In this essay I will discuss the developments of women from the years of the Civil War all the way to the years of the Revolutionary War. I will discuss the cult of republican motherhood, the domesticity of women, work of women, women in reform, and both southern slave and free women.
Women's advancement in the United States has been one of the more impressive advancements throughout history. Women back in the civil war times all the way through the American Revolution virtually had no rights back then. Women had no right to vote, they had no right to own property, could not engage in any legal transactions themselves, no right to authority over children, and had no right to initiate a divorce.
Women had almost no rights and were treated as if they were objects especially in the south. North it was bad how the women were treated, but in the south they were more expected to do everything the husband said with having no rights what so ever. They were only allowed to do small work around the house and to take care of the kids and domestic ideas like that. They were on an elevated status and men knew they were important and vital in the growth of their families. Men would defend their women to the end, but did not think it was right for them to have any sort of rights and they shouldn't be able to work for themselves and develop a career for themselves. Men believed strongly that women were created for the purpose of taking care of families and things like that.
It was worse for the slave girls in the southern states, especially if you were black. Women in slavery were not necessarily worked until their brittle bones could not handle it anymore, but they were sometime sexually and mentally abused, exploited, and were taken care of poorly. Few slave women were treated with respect. Seeing this would later spark interest in stopping slavery and to gain rights of their own. It was no wonder that slaves and women had similar interests.
