Women's Rights Before the Civil War
I am providing here a short sketch of the women’s movement that began in the early nineteenth century, so that you may understand a bit of the background of the women who lived in the Civil War era.
By the early 1800s, women were ready to make their mark on the world. They formed organizations, some of which were only social. But others ran charity schools and refuges for women in need. The Female Seminary Movement began in 1815. Their goal was to improve the quality of women’s education.
During the 1820s and 1830s, northern businessmen began to push for abolition. Women joined the cause and were exposed to the world of politics. In 1833, the American Anti-slavery Society was established. One of its leaders, William Lloyd Garrison, was a fervent believer in women’s rights. Unfortunately, the other members were not.
In 1840, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were barred from attending the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London. This prompted them to hold a women’s convention in the U. S.
Prior to 1848, when a woman married
· She could not make a contract.
· She could not keep or control her own wages.
· She could not control property that was hers before the marriage.
· She could not acquire property while married.
· She could not transfer or sell property.
· She could not bring any lawsuit.
The laws that some states passed in the late-1840s granted a woman the right to control her own property, even after she married. The law passed by New York state declared that the “real and personal property of any female who may hereafter marry…shall not be subject to the sole disposal of her husband, nor be liable for his debts…”
Timeline of Significant Events in the Women’s Movement:
· 1848: Seneca Falls, New York, hosted the first Women’s Rights Convention. Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote the “Declaration of Sentiments,” creating the agenda for active participation by women in the future
· 1850: Worcester, Massachusetts was the site of the first National Women’s Rights Convention. Frederick Douglass, Pauline Wright Davis, Abby Kelley Foster, William Lloyd Garrison, Lucy Stone, and Sojourner Truth attended. The fledgling women’s movement joined the Abolitionist Movement.
· 1851: The second National Women’s Rights Convention was held again in Worcester MA. Participants included Horace Mann, New York Tribune columnist Elizabeth Oaks Smith, and Reverend Henry Ward Beecher.
· 1853: Women delegates, Antoinette Brown and Susan B. Anthony, were not allowed to speak at The World’s Temperance Convention held in NYC.
· 1861-1865: With the war, the women’s movement came to a halt. Women put their energies toward the war effort.
With the coming of the Civil War, a woman still had little control over her life. The ideal woman was an obedient wife, a loving mother, and totally subservient to the men in her life.
Copyright © 2006 Maggie MacLean
