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Difficulty: MediumGendered Dimensions of Slavery and Resistance

Read the following excerpt from a 1643 Virginia colonial statute:

'Be it enacted... that all freemen Christian or others, and all Negro men and women, and all other men from the age of sixteen years shall be deemed tithables [taxable laborers].'

Which of the following historical developments is best illustrated by this legislative act?

  1. A
    The immediate establishment of the doctrine of *partus sequitur ventrem* to define the legal status of newborn children.
  2. B
    The legal recognition of equal taxation status for all working-class women in colonial Virginia regardless of race.
  3. The legal definition of Black women's labor as taxable, which created a racialized and gendered division of labor that contrasted with the domestic roles expected of white women.Answer
  4. D
    The elimination of everyday, covert forms of resistance by forcing all enslaved women into agricultural work.

Answer

The legal definition of Black women's labor as taxable, which created a racialized and gendered division of labor that contrasted with the domestic roles expected of white women.
The correct answer is correct because the 1643 statute marked a critical point where colonial law began to differentiate labor along racial and gender lines. By classifying Black women (both free and enslaved) as tithable (taxable) agricultural laborers while excluding white women, colonial authorities legally distinguished Black women's labor from the domestic roles expected of white women under English gender norms.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the 1643 Virginia statute to identify who is being classified as tithable (taxable) and who is excluded.
The statute includes all Negro men and women, along with all other men from the age of sixteen, meaning Black women are taxed for their labor while white women are excluded.
To understand the social and economic distinctions being drawn by the colonial legislature.
2
Connect this statutory distinction to colonial gender norms and the division of labor.
English gender norms defined women's roles around domesticity, but colonial law specifically defined Black women's labor as agricultural and productive, creating a racialized and gendered division of labor.
To identify the historical development illustrated by the text.
3
Evaluate the options to select the one that correctly explains how the law gendered and racialized labor.
The option identifying the legal definition of Black women's labor as taxable and its contrast with white women's domestic roles matches this development.
To determine the correct historical analysis of the source.

Key Concept

The gendered and racialized division of labor under colonial law
Estimated Time:1m 15s
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Topics

Gendered Dimensions of Slavery and Resistance

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