Women During The Market Revolution

In the early nineteenth century, the Market Revolution transpired in the United States. It resulted in a drastic changes within the economy. Prior to the Market Revolution, the roles of women were limited to housekeeping and raising their children. According to society, at the time a woman’s place was in the house, living her life within privacy, submissiveness, and her family. All in all, the Market Revolution altered the traditional roles women played in political, labor, and domestic affairs. During the time before the Market Revolution, as stated by M. De Tocqueville in Catherine E. Beecher’s Treatise on Domestic Economy, “American women never manage the outward concerns of the family, or conduct a business, or take a part in political life..”. It is known that many believed a woman should not partake in any political or common affairs of the community. It was thought to be the job of a man and only a man when it came to politics. It was a belief that men were superior to women in pretty much every way. Despite of this, the Market Revolution created

Men would go out to their jobs at factories and women would stay to take care of the house. As stated by Tocqueville, “...nor are they, on the other hand, ever compelled to perform the rough labor of the fields, or to make any of those laborious exertions, which demand the exertion of physical strength.” It was after the Market Revolution, that women started to voluntarily acquire jobs at textile mills. The pay they received was half of that of a man’s pay, but they were given a couple benefits, which included economic independence. According to a letter by a Lowell mill worker, Huldah B. Currier to Abram and Susan Guptill, some women were satisfied with working at the mills and receiving their earnings, “...The Girls earn a great deal of money and some spend more than they