Women's Responsibilities Between The 19th And 21st Century

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’s roles have changed greatly throughout history. As the advancement of culture, laws, and ideas altered ways of life, women’s lives also evolved in numerous aspects of society. Women’s roles changed greatly between 1815 and 1860. During this time, family dynamics changed as the mothers that were placed at the center of the household were given greater freedoms. In addition, women had more opportunity to take on jobs in the workplace. Women also fought for reform movements that altered their ways of life in the community. During the reform era of the United States, factors such as religion, education, and reforms greatly changed women’s roles in the family, workplace, and society.

The roles of women today are somewhat different and somewhat similar. Women get up and go to their jobs or school and still take care of the children. Most women have to cook dinner, wash clothes, clean the house, help pay the bills, and anything else that the man doesn’t want to do. I must say that times have changed a lot. Men are actually cooking and cleaning to help the women with chores. Also women are doing a man’s job, such as construction, doctors, lawyers, firemen, and police work. Women are not being beaten for disobeying the husband and divorces are granted every day. Women no longer have to live in those awful conditions of control. I believe the man helping out around the house is great because it brings the family closer. I feel like the genders are pretty much equal in today’s society.

“Rich married when they were teenagers. Poor women worked from a really early age. They were treated as adults from age 11 and they married at age 20” (C N). Once again, women didn’t get to choose what they wanted to do someone or something decided for them. In this case it would be their wealth that decided it for them. Women in the early ages had to grow up faster than we do today. Today, 20 is pretty young to get married, and some woman in the early ages got married before then. After they were married it only got worse. “Marriage often plunged a woman into being an estate manager. Marriage among landowners was arranged. Women then not only had to take care of her land, but her husband’s as well” (Dean 61). Before marriage women had to do inside work for her family and sometimes work in the fields, but once she got married, she had to take care of her own house and not only her fields but her husband’s as well. Women didn’t even get to pick who they married most of the time because it was arranged. “Women weren’t allowed to marry without parents consent. They weren’t allowed to own a business, get a divorce, or own property unless they widowed, and they couldn’t inherit land if they didn’t have brothers” (C N). So, a woman’s parent also got to choose what went on in a woman’s life and how she

There was a very different scene in the household of American families. During the early 1800s, a woman’s life consisted of many obligations and few choices. Women were pretty much controlled by the men in their life, their fathers, brothers, and husbands. The life would consist of finding a husband, reproducing, and then spending the rest of their lives helping the family in the house. In fact, when women became married, legally all of her inheritance and belongings would belong to her husband.

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.

From the 1900’s to 2016, a lot has changed for women. We are still expected as the main caregiver and many people still do stay at home while the man works but for many that is not the “ideal” thing. One common current event that shows that is our political issues. We currently have a woman running for president that is very close to being elected in November. Back in the 1900’s, this would have never of been possible to achieve and was not even allowed. This shows how much has changed in this little amount of time allowing women to achieve bigger things then we were allowed

Today, women can do things that we don't even think about, like vote, involve themselves into political life, and get paid the same amount as men. Back then women struggled to have equal rights with men, they didn't get paid as much, and wasn't offered the same treatment that men got at that time. Due to the nineteenth amendment being ratified in 1920, it allowed women to have the same rights as their opposite gender. This led to today's society being free and equal to all the American who live here, men and women, and also children.

Gender roles have been changing throughout the centuries with both men and women. The most and drastic change has occurred in our 21st century to women. Women are now viewed as equals in the work and home, they are able to achieve just as much as men and no longer have limits suppressing them. There have been limits put on women since the beginning of time, women were to attend to the house and children but never other responsibilities beyond that. This change in gender roles has shaped our society in numerous ways making new jobs for women and breaking through social norms. Throughout history the role of women has dramatically changed, first with women being primary caregivers and up keepers of the house to women being able to have their own careers and lastly to being equal to men and no longer being inferior to them.

In the 18oo’s, everything that a woman could do was dictated by the man in her home. They were treated as property, first of their father, then to the man they would marry. A woman’s only life goal was only ever to get married. Marriage was the only way for a woman to keep wealth (until 1839, when the Married Women’s Property Acts allowed women to be legally separated from their husbands) was through the marriage of a wealthy gentleman, despite everything else. Once married, women were expected to stay home and care for their children. Women would also rarely escaped their lives in order to attend to their guests and the state of their home. Women were easily separated into three classes: the

This was the mindset for males and females alike, for a man to be seen as a success he must have a wife, and a women must have a husband to survive. “When a woman got married she could not own property, even inherited property, and her wealth was automatically passed to her husband. If a woman worked after marriage, her earnings also belonged to her husband” (Lythgoe). For during the 1800s it was abnormal for women to own land, most people if you were in the middle class you married up, for a house. Once the majority of women got married most of their possessions went to the male, this strayed many women away from marriage at this time. There are some exceptions, such as Lady Catherine de Bough, for her father died and there was as no males upon either side of the family so she got the wealth, but those cases are very rare.

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,

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

It would be a huge understatement to say that many things have changed when it comes to women's rights, positions, and roles in our society today since the 19th century. Actually, very few similarities remain. Certain family values, such as specific aspects of domesticity and performance of family duties are amongst the only similarities still present.

There has been so much history and so many changes to our country over the last 100 years. I will focus on the changes that women have fought for and helped in making positive changes in our country.