Young Oxford History of Women in the United States (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Young Oxford History of Women in the United States April Spencer (bio) Young Oxford History of Women in the United States edited by Nancy F. Cott. New York: Oxford University Press, $242.00 / 11 vol. set, $22.00 / vol., paper. Includes The Tried and the True: Native American Women Confronting Colonization by John Demos, 1998, 111 pp.; The Colonial Mosaic: American Women 1600–1760 by Jane Kamensky, 1998, 157 pp.; The Limits of Independence: American Women 1760–1800 by Marylynn Salmon, 1998, 141 pp.; Breaking New Ground: American Women 1800–1848 by Michael Goldberg, 1998, 141 pp; An Unfinished Battle: American Women 1848–1865 by Harriet Sigerman, 1998, 143 pp.; Laborers for Liberty: American Women 1865–1890 by Harriet Sigerman, 1998, 143 pp.; New Paths to Power: American Women 1890–1920 by Karen Manners Smith, 1998, 142 pp.; From Ballots to Breadlines: American Women 1920–1940 by Sarah Jane Deutsch, 1998, 141 pp.; Pushing the Limits: American Women 1940–1961 by Elaine Tyler May, 1998, 141 pp.; The Road to Equality: American Women Since 1962 by William H. Chafe, 1998, 142 pp.; Biographical Supplement and Index by Harriet Sigerman, 1998, 221 pp. The Young Oxford History of Women is long overdue and should be in every middle and high school library. As a high school teacher of history, [End Page 207] and more specifically women’s history, I find this set refreshing and well-rounded. I frequently have witnessed gender-biased writing in textbooks and see these volumes as filling the many gaps in our current American History texts. The nine authors represented in these volumes cover the last four centuries with first-person accounts that bring women to life for the readers. The authors focus on the private as well as the public lives of women and present various groups of women from different ethnic, religious, and class perspectives. As Nancy Cott, the editor of this collection, states, “knowledge of the past is essential to creating justice for the future” (Vol. 1, 8). The books do not whitewash our history and will raise as many questions as they answer. Each of the first ten books breaks up the time periods, some as short as twenty years and others covering more than one hundred years. They also include a chronological list of events and a list of further readings relevant to that time period. The eleventh book, a biographical supplement, offers a list of women’s museums, historic sites, and web sites. This set ideally works best together, but each book can stand alone. As a history teacher, I must be capable of explaining to my students why we need to know our history. These books struggle with the same questions that students do. Why were things the way they were? How did change affect groups of people? What can we take from their struggle and use now? These books can be used by a wide range of history students—from a women’s history class to a general U.S. history class—but they also appeal to a broader audience such as English literature and psychology. They are written so that an advanced-level middle school student can benefit as well. None of the volumes contains footnotes, which makes it much easier to read. Each of the eleven volumes also contains further readings for more extensive research so that the information is appropriate to the level of the student. Another exciting feature of the series is the final volume. This biographical supplement and index directly references the ten preceding volumes. There are approximately two hundred and fifty women included, representing a variety of ethnic origins, careers, and time periods. This facilitates the set’s use in the classroom for reports as well as general reference. The biographical sketches are concise and readable. Each sketch comes with a list of further readings by and about the women. This supplement can serve as a valuable stand-alone book in classrooms. After the biographies, historic sites and museums related to women’s history—several of which relate to the biographies included—are categorized by state. Lastly, web sites are listed. Many of these sites contain similar biographical sketches for women...