The Impact of the Civil War on Women's Rights

“I do not wish them [women] to have power over men; but over themselves.”

― Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

After four years of seemingly endless battle between a divided nation, more than 600,000 people were killed. These lives, however, were not given in vain. Had it not been for the American Civil War, abolition may not have been carried out. The nation might have remained divided. Women might have remained confined to their roles as the "homemakers." Although the Civil War was fought in hopes of preserving the nation and ridding it of slavery, another war raged on within the depths of this war--the women's war. Serving as nurses both in the hospital and on the battlefields, women came to know a whole different world; a world outside of the home. When the last gun shot was fired, women were expected to return to their roles as the housewives. Some, however, had tasted the sweetness of being able to hold positions equal to that of their male counterparts and had become addicted. In this way, the American Civil War served as a significant turning point for the transformation of societal views concerning working women-particularly those in the field of nursing.

Prior to the Civil War, it was believed that a woman's place was in the home. Societal views held that women were to be the homemakers, while the occupations in the outside world were to be left to the men. "It was an age when women were preferred as angels rather than amazons, homemakers rather than careerists" (Donald & Randall 19). A woman's legal status was dependent on that of her father or husband, depending on whether she was married or not. As a result, a woman could not make any legal appearances in court or sign any legal papers...

... middle of paper ...

...ar and Reconstruction. D.C. Health and Company: Boston,1965.

McPherson, James M. Ordeal By Fire: The Civil War and Reconstruction, Second Edition. Princeton University: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1992.

Moore, Frank. Women of the War: Their Heroism and Self-Sacrifice. Hartford, Connecticut: S.S. Scranton & Co., 1866.

"Negro Emancipation," Harper's Weekly: Journal of Civilization, January 10, 1863, p. 18.

"The Bombardment of Fort Sumter," Harper's Weekly: Journal of Civilization, April 27, 1861, p. 1.

Thompson, William F. Image of War: The Pictorial Reporting of the American Civil War. Louisiana State University Press: Baton Rouge and London, 1960.

Volo, Dorothy Denneen and Volo, James M. Daily Life in Civil War America. Greenwood Press: Westport, Connecticut and London,1998.

Wright, Mike. What They Didn't Teach You About the Civil War. Presido Press, 1996.