Women in Society cult of domesticity husband children

Women in Society -cult of domesticity husband, children, home, church - Housework & childcare = only proper activities for women -could not vote in most places -could not own property or keep wages if husband lived

Women’s Reforms -Abolitionists / Suffrage (anti Slavery) (Women Vote) Grimke sisters *Sarah and Angelia - Daughters of a SC slaveholder - spoke eloquently for Abolition & gender equality *two birds with one stone

Women’s Reforms -Abolitionists / Suffrage Lucretia Mott Elizabeth Stanton -wanted women’s suffrage - 1848, 1 st ever women’s rights convention= Seneca Falls Convention - Organized and led by Mott and Stanton - The Declaration of Sentiments, - Discussed women’s rights (the right to vote)…………… - and abolition

Women’s Movement -women saw increased opportunities in reform movements -Seneca Falls Convention, 1848 “Declaration of Sentiments” Begins: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men AND women are created equal”

Women’s Reforms -Abolitionists / Suffrage Grimke sisters Lucretia Mott Elizabeth Stanton Susan B. Anthony -Temperance move to ban alcohol

Women’s Reforms -Temperance move to ban alcohol - *influence of churches and the women’s rights movement *until the 1840 s doctors dosed their patients with whiskey or brandy before operating.

Reforms -Women’s Education Catherine Beecher – national survey of women’s health Oberlin College – 1 st coed college 1837 -Health Reform Elizabeth Blackwell - 1 st women to graduate from medical school, **later opened the NY infirmary for Women and children Amelia Bloomer -publisher of a temperance newspaper - Rebelled against corsets & invented “bloomers” (loose fitting pants, tied around the ankles & covered by a short skirt)

Markets Expand -by the mid 1800’s people were no longer totally self-sufficient produce one product, buy all others -specialization -different regions specialized in different products *(south – cotton, Midwest- wheat) -capitalism: economic system in which citizens control the means of production *businesses are privately owned, not owned by the gov’t -standard of living rose for almost everyone We call this time period the: Market Revolution

Transportation Changes -Robert Fulton steam powered ships - Clermont 1807 -many canals were built after Erie was completed 1816: 100 to 3, 300 miles (25 yrs later ) -growth of railroads

Transportation Changes -growth of railroads Advantages: 1. Operate in the winter 2. Bring goods inland - Exciting speeds, yet far from comfortable *10, 000 miles of track by 1859

Inventions Improve Life -Charles Goodyear vulcanized rubber 1839 – stronger, more durable -I. M. Singer sewing machines -drastically reduced the time it took to sew garments -Samuel Morse 1837 telegraph – could send brief pulses, translated into words using: Morse code

Agriculture -people began to move into the mid-western parts of the nation -lots of available farm lands -John Deere steel plows – breaks up tough soil w/out getting stuck to it -Cyrus Mc. Cormick mechanical reaper – pulled by a horse, cut wheat efficiently

Changing Workplace -development of industry -decline of skilled labor -wage earners -growth of cities -people need to live close to factories/jobs -goods became cheaper and more widely available

Factory System Begins -Lowell textile mills -turned raw cotton into finished cloth all aspects of production combined under one roof = efficiency -factory system -company town for young girls -strict control over the workers lives -factory conditions would warn of future problems

Working Conditions - Working conditions in the mills were unsafe and unpleasant -development of labor unions and strikes- joined together and refused to go to work!

Immigration -lots of immigration in the mid 1800’s – want jobs, $ -mostly Irish or German -most immigrants settled in groups -low wages of immigrants caused problems with other workers -Growth of Nativism favoring native-born Americans over immigrants -Know-Nothing Party “I know nothing” – secretive anti-immigration party