Essay on Women's Role in Society in the 1800s

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.

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

The economic “market revolution” and the religious “Second Great Awakening” shaped American society after 1815. Both of these developments affected women significantly, and contributed to their changing status both inside and outside the home. Throughout time, women’s roles and opportunities in the family, workplace, and society have greatly evolved.

The Market Revolution and the Second Great Awakening promoted the ideas of social mobility and and individualism which greatly influenced the shaping of gender roles in America in the mid 1800’s. Work and the home were now separated which made womens new job taking care of the house and family, they could work elsewhere such as in factories, but were paid less than men and worked long, hard hours, women’s place in society was changing, women began to challenge the rules of fashion and fight for their rights.

During the 1800’s, women were subject to increasing discrimination, especially throughout the public sphere. Women were expected to take care of the house, children, and the husband. There was a fundamental belief that men owned their wives, allowing a gross

In the mid to late 1700's, the women of the United States of America had practically no rights. When they were married, the men represented the family, and the woman could not do anything without consulting the men. Women were expected to be housewives, to raise their children, and thinking of a job in a factory was a dream that was never thought impossible. But, as years passed, women such as Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, and Elizabeth Blackwell began to question why they were at home all day raising the children, and why they did not have jobs like the men. This happened between the years of 1776 and 1876, when the lives and status of Northern middle-class woman was changed forever. Women began to

Throughout the history of this country especially beginning in the 1800s with the women's suffrage movement, women have fought for equality. It is no secret that the role of men versus women have change immensely over the last century however some things have not changed. As a result of the unchanging or slowly evolution of equality feminism has arise.

In the 1800s, the U.S. became more industrialized and factories started to become more common. This was the beginning of the market revolution, where people buy and sell goods instead of making everything by themselves. People could trade the money they earn from working for the things they needed. As the market revolution thrust workers into new systems of production, it redefined gender roles of women in family and society. During the first half of the nineteenth century, the market revolution played a significant role in changes in gender roles.

In the early 1800’s, the disparate treatment of men and women was drastic. Women had a very limited amount of rights and not much of a chance to exercise them either. Voting, suing others, and testifying in court were all strictly verboten (Hill 1). In marriage, all their formerly owned property was surrendered to their husbands or given back to their fathers. Women were also forbidden to call a divorce and were forced down into staying in the marriage. In the rare case of a divorce, women could not claim custody over their children or any other possessions that, prior to the marriage belonged to them (“Women in the Nineteenth Century: Introduction”). Women were expected to always be subservient to their husbands and listen to their every order

In the early 1800’s, women were second class citizens with little to no political rights, and limited access to education and professional careers. Women were not granted the same privileges as men, for educating women outside the home or women obtaining professional jobs went against traditional views. The ideology behind it was that men and women ideally inhabited different societal spheres. Men dominated the public sphere which had opportunities for education, paid labor, fighting in wars, and political rights. However, as industrialization and the population grew in the North, working class women began entering the public sphere for job opportunities.

Being a woman in a male dominated society quickly became exhausting for those who wanted more out of life than to be a wife or a mother. Although, a domesticated lifestyle for some seems ideal it’s only natural for women to want different things such as success in a work environment or a marriage not occupied by children. Before the 1890s the United States was focused on the issue of slavery and trying to figure out whether it should be abolished or not. For this reason, feminists were silenced and swept up underneath the rug and it wasn't until the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments when women really started pursuing their rights. During this historical time period, women were confused as of why “savages” were give the right to vote while, white,

Throughout the twentieth century the status of women has been on a slow, but steady upward slope. The women of this time worked extremely hard to earn the rights and status we hold today. The improvements in the status of women were subtle in the beginning. In time though, it became well known the overall status of women and how they once were viewed was to be changed for the better in the eyes of society. The change in women’s status included but was not limited to: improvement in their every day work atmosphere, voting rights were given, and the ability to be noticed for their hard work was achieved. Solely the women themselves did not achieve the noticeable improvement in the status of women; the federal government played a large role in the improvement as well. The federal governments involvement included but was not limited to: maximum laws

In the early nineteenth century, women were expected to be, “‘angels in the house,’ loving, self-sacrificing, and chaste wives, mothers and daughters or they are… ultimately doomed” (King et al. 23). Women of this time were supposed to be domestic creatures and not tap so far into their intellectual abilities (King et al.). The role of women in the nineteenth century is described:

Women during the agricultural revolution must have wanted to go back in time and stay in the hunting and gathering societies were they were treated fairly and were not controlled by powerful men. Although some of the changes were not as drastic as being sold to a stranger as a bride, women still deserved to be treated the same as men throughout history. Although this sadly did not happen, in today’s societies woman have made a huge comeback. Today, a woman can be a solider in the Military, while the husband is a stay at home dad. Or a wife can be a business executive and electrical engineer and her husband has quit many jobs to move for her career advancements. These are a few examples of how changing gender roles have evolved throughout

Between the late 1700’s and the early 1900’s many American women struggled to obtain the same rights as men. The society of women as a whole had pushed for equality constantly throughout the years. Women especially obtained more equality by publicizing their reasoning and demands for equality. This, is first and foremost proven by the way women had advocated greatly for improved academics for women. Women used another good tactical approach to achieve equality by speaking out strongly against inequalities between the genders.A third example of a great leap for equality, would be the religious movement, the upsurge in religious enthusiasm allowed women to demonstrate their piety and even to found new sects; and this in turn led to change in the way the world viewed women.