Each piece of information that I have come across in my research is equally as important as the next, for different reasons, and I think the way I plan on organizing the evidence makes sense as a way to argue my claim logically. Since I am making the claim that New Harmony’s ideas of gender roles were more traditional than one would think, the strongest evidence and, therefore, the most important evidence to support my claim are the letters written by Sarah Pears, who was a woman who lived in New Harmony. These letters bluntly state how unhappy Mrs. Pears was in the community and describe in detail the amount of work she was required to complete and the unreasonable rules she was required to respect.

Although Mrs. Pear’s letters are of the most value to argue that women were being mistreated, the other information I have come across during my research is just as vital to my paper because it allows me to make comparisons. The book, The Columbia Guide to American Women in the Nineteenth Century, is written about the pivotal role of women in the nineteenth century. I am going to use this source as a way to establish the standards of women and their roles in society in the early nineteenth century, so I can provide the reason for why women would look to New Harmony as a refuge. This information is also going to be used as a way to compare the way women were being treated outside of the community to the way they were treated on the inside, to further prove my point that gender roles were very traditional.

Before I start comparing the lives of women inside and outside of New Harmony, I plan on discussing the way Robert Owen advertised his new community. By doing this, I will show how Owen’s talk of the equality and happiness that he promised would appear in his community raised the expectations of the future inhabitants to absurd levels, making them eager to be a part of the community, and making them highly disappointed when the expectations were not met.

Although all for different reasons, the information I have found is equally vital to my research paper. By first setting the standards of women’s treatment in the nineteenth century, then writing about Owen’s promises of what New Harmony would be like, then sharing the words of Sarah Pears and Carol Kolmerten regarding the actual mistreatment of women within New harmony, I think my paper will flow well, while supporting my argument in a strong way.