"First Generations"

Paper Summary:

A discussion of the the book, "First Generations" by Carol Berkin which explores the lives of women who immigrated to America from other countries, and Native Americans that were there when the immigrations started. The paper shows how the book follows through two centuries of life in America, to show how women's lives changed, improved and/or degraded during this time and how it tells in detail how people, especially women, lived in the 17th and 18th centuries.

From the Paper:

"Berkin's accounts of everyday life and women in general do agree with other who have written on the subject, but her book adds detail and description to the other accounts. Most "everyday life in colonial times" books tend to generalize about how people lived, but Berkin's book breaks America down by area, and shows how different areas, and their weather, surroundings, and even settlers affected how people lived. She differentiates between frontier households, urban households, and rural households, and shows how women made additional income in each of these areas.

"She also discusses leisure time, birthing methods, and more intimate details of early lives. She even discusses menstruation rights among the Native Americans, and how women came together for births, weddings, and funerals. Her book delves deeper into real live, and gives more intimate details of how women interacted with each other, with their families, and in society."

More papers on "First Generations":

• Analytical Essay # 90200 : "First, Second and Third Generation Immigrants"
• Term Paper # 124652 : "First and Second Generation Romantic Poets"
• Research Paper # 7887 : "Post WWII Generations in America"

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