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The Role Of Women During The Post Revolutionary Century

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What is the place of a woman? Throughout history, the role of women in American society has been called to question, as all equal rights movements eventually do. For the majority of America’s history, the role of women has been passive. Women, who are trained to be obedient and reserved, often did not take an active role in their rights. The woman who have stood up for their rights have developed how women have been viewed in the past two hundred years. As America developed and changed economically over the years, the resulting change impacted how others view the role of women. The role of women has changed alongside economical changes in the country, and feminists such as Catherine Beecher, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Beatrice Hinkle, Betty…show more content…
Women were seen as the authority figure in the home, giving women the power to teach the children and care for the home. Women were also seen as the superior moral figure, and moved into social improvement roles, such as teaching. Many women were in favor of this movement, the greatest advocate being Catherine Beecher.
Considered a very progressive and influential figure of the time, Catherine Beecher, was the main proponent of the argument that a woman 's place is in the home. In A Treatise on Domestic Economy, Beecher appeals to Christian philosophy in terms of democracy, stating that "society could never go forward, harmoniously, unless these superior and subordinate relations could be instituted and sustained". Catherine Beecher believed that the role of women as homemakers gave women more freedom. She argued that women have no place in civil and political affairs, except to “sympathize with their family”. She argues that women are powerful and influential, and that “No American woman, then, has any occasion for feeling that hers is an humble or insignificant lot. The value of what an individual accomplishes, is to be estimated by the importance of the enterprise achieved, and not by the particular position of the laborer.” The words of Catherine Beecher has influenced many thoughts of the role of women that are still in place today. While Domesticity was an enticing and exciting change for the role of women, not all women
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