Dbq Were Women's Rights In Colonial America Undemocratic?

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Colonial America was undemocratic because the laws in the colonies only applied to certain people, not everyone was allowed to vote for their representatives, religious freedom was not a right and everyone was not treated equally. Although Maryland was known as the haven for Catholics, Christianity was not tolerated during its establishment in 1632. It was not until 1649 when any form of Christianity was allowed in Maryland(Doc #1). Those professing any other religion besides a form of Christianity would have been persecuted, therefore Maryland’s Act of toleration did not allow complete freedom of religion.

When it was time to elect a representative, each colony had their own requirements. For all thirteen colonies, each voter had to be white, christian and a male(Doc #2). Depending on the colony, each person also had to have a certain amount of land in their possession to qualify as a voter. Any person who did not meet these qualifications such as black men or women could not vote. Up until the Civil Rights Movement, white men were the only people who were able to vote during election time. …show more content…

Women had their own set of laws that regulated their behavior and their life with or without a husband(Doc # 4). Many of the entitlements of the women were taken away after divorcing their husbands and their belongings would now be owned by the husband after marriage. This would later change for women only living New Jersey, as the new constitution in New Jersey temporarily allowed women to vote in

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