1849 To 1910 Dbq Essay

949 Words4 Pages

1849 to 1910 was an important time for America. Reforms were happening all across the board, affecting workers, African Americans, and children. It was also very crucial for women’s rights – voting rights in particular. This period saw the beginning of the women’s suffrage movement; however, it also marked the start of anti-suffrage. During this time, society was divided with one of the simplest and most complicated questions of the era: what is the proper role of women? In this essay, one will find commonalities as well as differences in how women were expected to behave from the years 1848 to 1910. Many people, both men and women, believed that women’s suffrage wasn’t necessary. Women had a specific role to play, and that role was …show more content…

The fight for women’s rights was not without good cause. Many saw the hypocrisies of allowing all men – even complete buffoons – the right to vote while educated ladies had no say on the ballot. Divorce laws prevent women from splitting from their spouse unless he agreed to do so. In addition, women could not own property or keep their own paychecks if they worked (see Document 1). These problems of hipocrasy were additionally highlighted when people began to see women doing the same exact work as men on farms and in other job areas (see Document 5). They saw no reason to withhold rights from the opposite sex when they did the same things that men did. When some recognized these issues, they sought to fix them and henceforth created a new standard for ladies – a new way to be considered proper. As this era continued, women’s rights were leaps and bounds ahead of where they had previously stood; however, even by 1897 there was still an issue that had to be tackled for the ladies (see Document 6). The right to vote was endlessly sought after since it would be the only way for women to protect their other newly-gained rights. Ladies continued to protest, lobby Congress, and go on hunger strikes to draw attention to and reach their goal. By 1910, women were not quite equal to men, but they were drawing near. Those that believed the sexes deserved equality continued to fight – men and women