19th Century American Women

In the early 1800s, women were second-class citizens. Women were expected to restrict their area of interest to the home and the family. Women were not encouraged to have a real education or pursue a professional career. Also, women were considered unequal to their husbands and all males legally and socially. The day-to day lives of men and women were quite clearly divided during the late 1800s. Woman in the late 1800s were treated inhumane because of society, class, and their rights.

After 1815, a women’s status in society was shaped both by the “market revolution” and the “Second Great Awakening”. The “market revolution” was a drastic change in the nation's economy through transportation, education, legal reforms. Examples of these reforms would include the creation of canals, roads, railroads, and the technology needed to commute between places, an increase in teacher wages, school terms, and curriculum, and the spreading awareness of massive movements such as the temperance, abolitionist, and prison reform movement. The “Second Great Awakening” was a revival of religious spirit that attracted social minorities, such as women, African-Americans,and native Americans, that produced many new sects of Protestantism, such

Before the generation, American women as improved their educational standing , to secure additional legal rights, and acquired greater access the manufactured by the 1800’s. Women had participated outstanding in the religious revivals known the second Great Awakening and the swept across the floor. The result of the religion , american women mostly north became involved in numerous reforms efforts, including temperance, the abolition of slavery, the colonization of former slaves, and important of poisons. But majority of american women still led daily lives that to focused on their family, household, gardens and crops. The night before the war , most women in the U.S. lived in rural areas and regularly performed exhausting, physical work and around the homes.

After 1815, the female was viewed in a more respectful persona in society. Women’s rights were beginning to grow. They were helping more in religious growth, and helping in the abolition of slavery. “On every principle of natural justice, as well as by the nature of our institutions, she is as fully entitled as man to vote and to be eligible to office.” (Document F). Many females were involved in the growth of religion, including the Second Great Awakening. With the females being the ones who take the children to church, they were prone to having a deeper belief for their religion. And with that, they would try to inspire religious growth. The Second Great Awakening spurred reform, prison, church, temperance, abolition, women’s rights, and Christianizing Indians. With women fighting for what they believe in, the women were finding themselves to have a new found respect; from both themselves and men. Document E illustrates this by females walking down a street with a sense of confidence.

women had to stay at home to make household goods to use in the 1700s-1800s

In nineteenth century America, women were not given the same rights and freedoms as their spouses/ men. Women were expected to be submissive to their husbands though they did have some authority within the private sphere. The private sphere is comprised of the home and family. During this time, women were responsible for being a mother and wife; however, with the Second Great Awakening, women were being to have more freedoms and responsibilities. New roles allowed for mothers to teach their children religion in their homes and women took up an interest in attending religious revival meetings (Hewitt, Lawson 357). A fair number of women were enticed with the religious revival movement because it allowed women to leave their private sphere and participate in the public sphere. Women were given an opportunity to conjugate with each other and practice their beliefs that allowed them to slowly partake in the reform (Hewitt, Lawson 352). The religious revival meetings attracted thousands to attend, most of who were women, and “pray” in a group (Frances Trollope – Description of a Revival Meeting, 1832). In Document 11.7, Frances Trollope, English author,

The second great awakening was a religious movement. It began around the 1790’s. It grew popular through Methodists and Baptists. It was led by the Preachers. Arising in the 1800s, it was one of the most significant occurrences in the history of American religion. Countless people were converted and many churches were changed and revived. Not only affecting religion, the movement influenced many other aspects such as prison reform, the women's rights movement, abolishment of slavery, advancements in literature, and reform in education. Women's roles in the church were greatly affected and they deeply encouraged the religious revival, setting up many organizations and charities.

In the Northern states, and during the Second Great Awakening, many Americans became involved in evangelical work and had become eager to share the Protestant faith. Although, the Second Great Awakening “reasserted the egalitarian ideals which drew more women than men”, and it also favored women and their reform activities (DuBois & Dumenil, 2012, p.151). Therefore, the revivalism that expanded during the antebellum period is what introduced a number of social reform movements to improve America overall. With the new conversions and the growing interest in religion, women were influenced to help improve all aspect of life including the political, economical, and social problems; therefore they started by “supporting their husband in missionary

Women in post-Civil War times were also dealing with the unreasonable limitations of American “democracy”. Women were not even allowed to vote let alone hold many rights in a social standpoint. Women enacted many suffrage movements fighting for their right to vote and have their voices heard. Temperance movements aimed to completely thwart, or at least moderate, drinking alcohol. Though these movements both suffered daunting opposition, women quickly became the face of social reform. Even though they still did not have many basic rights, they made advances in education, teaching.

The history in the 1800s was really rough then now days because they had the Nez Perce war going on and at the same time, we had problems with woman not being able to vote, and the Immigrants were all looking for jobs. As I said earlier about women not being able to vote was a big step back for woman, not so much for men as they didn’t want women to vote. As the author said in the 1840s, emerging from the broader movement for women's rights”(w.i.t.p.n.). Woman were treated imperfect towards men all because they were a different gender, which is unacceptable back in the 1840s and would be now if it happened because we should all be treated the the same and have the same rights. As it says in the text “In order to earn revenue from their land

Nineteenth century America was the century of the middle class. The middle class’ main concern was the development of power and prestige. At the time, a woman’s main role was to obediently represent the power and prestige. Often, this was reflected through their dress and fashion. The development of the etiquette book provided a mean for codifying class-based proper behavior and fashion. Etiquette books provided readers with a guide to help increase their social status, and help solidify class differences. Middle class women often seized upon fashion as means to segregate themselves from the lower classes.

A woman’s job during the 19th century was intense and many women overworked hard labor jobs. Each women’s job was different according to their social class, color, what gender they were attracted too, and if they were married. Charity and Sylvia were two lesbian women in the 19th century who had to go through work hardships in order to survive. Housewives and married labor women were dependent on their husbands, “Though the exact composition of her setting obviously depended upon the occupation and economic status of her husband, its general outlines were surprisingly similar regardless of where it was located” (Kerber 43). Free Black women had to face everyday struggles in order to maintain a roof on top of their heads, “Whether or not they

Throughout history, women have been kept in the shadows, with only a few ideals to uphold. Women were to be the wives of men, be the mothers of their children, and to teach those children their roles. As well as those few ideals, women have only been seen as those who preserve the household; cleaning and maintaining, cooking for the family as they return home. Being imprisoned within a household because of their sex. Choice was limited, women didn’t have much say as to how their lives played out and some wanted change, some wanted a voice. Books started being written; spread of word, parties and groups began to form suggesting rights and laws, women began to take

Women were always faced specifically in history by men until they became equal to them. In the story “The yellow wallpaper” the author Charlotte Perkins Gilman says some things about the way women were treated by men back then in the 19th century. Women’s roles and place in the 19th century American society are very humiliating, rational for this society and weird. Women back then were treated as “something” not as “someone” that is to say useless beings, that do not have brains.

In the nineteenth century, women’s role in society are subjected to a set of rules so called the “accomplished” woman. During this period, woman wanted to be an “accomplished” woman because accomplished woman has a higher chance to find a husband. In addition, the middle and upper class women are restricted from performing music in the public because doing so will condemn the family’s reputation. In the nineteenth century, the idea of “accomplished” woman and social norms limited women’s role in musical world ranging from instrument choices to the setting of performance.