American Women In The 1800s

Throughout history, women have dealt with extreme discrimination. Starting from a shortness of legal rights and minimum independence from their husbands, to being thought to have no intelligence. In many societies, women have been regarded as not being fully human. During the development in the colonies women were not allowed the same rights and privileges as men were. Women did not have the privilege to vote, and they usually had to give up their control of their property to their husband upon marriage. In the Colonial Society being a man was a big role to fall into. Growing up as children, boys had the ability to gain information from their fathers on what it meant to become a man. Becoming a man you were expected to be educated, contribute to the community, to participate in government, own property, and to maintain a healthy family. Seeking education meant you were part of the Upper Class. This meant learning how to read and write. Men were able to participate in government by having the ability to vote, or even serve as a public official. Men inherited and bought land much more frequently than women did. A man’s right to vote also necessitated owning land in …show more content…
They were not nearly allowed as much freedom as men got. It was commonly believed that a woman's place was in the home, raising children and tending to domestic affairs (Gender Discrimination). Wifehood and motherhood were regarded as women's most significant professions. Women were to teach the children about faith and moral development, they were the spiritual instructors in the home. Women typical were expected to work inside the home because it gave them the ability to take care of all the family benefitting activities such as spinning, weaving and churning. Women were commonly looked down upon by men, lessening them as a human being. Divorce was almost impossible for women until the late eighteenth century (Colonial