19th Century Gender Roles Essay

Women in the nineteenth century lived in a time characterized by gender inequality. At the beginning of the century, women could not vote, could not be sued, were extremely limited over personal property after marriage, and were expected to remain obedient to their husbands and fathers.( women’s suffrage movement 1) In most situations, the men would have to go to work and bring home the money, and the women would have no choice but to stay home, clean the

Women were lower paid and were restricted to do less skilled work, as they were considered incompetent. Working class women also worked in the "sweated" trades producing hats and constructing dresses. Since 1880's new technology such as telephone's and typewriters changed women's jobs as women

When manufacturing plants started booming, they found business. Women became valuable factory workers because of their ability to complete complex tasks in the work place. Also, having willingness to labor for an inexpensive pay rate because they were in need boosted their chances of employment. In fact, employers needed them and were happy at the fact that they weren 't too costly to hire. In the document, Morals of Manufactures (1837), it states, “Many of the girls are in the factories because they have too much pride for domestic service.”(Chapter 9 Page 223) As stated before, women were looked over as far being capable of anything else other than a house wife and or mother. Some women worked for pay, as well as to prove that they were more than what society labeled them. This allowed women to make their own money and not be forced to completely live off their husbands. Also, this gave women a freedom and sensibility to become more independent.

Women were confronted by many social obligation in the late nineteenth century. Women were living lives that reflected their social rank. They were expected to be economically dependent and legally inferior. No

Before 1840 women were viewed as something that needed to be taken care of. They could not own property, fathers would not mention their daughters in their wills, women could not be treasurer of their own companies, it was the husband’s responsibility. Only seven vocations were available to them outside of the home in the late 1840’s; widows would receive no share of her husband’s property or his families, and if one did not marry or remarry she had to enter one of the few employments for her or be a charity case for her relatives. When factory jobs became available to women they were quickly taken because it gave women a way to be independent and not a burden to their loved ones, but earn and spend their own money however the wished. For once

Also during this time, the Panic of 1837 occurred leaving many unemployed, therefore the number of women employed during the 19th century would have been even higher. Women at this time period worked mainly in textile and clothing factories. Although many young girls worked in factories, as shown in the letter written by a factory worker, life in a factory is much different than life at home. At first the girl questioned why factories were ever made, however, with time the working life grew on her. Also, often times women were worked much harder than the men. In the letters written by a frontier woman in Iowa in 1861, the male worker worked much less than she did. She stated that “the hired man left just as the corn planting commenced” and she was left to do the hard work. This illustrates the inequality between the two genders very well.

The place of women changed drastically during the nineteenth century. Many factors such as the market revolution and the second great awakening impacted the way they were in the family, at work, and society. The role of women changed in a way that they were treated differently not just by society but in the house as well. They were beginning to be noticed and they fought to be independent from men, which took a long time to achieve, but they did it. Women believed they were just as able as men to work and be able to vote which is also one of the big differences during this time.

The 19th century was the start of the American industrial revolution that transitioned the rural nation to one that was more urbanized with the rise of big businesses. Factory owners were now able to hire less skilled workers due to methods such as taylorism in factory production. That shift triggered the need to to hire more unskilled laborers like women and children, will to work for low wages. Like many of the citizens of the lower class, the women working in these factories weren’t benefiting from the economic boom that was provided by the industrial revolution but the ability for them to be able to contribute to the income need for their family to survive empowered them with the feelings of independence and economic power. Following years

The latter half of the 1800s women were restricted and beliefs based on race, ethnicity, gender and national origin. For instance, Western women were entrepreneurs or worked for wages to provide for their families. Also, women played a major role in the West community such as founding schools and other public institutions. However, female immigrants worked as domestic servants or prostitutes to provide for their families. Consequently, Chinese women and African American women were paid little benefits in the West. Then in 1890, women had to contribute to the family economy by working at the mill or piecework at home during the Industrial revolution. Also, other race of women such as African American women had to work as domestic servant services or laundry to help their husbands who were paid very poorly. Equally, immigrant women arriving in the late

During this time, women took a stand and became the back bone of the country. Women were successful in finding jobs in places such as schools, hospitals, post offices, behind desks, and also in factories. When men were absent to perform the duties at these jobs, women stepped in and took charge in the time of need. Men who were going on strike because they did not like working conditions on the jobs were replaced by women also. Being hired and working under supervision was not the only problem for women. Down south some women had to take on the responsibility of running large plantations and women up north had to take over businesses. These tasks were very difficult due to the fact that a woman might lack knowledge in these areas. There could be nothing worse than a soldier coming home to a situation where the setting was not the same, or everything had been lost because it was the consequence due to a failure of maintenance. Some women had a huge burden on them when it came to these higher positions of power but still did not give up under pressure. Therefore, good signs of women making an impact in the work industry was a success for women. In the 1860’s one quarter of the manufacturing work force and teachers were made up of women. Women took action when men were inattentive and fulfilled the jobs necessary to provide and

During the early 1800's women were stuck in the Cult of Domesticity. Women had been issued roles as the moral keepers for societies as well as the nonworking house-wives for families. Also, women were considered unequal to their male companions legally and socially. However, women’s efforts during the 1800’s were effective in challenging traditional intellectual, social, economical, and political attitudes about a women’s place in society.

Men, in the 19th century did not have respect for women. After the marriage, the women was consider as a "toy" and as an "animal" to men. "Essentially, the wife "belonged" to her husband. He had a right to the person and prosperity of his wife; he could use gentle restraint upon her liberty to prevent improper conduct, he could beat her without fear of persecution. Thus, it was very clear that the wife is dead in law"-Barbara Welter, The American Woman. Women had to suffer all this treatment because it was their choice. They would get marry and be financially secured or they would be single and support themselves. Most of them choose the first choice because; working was worse then some

Gender roles were sharply defined in the 19th century. Women were expected to stay at home and carry out the domestic duties as well as taking care of the children and educate them and provide a peaceful home for their husband. Women were seen as loving and caring. On the other hand, men were expected to work and earn money for the family. They would fight wars and were seen as strong and powerful. Men had more freedom and rights, such as the right to vote, than women in the 19th century. Society had created two completely separate spheres. In the medical field, men were doctors. There were laws in many states, such as, that prohibited women from becoming doctors. Women, who decided to practice medicine in the 19th century had to struggle with much opposition because it went against prevailing ideas about women’s role in society. Women belonged in the private and domestic sphere. Men belonged to competitive and immoral public sphere of industry and commerce. The women in medicine would face accusations that they were abandoning their sphere and threatening society. Due to these arguments and the fear of economic competition from female practitioner, male medical schools and hospitals denied women access to institutions. However, Elizabeth Blackwell, changed this idea of separate spheres when she decided to take on the medical field and become a doctor. Although Elizabeth Black had a natural aversion to the medical field, her

In 1870, nearly two million women and girls worked outside the home. Domestic work was an important source of income. Some girls even dropped out of school to help make money. One in fifteen American homes employed live-in servants that were mostly immigrants or African American. Working from dawn to dusk, these women cooked, cleaned, washed, ironed, and cared for children. A lot of them supported their own families who lived elsewhere. Most of the women that were working were single because then they did not think that married life and careers for women mixed. Many of the single women workers were between the ages of 16 and 24. Employers thought that they would leave when they got married so they rarely gave them supervisory jobs or advanced training. They also paid women an average of $3 to $5 a week, 30 to 60 percent less than men. Self-supporting women were discouraged from entering the fields that would put them in competition with men. There were many educated young women that wanted or needed work became nurses or teachers where they wouldn?t be competing with men.

In the 19th century a woman's main duty was to take care of the household. They were in charge of the cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the children. During this time, most women didn’t work, and weren’t supposed to spend their time on getting an education. Since women couldn't get educations, they had to be married because they weren’t able to support themselves. The women were in charge of the family and house, while the man was in charge of some duties in the house and making money to support them. In the