Historian Ed Ayers argues, “The exploitative nature of women’s work throughout history has been enormous.” Based on what you have learned in this course, agree or disagree with this statement and justify your answer. Think about free women, unfree women, black and white, working in and outside of the home, paid and unpaid, from the beginning of class up through what we will have covered this week. You should plan to write a cohesive, formal essay, in which you develop an argument and advance it through making points and using evidence to back them up. You should only be referencing “Women and Work documents” and textbook Who Built America? Vol. 1: Working People and the Nation’s History 3rd Edition Here is something else that may help – https://backstoryradio.org/shows/women-work/ – BackStory is an American history podcast some people at the University of Virginia put together. The segment “Under the Law” from this show is particularly relevant.
