Freedom in the US has been for a long time an issue that has sparked off serious debate. In the middle age, for instance, the US has been struggling towards achieving freedom in an equal manner for all. In the 19th century, the issue of freedom seemed to be cross cutting various areas and restricted freedom affected certain groups more than others in the same society. This called for drastic measures of courageous individuals and movement groups to fight courageously for the rights of everyone. Women, blacks, immigrants and the poor are some of the groups that bore the extreme brunt in freedom discrimination.
It is not quit easy to define freedom as it incorporates a wide array of issues within itself. Different areas of the society have defined …show more content…
In the US, women’s freedom seemed lesser than that which men enjoyed in various ways. For instance, women who were married commanded respect from the society but had little to show for it. In some cases, such women were not allowed to own property or make any contracts for themselves. The legal justice system crafted the word “coverture” to better explain this fact (Melder 1977, 87). These married women were referred to as the “feme coverts”. The unmarried women, “feme soles”, were more respected and had an opportunity to make certain decisions as compared to their married counterparts. However, the “feme soles” had a fair share of problems for their own as the decisions they made had certain …show more content…
The government realized how useful women can be in building a successful society if their freedom was to be unlimited. As a result, some measures were taken to improve on women’s right of freedom. For instance, wife beating was prohibited by law and was an offense that attracted very stiff penalties. The formation of certain Acts, such as the Women’s Property Act, are some of the recognizable efforts the government put in place. However, most of the efforts made to grant women their freedom were from individuals and movements. For instance, women like Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Stanton made landmark contributions on this front. It is from the efforts of such people that women were allowed to work 10 hours per day in textile industries, the Women’s Right Convention of1848 were held and Harriet Beecher Stowe published her book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Groag and Offen 1983,
It is not quit easy to define freedom as it incorporates a wide array of issues within itself. Different areas of the society have defined …show more content…
In the US, women’s freedom seemed lesser than that which men enjoyed in various ways. For instance, women who were married commanded respect from the society but had little to show for it. In some cases, such women were not allowed to own property or make any contracts for themselves. The legal justice system crafted the word “coverture” to better explain this fact (Melder 1977, 87). These married women were referred to as the “feme coverts”. The unmarried women, “feme soles”, were more respected and had an opportunity to make certain decisions as compared to their married counterparts. However, the “feme soles” had a fair share of problems for their own as the decisions they made had certain …show more content…
The government realized how useful women can be in building a successful society if their freedom was to be unlimited. As a result, some measures were taken to improve on women’s right of freedom. For instance, wife beating was prohibited by law and was an offense that attracted very stiff penalties. The formation of certain Acts, such as the Women’s Property Act, are some of the recognizable efforts the government put in place. However, most of the efforts made to grant women their freedom were from individuals and movements. For instance, women like Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Stanton made landmark contributions on this front. It is from the efforts of such people that women were allowed to work 10 hours per day in textile industries, the Women’s Right Convention of1848 were held and Harriet Beecher Stowe published her book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Groag and Offen 1983,