True Women and Westward Expansion Book

In this dissertation Adrianna Caughfield, professor in American history, offers an interesting new
perspective on the Westward Expansion. Unlike most historians, she has sought out the female
perspective; researching diaries, letters and even the occasional female authored book. Throughout
these earlier forgotten texts, Caughfield found nineteenth century Western women passionately
arguing their case, giving both positive and negative opinions on the wilderness, turned Texas, and
its original inhabitants. How they exposed unjustified prejudice and validated others, while pondering the cause of, the often mentioned, barbarism; a condition presumably being the result of the natives' lack of proper religious upbringing.
While presenting her finds from these female authored texts, as well as texts mentioning women's
achievements and myth, Caughfield attacks the themes of True Womanhood, Manifest Destiny and
Domesticity in regard to the expansion taking place in the West. She exposes the women's role in
civilizing the natives; how they helped bring forth the word of god, how they taught the "barbarians" domesticity, or rather tried to. According to Caughfield, the women of the West were far less passive in the endeavor of creating the state of Texas, and far braver than they were given credit for, as well.
Women's roles during the expansion were more than just those of the true woman. While the men
went out to defend the land, women were left to take on not only their usual tasks but also their
spouses', brothers' and sons'. They made sure the land of their families prospered, while also
defending it to the best of their capacity. Women were not fighters but according to Caughfield they
did not always run and hide either. They stood up for the soldiers they mended back to health, they threatened natives who made advantages and some even survived torture, without giving up hope of one day being brought back to their families, after having been kidnapped years earlier.
Another subject that this book exposes is the part women took in the Civil War. It is well known that women created clothes and flags for the soldiers - helping keep the spirits up - but what is often overlooked is the fact that women also occasionally sold off their land in order to support the war economically, and that they made bullets for the weapons used. Caughfield explains how women went near the battle fields in order to leave the bullets for the soldiers, a task not entirely safe. As certain medical and herbal knowledge appeared on the pages of cook books, women also often were left with the task of mending the wounded men, who returned from battle.
It was not an easy life being forced to leave family, friends and the normal trappings of city life
behind, to move to the wilderness, but though some feared it, felt lonely or despised their new
surroundings at first consideration, women became advocates for Texas. Through letters they
encouraged other emigrants to join them in the wilderness, selling the idea of new uncharted, yet
prosperous, soil to whomever would listen. Texas gave the opportunity of building something from
the ground up, the land being uncharted even by the natives, who lived on the roots and fruits that
grew wild. This in the eyes of the American's also meant the natives had no claim.
Adrienne Caughfield makes a great effort exposing the importance of the female gender throughout
the book, and she does so, while also informing her audience of what was going on more generally
in the West during the first half of the nineteenth century. She exposes the female gender's opinion
on politics, expansion, the natives, as well, as the more domestic aspects of True Womanhood, and
while doing so she paints a picture of a gender much more involved than has been seen to date. This perspective is a welcome one in my opinion because it allows for a more rounded understanding of the history of Texas. True, the male gender was the figurehead, but this book divulges how important the women were behind the scenes. It reveals how women taught both their own children, as well, as those of others, making them ready for the society around them and their future roles, how they were behind both schools and churches being built in Texas. To a great extent you can say they created Texas - visualizing what it had to be - while the men defended it.
Caughfield manages what she set out to do, for the most part; exposing a far greater role for the female public than have been seen earlier. However, she does make some more questionable choices through the book that I feel has to be taken into consideration when used for academic use. For example, does she use certain female characters that she later divulges are built more on myth than actual proven fact. I will argue that characters build on myth do have a place in history; if you consider the mindset behind the characters, as well, as the fact that all myth spring from truth, or at least partial truths.
These mythological characters were possibly created in a similar mindset as women created flags for the soldiers; a need for spirits to be lifted, perhaps encouraging women to stand up for themselves and their loved ones.
The intended audience for this book is history scholars who want a more rounded understanding of
the Westward Expansion. Considering the length of both book and chapters, as well, as the language, I will argue that this book is also fitting for individuals interested in history and the gender roles occurring in Texas in the early nineteenth century. The language is fairly simple and Caughfield has managed to keep a possibly heavy topic quite light. I would personally consider this book for academic use but mind the use of myth and speculation - most of the book seems well researched and the myth that Caughfield does use she herself discredits right after mentioning them.