Description
Book SynopsisExamines the aspects of childhood in the American colonies between the late sixteenth and late eighteenth centuries. This work contains essays and documents that shed light on the ways in which the process of colonization shaped childhood, and in turn how the experience of children affected life in colonial America.
Trade ReviewChildren in Colonial America is a highly original contribution to the history of childhood. The collections unique strength lies in its great range of regions and peoples represented: from Indian children of Mexico to young Africans in Jamaica, from Separatist Pilgrims in the Netherlands and Plymouth to Catholic girls in Germany, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania. Although ideal for the classroom, these essays offer much that will be of interest to seasoned scholars. -- Gloria L. Main,University of Colorado-Boulder
Few books can be all things to all people, but this one is an exception. -- Kenneth J. Blume
Providing fresh historical perspectives on key features of children's lives, this book offers compelling, new materials on childhood in colonial America, and on groupsincluding Native Americans and Hispanicstoo often left out of conventional coverage. -- Peter Stearns,George Mason University
Marten adds to the growing body of literature on the history of family life with this rich collection of original essays and transcriptions from primary documents. Divided into thematic subdivisions relating to Europeans and Native Americans, issues of family and community, and the process of becoming American, the 12 essays contributed mainly by history academics examine children's lives from the varied cultures found in Colonial North America and contain copious footnotes and a list of suggested further reading. Such topics as parenting practices, health, education, gender roles, and rites of passage are touched on. The small selection of primary documents (excerpts from letters, diaries, and autobiographies) add depth to an already well-written and researched work whose real strength is its juxtaposition of children's lives across a variety of Colonial cultures. * Library Journal *
Brings together a broad range of provocative essays on a diverse cast of children from within and without the British American colonies. * Journal of Social History *
A useful and largely impressive anthology on an under-studied topic. * PhiloBiblos *
Table of ContentsForeword by Philip J. GrevenAcknowledgmentsIntroductionJames MartenPart I Race and Colonization1 Indian Children in Early Mexico Dorothy Tanck de Estrada2 Colonizing ChildhoodR. Todd Romero3 Imperial Ideas, Colonial RealitiesAudra Abbe DipteePart II Family and Society4 Sibling Relations in Early American ChildhoodsC. Dallett Hemphill5 "I Shall Beat You, So That the Devil Shall Laugh at It"Mariah Adin6 "Improved" and "Very Promising Children"Darcy FryerPart III Cares and Tribulations7 "Decrepit in Their Early Youth"John J. Navin8 Idiocy and the Construction of Competence in Colonial Massachusetts Parnel Wickham9 "My Constant Attension on My Sick Child"Helena M. WallPart IV Becoming Americans10 From German Catholic Girls to Colonial American WomenLauren Ann Kattner11 "Let Both Sexes Be Carefully Instructed"Keith Pacholl12 From Saucy Boys to Sons of LibertyJ. L. BellIn Search of the Historical Child: Questions for Consideration Suggested ReadingsAbout the ContributorsIndex
