Women After Civil War

Women in the Civil War were important because they played important roles. They played as nurses, spies, and some even disguised themselves as soldiers. The women could only play one of these roles. For example they can only be either a spy or nurse or a soldier. They can’t be two like a spy and a nurse.

Women were considered frail, unintelligent, and unable to make decisions in eighteen-hundredths America. It was traditional wisdom that a woman’s place was in the home. The Civil War marked a turning point for women and their role in society. Through my research consisting of books, letters, speeches, and articles, I will tell the story of a time in America when women rose to satisfy the needs of the country when most men were away fighting the war. This essay will analyze the roles of women in eighteen-hundredths America, by evaluating how women’s roles had changed; they now were nurses, soldiers/spies, and public workers/activists.

The American Civil War was a time of great trial and tribulation for the American people. It forced individuals to choose a cause, and many families were torn asunder as they chose opposing sides. As the men marched off to war a small group of women prepared to wage a different kind of warfare. These women became an overlooked but deadly force using espionage and womanly wiles to gather military intelligence for their cause. They used whatever means they had at their disposal to enter into the confidence of men within the opposing side and gain their trust. Women during this period were often overlooked as insignificant and stationary. Women were meant to stay within the home and care for their families needs. However, these extraordinary women rose to answer a more imminent need. These brave women had a profound influence on their cause.

After the Civil War, the Republicans had views that the defeat of the rebels and destruction of slavery were sufficient to guarantee prosperity for everyone. The traumatic events throughout the Civil War only intensified the desire among a growing group of American women to participate fully in the nation 's political life. They were striving for a sense of agency in the United States not only as a collective whole, but also as individuals. Agency refers to the idea that each individual in a culture is free to determine his or her own actions and beliefs. For American women, this means to have the power to control their own life.

For women in the 1860s it was predictable wisdom that a “woman’s place is in the home,” but the Civil War challenged this view (Civil War Academy, 2015). There were many women who played an important role in the Civil War. It is normal to think the Civil War was a man’s fight. However during the war, many women challenged the role of the women and took on different roles. While the men marched off to war, the women had to work hard and try to provide for their families. Women became doctors, spies, nurses, couriers, and even soldiers.

¨The world has never yet seen a truly great and virtuous nation because in the degradation of Women the very foundations of life are poisoned at their source” (Rose 1). Lucretia Mott was only one of many women in which had to go through this tough time known as the Civil War (Biography.com Editors 2). Women during this time threw away their old ways of being a housewife and everyone helped contribute in the war somehow, whether if they were young or old they helped (History.com Staff 1). Though not often mentioned, women played a huge role in the Civil War.

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

The Civil War was a defining point for the United States. The people of America were forced to step back and reevaluate what defined the American Citizen: a person with the rights and privilege to cast a vote for what or who he believes in. The key word here is “he”. The Civil War brought freedom and rights to African Americans, yet it had no directly positive effect on women’s rights. While African Americans were seeing their lives and futures change, to many observers the women’s rights movement seemed barely impacted by the astounding transformations of the Civil War. This idea is not completely accurate. Women did not accomplish much on the legal front, but fundamentally they were able to make great achievements. By stepping out of

I once read a monument dedicated to the men who fought and died in the Civil War, it was erected to make sure the men would not have died in vain, and after reading it I could not help but to ask myself, “Are we to let the women?” Kids will learn of the Civil War starting in elementary school, and will continue to do so as far as their education leads them. They will learn of the brave men who fought for their beliefs and rights, brother who fought against brother, and the men who led these soldiers into battle. There is, however, one side of the Civil War which is not spoken of often enough; the women who also fought and died while serving as soldiers undercover. Women joined sides to fight for the Civil War just as the men did, and while people are making sure the men of the Civil War and their sacrifices are not forgotten, I would like to make sure the women soldiers of the Civil War get their chance of recognition and remembrance, and to ensure they did not die in vain. Just as the men who fought in battle deserve to be acknowledged, so do the women, for their roles as soldiers required just as much sacrifice as the men.

During the 1800s women became more inferior to earlier times. They shifted their roles from a house wife to becoming a more important part of the family life. In the 19th century, America was going through an important change in development and war. Throughout the 19th century, women had one goal, to fight for equal rights under the law and most importantly the right to vote. Women in each ethnic group had different types of “jobs.”

The Civil War helped create the foundation for women to grow and become independent. Women were pushing for suffrage before the war had begun. To some people, it seemed as though the war put the work the women were doing on hold, but that was not the case. The Civil war helped set the tone for how women can be a positive influence inside and outside their homes. There were many different ways that they made a difference in the war: through nursing, raising money, fighting in combat, being a spy, or creating support groups at home.

The Civil War brought about the change for women where the standard was to maintain domestic ideals, where women devoted themselves to their husbands and children being the housekeeper and nurtures of their homes. In the North and South when the war, occurred women would now be forced into the world outside of their homes. In one of the letters Mary Dedrick wrote to her husband, she states “I have got some and I have to feed my hogs every night and morning a little” this letter gives a reflection on women working on the farm and having low supply of food. The origins of war made women have to oversee everything that previously had been taken care of by the men.

“Western civilization, Christianity, decency are struggling for their very lives. In this worldwide civil war, race prejudice is our most dangerous enemy, for it is a disease at the very root of our democratic life.” 1 Mordecai Wyatt Johnson quote is quite accurate in context with the American civil war and what it involved into since its inception in 1861. A war that began in states right evolved into a much higher moral question of slavery and fundamental human rights. The civil war took place in America between 1861 to 1865.

Women in the nineteenth century were beginning to let themselves go. When the Civil War began, many women were not content to sit home and set up charity events. Some women took a more active, romantic role during an the time of the war. Some of the women during the Civil War are best recalled for their colorful clothes, compassion, and holding up the house. But some women began joining the army, to be fight with their husbands and loved ones, or to even prove to themselves and society that women could do a man's job just as well as men. Some seeked the war opportunity for excitement and travel. The fact of the matter is that women committed to the Civil War by either becoming soldiers,

When thinking about women’s roles during the American Civil War most people think about what they did at the home front, such as writing to their men to return home or sending their men off to war. However, women did have other roles other than the home front. It does not seem very likely that women had more roles than thought originally during the Civil War, such as spies, nursing, refugees, and a few were soldiers. However, there are some historians who disagree about some of the roles women had during the Civil War. One of those historians name is Dr. Beeman and he does not agree about some of the roles women played during the Civil War, such as refugees, nursing, spies, and soldiers. Dr. Beeman must have not looked very hard for