The Beginnings of Feminism
In class, we hadn’t really talked about the beginnings of women and the Feminist Movement so… I decided to do some background research.
While researching the movement, I found that that beginning of feminism was actually in 1830s as seen through the thousands of women who fought to have slavery abolished. As they began advocating for the end of slavery, many women began to see the similarities in situations between them and slaves. Two women that were involved in this movement at the beginning were Angelina and Sarah Grimke. They gave many speeches speaking out against slavery while also promoting women’s rights. These ‘radical’ action led to clergymen condemning them, but that didn’t stop them.
The start of the Feminist Movement was mainly about gaining equal opportunities for women and men. This movement began in July of 1848 when the first Woman's Rights Convention was held in New York. At this event, a woman named Elizabeth Cady Stanton advocated for the equality (political, social and economically) between men and women in addition to equal pay and educational opportunities. She also criticized the Declaration of Independence saying how because it was written and approved by only men, it wasn’t representative of the entire population of the United States.
Throughout the Civil War, a women’s rights movement was growing and remained present throughout the war. However, after the war, women resumed their domestic roles in life. At the time, President Andrew Johnson acknowledged that one of his female spies as someone who should be well respected. Many women had taken control of their financial situations and were able to take on new professions, but were denied the privilege after the war was over.
However, the war helped propel women to stay motivated and inspired women to fight for more equal opportunities. Although they were forced to resume a position in a domestic life after the war, it encouraged women to not obey and to stand up for themselves.
I like how you talked about the war as a sort of jumping-off point for the latter feminist movements and their connection to abolitionism.
ReplyDeleteI definitely which I could have read this before our test. The insight on the motivation and the steps that the movement took was very interesting to know and I liked how you talked about the connections.
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