Education was not available to girls for a majority of the
colonial era. This kept female literacy rates very low until the end of the eighteenth
century. The education that was offered was usually for domestic and religious purposes.
For example the Puritans of New England, taught all children how to read so that they
could read the Bible. Unlike boys, girls were only taught how to od things like
needlework and cooking.
The lack of education kept women
away from getting involved in business or law. An exception to this was the Dutch colony
of New Netherland, which is the present day New York. Here both men and women were
actively involved in business and legal life. In this region the over 75 percent of the
women could read and write by the late 1600s, which was in sharp contrast to the 30
percent who could do the same in New England.
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