.

The major theme in this chapter was the mistreatment of the Indians. Whites continually forced Indians to settle on new land, giving these tribes no say in the matter. White settlers had no problem invading Indian territory, starving them, and killing entire tribes. Additionally, President Jackson promised the Indians each time they move that this new land will be theirs permanently, then not long after he forces them to move again. Zinn brings light to the atrocities that Jackson committed, “If you look through high school textbooks and elementary school textbooks in American history you will find Jackson the frontiersman, soldier, democrat, man of the people— not Jackson the slaveholder, land speculator, executioner of dissident soldiers, exterminator of Indians” (Zinn, 130). This chapter was somber and reflected a period of cruelty by the American people.

When Thomas Jefferson was the Secretary of State he believed that, “…where Indians lived within state boundaries they should not be interfered with, and that the government should remove white settlers who tried to encroach on them” (Zinn, 126). However, when Jefferson became president countless whites had already moved west, and the whites greatly outnumbered the Indians. Therefore, Jefferson felt the federal government had to instead remove the Indians. According to Jefferson, Indian removal was crucial in expanding agriculture and developing a capitalist economy. Unfortunately, once Jefferson became president many laws were passed that eliminated any power or rights the Indians once had. While Jefferson initially tried to keep the peace by bribing the Indians or making deals with them, it soon turned deadly and, entire Indian villages were destroyed.

When the Cherokees were forced to move yet again, they felt that to survive they needed to adapt to the white’s way of living. They took up new jobs being farmers, carpenters, and blacksmiths. The Cherokee tribe built several schools and had many blacksmith shops with modern tools that the white man used. In addition, the Cherokee chief invented a written language, as their form of communication had always been solely through voice. To adapt to society, even more, the tribe welcomed Christian missionaries and owned over a thousand slaves. The Cherokee culture suddenly looked vastly different, “They were beginning to resemble that civilization the white men spoke about, making what Van Every calls a ‘stupendous effort’ to win the goodwill of Americans” (Zinn, 137).

These two events were juxtaposed to show that there were some Americans who believed in leaving the Indians alone and some who believed that Indian removal was necessary. South Carolina nullified a federal tariff to help aid the Indians, and missionaries expressed their opposition to moving the Indians. Jackson was angered by the sympathizers and arrested many of them. However, Jackson was reelected with a significant amount of votes which, “…suggested that his anti-Indian policies were in keeping with popular sentiment…” (Zinn, 141).

President Jackson used this phrase in a message that was passed along to the Choctaws and Cherokees. The Indians were forced to move again and Jackson was promising that this new land would remain theirs forever, “…which they shall possess as long as Grass grows or water runs” (Zinn, 134). However, this proved to be a lie, as they had to move several times after this event. The phrase served as a reminder that Jackson was not going to protect them as he said and could not be trusted.

The theme of chapter 8 was the aggressive expansion of the United States, justified by the belief in “Manifest Destiny”. President Polk claimed that by following this belief it would bless people with freedom. However, most Americans seemed to be opposed to the war, and many soldiers only volunteered as a way to make money since unemployment was high. Zinn recounts many horrific events that occurred during the war, stemming from America’s greed and sickening soldiers, “It gave me a lamentable view of human nature… and made me for the first time ashamed of my country” (Zinn, 168).

“Manifest destiny” meant it was the United State’s destiny to expand westward to the Pacific Ocean. The goal was to occupy as much land as possible, “Our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions” (Zinn, 151). The annexation of Texas led Mexicans to fight back, commencing the beginning of the war. After several American deaths, President Polk was in favor of a declaration of war. Little debate occurred before the declaration was passed and more troops were recruited for battle.

The United States was extremely brutal, not only in killing thousands of Mexican soldiers, but also raping women and children. The American government, however, justified their actions by stating that through this conquest of the land they would be providing liberty and democracy to many more people. In addition, “This was intermingled with ideas of racial superiority, longings for the beautiful lands of New Mexico and California, and thoughts of commercial enterprise across the Pacific” (Zinn, 154). Ultimately, America was greedy for more land and only cared about being superior. Their justification fell short and proved that America has not always been the humane and compassionate country we claim to be.

This statement means that the top soldiers from both America and Mexico were in battle and would stop at nothing to win. They each were willing to destroy anything in their path, even if it meant killing their own people. An American volunteer for the war wrote about the brutality that existed solely within his regiment, “… an officer laid a soldier’s skull open with his sword…” (Zinn, 168). Some officers seemed to barely value their troops’ lives, which contributed to the evil that this war encompassed.

The phrase illustrated America’s belief in “Manifest Destiny”. Rather than acknowledging the atrocities committed by American troops, they used tappearanifest Destiny to justify their acquisition of Mexico. They believed they had every right to conquer new land, whether or not people were already living on it. Additionally, “The United States paid Mexico $15 million…” (Zinn, 169). Therefore, with America paying Mexico so much money it put forth a façade, which made it appeared as though there was simply a negotiation between the two countries for land.