As the colonists pressed for more independence, even women became involved, inciting British scorn. The picture “Women of Edenton, North Carolina” (1774), published after a group of women in North Carolina “renounced imported tea”2, portrays the British perception of the Patriots’ activism as disorganized, immoral and irresponsible.
It is evident that the British did not take their colonies’ patriotism very seriously. The meeting depicted in “Women of Edenton, North Carolina” is far more reminiscent of a raucous party than a formal meeting of any importance. Only two out of the fourteen adults are actually involved in the meeting; one woman writing up the article (bent over so that her posterior is seen in an unflattering light), and another (of extreme unsightliness) unsuccessfully trying to bring order to the meeting. The rest of the attendants are preoccupied with drinking, flirting, or other frivolous distractions. It could hardly be more clear that the British thought of the patriotic movement as little more than a joke and that the women – and the men (for allowing them to participate in such matters) – “inspired the scorn of some partisans of British authority.”2
Moreover, the scene implies that the patriots were not only disorganized, but immoral as well. One of the most noticeable details of the picture is that the party is made up of several groups that, at that time, were thought to be exclusive: men and women, blacks and whites. The average eighteenth century person would have labeled such a group as promiscuous. In addition, the women are excessively consuming alcoholic drinks which range from punch to what would appear to gin or rum. Perhaps the most telling, however, is the action of the single man in the group. Rather than behaving in a courtly, gentleman-like behavior, he is indulging himself by groping the woman next to him, a behavior meant to be strictly private. This speaks volumes about the character of both sexes – the men for their advances, and the women for attracting, accepting, and encouraging those advances.
The cartoon brings also brings attention to the baby (or very young child) seated in the middle of the floor and the dog licking it. At once, this begs the question, where is its mother? Only the most irresponsible and untrustworthy mother would abandon her offspring to so disgraceful a situation. Furthermore, the child has spilled a plate full of food. Does this not point to the wanton waste of resources that patriotism was guilty of? This seems to be the strongest attack on American patriotism. How could the colonists complain of taxation without representation when they so carelessly threw away food that they labored for? More to the point, how could such a irresponsible people be adequate to handle any form of independence from the orderly, time-tested Crown?
The cartoon was inspired by the newly-formed female activism, but it is likely that it ridiculed the men just as much, or more. This underestimation of the American patriots would dearly cost the British in a few short years when the patriots would, with blood and fire, re-educate their certainty that American patriotism was nothing more than a foolish game
1Dawes, Philip. “A Society of Patriotic Ladies, at Edenton in North Carolina.” 25 March 1775. Online image. Carleton College. 19 September 2006. http://www.acad.carleton.edu/curricular/hist/classes/HIST212/S01/00009936.jpg.
2Davidson, J. W. (2006). “The Imperial Crisis.” Nation of Nations. E. Barrosse. Boston, McGraw Hill: 139.
