Preview

The Struggle For Equality In The United States After The Civil War

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
445 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Struggle For Equality In The United States After The Civil War
Before the war, women just stayed at home to take care of the family, do housework and care for children, or worked “women jobs”, such as seamstresses and maids. When war happened, most men went off to fight for the country and left their women and children at home who were unable to pay for basic necessities like food and clothing. Businesses and companies at that time had to ignore the gender discrimination and hired women because of the critical shortage in the workforce. Other women took direct action in support of the patriotic cause by participating in the military side of the war to struggle for independence. They started to fight for their legal and political rights that they desired, namely the independence, freedom and equality. As a result, legislation in some states led to the granting of property rights, right to be elected in the office and voting rights to women. …show more content…
The Revolution inspired slaves for equality, freedom and independence that would give them a better life in the future. However, slavery still continued after the war and the black could not officially serve in the military. But on the other hands, many northern states abolished slavery as a reward for the prowess and loyalty of African Americans to the national cause. Also in some states in the north, black people who lived there were even granted the franchise for a limited time. For example, in Virginia, about 150 black men, many among whom were slaves, served in the state

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    More women remained in the work force as nurses and in secretarial roles and they earned the right to vote. Industry had grown significantly during the war and new ways of management and production were a big part of that. Probably the most notable change was in the Armed Forces. They had “evolved into a modern, combat-tested army recognized as one of the best in the world.”…

    • 711 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Men basically owned women and children.men were seen as superior to women. Men were also allowed to beat women, and after years of protest, they finally got equal rights which can be differentiated by three different periods of time which were before, during, and after the war. When the war first started the country needed more employees in munitions factories and because most men were leaving for war the factories began to let women work. This was just the beginning because when the war ended women got more rights lifted and were able to participate in civil rights like voting. Two years prior to the expansion of women’s rights and freedoms, the conscription was the talk of the…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Before the war women were only allowed to do certain jobs. Housemaiding and seamstressing were most common, sometimes farming was also allowed. People say men and women lived in two different worlds. But the war was a turning point for many women. Most stopped work in the domestic service and began work in the industry. Women practically took on the livs of men. Some worked in munition factories, some did farming and some also began army work. Many women's lives turned around dramatically, they became rch and lived a high lifestyle. Source A7 is a poem called 'Munition Wages' which was written in 1917. It says 'Earning high wages? yus, five quid a week. A woman, too, mind you, I calls it dim sweet' which shows that women were getting more money than they were before and were becoming happier. 'With money to spend, years back I wore tatters, now silk stockings, my…

    • 965 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Women, who previously worked in domestic service, were encouraged to take on jobs normally done by men. Women joined the police force; they worked as postwomen, bus conductors, on the railways, drove delivery vans, and worked in farming and forestry. A lot of women went to work in munitions factories, which was important work but could be dangerous. Some women were even running businesses while their husbands were away. When the women weren’t working they took on numerous voluntary activities, such as knitting and sewing items to be shipped overseas to the front. They made things like pillows, sheets, flannel shirts, scarves and socks. They were also often seen walking through the streets, encouraging able-bodied men to join the war effort.…

    • 961 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Before the war women always worked toward becoming dominant or equal to men. Men always saw women as the care takers, cleanup crew, and kitchen staff. Women wanted to prove to men that they could be more than just mothers, teachers, and cooks. Women didn’t have many rights and were always expected to be quiet and listen, but women didn’t want it to be this way. Women knew that they were as determined, smart, strong, and willing as men, and women were prepared to fight back and for their rights. Even growing up women would follow in the footsteps of their mother to become a house wife. A whole generation of women were being brought up and brainwashed into thinking they weren’t as clever or able as men, so that generation rose up and took a stand against what they believed in and knew what needed to be set right for generations to come.…

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    With all the men off fighting in the war, women were left to take over positions in society and the workplace that were previously occupied by men. This was a welcome change, as most women were happy with the new opportunities for employment. The majority of women were employed in manufacturing industries approved by the government. Other women took jobs in…

    • 1005 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Women in Role Ww 2

    • 1219 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Life for women during WW2 was bittersweet. Their loved ones were at war, yet they discovered they were able to hold down men's job. This changed their outlook on life and also made themselves and other people realise that they could confidently take on the roles of men; that their part was not just in the home. This change in attitude was brought on in the war and after it they didn't want to go back to being housekeepers after working for so long.The types of work that women did during the war included factory jobs - maintenance work and ship building, in the armed forces - clerical work and transport, nursing and work on the land. Before the war the only jobs women had were teaching and nursing which were both very sheltered. The factory jobs etc made them stronger and more assertive, and after all this experience they did not…

    • 1219 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Pre-Civil War Women

    • 134 Words
    • 1 Page

    Pre Civil War, women were limited when it came to working and having an impact in everyday society. During the 1820’s and 1840’s, women could work in textile mills, but they were still required to teach their children, care for their husbands, and take responsibility for the household. As the Civil War began to break out, women started to take up rolls that were normally seen fit only got a man. Although some believe what women did not actively work to improve or change their societal position, women took up immediate purpose in the war by becoming nurses, spies, and, although illegally, women became soldiers for the army. Women also took control of the household and the plantations while their husbands were away at war and took up jobs that…

    • 134 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Dbq Women's Rights

    • 148 Words
    • 1 Page

    The first reason why this period was so essential to the equal rights of women was the fact that they now held many new political statuses. Political statuses changed for the better and is a main component for women's success during this period. For three reasons it was a main component women could form labor unions, political positions were available for the first time, and could volunteer for high end jobs for USOs or the Red Cross. Now many women flooded the workplace as men went off to go fight in the war. Women were always viewed as dainty and stupid. When women worked before the war they were viewed as minorities and were discriminated out labor unions. Now that women dominated the workplace, for the first time they were able to finally…

    • 148 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The War Mahines

    • 290 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Women were allowed in the military for the first time during WWI. The Army and the Navy made whats called nursing corps. These were the places where women where admitted to help out with the war. There were also women who went to Europe to work as telephone operators for the Army. Those women played a very important role in order to help their country.…

    • 290 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The women were encouraged to take many parts in the war effort from joining the Army or Navy to taking the men’s old jobs. They did the same work (maybe sometimes more) as the men for less pay than the men used to get. The women also had to deal with feeding their families on rations as food was limited. They had to make very little last a long time which was difficult when they were working very hard as…

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Women’s fate changed when World War 1 swept into the United States. Women have contributed a significant amount for the development of the United States but they were not always independent. With the start of the Great War, improvements for women started to occur. The gender barriers for women were broken as women entered the workforce. World War 1 was a military conflict which lasted for four years involving nearly all the biggest powers of the world. As men started leaving for the war front, life on the home front became a challenge for women who had to take care of the household and earn money. The traditional family roles were changed and women took up jobs of men. The lack of restrictions on women in the United States during World War…

    • 889 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Additionally, many men who could have filled these roles were away at war, which necessitated the contribution of women to the workforce to ensure the economy continued to run as usual. In factories, women produced essential supplies such as uniforms and ammunition, and they also managed farms and plantations to ensure the ongoing production of food for the army and civilians. Thus, women taking part in the workforce kept the production line running as men went back to the fields of battle, and the war itself demonstrated that women could do the work only previously done by men. The effects of these contributions by women also extended into women's lifetimes, as it led to a change in attitudes and an increase in efforts towards women's suffrage. The war experience helped women develop the skills and knowledge that many women's rights activists used to argue for the evils faced by women at the time.…

    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Women In World War 1

    • 1290 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Social issues were the biggest struggle women had to deal with before, during, and even after the War for a short period of time. In 1891, before the war actually started, men used to beat their wives with sticks and were able to lock them in a room if they had wished (Tenzin Sungrab). Men had all the power over women, and the women could not stand up or do anything about it. When world war one broke out in 1914, the government cared so much about the war they didn’t pay attention to the fact that women were involved in the war and that females were participating, not just males participating like they wanted it to be. Women even got the right to vote in some cases, if one of their relatives was serving for that country. Some of the Jewish women that really cared about the soldiers and not the problems going on in the war brought Hanukkah gift boxes to the soldiers and if any of the soldiers kept kosher for Passover, the women would bring them food to eat. This was all to show the men that the women were capable of doing things to help the war effort. Therefore, on one hand, women were being mistreated by their husbands and didn’t have any right at “home” and on the other hand, women started to receive rights as a result of their involvement in the War and of them helping and working in “men” jobs. Social issues had the biggest impact on women because a lot of women got affected by this emotionally.…

    • 1290 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The conflicts between liberty and equality in America have ranged between minor disagreements to full-out war. The most obvious contingent in the struggle between liberty and equality is slavery, but there was also friction in the women’s suffrage movement and various other attempts to provide equal rights under the law.…

    • 1351 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays