The Role Women Played in the Social Reform Movements of the Antebellum Period

The Role Women Played in the Social Reform Movements of the Antebellum Period

Comprehending the lives of American women and their roles is

fundamental for understanding the entire antebellum period in America.

The period 1820 to 1870 in the United States was marked by a forceful

and widespread debate on woman's roles and their proper vocation

whether this be in the home or outside the home and becoming wage

earners.This was, however, still a time in which females were

encouraged to be pure, dutiful, domestic and compliant by men and the

government. On the other hand, due through this, the evident truth was

ignored that was that women’s roles were steadily beginning to reach

outside the family and home, their were gaining confidence in

themselves and their independence was growing.

As female roles changed, the patriarchal and chauvinistic society

that was America was beginning to be noticed, women’s rights advocates

in particular became aware of the gender inequalities present in their

society, chafed under these limits, and established a movement which

is still present in America today.

Women in early American history were assigned and in some manners even

restricted to the domestic sphere of the family, women being the

‘homemaker’ made them clearly inferior to men and were never thought

of as being socially equal.

However, this began to change during the antebellum period which

witnessed many of America’s most shameful barbarities but also some of

its noblest efforts at social justice. It witnessed the “suppression,

withdrawal, and westward removal” of tens of thousands of Native

Americans; the movement of hundreds of thou...

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... role.

Many authors and lecturers today have redefined women’s role in the

antebellum period. They say that although women asserted themselves

and gained power and independence through education and paid work,

their main advantage and superiority in society was portrayed in the

home, this being a safe haven that women created where they could

provide for their husbands. This new domestic ideal went on to express

women's responsibility for teaching and including religion and moral

values in their families lives. While economic development built a new

America, women retained responsibility for turning that growth into

civilisation. Ultimately, many argued the opinion that “women's

acceptance of their diminished economic role demonstrated their moral

superiority and leadership.” (American women’s history-Nancy A.Hewitt)