Women's Rights Movements During The Antebellum Era

Many of the rights we are given today are because of the various reform movements that took place in the mid-1800s. Some of these reform movements are the women’s suffrage movement, the abolition of slavery, the prison reform, and the educational reform. The Seneca Falls Convention, which was organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, and the Declaration of Sentiments, began the women’s rights movement. Women gained their right to vote through the 19th Amendment which was passed by congress and ratified in 1920.

The market revolution sparked explosive economic growth and new personal wealth. It affected the lives of workers by giving them jobs. It did bring them from skilled labor to cheap labor though. There were far more immigrants in the North than in the South because there were more job opportunities due to there being decreased numbers of enslaved persons. The market revolution sparked social change in many ways.

Imagine if, instead of paying for products you wanted with money, you traded or bartered for them. Also imagine if you lived on a farm and produced most of what you needed to live yourself. If the market revolution never took place, most of us might still be living on farms and trading with acquaintances for a few products we could not produce ourselves. The market revolution changed all this. Happening roughly between 1800 and the 1840s, the market revolution was a series of gradual transformations that began the process where the majority of Americans no longer lived in the countryside and worked as small yeoman farmers or skilled artisan workers, but instead lived in cities and worked in factories.

The market revolution was a term used to describe the expansion of the marketplace that occurred in early nineteenth-century America, prompted mainly by the construction of new roads and canals to connect distant communities together for the first time. This market revolution effected all Americans, just not all received benefits from it. Before the market revolution, women were not allowed to work outside their homes. Their responsibility was to take care of the house duties and the family. They barely had any rights because the male was the dominating presence in the house or family and made all the decisions.

First woman to serve in Congress, Jeannette Rankin, stated “How shall we explain to them the meaning of democracy if the same Congress that voted to make the world safe for democracy refuses to give this small measure of democracy to the women of our country.” The 19th amendment was a major step for women’s rights in America. Many years of hardships led up to the breakthrough that serves as a reminder to all those who fought for their rights. There were many key people and organizations that fought for the woman’s suffrage movement. They took part in protest, strikes, and conventions for the right to vote.

The era of Andrew Jackson which was nicknames the era of the “common man” certainly lived up to its name. As the seventh President of the United States, Jackson had a major effect on the life of the common man, in such a way that the life of the common man would never be the same again. Jackson’s aim, after the manner in which he was defeated in the Presidential Election of 1824, despite receiving more popular votes than John Quincy Adams who took on the office, was to reduce the power and the authority of the elite. When he came into power after the 1828 election Jackson began to carry out his proposals. Jackson expanded the voting right to all men, in accordance with the Declaration of Independence of 1776 which declared that “all men are created equal” instead of just the elite.

The Second Great Awakening was extremely influential in shifting the minds towards reform in people across America. The mentality of the people at this time was closed minded and had acceoted their way of living. Among other factors, Charles Finney played and important role in the success of the Second Great Awakening. “Much of the impulse towards reform was rooted in the revivals of the broad religious movement that swept the Untied States after 1790.” Revivals during the Second Great Awakening awakened the faith of people during the 1790s with emotional preaching and strategic actions from Charles Finney and many other influential preachers, which later helped influence the reforms of the mid-1800s throughout America.

On July 19, 1848 nearly 200 women gathered in Seneca falls, New York in the Wesleyan Chapel to attend the first women’s rights convention. The two day convention was organized by two active abolitionists, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady. The women had met in 1840 at the world anti-slavery convention where they discussed the idea of a women’s rights

The market revolution had a tremendous impact on many regions in the U.S., most notably the South and Northeast. The market revolution is a term used by historians to describe the expansion of the marketplace that occurred between 1815 and 1830, prompted mainly by major transportation improvements and various unique inventions to connect distant communities together for the first time. The South developed and thrived mainly from the cotton gin and the expansion of slavery. The Northeast flourished and bloomed from the factory system, interchangeable parts, transportation improvements, and women in the work force. The market revolution impact on the South and Northeast brought about widespread economic growth yet affected the regions differently, the South shifted from subsistence farming to commercial farming and the Northeast grew in mechanization and industrialization.

Following the War of 1812, and contrary to the America that Jefferson envisioned, the United States entered a period of economic growth with robust international trade, busy markets, and commerce (Schultz, 2013). During this time period, referred to as the American System, the focus was placed on the production of American goods, as well as retaining those items in the United States (Schultz, 2013). Additionally, the success of this system generated many economic and social changes that became known as the Market Revolution (Schultz, 2013). As a result of the imposed taxes on imported items, internal improvements, and the establishment of a national bank, the American System led into the Market Revolution (Schultz, 2013). During the period of time from 1812-1860, three major changes prompted the Market Revolution.

A the “Reformation of Juvenile Delinquents” the people didn’t think that it was according to place young criminals in the same prison as the regular criminals for punishment. The House of Refuge was established because citizens did not want to corrupt the youth more. Dorothea Dix was an essential person in this reform; Dix traveled observing punishment centers. Her journals fought for the youth to not be put in prisons, she proved that people didn’t intentionally choose to be crazy. Although she did not expand democratic ideals, she improved asylum conditions and indirectly increased the rights of the mentally

The market revolution, which started in 1815, transformed worker lives, and improved the nation vastly; although it also dropped the economy as well. The traditional market, which was based upon power generated by animals and water, was slow in activities such as transportation. The growing nation underwent peace, which then catalyzed the reform of the organization of the economy. As such, transportation was heavily improved upon, along with manufacturing, banking, and commercial law. However, there were also two panics during the time that occurred that led to many Americans who were anxious and uncertain about working in the country.

The Market Revolution generated a drastic change in the United States economy and altered gender barriers while at the same time accomplishing this in a provocative manner. This economic boom occurred around the first half of the 19th Century. The economic boom was achieved by inventions such as a transcontinental railroad system which resulted in a better transportation system which improved trade and the cotton gin which sped up the rate of removing seeds from cotton fiber. However like what the great Hugo said, “The brutalities of progress are called revolutions. When they are over we realize this: that the human race has been roughly handled, but that it has advanced”.

Women’s Suffrage Movement If you had lived in the 1800s, would you have fought for Women’s Rights or would you have decided to be a bystander? Throughout history women have always been ruled by men. At the start of the 1800s, women would have had only one right and that was being a housewife. Although women had no rights, women later raised their voices in the Women’s Suffrage Movement.

They held many meetings and conventions to discuss about how they were going to fight for their rights. " In July 1848, the Women’s Rights Convention was held in Seneca Falls, N.Y. It was the opening salvo of the battle for women’s suffrage, although many years would pass before its proponents would finally achieve victory" ("Women 's Rights Convention"). This was one of the first steps in the road to freedom for women. They also had many supporters to make the United States of America pass the law for women to vote and have the rights men have.