Women & Reform Limits & Possibilities

Limits on Women’s Lives Women could not vote or hold public office Divorces ended up with husband getting custody of the children Women were not allowed to own property Land, buildings, & businesses were all owned by husbands Industrial Revolution did not really help women economically, since they received low wages Women also gave wages to their husbands

Cultural Limits The legal & economic limits on women reflected the broader cultural atmosphere This was the belief that women’s role in society was in the home attending to house and family duties Industrial Revolution intensified this cultural pressure on women to stay at home -”cult of domesticity”- books, magazines praised the virtues of women staying at home

Women in the Reform Era The Second Great Awakening opened the door for women’s involvement in religion -2 nd Awakening focused less on obedience to a minister -2 nd Awakening emphasized personal dedication, hard work & good works -This allowed women to create own groups for bible reading and missionary activities

Reform Societies Some women’s church societies evolved into reform societies Ex: New York Female Reform Society (1834) -mission was to work for “moral reform” They wanted to promote good behavior They visited poor areas to provide encouragement and religious instruction Also established homes for orphan girls, homeless young women, and others

Education Reform Women also led reform movements in education Catherine Beecher created schools for women in MA and OH She also created normal schools and encouraged teachers to move west to teach children on the frontier Many women become teachers during Reform Era, playing an integral role in shaping America

Other Reforms Labor Movement: 225,000 women worked in factories by 1850 They were some of the first to strike, such as the girls in the Lowell Mills Temperance- since women were financially dependent on men, they and children suffered from men’s excessive alcohol consumption -knew firsthand the evils of alcohol

Pushing for Political Power Many women had advocated for various reforms But their ineligibility to cast an election vote and ineligibility to hold public office limited what they could accomplish Therefore, many women wished to gain the right to vote in order to achieve these reforms Other women argued that they should be able to vote because it was fair

Seneca Falls Convention Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized a convention for women’s rights Took place in Seneca Falls, NY Mott was a Quaker and an abolitionist Stanton was also against slavery Both had attended the World Anti Slavery Convention in 1840 (London), but were not allowed to debate in it since they were women They were determined to do something about women’s right to vote in America

Declaration of Sentiments 300 people attended the convention in Seneca Falls, men and women Convention produced the Declaration of Sentiments, drafted by Stanton 68 women and 32 men signed the Declaration of Sentiments, and publicly stated “all men and women are created equal” Jumpstarted road to equality for women