ed to be a woman who wanted to see the world. If not for the war, where would she have ended up, and what path would this creative, energetic and brave woman have taken? Her husband subsequently received a veterans pension for her efforts. (Evans 54)If womens roles had not changed and evolved, our society could not have survived through the war. Society would not have developed into a gentile society of the time, reflecting grace and the strength of the women. Our country has women to thank for keeping the home fires burning and developing our culture. Women like Eliza Lucas Pinckney, who developed indigo cultivation in the early plantation days, was a scientist, farmer, businesswoman, and matriarch of the leading family in South Carolina. She was a noted obedient and ever devoted daughter (Ferguson 184). Her strength, creativeness, and character were the epitome of womanhood during her time. She related to her husband as an equal and fulfilled her role as mother and homemaker simultaneously. Factors many believed women could not do or would allow them to undertake in their unenlightened thinking of women and their respective roles.Women of this time had their lives shaped by extraordinary events such as political and economic upheavals, religious conflict, and intellectual transformation. (Mack 1) During this time middle class women gained a certain degree of intellectual autonomy during this century. With extra time on hands, the first time in centuries, they were able to educate themselves and reflect upon their lives. During this, time roles were reversed for the first time allowing women to take control of estates, while husbands where away, thus gaining confidence and ownership of their abilities. It is during this time that women first started to establish themselves and their rights. These changing roles from chattel to individual mark the period of Enlightenment. Women believed that their birthright made them f...
