The Rights of Women In The 1800s

The role of women in the 1800s was nothing like the role women have in society today. Women were seen as a man’s property and stayed mostly in the house cooking and cleaning. They were also not allowed to work so that they could be healthy enough to reproduce. The men in the 1800s were in the public sphere, which meant they worked outside the home to provide for their families. Women stayed in the private sphere, which meant they stayed in the home. Basically women were seen as beautiful possessions that men did not want to get ruined.

The Seneca Falls Convention was the first women’s rights convention in American history. The convention took place on July 1848 in New York to come together and discuss women’s rights. At this convention the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions was created. These sentiments were based off of the Declaration of Independence. In the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions were rights and goals that women were fighting for. At the convention the biggest thing women were fighting for was the right to vote. Asking for this right was very controversial and a lot of people did not like the idea because it went against what society was doing at the time.

At the convention all women of color or lower status were not allowed to voice their opinions on the subject at hand. The only people who were heard and could voice their opinions were the upper white class. In class we split up into groups to see the demographics women represent back in the 1800s. My group was assigned the New England Mill Workers and we had to make a list of demands that we wanted to be changed. Our demands included better working conditions, against the law to work more than ten hours, women should get their own earnings and not have to give it to their husbands, equal pay, and the ability for women to speak out. Also, as a class we came up with resolutions. The resolution we came up with were the right for women to speak out, have equal pay, and the right to own their own property.

Out of all the resolutions discussed I think women having the right to speak out and have a say in things is the most important. I think this is most important because if they have a voice in society they can accomplish more of their goals and resolutions. If women have the right to be heard they no longer have to listen to their husbands and can have a different opinion than them and it would actually be heard instead of ignored. Women have come a long way in society and have been giving many rights such as the right to vote and speak publicly. Many of these rights would not have been possible if it was not for the women who spoke up at the Seneca Falls Convention and changed the ways of women in society for the better.