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The role of a woman was unfavorably determined at the same time when males primarily dominated society. As the years progressed from the very late 1700s to the late 1800s, women's roles in the economic and social aspects of society flourished through achieving access to better careers and organizing charities and organizations, while their role in politics still remained sparse. The idea that the only purpose of a woman was to stay at home and care for the male presence was an idea as old as time. However, upon the arrival of the 18th century, women were able to fill in the void in society which lacked emotion and prosperity.
The Market Revolution, which took place from the 1820s up to 1840, was a momentous shift from local markets to national markets, which along the way strengthened the economy of the nation. Larger-scale domestic manufacturing started to become more evident, increasing the need and demand for wage labor. This increase in the need for labor allowed women to take advantage of it and begin filling in these positions. When the Market Revolution came along, store-bought items replaced homemade products, so therefore the work of housewives was relatively devaluated. Households could no longer function without supplies made from far-off factories. Due to the fact that the job of a housewife became useless, women had to venture out for themselves, looking for other ways to make a living and earn more money in order to support their families. The Market Revolution also allowed women to find new occupations rather than to be restricted to a home as a housewife. The Industrial Revolution, which lasted from 1820 to 1870, was a shift from small shops and handmade goods to large-scale production factories and mills. Factories that displaced farms offered women employment, to work the machines. Also during this time, men began performing more specialized jobs, leaving thousands of positions open for young women to fill. Factory jobs led to greater economic independence for women and allowed them to become more involved with the economy.
A major portion of the Second Great Awakening, 1790, involved the feminization of religion. Women had begun attending church more often and many of the new church members were also women. There were several factors that may have led to women being more religiously involved than men during this time; including the two major reasons that women were more apprehensive about the expanding market economy, and many evangelicals preach about female spiritual worth. After listening to the evangelicals preach about female importance, women turned to saving the rest of society. Many charitable organizations and crusades were organized by women. As they began to see their success in other organizations like the abolitionist movements and prison reforms, they began to form some for their own rights. The Second Great Awakening helped women realize that they had the ability within them to stand up for themselves and join together to change society for the better. For instance, women who were dedicated and involved in the abolitionist movements wrote papers, signed, and sent petitions to Congress for the abolishment of slavery, along with educating many African Americans. Through their experience in this movement, women had the chance to learn how to organize, publicize, and articulate protests, thus leading to an increase in their abilities to demand change and make progress.
“Republican Motherhood” was the idea developed in the 1790s that emphasized how women played the important role of being the “special keepers” of the nation’s conscience. Education for women was expanded for the purpose of being able to better educate their children. Even though this idea expanded educational opportunities for women and gave them a role in politics to some extent, it still kept women restricted to their homes. Earlier in 1790, a voting law was passed in New Jersey that referred to state voters as “he” or “she”, which established women are equally rightful voters. However, in 1807 in response the Jersey Constitution was passed limiting the suffrage rights to free males only, ceasing the ability for women to vote. In the 1850’s, women’s rights were overshadowed by by the crisis of slavery. All other matters, like women’s rights, were pushed aside and considered unimportant. Women weren't able to accomplish much in regard to gaining political rights throughout these years. Following up to that, in 1856, voting rights were granted to all white men. Women’s voice in politics was dramatically reduced being that only and all white men could vote now.
The fight for women’s rights has come a long way to now, the 21st century. It seems as though the fight has not yet ended. Issues such as representation for all women, and significantly women of color, and equal pay are still holding us back from being a society in which there is equal distribution of rights and representation. The major changes that took place from the 1790s to the 1860s; such as women beginning to work outside their homes in factories and women using knowledge gained from religion to apply it in creating organizations for the improvement of society, pushed for the long-lasting fight for women’s right to ignite. Due to this, society now is substantially better compared to the 1700’s, women now have the same freedoms and equal rights as men and are contributing to society more than ever.
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