American Women In The Late 1800s

Words: 1396
Pages: 6

Is the treatment of American women fair? Everyone has their own personal opinion when it comes to women in the late 1800s. For decades, women struggled desperately for opportunity and equality. Historical ice breakers such as the Women Suffrage Movement, American Women Suffrage Association, and the National Association of Colored Women that has played a role to fight for the emergence of women. Along with these historical events, powerful activists such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony gave women the confidence and strength to speak out. Some say that a woman's purpose is to take care of the children and household; however, it cannot be ignored that women are left out in a lot of important decisions. American women of the late …show more content…
Furthermore, an article called "Women and Politics, 1865-1920" explains some of the barriers women faced. Perry said, " in the late 1860s and early 1870s, in a massive campaign of civil disobedience, women across the country attempted to vote, an action that led to Anthony's trial for illegal voting." This proves that women were outcasts because they could not vote, and their opinions did not matter. Women continuously had to fight so their voices would be heard. At the time, the only way someone's voice could be heard was to vote; however, they could not vote, so they tried voting illegally. Moreover, voting if the first step to political power and input. Anthony’s trial is proof that shows how they were left out of the voting process. It is unfair that women fought so hard just to get shut down. Women did not get the basic right of voting until 1920. Also, Perry says," They lobbied state and federal legislators to pass resolutions in favor of votes for women and pressured party officials to include woman suffrage planks in their platforms." Women were treated like outcasts because the had to lobby and pressure legislators by demanding their attention. Since they were outcasts, they had to make sure their presence was known. Women had no one but each other for support. Men were the only ones with political power. In contrast, men may feel that they know what is best for everyone. …show more content…
An article called Patriarchy, Power, and Pay: The Transformation of American Families, 1800-2015" by Steven Ruggles says, " Wage labor for men were highly limited in the mid-nineteenth century, but the opportunity for women were virtually nonexistent. This proves that women were outcasts because there were no available jobs for them. Women were not able to have a personal jobs of their own. They were treated unfairly because the availability of jobs for the were practically nonexistent. Women did not have any real independence outside of their homes. They mainly were expected to take care of the responsibilities at home. This proves that they had no economic power because they could not get jobs, and they were unable to make a name for themselves. Furthermore, Ruggles says, "...women were unpaid workers in the family enterprises, mostly farm wives and daughters and slaves." This shows that women were outcasts because they were limited when it came to jobs. Women have always put themselves last. For once women wanted a chance to be able to claim something and call it their own. They never were given the chance to shows their potential outside of their household; nevertheless, they were not able to express their self. Men fail to realize that women can be beneficial to the