Women's Rights In The 1800s

745 Words3 Pages

Before there were laws protecting women and children they suffered a lot of unfair treatment. In 1832 Alexis De Tocqueville expressed how she felt about the democratic family in the United States. She described the American family as “haven of cooperation”. Her reasoning for this was, “because women in the United States did not look upon “conjugal authority” as a “usurpation of their rights, but attracted a sort of pride to the voluntary surrender of their own will,” Stanton’s generation of women reformers began to articulate the personal and professional sacrifices married women had to make for their subordination as wives.” In 1825 William Thompson families and citizens were aware of “white slave code”. Instead of the romantic and loving …show more content…

As time progressed the more common the treatment became. Law Professor Timothy Walker felt that the way women in marriages were treated wasn’t even considered right to not just women but to any human being. Different states had different views on how household issues should be handled. In 1868 North Carolina Supreme Court didn’t want to get involved because they viewed wives as inmates and the living conditions were up to the husbands to resolve in their own way. For years there were many issues that could’ve been debated but some weren’t. Men have always been considered the bread winners but now women are able to divorce their husbands but still legally need support from their former spouse. Women now have so much legal freedom to do what suits them best. If they feel like they aren’t ready to have a baby they can …show more content…

Hardwick 478 U.S 186 case. Homosexuals are trying to marry and it’s still illegal. One of the first homosexual legal cases was in Minnesota regarding Sharon Kowalski of St. Cloud, Minnesota. Sharon suffered severe brain damage and was paralysis in a 1983 car accident. Her lover Karen Thompson was denied by Sharon’s father visitation rights and moved her to a nursing home far away. It took three and a half years for a Minnesota district to rule that in December of 1988 Kowalski be moved closer to St. Cloud in a rehabilitation center and Thompson be legally allowed to visit her. It is known as the love story of the century and in 1988 became a television documentary. Couples began to seek legal procedures when it comes to marriage in the 1900’s only twenty-five percent had a will. By 1980 it was fifty percent that had a will. As time progresses the divorce rate continues to go up. For example couples that were married in the 1990’s were predicted to get a divorce. One in every four black women will be divorced or widowed while one in five white women will be in the same situation. Mothers are beginning to work and have careers for themselves instead of depending on a man. Seventy-five percent of women that have children will have a job. Single mothers sadly is becoming the new “norm” Four out of every ten children were born to unwed mothers. About 17.2 million kids are