Women's Rights Movement In The Mid-1800s

The American social climate between 1820 and 1860 witnessed a surge in many reform movements, as various groups desired to address the pressing issues of this era in America’s development as a nation. These movements were a characterization of both optimistic and pessimistic viewpoints at the time. A significant portion of these reforms saw hope for a brighter future in society, believing that progress and positive change were important, and fighting for the future that they saw for their children. One such example was the movement for education reform in the United States. Although many people in the U.S. -particularly the wealthy- believed that public education was simply unworthy of tax funding, eventually pioneers in education were able to sway them. The main reason for this is that an

One such reform that unfortunately did not receive much optimism, and would start to see change much further down the line, was the women’s rights movement. The women of the mid-1800s pleaded for better wages, suffrage, and more rights as well as education for themselves and their daughters. Due to cynical outlooks and ridicule towards the “modern woman” at the time, this discouragement from men and even other women made it painfully difficult to progress. However, a glimmer of light shined through when the first Women’s College, Wesleyan College, opened its doors in 1835. After that, sadly, women would not see the right to vote until 1920, the right to a minimum wage in 1937, equal minimum wage with men a year later, and the United Nation’s Commission on the Status of Women in 1946, over 110 years after the first female college opened. Women’s rights have been a long and rocky struggle, leaving many women pessimistic today. Still, the movement was and is revolutionary in America’s