The West offered many economic and social opportunities to those who braved the difficult task of establishing themselves therein. Contrary to popular belief, many of these prospects were available to women as well as men. Indeed, the occupational allowances of the west greatly differentiated frontier women from those in the East. The traditional roles of 19th century domesticated women became blurred on the frontier. This is most markedly seen in the interchange and sharing of labour between men and women in the domestic sphere. Additionally, many single women obtained land in the west, and they subsequently earned some degree of the economic independence allowed by such holdings. While most women worked in traditional jobs related to their household duties, many others were employed in occupations which were limited or closed to them in the east; indeed, many single women traveled west in order to obtain such jobs. Yet, in spite of such possibilities, most women were forced to care for their homes and their families, although such work was frequently accomplished jointly with their husbands. Despite the more liberal trends in the west however, the sex roles of women cannot be seen as fundamentally different from those in the east, even though in some cases the boundaries between the genders may be muted. One historian argues, in fact, that the domestic ideal did in fact shape frontier life for women.
The most important facet of a woman’s life in all parts of the country was her domestic role: principally, she was to care for the family and the household. Indeed, these tasks became vastly important to families initially trying to establish themselves in the west. Upon settlement, many women found their frontier households barren and decrepit. Elevating these ramshackle hovels into ideal households must have been intimidating and perhaps even demoralizing, although conditions did improve as the settlement prospered. In light of these somewhat desperate situations, the ingenuity displayed by women in order to survive and maintain their families is quite remarkable; women themselves acknowledged their accomplishments with pride. There was a great deal of work involved in establishing a new household, and both men and women had to share the workload more or less equally. Indeed, in many instances the traditional divisions of labour were not adhered to as conditions forced men into domestic roles and women into “masculine” functions. Men did perform traditionally feminine tasks, such as washing, cleaning, and sometimes even sewing, although usually only when the women in the family were somehow incapacitated. They also shared in caring for the elderly and infirm, as well as in the establishment of social institutions like schools and churches. Women frequently helped in the fields on farms and ranches, and they also aided in building construction, an enterprise deemed too extreme for women. Indeed, women even actively participated in the most tangibly masculine activity of frontier life—defense of the home. Women were also an integral part of the family income, especially during the first few years of settlement. By selling some of their domestic product—textiles and foodstuffs—women contributed greatly to the household economy, especially in lean times.
Domestic skills were applied to the job market as women brought in extra money as cooks, launderers, tailors, and boarders, all jobs which could be accomplished from the home. These occupations therefore did not greatly interfere with a woman’s primary duty to her family, nor did it conflict with the belief in female domesticity. They were also vitally important to the initial settlers of the west—miners, cowboys, and other males who never learned such skills, or more likely didn’t want to “degrade” themselves by performing feminine tasks. Many single women traveled west during the early period of settlement to hire themselves out for the relatively high wages such in-demand jobs offered. A number of these women were blacks emigrating from the south to escape from social limitations and find opportunities in the west. While economic prospects for blacks were even more favourable than in the north, some social limitations remained. Many working women found employment in other ventures. They could, of course, control the family business if their husbands were incapacitated or killed, and many demonstrated the aptitude and business acumen they acquired while working alongside their mates. Teaching was also a popular occupation, although primarily the domain of single, childless women. Artistic and journalistic professions were also open to women. Yet, for women it was in land acquisition and trade that western economic opportunity differed from that of the east. Women could make land claims just as men could, and many exercised this right. While the majority of these women were young, single, and native-born, a significant portion of older women, especially widows, as well as new immigrants took claims in the west. Although some attempted to homestead on their own, most women who claimed land did so to sell it for profit. Land speculation companies were formed by some women, and a few in fact became quite rich. Women who indeed wanted to manage land successfully did so in conjunction with others, sometimes friends, but usually relatives: “two, three, and even four sisters often claimed adjoining land”. Various factors determined the decisions for and patterns of female homesteaders, and here historians are not in accordance. Garceau argues that some women acquired land next to future husbands, and then married them after proving up in order to increase the couple’s assets. Lindgen refutes this argument, alleging that most women married after arranging their land holdings. He also states that others wanted to provide land for relatives, including their children.
In either case, it is important to note that women themselves felt empowered by their opportunities to homestead. The most important aspects of frontier life for women were the greater amount of liberties they received. Indeed, the idea of female homesteaders became symbolically linked with the new freedoms of the west, and a romantic mythology developed around them. Female writers, in themselves symbols of western liberty, serialized the lives of frontier women and commanded a sizeable readership in the east. They stressed the independence and self-confidence of women that was being actualized on the frontier. While in actuality only a small portion of female homesteaders were in fact independent, these literary claims were not without some degree of truth. Growing up without the strict domesticity found in the East, many young western women found themselves freed from the limitations of solely being a housewife. However, the expanded sphere of work that was available to women in the west was less accessible and desirable to women who emigrated from the east than to their daughters born on the frontier. These young women felt more inclined to leave the domestic sphere, and as stated above, many did so to work and support the family. Additionally, the more liberal western universities allowed women to receive an education, and thus potentially make them eligible for careers in medicine, law, and other professions. Political activity by women was also accepted: while they could not run for political offices themselves, women were granted suffrage in the west before their eastern counterparts received it. Such freedoms at the community level reflected the greater degree of equality enjoyed by women in the domestic microcosm. Husbands recognized the importance of their wives to the survival of the family, and thus western women enjoyed a greater level of authority in the home than those in the east. It also seems clear that when men did not allow such equality, women increasingly turned to divorce as an option. Yet, not all historians believe that the west was indeed liberating for women. Many such detractors criticize the belief that domestic ideology became loosened in the west. Griswold argues that divorce was directly related to women’s sense of domestic morality. He also concludes that the cult of domesticity bonded women together on the isolating expanses of the frontier. This unification occurred at both the micro-structure of friendships and at the macro-structure of community projects to “civilize” the west. By loosening the concept of domestic ideology, Griswold argues that it becomes a moot point in comparing the freedoms of western women with their eastern counterparts.
Despite both the disagreement whether the notion of domestic ideology limited the freedoms of women in the west and the controversy surrounding the autonomy of western women, all historians agree that life for women living on the frontier was vastly different than in the east. The initial settlement was indeed hard for both men and women, yet the arduous labour required to succeed greatly equalized power between husband and wife. The majority of historians cited for this paper agree that the west offered a much wider occupational diversity for women than was available in the east. Although women could venture outside of the home to work, it is important to note that to a great extent they remained in “domestic” roles. A few brave others, however, were employed in strictly masculine occupations. Indeed, the participation of women in all aspects of settlement proved necessary for success, and the importance of women was recognized by the men who gave them a greater degree of social and political independence. For both sexes, the west was literally an open frontier.
Bibliography
De Graff, L.B. “Race, Sex, and Region: Black Women in the American West, 1850-1920,” Pacific Historical Review 49 (1980), 285-313.
Garceau, Dee. “Single Women Homesteaders and the Meanings of Independence: Places on the Map, Places in the Mind,” Frontiers 15 (1995), 1-26.
Griswold, R. “Anglo Women and Domestic Ideology in the American West in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries,” Western Women: Their Land, Their Lives. Ed. L. Schlissel et al. University of New Mexico Press, 1988. 15-33.
Harris, K. “Sex Roles and Work Patterns Among Homesteading Families in Northeastern Colorado, 1873-1920,” Frontiers 7 (1984), 43-49.
Lindgen, H.E. Land in Her Own Name: Women as Homesteaders in... N. Dakota Inst for Reg Studies, 1991. 1-55.
Myers, S.L. Westering Women and the Frontier Experience. University of New Mexico Press, 1982. 141-66, 238-70.
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