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wemons rights Women's Rights Before the Civil War To me, the sun in the heavens at noonday is not more visible than is the right of women, equally with man, to participate
Submitted by danielleburke5 on April 18, 2006
Category: History Other
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Women's Rights Before the Civil War
To me, the sun in the heavens at noonday is not more visible than is the right of women, equally with man, to participate in all that concerns human welfare . . .
These words were penned in 1866 by Frederick Douglass, a former slave and avid rallier for abolition and women's rights. This was no small task. Women's struggle for equality was and is a long and hard battle. Though suffrage was gained in 1920, the struggle for equality continues into the present time. The women who embarked on this crusade in the mid-1800s were courageous, defying most respectable standards of their time to stand up for what they believed.
In the nineteenth century, most Americans assumed that there was a natural order in society which placed men and women in totally different spheres. The ideal woman was submissive; her job was to be a meek, obedient, loving wife who was totally subservient to the men around her.
Between 1750 and 1850, women's roles in America changed somewhat. In an agrarian society, it was necessary for both husband and wife to put in a full day's labor, for the success of the farm depended on them both.
Industrialization produced further changes. As factories began to do many of the things women had done at home previously, such as spinning and weaving, women were left with a little more time to devote to other projects. Clergymen began to recruit them for various reforms but always they, the women, would work in their proper sphere, influencing only the men In their family.
By the early 1800s women were ready to branch out from their families and make an impression on the world. Numerous women's organizations were formed, some social, but many bound on doing social work. "Female associations . . . ran charity schools, and refuges for women in need."
One of the first movements in which women took an active hand was the female seminary movement which began its serious phase...
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