How Did The Women's Reform Movement Impact The Lives Of Women

Throughout this course we have examined many different women’s reform movements take shape. Some faded into obscurity, while other reform movements would have lasting and positive effects on the lives of woman; largely due to those he headed them. Thus, this essay will examine three reformers who, I feel, had the biggest impact on the lives of women today, as well as examine why there were so many of the reform movements.
The first two women I will examine were part a significant part of the women’s suffragist movement. One of the most important reformers, in my opinion, was Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who was instrumental in the women’s vote movement. Cady was married to a wealthy man, and had many children, and could have easily settled into
Adams establishment of the famed Hull House in Chicago helped to provide an assortment of resources for women in need. The Hull House, as we learned in the article “Who Funded the Hull House?” was financially backed by Adams herself, along with some friends and supporters. It gave women shelter, jobs, classes, and day care for their children. Adams work gave women the ability to provide for themselves, and better improve their lives, inspiring the creation of even more settlement houses across the world. We learned firsthand from Rosa Cassettari about the benefits of these shelters. Rosa, an Italian immigrant, wrote about her experiences in the article Rosa Cassettari: From Northern Italy to Chicago, 1884-1926. Rosa and her child were kindly taken in by the shelter, where she would learn skills, English and be given a job by the shelter. These shelters gave hope to countless women, and it would never have been possible if it weren’t for the hard work and selflessness of Jane
When it came to the suffrage movement, there were women who were curious about politics, and wanted to get politically active; however, men did not allow them to take part. Instead, men were solely allowed to make the decisions which affected the entire country and its citizens. Women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and Alice Paul showed women that they didn’t have to be held back, and could and should gain the right to vote. There were many controversial movements that women got involved in as well, such as the abolitionist movement. The success of the Abolitionist movement during the antebellum era was due to the bravery of women like Harriet Jacobs, who, despite the risk, was not afraid to tell her story in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, and Lydia Marie Childs, who saw the importance of Jacobs work, and ensured it, reached the public to raise awareness. It was these kinds of brave risk takers that radically improved the lives of women nationwide. Women, I sense, took part in movements such as the abolitionist movement because they understood firsthand what discrimination felt like, as they were constantly discriminated against by men. I would say that in terms of the bigger picture, men often got caught up and occupied by their work and thus closed off to society, women on the other hand, did a lot of domestic work and had more free