Early Women’s History

 

Colonial Period:

      Women were considered inferior to men:

            under the legal authority of a male figure

            limited in property ownership

            were restricted to home and farm duty

            received little schooling/denied higher education

            denied the vote and participation in politics

 

      Notable Women from the Period:

            Anne Hutchinson

            Abigail Adams

 

Harsh conditions, heavy work, many childbirths led to early deaths

 

Jacksonian Era: The First Women’s Rights Movement

      Democratic reforms ---> lifting some restrictions

      Industry provided new jobs outside the home

      Leadership grew in the Northeast

      Horace Mann’s schools were established by 1860

      Higher Education: more co-ed schools opened

      Men/abolitionists supported women’s rights

 

Seneca Falls Convention:

      Directed by Elizabeth Cady Stanton/ Lucretia Mott

      Adopted the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments

      “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men

            and women are created equal”

 

 

Suffragettes: Post Civil War

      Susan B. Anthony:

            petitioned Congress to include women in the

                  15th amendment

            worked to gain public support for women’s suffrage

 

The Civil War and World War One gave women the chance to gain economically as labor became scarce

 

The 19th Amendment was passed in 1920 partially to recognize women’s contribution to the war effort