Women in the 19th Century, Essay Example

Throughout the greater part of history, women have been commonly viewed as the inferior gender and their rights and responsibilities have been both restricted and minimized for the protection of this cultural viewpoint.  Women have typically had fewer rights in the political and judicial arenas, as well as in the workplace.  The typical view of women in the 19^th century was that their chief roles in society were to be a good wife and a good mother, catering to the demands of the husband and children.  However, the 19^th century saw a vast change in the mannerisms of women and a reformation movement for women’s rights began to evolve early in the century after the abolition of slavery, and it continued until the passage of women’s suffrage in the early 20^th century.  The women’s reformation movement saw much opposition to public demonstration and public speaking, the Declaration of Sentiments and women’s reformation activities in the healthcare profession helped advance the cause for equal rights and social inclusion of women.

During the 19^th Century, women in the United States organized many different reformation movements in a number of highly important social issues, yet it was still considered inappropriate for women to speak in public.  In most cases, women were booed and publicly ridiculed if they had the audacity to speak in public to fight for their own rights and the rights of others.  This began to change as the abolitionist sisters Sarah and Angelina Grimke of South Carolina, boldly spoke out against slavery at public meetings (WIC.org).  This behavior was unheard of among the American culture during the 19^th Century.  Yet still, even some male abolitionists including William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, and Frederick Douglass actively supported the right of women to speak and participate in public antislavery and equal rights movements (WIC.org).  Due to this cultural and social restriction on the norm for the definition of the woman’s acceptable role in society, many women’s reformists saw parallels between their own position in society and that of the slaves.  “In their view, both were expected to be passive, cooperative, and obedient to their master-husbands” (WIC.org).  Neither lacked the individual power and ability to properly reform society and change the attitudes of individuals that were interested in sexual and racial discrimination and restriction of rights among slaves and women.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott were instrumental in their efforts for women’s rights and social advancement efforts, most notably through the Declaration of Sentiments.  The first women’s rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York in July, 1848 (Morantz 491).  “They modeled their agenda on antislavery and temperance conventions, and Stanton modeled her draft of The Declaration of Sentiments on the 1776 The Declaration of Independence” (Morantz 491).  The Declaration of Sentiments and the women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls were very large steps towards the advancement of women in public reformation.  Ultimately, the Declaration of Sentiments received one hundred signatures from both women and men, but the clergy and media publicly ridiculed these individuals and resulted in many men and women removing their names from the document and removing their influence from the cause of women’s reformation (Morantz 491).  Although the purpose of these activities had well-intentions, the public and American culture in the 19^th Century was still not ready for women’s reformation activities and social advancement towards the roles of women.  Finally, in Stanton’s autobiography entitled Eighty Years and More, she wrote, “if I had had the slightest premonition of all that was to follow that convention, I fear I should not have had the courage to risk it” (Morantz 491).

Despite the public opposition to efforts made by women to call for change in America during the 19^th Century, the women’s reformation movement saw multiple advances in the field of medicine and health care in the United States.  Although historically, women that earned their own living were typically seamstresses or were employed in boardinghouses, some women were able to become doctors, lawyers, preachers, teachers, writers, and singers (WIC.org).  Changing attitudes in the United States provided that women could work in limited positions within factories or doing various jobs domestically.  Still, most women were restricted in the positions they could perform; yet, the medical profession showed marked improvements and advancements for women in the 19^th century.  Prior to the 1800s there were almost no medical schools, and virtually any enterprising person could practice medicine.  During the 19^th Century, the common cultural stereotype of the female nurse was established due to the ease of access and advancement within the medical community (Morantz 492).  Still, there existed a very specific form of discrimination against women in the medical community and in employment altogether.  For instance, “the American Medical Association, founded in 1846, barred women from membership” and barred women from “attending ‘men’s’ medical colleges” (WIC.org).  The women’s reformation movement led to the creation of their own medical colleges such as the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, which was established in 1850.  Including working in the medical profession, Margaret Sanger crusaded to have birth-control information available for all women in the late 19^th century (WIC.org).  This crusade ensured that women understood the impact of their decisions and rights to childbearing instead of relying on the prejudice and forceful decisions of men during this time period.

The women’s reformation movement experienced public opposition and ridicule during the 19^th Century in the United States.  Many individuals were morally opposed to women publicly demonstrating and speaking for social advancements.  The Declaration of Sentiments and women’s reformation efforts in the healthcare profession helped advance women’s rights and ultimately led to women gaining the right to vote in the early 20^th century.  Due to the viewpoints that women were inferior to men and one step above slaves in society, women fought hard for equal rights and establishing a larger role for themselves within society.  Without these efforts, it is doubtful that the United States would have become the cultural melting pot that it did and women would have likely endured another half-century of discrimination and social limitations.

Works Cited

Morantz, Regina M. “Making Women Modern: Middle Class Women and Health Reform in 19th Century America.” Journal of Social History 10.4 (1977): 490-507. JSTOR. Web. 7 Nov. 2009.

Reuben, Paul P. “PAL: The Women’s Rights Movement.” California State University Stanislaus. 21 May 2009. Web. 07 Nov. 2009. <http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap4/suffrage.html>.

WIC.org. “WIC – Women’s History in America.” Women’s History in America. Web. 07 Nov. 2009. <http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm>.