19th Century Women's Rights Movement

It was not until the nineteenth century women’s rights movements that women were beginning to be seen as individuals with a voice that could have a real impact on the political scenes of America. The question to give women basic human rights, like being able to buy land and vote, was not even up for debate until the early reform movements. This was when women began to realize the oppression they had been under since before the American Revolution. It was during this time that women were being encouraged, if not forced, to stay at home and be the typical homemaker due to the “domestic sphere” where women were thought to belong. Through the reform movements women began to take notice of their own rights and take a stand for themselves in what

It was not only uncommon but unheard of for women to have a voice in early America. They could not vote or own their own property which left them entirely dependent upon men. However, at the same time women did have an unspoken importance in the male dominated society because they made up the majority of religious congregations and were a highly prized commodity in the colonies for most colonial men who needed someone to care for the household, establish families, and many cases raise the children of their first wives that may have died due to the high mortality rates of childbirth for many early colonist women. The traditional roles of men and women in early America could be seen as separate spheres where men dominated in the workplace, political arena, and economics in a more public sphere and women were expected to live in a more private sphere of housework, family, and nurturing. Although women were often seen, at best, as background players in American history, the colonies and the future of America greatly depended on their submissive

In the 1790’s it was becoming obvious that if the country was to continue to grow and prosper women, who had been solely in charge of nurturing that country, would need to be educated in order to carry out such an important job. Women became introduced to higher education and the reality of Republican Motherhood was born. As the importance of educating women began to take notice women’s voices also began to be heard, and by the 1830’s the reform movements were taking place with women taking a stand for what they believed in. Women moved from using their power of influencing society and their husbands to gaining their own rights. Earlier women and men had been seen in two different spheres with separate qualities which for women included influencing society through setting examples and raising families with morals and values, prayer, and education. Now women began to see themselves in a different light. They understood that they could embraced their traditional feminine qualities and at the same time have rights of their own including owning property, more equal rights in marriage, and most importantly the right to vote. Banding together they became a force that could not be ignored and together fought for many reforms in policies including abolishment of slavery and education and prison reform. As the women’s movement gained momentum women met at the