Women in the Nineteenth Century
Throughout the nineteenth century, America completely transformed. Day-to-day communication and travel became easier. Technological advancements and innovations emerged. Land expansion and territorial acquisitions grew. Voices for those that were hushed before became heard. A sense of optimistic religious sensibility arose. Each of these events were significant in shaping the “way of life” in America. However, the changing gender roles of women and their place in society can be argued to be the most significant component of this period as well as shaping the America that is known today.
Although the United States was founded on equality and opportunity, many groups of people did not have a voice. The idea of “equality” clashed significantly with the reality of divisions by race, gender, class, and ethnicity. The leading voice of the nation was elite and white American males. However, these circumstances slowly began to change, for white women especially.
The rise of a new nation came with a revival of religion. The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival that consisted of new denominations and a new standard for how to live and treat others. Among others, the revivals attracted women, African Americans, and Native Americans. The Second Great Awakening instilled a new moral standard into people, and it convinced them to more actively dedicate their lives to God.1 Evangelical Protestantism and the transformation in the ways women thought and lived were closely linked. Young women were the typical convert in the Second Great Awakening revivals and this religious authority helped redefine what it meant to be a woman during this period. 2
Women’s roles in society and the household changed as well as a result of the Second Great Awakening. Women became more involved in politics, and the Second Great Awakening generated the battle for their right to vote as a result for challenging women’s traditional roles in religion.3 In addition, industrialization shifted work away from the home, and the Market Revolution redefined the roles of both men and women in the household.4 The Market Revolution refers to the commercialization of economic life and the decline of subsistence farming as the most common way Americans made a living.5 Factories began appearing for the first time, and women – middle-class women especially – spent far less time spinning and weaving cloth. The doctrine of “separate spheres” differentiated what comprised a woman’s “world” and a man’s. Before, men were expected to live a public life, whether working in a factory or socializing in places open to the public like bars. Men were supposed to be economically striving and politically maneuvering.6 Women, on the other hand, were expected to live their lives at home. Their time was spent taking care of the children, cooking, and cleaning.7 “Free time” for women consisted of sewing and doing laundry. However, the beginning of the nineteenth century called for change. Women began taking critical roles in the abolition and temperance movements as well as politics.8
Due to the decline in household production by women and the diminishing of traditional economic roles, the idea of “home” became a topic of discussion. The idea of Republican Motherhood became relevant due to the belief that the “home” was a retreat from the harshness of economic life. This term was used to describe the belief that women were essential in nurturing the principles of liberty and morality in their children.9 Women were seen as essential to passing along important values of virtue and independence in their children, ensuring that each later generation cherished those same values.10 Because of this, women began playing pivotal roles in partisan politics due to the idea that women’s choice of sexual partner was crucial to the health and well-being of the nation.11
The issue of primary sources can also be taken into consideration when concluding that the gender reform movements of the nineteenth century were more significant than that of land acquisitions and war. For example, the primary sources for The Civil War consist of letters, newspapers, photographs, and diaries. These sources mainly focus on the war itself and the hard reality of it. A poem was written in 1866 about the need for nurses as well as the conditions of the hospital.12 In contrast, primary resources from the Second Great Awakening consist of letters and writings on how to change your life for God. They focused on the inner thoughts of change and reform on the issues happening. The same goes for the sources from women during this period, including magazine excerpts and letters that show how drastically their daily routines have changed since then.
In conclusion, many events and movements were significant in shaping American history today. The nineteenth century consisted of change and reform. In addition to the industrial production, trade, and expansion, America experienced many changes including gender roles and women’s place in society. I believe that it is essential to study and analyze how America has transformed since the beginning to see how far it has progressed over time. The United States was born on the opposite end of “equality” and “freedom”, and analyzing the changes it underwent proves that it has come a long way in living up to what it was founded on. However, there is still plenty of work to be done.
1 Elena Abbott et al., “Religion and Reform,” Emily Conroy-Krutz, ed., in The American Yawp , eds. Joseph Locke and Ben Wright (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2018). 2 Ibid 3 Kelly Arehart et al., “Market Revolution,” Jane Fiegen Green, ed., in The American Yawp, eds. Joseph Locke and Ben Wright (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2018). 4 Ibid 5 Ibid 6 Ibid 7 Ibid 8 Ibid 9 Justin Clark et al., “The Early Republic,” Nathaniel C. Green, ed., in The American Yawp, eds. Joseph Locke and Ben Wright (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2018). 10 Ibid 11 Ibid 12 Unknown author, “A Call to the Hospital,” in Kate Cumming, A Journal of Hospital Life in the Confederate Army of Tennessee (Louisville: 1866), pp. 104-105.