Title
This political cartoon, published in London, satirizes the actions of the women of Edenton, NC, who in 1774 gathered together to sign a document supporting the Continental Congress's boycott of British goods. The image reveals both the active participation of women in political activities prior to the American Revolution and the hostility that women's political participation provoked in some quarters, in England as well as America.
Guiding Questions
Look at the image carefully and answer the following questions:
- What are the women at the table doing?
- What is happening under the table?
- What other activities are the other women in the room engaged in?
- According to the cartoonist, what happens to women who engage in politics?
- Patriots circumvented many of the early British tax measures by engaging in non-importation of the taxable goods—they refused to import the merchandise. The boycotts, however, were non-consumption strategies—colonists refused to buy or use the products. In this light, answer the following:
- Evaluate the effectiveness of a non-importation strategy versus a non-consumption strategy on the British economy.
- Assess women’s importance in of colonial women’s contribution to each of these strategies.
- What does the cartoon suggest about British attitudes toward patriot activism in the colonies?
- Evaluate the effectiveness of a non-importation strategy versus a non-consumption strategy on the British economy.