Women In The 1800's

Since the foundation of America women have been working towards a dream that they will one day be viewed as the true equals that they are. In recent years women have made strong, influential strides towards this dream, but where did this movement begin? As each generation builds upon the success of the last, it is important to identify who broke ground first. Even though recent women’s movements have been more substantial, the movements in the 19th century were the pivotal beginnings. Some of the most influential steps took place in the 1800’s as women strove to stand for causes they believed in, such as the temperance movement and the acknowledgement of domestic abuse as a legitimate reason for divorce. The movements of this era aimed to address the physical safety of women initially and were quite effective. It soon successfully grew to encompass discussion of true citizenship, questioning of social spheres, and debates among women, who questioned whether their role in state affairs should continue through their passive influence over men in their lives or actively
This movement, asking for the bare necessities, developed into the argument of whether women were legitimately citizens of America and if they should get the same opportunities granted to men. This developed further into a debate amongst women about what equality truly meant. The first argument centered on whether a woman’s influence on men in her life was enough to qualify as equality. However, other women argued that true equality would not be reached until they had the same legal, social, and financial opportunities as men. Although these women would not reap the benefits that have since been granted to every woman born in America their actions are arguably at the very foundation of every successful women’s movement since that