The Colonial Times Were a Time for New Beginnings - Essay Example

The Colonial times were a time for new beginnings. Explorers settled into new lands, new opportunities were created, and many families made a new life for themselves. After all, this was when the Industrial Revolution was born. The Colonial Times was a unique time period in our history. Much is to be said about such times, especially how medicine was practised. During the Colonial Times, people were very optimistic. The new United States was in a very progressive time in history, and the new citizens of this land were determined to depend on Britain much less for their goods.

Mills and factories sprouted all over the place, and businesses were growing. Money had to be made, and the men, especially, were determined to make themselves and their families financially free. Women, on the other hand, were in charge of caring for the children. Almost every two years, a new child would be born to a woman, making her be responsible for caring for children pretty much her entire adult life. Women even began taking care of the children before the adult years. For instance, when Rebecca Lukens came home from the boarding school that she attended to get a top-of-the-line education, she was home caring for her six younger siblings at sixteen years of age.

While some were owners of large farms and plantations, and while there were others who tended to family duties, others went to school to get an education on a wide variety of things, such as apprenticeships and obtaining medical degrees (Gustaitis). According to the article titled, “Iron Woman” one could draw the conclusion that men primarily were doctors. Women primarily were nurses, and they worked with midwifery, helping other women deliver their children. For instance, the husband of Rebecca Lukens, Charles Lloyd Lukens, studied to become a physician and practised for quite some time before he decided that he’d go into the iron business along with Rebecca’s father (Gustaitis).

Eventually, Rebecca’s father died, and then her husband took the business over. During those times, women did not primarily work, as their duties were primarily in the home. However, when their husbands died, leaving them widows, these women were able to inherit all of the estate, the business, and any other financial means that their husbands left behind. Not to mention, they possessed legal rights (Gustaitis).