Gender Identity During the Gold Rush - 1813 Words

Over the course of Americas history, the gender role for men and women has evolved. Since the beginning of time, men have played the dominant role in nearly every culture around the world, including the United States. The men during the seventeenth century were dominant figures who earned money to take care of themselves and their families. Women on the other hand, were the ones who were in the home taking care of the children, cooking, and cleaning. When the Gold Rush occurred in 1849, not only was society changing, but the roles of both men and women were rapidly changing as well. The effects of gender role determined the way that society was running. When this sudden change of gender role started to change, society started to run much†¦show more content†¦By the time the gold rush rolled around, there was an emerging pattern of reaction against the moral strictures of polite culture and a disdain for the daily white collar office work. Although there were several gold rus hes, including one in the south, the one thing which makes the California gold rush stand out from the other is the large amount of writing which was produced by not only the California gold seekers but their wives and family members they left back on the east coast. For many of the men who dreamed of going to California, a lot of the literature pieces around this time offered a way out of the â€Å"impasse between respectability and the marketplace† (Roberts, pg. 52). The writings had major effects on the American middle class and people were learning important lessons. Several of the lessons from these writings is that â€Å"polite culture had its limitations, and nature, or the West, was a utopian space in which one could escape the stiffness of bourgeois respectability† (Roberts, pg. 60). What this means is that by the 1840s many of the men believed that their bodies were becoming softer due to the acquisition of table manners and parlor etiquette. The marketplace was becoming harsher and it required strength, not manners. The average miner had a family, a mother, a sister, a wife, or a mistress that he wrote to while he was in California. The letters exchanged between the men on the West and the women in the East wouldShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Poem Unbound Voices : A Documentary History Of Chinese Women1707 Words   |  7 PagesAnglo dominated society, they still retained their cultural heritage. From 1848 to 1855 one of America’s most know historical periods is the California Gold Rush. During the gold rush men flocked to Gold Country believing they would strike it rich. However, the work was hard and time consuming and the men fell into bad habits. Most of the men during this time were forced to live as bachelors and unfortunately fell into the habit of prostitution. Whereas most women came to California as independentRead MoreRace And Gender Has Shaped The Lives Of Californians1845 Words   |  8 Pagesbecomes a multicultural area even before it becomes a state. It started with the Native Americans, Native Californians and Californios; then the Gold Rush brought a flood of new people such as Chinese, African American slaves, Europeans, etc, who wanted to make it rich. However, despite the fact that California increased in its diversity so much and so fast during its history, social and economic acceptance of different kinds of people was very low. When trying to ga in statehood, one condition of the CaliforniaRead MoreHow the Hippies Counterculture Transformed Music Essay2277 Words   |  10 PagesIn the 1950’s and 1960’s, rebellion and music were synonymous. The 1950’s brought widespread attention to a new kind of music coined as â€Å"Rock ‘n’ Roll†. Because parents deemed the music as sinful, the youth used it to establish an identity for themselvess. In the 1960’s, the rebellion was given a collective charge when young adults voiced displeasure over the country’s entrance into the Vietnam War and the use of nuclear weapons. One group within this movement was coined the â€Å"hippies†. This paperRead MoreMen’s Clothing, and How Men Used Their Fashion and Appearance to Construct Their Masculine Identity, as Well as Their Social Class2137 Words   |  9 Pagessociety, a frequent complaint is that men are left out of the fashion rush’ (1996: 61). However, in fact, m en’s fashion changed regularly, and there were numerous types of jackets, trousers, cravats, ties, and hats that provided plenty of material for asserting or maintaining social status (Delpierre, 1990). This essay focuses on men’s clothing, and how men used their fashion and appearance to construct their masculine identity, as well as their social class. To begin with, it talks about the SumptuaryRead MoreThe End Of The Civil War1805 Words   |  8 Pagesfought for freedom, and pressed for equal rights during the war and then when it came time for reconstruction the focus shifted to economic development, industrialization, and ultimately making money. Foner argues in, A Short History Of Reconstruction, that the depression and other financial panics drew away the focus of reconstruction on a national level. The government was focused on getting people out west for expansion, allocating land, the gold rush, and fulfilling their manifest destiny. FredrickRead More The G reat White Wall Essay4596 Words   |  19 Pagesflow of emigrants into the country (McConville: p 75). The flood of immigrants increased enormously around the 1850’s but not for the support of the economy; the flow came in because of gold (McConville: p 76). As greater waves of immigrants began to arrive to better their livelihood and compete for the gold claims, racism soon took hold within the economic, social and geographic arenas (McQueen: p 30). Fears of invasions of non-Europeans gave rise to discriminatory acts and many violent riotsRead MoreAfrican Americans And Asian Americans1878 Words   |  8 Pagesbrought some form of familiarity of the U.S. and ease of immigration (illegal or otherwise). Although small numbers of Asian arrived in the U.S. circa mid-1700s, the first large scale influx of Asian’s didn’t occur till the mid-1800s during the California Gold Rush. Chinese immigrants left their country with the hope of prosperity, as the economy was changing for the worse with British governance over China. â€Å"While in California, Chinese miners experienced one of first instances of discriminationRead MoreNegotiating Conquest By Miroslava Chavez Garcia1820 Words   |  8 Pagesprovinces, and the problems they faced just because they are women. One of the major problems that women faced at this time, was the constant sexual abuse by Spanish soldiers. The soldiers raped women of all ages and hurt anyone that tried to stop them. During these acts of abuse, venereal diseases, such as syphillis, would be past along to the Native Women and then across their missions. This disease soon became the leading factor of death in missions of this time. Despite of the missionaries warningsRead MoreWomen in World War Ii2579 Words   |  11 Pageslives of women in Canada and/or the United States? Were the changes merely temporary or did they sow the seeds of collapse for traditional gender roles? * * The Second World War dramatically changed the lives of women in both Canada and the United States, on every level from political, to social, to sexual. Further, the changes in women’s lives during this time were not merely temporary reactions to a current situation, but rather were profound societal changes that would forever alter theRead MoreUs Immigration Policy3707 Words   |  15 Pagesentering the United States. Particularly those of Chinese decent who played a key role in the building of our railroads during this time. With the California gold rush in full swing the demand for railroads, bridging the east and west coast, was paramount. Thousands of Chinese immigrants entered the country and once the railroads had been completed many stayed in the west. Once the gold rush dwindled down the economy followed suit. Americans began to resent the competition the Chinese were presenting in