Civil Rights in the USA : Revision Notes
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Topic: The Position of African Americans in 1865 (The Reconstruction Period)
What was the position of African Americans in 1865?
Subtopic: The Position of African America...
Civil rights in the USA trade union and labour rights comparison table
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Civil rights in the USA native americans thematic table
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Civil Rights in the USA (1865-1992):
Women
The Position of Women in 1865
Between the American Revolution (1776-83) and the 1860s there had been considerable
political changes in the USA that reflected changes in society
Socially and politically more democratic for the white male population
Right to vote not extended to women
Women did not represent their states in Congress
Began to play a larger, more visible role in role in public affairs
Women in Public Affairs before the Civil War
Women were increasingly active in several ways in 18 th C
o As a result of a growth in religious enthusiasm women were often active in church
societies, Sunday schools and religious meetings
o Women participated in the campaign against slavery and were often ardent
abolitionists, supporting the end of slavery in the South
o Some (like former slave Harriet Tubman) played a heroic role in rescuing slaves and
helping them to reach free territory in the North
o Promotion of temperance – discouraging the drinking of alcohol
o Development of a movement for women suffrage
There was a link between the social concerns that women took an interest in and organised
themselves to promote the wider political issue of suffrage
In order to promote change women needed to have a political voice at national, state and
local level
The sheer number of organisations for such causes shows that before the Civil war women
were expanding their interests outside the home
o Involved in organisation for
Helping the poor
Disseminating knowledge about childcare & motherhood
Bible study and teaching
Campaigns for better working conditions & better property rights
o Concerned w. movement for moral reform and opposition to prostitution
The prevailing concept that a woman’s place was in the home remained strong until well
into the 20th C
o Politically active women remained in a minority
Page 1 of 27
Civil Rights in the USA - Women
,Political Participation
It was the anti-slavery movement that led to women organising to promote a political cause
The first female Anti-Slavery Convention (1837) and was a model for organisation set up to
demand voting rights for women
First convention held to discuss female suffrage was in Seneca Falls, New York 1848
o Put the issue into a wider context discussing the social, civil and religious condition
and rights of women
Abolition of slavery and temperance were often concerns of white, m/c women
o Also AA women who linked abolitionism w/ women’s rights
If women had the vote they would bring compassion and social concern to bear on political
decisions
A notable AA campaigner was Sojourner Truth
o 1851 “Ain’t I a women” speech famous
Main instigators of the Seneca Falls convention which led to regular meetings were m/c
women
o Lucretia Mott
founded American Anti-Society in 1833
helped organise Seneca Falls Convention
founded the American Equal Rights Association in 1866
o Elizabeth Cady Stanton
led to formation of the National Woman Suffrage Association 1869
helped organise Seneca Falls Convention
the cause of women’s rights had able and eloquent leaders to act as role models for later
campaigners
Economic and Social Developments
the interest of women in public causes was a reflection of the diversification in US society
there had been the development of urbanisation, new technology bringing easier
communication, greater literacy and better education for women before 1865
for those who prospered from the expansion of trade and industry, there was a new interest
in domesticity
o women not sharing the labours on the farm or in the workshop or pioneering
expansion but being responsible for the home
with greater prosperity more m/c women did not work outside the home and had more time
to get involved w/ causes by the mid-19 th C
o these were a minority
most women struggled w/ day to day survival and these causes did not concern their daily
reality
for some expectations that they would look after and nurture the family became transferred
to wider social concerns
o looking after the interests of the wider community and bringing ‘womanly’ values of
care and love to those in need
o to do this effectively required a more public profile
this led to demands for women to have political representation
Page 2 of 27
Civil Rights in the USA - Women
, The Impact of the Civil War
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) did much to publicise opposition to
slavery
many women wanted to vote to oppose slavery
the men who led the abolitionist movement were not comfortable when the cause of
women’s rights became associated w/ the cause of the abolition of slavery
active abolition leaders did not want to lose support by making it appear that abolitionist
were also feminists
after the civil war the cause of AA rights and the cause of women’s rights became separated
How did the Civil War Affect Women
led to more public participation by women
women did not fight but supported the war effort on both sides
o organised charitable organisations and fund raising for the respective causes
war became something like a modern total war when Union forces marched through the
South destroying crops and plantations in an effort to hit the economy of the Southern
heartland
with men away women had to take the greater economic responsibility
o often left alone to take the brunt of this new type of warfare
ideas of women being unfit for anything except genteel domestic activity were at odds w/
the reality of war in the south
in the north the heavy demand for meant to fight meant that women had to take on more
work
the war brought considerable economic & social change and disruption
the industries of the north expanded
old ways challenged in south w/ the granting of political rights to AA
o previously exploited and disenfranchised
o now could vote and sit in Congress and state legislatures
If AA could do this why not women? - important part in war and campaign for abolition
Kleinburg summed up impact
o contributed to the redefinition of women’s political roles
o gained moral authority
many women did not want to return to pre-war domesticity and built on their wartime
experience of working in the public sphere
The End of the War
by 1865 the opportunities for greater change for women seemed strong
extensive inequalities to overcome
o few men supported political rights for women
o w/ growth of industry and greater prosperity came the view that the women’s place
was inside the home and men’s place outside the home
o greatest female employments were in domestic services e.g. cleaning or low paid
manufacturing
o westward expansion meant men and women working together
Page 3 of 27
Civil Rights in the USA - Women
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