Equality Of Women In The 19th Century

Since the 1920’s, women have been fighting for equal rights. Women’s groups spent decades working to pass laws that would ban gender discrimination. Finally, in 1972, the Equal Rights Amendment was passed by Congress even though

For many years, women have been fighting for equal rights as men. The fight started years back, and continues to happen today. Many of the rights woman have now would not have been possible if it was not for the many women who stood up for what they believed in, and did not give up on the movement to make things right. Although, the fight for equal rights is still active, the freedom women have now compared to back in the 19th century is very different.

Women’s rights and equalities have always been an issue. Women first began their fight for equality in 1776, when the Congress was working on the Declaration of Independence. During the late 1840s, women set up the first women’s rights convention, which was the starting point of the women’s rights movement. In 1861, men were getting called off to war, leaving their wives and kids at home to wait patiently and care for the house and children. Women did not take too well to that idea, and they began to take action. Women have always fought for their right to stand alongside men. The three major events for the fight to gain rights and equality for women were the “Remembering the Ladies” declaration, the Civil War, and the Women’s Rights Movement.

Women fought for their rights for hundreds of years before the 21st century. Countless women of different backgrounds and races come together to fight against inequalities of different magnitudes to achieve a similar goal. The 19th Amendment to the Constitution granted United States women the right to vote in 1920 but women achieved much more by then.

Throughout history, women have fought valiantly to be treated as equals and have the same rights as men, who are seen as

At the end of the 18th century and during the 19th century, there were many changes to public ideology that affected the way that women perceived their roles in society. Prior to these changes, women had adopted the beliefs of separate “spheres” separating work into public life and their duties as mothers at home1. Women stayed at home to take care of the children and provide a warm, welcoming home for their husbands to take refuge from public life. Women became aware of their lack of legal and political power after the American Revolutionary War ended as they were denied the right to the same freedoms that granted the right to vote to the white, property-owning male population2. Despite granting women more liberty to run businesses, farms,

Women have not always been as respected in society as they are now. In early America, women were banned from participating in most parts of society and their lives were mainly controlled by their fathers and husbands. While the women’s rights movement can be tracked as far back as 1850 is wasn’t until the early 1960s that

The oppression of women was immensely noticeable in the 19th century. The oppression these women suffered wast not only present in their duties at home, but made its way into womens health that caused horrific medical issues to go untreated. In that century, women was constantly misdiagnosed. They suffered from postpartum depression, and postpartum, like any other woman's disease, was treated as “illness of the womb”. Gilmar's story reaffirms the unfair medical treatment these women received, which in the end, costed her sanity and resulted in the protagonist going mad. By the end of the story the narrator was very mentally ill. She stripped off all the wallpaper in the room, “set the women free”, and started creeping around.“I've got out at

Gender inequality, from its very name, implies an uneven treatment based on ones gender. Essentially, gender inequality is theprejudice that one gender, usually the female, is secondary and subordinate to the more capable and hence superior male gender.Many societies practice gender inequality, with the men reinforcing it and the women passively receiving it, because it is consideredpart of an enduring patriarchal culture. Deviating from this norm means that one runs the risk of being branded a weak husband or abad, undeserving wife. Both cases are an embarrassment to the individual and the family. Introduction Women were historicallysubjugated to inferior roles, tasks and perceptions by society, even by the Holy Church. WIC described how St. Jerome, a 4th-century Latin father of the Christian church, pointed out: "Woman is the gate of the devil, the path of wickedness, the sting of theserpent, in a word a perilous object Womens History in America). The struggle of women for their rightful place with men from the confines of their homes to the highest steps of economic andpolitical ladders began in the 19th century. Women Power in the 19th century In the 19th century, the civil rights movement was infull swing, while Industrial Revolution started in the cities (Encyclopedia Britannica, Women in American History: The 19thCentury). During this time, men and women left their rural homes to engage in industrial work of the urban cities. Women from othercountries migrated to

Since the beginning of time, women have been considered the weaker sex. During the nineteenth century, women were considered illogical and vulnerable. Women could not partake in employment opportunities and they could not vote. Men believed that women were the mentally and physically insuperior gender, therefore women were not considered equal to men. In opposition to this exhausted belief, women are now seen as strong and influential individuals. In modern time, females have the rights of voting, attaining jobs, and living the same traditional lives that the majority of males have always pursued. In the short story “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, one can see how Georgiana can be considered a submissive, passive, and dependent wife to Aylmer. Georgiana was the epitome of an average nineteenth century woman and followed the rules that society had laid for all matrons. Additionally, Georgiana was a dedicated wife who yearned to please her husband. Aylmer was the dominant and outspoken figure in their household whilst Georgiana was the meek and accommodating shadow. Therefore, according to nineteenth century standards, Georgiana succeeds as a wife to Aylmer.

As a woman, I totally agree with these sentiments. In my history textbook, Foner described that during this time period, single women could own property but they were forced to get married soon, which made them fall into the control of men – their husband. Besides, women were the victims of “wage slavery” and “the slavery of sex.” They must go to work but could not work in the public or outside the home. Even when a woman was allowed to work, their husband controlled “the fruits of her own labor” (Foner, page 472).

In modern day, many fail to realize we were not always equal as a nation. In the past, women were treated much differently. They were viewed as inferior to men and were denied many rights that we have now. Women struggled to achieve their civil rights.

All through history, women were treated like glorified slaves. In the 19th century, women were still under the oppressive hand of the patriarchy. However,6 Mary Shelley, was one of the disenchanted few. When it was looked down upon, she still wrote. Men of this era crushed women, making it so they could not own land, or have a decent job. They were required to stay at home and raise the family. Males saw females as asexual creatures, with no feelings or intelligence of their own. They used “research” to back up that women were lesser beings.

In the past, the majority did not support the gender equality due to the beliefs that women are supposed to be submissive. For instance, nowadays wherever you go you will find the aspect of discrimination but it is at a minimal level, whether about paying tax, marriage decisions, military workers, white collar jobs, politics, household chores and also other leadership mantles. In around 100 years ago, it was an even higher proportion of the population's count: women. In the 19th century and into the 20th, women struggled for indiscrimination under the law and mostly their right to participate in the voting process.

The degree and causes of gender inequality vary throughout the world. There are a number of complex factors that explain the existence of the gender inequality. Gender roles that give the impact of gender inequality are the main cause.