What Has Changed From The 1800's To Today
If I were to ask you, “ What has changed in our country between the 1800’s to
today”, what would you say? Two changes stick out to me. The first is gender. How men
and women behave and are treated in society has changed drastically. The second
change is mental illness. Back then people who had mental illnesses and disorders
were considered mentally insane or inhuman. It took many years for our society to
realize that how we approached these issues were wrong and needed to be
reevaluated.
During the 19th and 20th century it was hard to live as a woman in our society.
Kelley Smith says, “ some even compare the conditions of women in this time to a form
of slavery.” Woman would first serve there father and brothers until marriage, …show more content…
then serve
there husband until death. If a woman did not marry “ she would be ridiculed and pitied
by the community.” Even as a married woman she would have to give up all of her
inheritance, rights, and even her body.
These things now belonging to her husband.
Women were expected to be house cleaners, mothers, and were “derived of any form of
respected job or education.” It wasn’t until the late 20th century when women could
have the right to vote and obtain other rights of there own.
Throughout history, there have been radical changes in how the mentally ill are
treated and cared for, most of these occurred because of changing societal views
and knowledge of mental illness. In the 1800’s and 1900’s “postpartum
depression was not diagnosed as a legitimate condition.” Because women were
deprived from many opportunities, postpartum depression turned into a “rash of
so-called “hysteria” cases.” This so-called “hysteria” was a female illness that
was caused by a woman’s “delicate constitutions” and “ emotionality.” Doctors
also believed it was caused by the uterus because many women became
depressed after giving birth. Woman were left untreated and “driven mad.”
There were many things that have changed since the 1800’s and 1900’s. If
we learned to stop or solve these issues sooner, I believe that today’s
society would be so much farther than it is now. Mental illness and
gender
rights (equality) also affected the people around them. Changing how we
approached these issues allowed us to learn things in a deeper sense
such as empathy and emotion. We can now have these feelings and not
be judged because of them.
today”, what would you say? Two changes stick out to me. The first is gender. How men
and women behave and are treated in society has changed drastically. The second
change is mental illness. Back then people who had mental illnesses and disorders
were considered mentally insane or inhuman. It took many years for our society to
realize that how we approached these issues were wrong and needed to be
reevaluated.
During the 19th and 20th century it was hard to live as a woman in our society.
Kelley Smith says, “ some even compare the conditions of women in this time to a form
of slavery.” Woman would first serve there father and brothers until marriage, …show more content…
then serve
there husband until death. If a woman did not marry “ she would be ridiculed and pitied
by the community.” Even as a married woman she would have to give up all of her
inheritance, rights, and even her body.
These things now belonging to her husband.
Women were expected to be house cleaners, mothers, and were “derived of any form of
respected job or education.” It wasn’t until the late 20th century when women could
have the right to vote and obtain other rights of there own.
Throughout history, there have been radical changes in how the mentally ill are
treated and cared for, most of these occurred because of changing societal views
and knowledge of mental illness. In the 1800’s and 1900’s “postpartum
depression was not diagnosed as a legitimate condition.” Because women were
deprived from many opportunities, postpartum depression turned into a “rash of
so-called “hysteria” cases.” This so-called “hysteria” was a female illness that
was caused by a woman’s “delicate constitutions” and “ emotionality.” Doctors
also believed it was caused by the uterus because many women became
depressed after giving birth. Woman were left untreated and “driven mad.”
There were many things that have changed since the 1800’s and 1900’s. If
we learned to stop or solve these issues sooner, I believe that today’s
society would be so much farther than it is now. Mental illness and
gender
rights (equality) also affected the people around them. Changing how we
approached these issues allowed us to learn things in a deeper sense
such as empathy and emotion. We can now have these feelings and not
be judged because of them.