Women
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From 1776 to 1876 women were at a struggle to become just as equal as men. They stood behind the man timid to let their voices to be heard until many years later. The status and lives were changed dramatically earning them the title they well deserved.
Throughout history there was a constant struggle for men and women to be created equal. Before the development of organizations and women rights movements they were told that there were “appropriate duties assigned to each sex.” This forced them to stay inside the home becoming a part of the republican motherhood, which was to teach the children good morals so they could secure themselves in the outside world. Along with the Cult of Domesticity which it was said that women were supposed to embody perfect virtue in all senses.
By law the women had no rights, only a few notches higher than the slaves.
The married woman and her legal status, “The condition of a slave.” They were stripped of their right to owning property, ability to vote, and had limited job sources. “The husband and wife are one person.” The husband was not allowed to give his wife anything that held value and if they had not bared any children all of the family fortune would go to waste. Under the law “he has made herÐcivilly dead” As he took the property and wages she had rightfully earned.
As years rolled by women started to receive jobs that filled in for the men as they went off to war. As the women replaced the men it was apparent that they were there to stay. A few of the most popular jobs were the teacher, the seamstress, and the housekeeper. As the rank of women rose a few bars they started to speak out as Abigail Adams had done in a letter to John Adams stating not to put such unlimited power “into the hands of Husbands.”
Women didnt replace all of the jobs like the factory jobs, but for the teaching and domestic services charts found in Document G, it is apparent in numbers that females overpowered the men in that sense. With a 30,000 difference in teaching and a 310,000 difference in domestic services. Certainly not seen as the “domestic manufacture” but at the time this was a large leap for women.
Education was becoming more common for the female race as schools and colleges