The function of women in politics, the economy, and communal events in American society moved significantly from the pre-Revolutionary war era to the early beginnings of the 20th century. In the years leading up to the American Revolution, women were looked upon as being “subordinate to males” and so as a result women were affected by the laws and regulations forced upon them by men. It was almost as if it was a woman’s right, to get married, have kids, and live out the obligation of being a thorough wife and mother. Because the government was mainly ruled and controlled by men, it was often that women didn’t have the lawful rights, for example the power to vote or be in possession of property.
Yet, as the years advanced toward the Civil War and Reconstruction, the public, monetary matters, and political functions for women started to transform. Women’s attire became chic, even for countryside and lower-class women. Their outfits, which began to “show the details bodies to their benefit,” showed the passion and power of women to rid themselves from the harsh commands of the male-dominated society. While most married women performed labors in the home—and their “inconveniences growing heavily” in regards to the expansion of non-farming jobs for men—it was not unusual for women mainly those who lost their husbands during the Civil War, to earn income. Even though the social and financial transformations brought about many rights for women, possibly the most important change during the 19th and early 20th centuries was made of the political transformations brought about by the numerous number of reform groups in regards to women’s liberties, such as ending slavery, voting rights , self-control, and education.
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...ts of a mixture of people, eventually led Stanton and Mott to coordinate the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. The convention attracted over three-thousand audience members, which were mostly women in attendance, but did consist of a considerable amount of men. Numerous speakers interacted with the hopeful crowd, counting Stanton, Mott, and Frederick Douglass, the prominent abolitionists. At the convention, Stanton announced the “Declaration of Sentiments” and the spectators of the convention decided on the components of the “Declaration,” the most noteworthy of being women’s right to vote. Regrettably, Stanton’s demand for the right to vote was not victorious at the Seneca Falls Convention. All other components of the “Declaration” passed relatively easily. But only a handful voted in support of women’s right to vote, after an powerful speech by Fredrick Douglass.”
While being born in the modern times, no woman knows what it was like to have a status less than a man’s. It is hard to envision what struggles many women had to go through in order to get the rights to be considered equal. In the essay The Meanings of Seneca Falls, 1848-1998, Gerda Lerner recalls the events surrounding the great women’s movement. Among the several women that stand out in the movement, Elizabeth Cady Stanton stands out because of her accomplishments. Upon being denied seating and voting rights at the World Antislavery Convention of 1840, she was outraged and humiliated, and wanted change. Because of Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s great perseverance, the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 was a success as well as a great influence on the future of women’s rights.
When considering the American Revolution most histories fail to recognize both sides of the fight for liberty. Men were certainly the central figures; however could they have succeeded without the periphery support of women? In her book, Women of the Republic: Intellect and Ideology in Revolutionary America, Linda K. Kerber explores the contribution of women to the war and demonstrates the rising of “Republican Motherhood” during and following the war. Through this ideology, women merged their traditional roles with their new sense of civic duty. In the beginning chapters, Kerber examines women’s engagement in the war effort, explores the emerging idea of female patriotism and states the proper loyalties of married women during the time. Kerber then looks at the consequences of the Revolution in relation to the female concerns of divorce, education and women’s reading. In these chapters, and her concluding chapter, “The Republican Mother,” she evaluates the representation of womanhood in the early republic. According to Kerber, the American Revolution had an enduring and significant change in the role of women in society and created a new political role for women, known as “Republican Motherhood”.
Although women did not have the same rights as men, they came to possess a mentality that was a force to be reckoned with in a fight for equality. In 1848 at Seneca Falls, New York, 150 women and 30 men met to dispute the male sovereignty of the time. At this conference, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, an educated, married abolitionist, presented the “Declaration of Sentiments”. This document was a testament to the drastic changes the United States would have to go through to include women in its widespread ideals. As the basis for their argument, the writers of the Seneca Falls Declaration utilized the Declaration of Independence to catch the attention of the public and display the severity of the situation. However, in her oration, Stanton changes the male centralized voice of the Declaration of Independence. When addressing the self –evident truths, she expressed that “all men and women are created equal” instead of the original phrase that excluded women (Anthony, Stanton, and Gage, 239). Their document was further structured with 18 grievances and 11 resolutions; each was meant to recognize women as equal members of society. As the current government has “become destructive of [life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness], it is right of those who suffer from it to refuse allegiance to it, and to insist upon the institution of a new government” (Anthony, Stanton, and Gage, 240). Because women were rightfully entitled to an equal station beside men, they demanded the recognition of the rights that society was currently denying them. The most controversial resolution presented at the conference was the desire to vote. Women wanted this ability because they deserved to have a voice in the laws that would inevitably affect them. As free American citizens, it was their inalienable right to vote and have some form of representation in legislation. The Seneca Falls Conference and the Declaration of Sentiments was just the beginning of a public fight for women’s equality and rights.
In the 1840’s, most of American women were beginning to become agitated by the morals and values that were expected of womanhood. “Historians have named this the ’Cult of True Womanhood’: that is, the idea that the only ‘true’ woman was a pious, submissive wife and mother concerned exclusively with home and family” (History.com). Voting was only the right of men, but women were on the brink to let their voices be heard. Women pioneers such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott wrote eleven resolutions in The Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments; this historical document demanded abolishment of any laws that authorized unequal treatment of women and to allow for passage of a suffrage amendment.
Sixty- nine years after the Declaration of Independence, one group of women gathered together and formed the Seneca Falls Convention. Prior and subsequent to the convention, women were not allowed to vote because they were not considered equal to men. During the convention, Elizabeth Cady Stanton delivered the “Declaration of Sentiments.” It intentionally resembles the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal…” (Stanton, 466). She replaced the “men” with “men and women” to represent that women and men should be treated equally. Stanton and the other women in the convention tried to fight for voting rights. Dismally, when the Equal Rights Amendment was introduced to the Congress, the act failed to be passed. Even though women voiced their opinions out and urged for justice, they could not get 2/3 of the states to agree to pass the amendment. Women wanted to tackle on the voting inequalities, but was resulted with more inequalities because people failed to listen to them. One reason why women did not achieve their goals was because the image of the traditional roles of women was difficult to break through. During this time period, many people believed that women should remain as traditional housewives.
Women were very important to the development of the Republic in the United States. Although their influences were indirect they had a big impact. Women were not allowed to participate in elections or hold office; however they were wives of politicians and “mothers of republic”. Despite being legally ineligible for the above roles they were granted the right to education and a small amount of freedom, which in turn enabled them to become more intellectually acceptable on the topics of government.
There were many women, who thought the fact of not being able to vote was outrageous. They wanted the same rights as men and nothing was going to stop them. Obtaining the right to vote wasn’t going to be an easy process for women. So the many campaigns, petitions, pickets and organizations in the mid 1800’s to the early 1900’s were a start to many rights. This lengthy process began on July 19, 1848. On this day the Seneca Falls Convention took place in New York, New York. Over 200 men and women came in participated and gave their opinions on votin...
Following the signing of the Declaration of Independence and The Treaty of Paris, America was in means of establishing a government. It wasn’t until later, between 1810 -1880, did women begin to make their move. A development due to the market revolution; an economic transformation of manual labor. Thus changing land owning from no longer being the only way to make money. Now all white men were allowed to vote. This left a desired explanation for women, slaves, and Natives who weren’t allowed to vote. Many men felt giving women the right to vote would be equal to giving men two votes. Remembering this notion of Republican Motherhood, a notion that later transformed into what is now called, The Cult of Domesticity, meaning women were biologically conditioned to stay at home. America, following its etiquettes and manuals of what’s proper behavior, society alone, would never allow women the means to vote nor legitimize them as
Society has long since considered women the lessor gender and one of the most highly debated topics in society through the years has been that of women’s equality. The debates began over the meaning between a man and woman’s morality and a woman’s rights and obligations in society. After the 19th Amendment was sanctioned around 1920, the ball started rolling on women’s suffrage. Modern times have brought about the union of these causes, but due to the differences between the genetic makeup and socio demographics, the battle over women’s equality issue still continues to exist. While men have always held the covenant role of the dominant sex, it was only since the end of the 19th century that the movement for women’s equality and the entitlement of women have become more prevalent. “The general consensus at the time was that men were more capable of dealing with the competitive work world they now found themselves thrust into. Women, it was assumed, were unable to handle the pressures outside of the home. They couldn’t vote, were discourages from working, and were excluded from politics. Their duty to society was raising moral children, passing on the values that were unjustly thrust upon them as society began to modernize” (America’s Job Exchange, 2013). Although there have been many improvements in the changes of women’s equality towards the lives of women’s freedom and rights in society, some liberals believe that women have a journey to go before they receive total equality. After WWII, women continued to progress in there crusade towards receiving equality in many areas such as pay and education, discrimination in employment, reproductive rights and later was followed by not only white women but women from other nationalities ...
During America's early history, women were denied some of the rights to well-being by men. For example, married women couldn't own property and had no legal claim to any money that they might earn, and women hadn't the right to vote. They were expected to focus on housework and motherhood, and didn't have to join politics. On the contrary, they didn't have to be interested in them. Then, in order to ratify this amendment they were prompted to a long and hard fight; victory took decades of agitation and protest. Beginning in the 19th century, some generations of women's suffrage supporters lobbied to achieve what a lot of Americans needed: a radical change of the Constitution. The movement for women's rights began to organize after 1848 at the national level. In July of that year, reformers Elizabeth Cady Stanton(1815-1902) and Lucretia Mott (1793-1880), along with Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) and other activists organized the first convention for women's rights at Seneca Falls, New York. More than 300 people, mostly women but also some men, attended it. Then, they raised public awar...
"The beginning of the fight for women suffrage is usually traced to the Declaration of Sentiments' produced at the first woman's rights convention in Seneca Falls, N. Y. in 1848." (Linder) A few years before this convention, Elizabeth Cady St...
To begin with, there are many events in United States history that have shaped our general understanding of women’s involvement in economics, politics, the debates of gender and sexuality, and so forth. Women for many centuries have not been seen as a significant part of history, however under thorough analyzation of certain events, there are many women and woman-based events responsible for the progressiveness we experience in our daily lives as men, women, children, and individuals altogether. Many of these events aid people today to reflect on the treatment of current individuals today and to raise awareness to significant issues that were not resolved or acknowledged in the past.
Before the 1920s men and women were thought to have two separate roles in life. People believed women should be concerned with their children, home, and religion, while men took care of business and politics. In 1920 there were significant changes for women in politics, the home, and the workplace. When the 19th amendment passed it gave women the right to vote. “Though slowly to use their newly won voting rights, by the end of the decade women were represented local, state, and national political committees and were influencing the political agenda of the federal government.” Now a days it’s normal for women to be involved in politics and it’s normal for women to vote. Another drastic change
With a society that holds a male-dominant mindset, it becomes difficult to change the status of women for the better. People in America still hold views on how a woman should behave. Since the Puritan’s time, women have been viewed as obedient and demure. They are expected to be quiet and polite. Although women can now speak publically, there has yet to be a woman president. Women make up half the population and yet they haven’t had representation in the presidential office. Therefore they don’t have as much power to speak and make
The role of women not having a say in politics has disintegrated and society has leaned towards gender equality, allowing women to achieve leader positions in different professions through hard work and talent. S. Kane and S. McCabe have demonstrated that “As women have gradually become leaders in the professions … they also have taken jobs once regarded as too physically strenuous. Women have become sanitary workers, police officers, firefighters, and coal miners” (Text #5, ‘Women in the U.S. today’).Women have shown their strength and became leaders in professions in which they were discarded before, because it was acknowledged as a man’s job. Women are able to achieve jobs as coal miners and firefighters which was