The federal government expanded through the Civil War, and settled the issue of precedence between the states and a central government. As a result, the war re-assembled the union, redefined citizenship and created long lasting laws to protect the rights of citizens in this country.
Citizenship in the United States remained relatively stagnant after the Revolutionary War, and even worsened for most after the Naturalization act of 1790. Prior to 1790, citizenship and rights were mostly exclusive even for white men with property. White men that did not have property were subject to citizenship but were still limited in rights, and white men that immigrated here could become citizens over time. Women and children were largely considered to be …show more content…
Southerners lost their right to vote for a short period of time, and lost what they considered property (black slaves). Most of the slaves that worked for the plantations ended up just working for their previous masters who used a method a sharecropping and economic advantage to reduce their rights as much as possible. The biggest change for whites was the transition from a subsistent economy to a market economy. We can see this change in Ulrich’s work A Midwife’s Tale, Martha Ballard is used to a subsistent market economy where neighbors help each other out and don’t necessarily need to pay with currency or on time for that manner. Ulrich mentions that in the first half of the book Martha has lots of autonomy, the subsistent economy allows her to perform her job as a midwife and allows her to control her own life. Near the second half of the book is when the economy changes and Martha starts to degrade, and become old as she is no longer autonomous anymore, but dependent upon another family member who largely takes advantage of her. This is a prime example of what was happening to white families, and specifically woman of the time because it shows how dependent they were on men. The market unlike the subsistent economy restrained and often imprisoned women, changing family relations and social status. Martha was a respectable midwife who spoke to “lawyers and handled mortgages and then shifted to wooden boxes and sons” (Ulrich,
Citizenship in the United States remained relatively stagnant after the Revolutionary War, and even worsened for most after the Naturalization act of 1790. Prior to 1790, citizenship and rights were mostly exclusive even for white men with property. White men that did not have property were subject to citizenship but were still limited in rights, and white men that immigrated here could become citizens over time. Women and children were largely considered to be …show more content…
Southerners lost their right to vote for a short period of time, and lost what they considered property (black slaves). Most of the slaves that worked for the plantations ended up just working for their previous masters who used a method a sharecropping and economic advantage to reduce their rights as much as possible. The biggest change for whites was the transition from a subsistent economy to a market economy. We can see this change in Ulrich’s work A Midwife’s Tale, Martha Ballard is used to a subsistent market economy where neighbors help each other out and don’t necessarily need to pay with currency or on time for that manner. Ulrich mentions that in the first half of the book Martha has lots of autonomy, the subsistent economy allows her to perform her job as a midwife and allows her to control her own life. Near the second half of the book is when the economy changes and Martha starts to degrade, and become old as she is no longer autonomous anymore, but dependent upon another family member who largely takes advantage of her. This is a prime example of what was happening to white families, and specifically woman of the time because it shows how dependent they were on men. The market unlike the subsistent economy restrained and often imprisoned women, changing family relations and social status. Martha was a respectable midwife who spoke to “lawyers and handled mortgages and then shifted to wooden boxes and sons” (Ulrich,