During 1800's women were dominated by men. By this time, women were relegated to household duties and taking care of their families. They were property to their husbands and many of them were subjected to horrendous treatment devoid of reprimand from the law. They could neither vote nor make financial decision or own property. However, there came up some women who struggled for equity and equality such as Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton who questioned both political and religion authority that comprised of men. This essay discusses how women exerted political influence in the 1800s in US history.
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Collins (2004) indicates that Equity law had a slackening effect on the legal rights of women in U.S. Mississippi in 1939 passed laws that allowed married women to acquire property and separate from their spouse; this was followed by New York and Massachusetts in 1848 and 1854 respectively. However, in case of a divorce, it is the husbands who sustained legal control over the children and property. Dinkins states that the transformation of social condition started to change how women perceived their place in the society. They started receive more education and taking part in reform movements that got them participating in reform movements that got them into politics and led to initiation of “women’s Suffrage movement”. This movement officially commenced with the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention and its purpose was to protest against mistreatment of women in political, economic, social and religion life.
Some of the women who heavily influenced American politics of 1800 include Harriet Taylor, Angelia and Sarah Grimke. Harriet Taylor a British advocate of women rights, who was highly recognized Owenite socialism, became the first women to write about women’s legal, political and social rights in manners that advocated for more aspects of existing social system than in most socialist. While addressing an emergent consensus of Anglo-American feminist in her 1851 treatise, “Enfranchisement of Women,” Taylor introduced British readers to the convection of women rights that was underway in the U.S. at the time. Angelia and Sarah Grimke were southerners who went north to campaign against slavery
American Anti-slavery Society gave a great salutation to women, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Santon and Garrison were aghast that women were disallowed to participate at the World Anti-Slavery Convention that was held in London and called for a women’s rights convection in New York at Seneca Falls. At this convention Sojourner Truth was recognized as the leading spokesperson for women rights and abolition. Women abolitionist progressively began to compare the plight of slave and the situation of women at the time. The new approach squarely blamed men for restrictions of women role in U.S. and argued that the relationship between the two genders was one-sided, oppressive and controlling. Then there arose strong religious roots that comprised mostly of feminists from Congregationalist and Quaker churches in the Northeast.
Finally, the 14th amendment of the US constitution was ratified in 1868. The ratification was to offer equal protection to men against unjust laws. Dinkins further indicates that in 1869, Wyoming became the first territory that allowed women to vote. Basically, between 1880 and 1910 women employment in U.S. increased from 2.6 million female employees to 7.8. Women’s rights to vote, married women property rights became key point of address from women even as they progressed to seek for greater involvement in social, economic and political participation in the U.S.in 1800s.
Bibliography
Bakken, Gordon M., and Brenda Farrington. Encyclopedia of women in the American West. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage, 2004
Collins, Gail. America's women: four hundred years of dolls, drudges, helpmates, and heroines. New York: Perennial Harper Collins, 2004.
Dinkins, Robert J. Before equal suffrage women in partisan politics from colonial times to 1920. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1995.
Zinn, Howard, and Anthony Arnove. Voices of A people's history of the United States. New York: Seven Stories Press, 2009.
