Frontier Women: “Civilizing” the West? 1840-1880 by Julie Roy Jeffrey
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
As a historian, I could hardly make it through this book. I would not consider it a reliable secondary source because it is tainted with opinions and 20th century feminine ideology. Also, many of the author’s sources are from the 1970s not all are 1800 primary resources.
When I picked this book up, based on the cover and comments, I assumed it would be a window into the women, who made the American West their home in the 1800s. There isn’t a chapter on the Native Americans or Hispanic women. Although there is a comment or two from these cultures, overall this is all about the White Woman. The author does include the dynamic of prostitute and gentel ladies. She also includes a great deal about the Mormon religion/cult and the way in which women were pursued to join the church in Utah.
But it did not live up to its title. The writer was so focused on the social aspect of women/feminism between centuries, she painted a perturbed picture of these ‘poor women’. Sufferage wasn’t available to them. They were fighting against their men, not literally but morally and figuratively. In some cases this is true, but she fails to mention that many women did not take a stand against their men or voice their opinions because they did not want to. Women have not changed. The women who settled the West were not faint of heart. They were strong women but the author paints them as weak, helpless. Why? Because women couldn’t possibly be content at home raising Godly children. They were weak in changing alcohol and prostitution laws. By shear number, women in the West were outnumbered so yes, men would continue to rule and money always rules. Women ran some of these places. Offering themselves a high level of input in the community. None of this is mentioned.
I would be embarrassed as a historian to put my name on this and feed it to the public.
Whitney Buckley 