Women In The 19th Century

Words: 659
Pages: 3

Due to many changes during the 19th century, women's lives changed drastically at the turn of the 20th century. The hardships and degrading treatments that women endured had a huge influence on way the approaching 20th century women wanted to be treated. Women were seen as second-class citizens and beneath men. They were considered property, expected to be submissive, and had no rights, politically or economically. They lived in a private sphere where their roles were to compliment their husbands, help with his affairs, and raise and educate his children to become virtuous citizens. Women became increasingly cognizant of their subordinate status, which caused them to rebel against society. Based upon the photos and explanations on pages 493-500 in Through Women's Eyes, the dauntlessness and determination women had is shown, despite the injustice and prejudice treatments they experienced, by moving into the public sphere and pursuing their goal for equality. In the late 1800's, women struggled to be equal to men. They grew tired of their inferior status and living in a domestic sphere. They wanted the liberation of being free. This lead women to reevaluate …show more content…
Any involvement with the movement made women looked down upon by many. Many were arrested and jailed for several days. They were attacked and mistreated. Alice Paul, the organizer of the Pennsylvania Avenue suffrage parade, was arrested and put into "solitary confinement and denied counsel" (http://historywired.si.edu/detail.cfm?ID=492). She was "force-fed...with a tube up the nose and down the throat" (http://historywired.si.edu/detail.cfm?ID=492) to pour liquid down to her stomach. She was also sent to a psychiatric ward in attempts to discredit her. The radical actions that suffragists participated in were considered extremely disobedient and were unjustifiably