Gender Roles In Early America

The United States of America is famously known as the giant melting pot of the world. There are so many diverse cultures and ethnicities populating the nation. This rang true for North America even before the United States was established. Before waves of European colonist invaded the land, a vast amount of Native Indians inhabited the America 's and were scattered all throughout the continent. Although an immense sea separated the Indian societies and the Europeans, they shared quite a bit of similarities when it came to gender roles. However, their differences still outweigh their similarities when it came to religion, notions about freedom and land. In early America, the Indian societies were vast and …show more content…
Both groups of people had men whom would labor the land or hunt for food, while the women tended to the household and children. In layman terms, the men were the providers and protectors, while the women were the nurturers and caretakers. These are pretty standard gender roles for most of the world, of course, with a few exceptions which will be discussed further on. Although the Indians and Europeans have several things in common, they have various differences. Despite the similarities between the Indian and European societies, there were major differences that existed. One of the biggest difference is the religion they practiced. For instance, the majority of the Indian societies shared several spiritual myths. These beliefs included things such as sacredness of animals and lands, several gods, ghosts, and spirits of the dead whom were thought to be the bodyguards in battle. Unlike the European religions, which were mostly monotheistic. Although they shared a similar belief, the Europeans themselves were deeply divided in religion as well. The Catholic Church was losing its dominion and new Protestant religions began to emerge. Despite these domestic problems, there was still a vast difference between their