Throughout early history, girls received very few educational opportunities, in society learning was secondary. The idea of a female attending school, especially higher education was backlashes with hostile attitudes (Women in America). Men are viewed themselves as not only superior, but also smarter. From the 17th-19th centuries, women's brains were thought to be smaller than those of men, which is why people thought that women could not learn courses such as science of math. Emma Willard opened a seminary for girls, in Troy, New York, in 1821.
Explain the impact that women made on America and their changing role after the Civil War. If their role did not change would this have changed the future of the nation? Ali Sterner APUSH – Period 4 Shaw January 28, 2011 In American History, women have not exactly had it easy. In colonial times, women were to do strictly house work and take care of the children. This changed after the Civil War, giving women their right to speak up and become more like men.
Women learned the ways of men (doing business and taking care of finances) while the men were away at war. Because of this they desired more equal marriages and wanted a say in decisions. They also wanted to marry for love instead of economics. Men finally began teaching women in schools which eventually led to women teaching other women. Abigail Adams reminded her husband to not forget the women in the constitution which is significant because it was the beginning of women’s rights.
“Why did women win the vote?” Woman’s roles and statues were affected by Victorians view of women. They thought that women weren’t capable to do much and were constricted to very little. They had very little choice of what they wanted to do like choosing who they wanted to marry, what they wanted to do with the things (like money) they inherited and they couldn’t do much either like getting a full education, get equal pay, own property and couldn’t sue her husband as he owned her. Women’s roles were affected by Victorian views of women as their role was to look after the children, the family, and the home. Women were viewed as men’s property so they had to do whatever the husband wanted them to do.
Feminist movements have challenged the traditional stereotype of a woman’s role of being a stay at home mother and caring for her family. Women are less willing to listen and obey their patriarchal husbands, and in a majority of households; there are dual working families. Although radical feminists argue that we have still not achieved equality between men and women; there has been major improvements. The way in which feminists, as well as women in general look at younger girls has also changed. In previous years; advice given by older women to younger girls would be to make sure that they get married and they are not ‘left on the shelf’.
World War 1 played a significant part in developing women's political rights in both positive and negative ways. World War one may have foiled the drive by women to gain political rights just as much or even more so then it helped. Pre war women did have working opportunities though very little compared to men, as they were seen as weaker and that their place was in the "home". Their employment was limited to the domestic service (cleaning or working as a servant) and secretarial work and not manual labor in factories or working class women often worked in the textiles industry. Women were lower paid and were restricted to do less skilled work, as they were considered incompetent.
Even though Tom Dobb and Deborah Samson joined the Revolutionary War in very different ways, the cause of the revolution spoke to their individual causes. Samson found kinship with the American Revolution as it mirrored her own rebellious and unconventional attitude. Dobb, a fictional character that certainly characterized many historical heroes, although forced into service, eventually found that the Revolution was fighting for exactly what he wanted to give to his descendants: a good life Deborah Samson’s life would not be considered ideal. Abandoned by her father, and her mother having close to nothing, she was forced into servitude from around ages eight to eighteen. This was not an unusual circumstance in the day, but Samson stands out.
Some sociologists suggests that this change led to more equality in modern family life. However, not everyone agrees with this conclusion. Feminists are especially cautious about drawing this conclusion because they believe that there are still inequalities of power and control which persists in modern family relationships. In Talcott Parsons' 1955 functionalist model of the family, he suggests that in the traditional nuclear family, the roles of husbands and wives were naturally segregated(separate and distinct from one another). Women are naturally more suited to take on the expressive role which involves socialisation of the children and meet the family's emotional needs.
During the nineteenth century women were considered inferior and expected to be submissive to men; their place is meant to be in the home raising the children and managing the plantation. Stowe considers housekeeping as one of the most essential duties of 19th century women: they have an obligation to govern their staff, manage household finances, and create a “heaven” for their families. Although the "separate spheres" philosophy is limiting because it confined women to the home, it also provides a model for a woman run government that separates from slavery. It is a disgrace for a woman to interfere in the place of men, or the workforce, as it is believed to be only for men. A key example of this would be Mrs. Shelby.
The Nazi’s were fixed on the idea that a woman’s role was at home, being a mother and a wife. They wanted women to have plenty of children so the birth rates would go up and Germany could form a large army and become a more powerful nation. Working class women were removed from factories and encouraged to stay at home, and middle class women were removed from their professions. They were urged to wear traditional clothing, and behave in a much less liberal way than was allowed during Weimar times. Many middle class women were unhappy about this, and after the freedoms and empowerment of women during Weimar they did not like the new constrictions – it seemed almost like a step back for them.