Antebellum Society: Women's Roles

Women's Roles in Antebellum Society Cult of Domesticity The cult of domesticity was the tradition of
married women only participating in housework
and childcare
These were considered the only proper activities
for women
1850-roughly 1 in 5 white women had worked for
wages a few years before they were married Women and the Socio-economic Status Before getting married, some women worked outside the
home-and received half the pay of men doing the same jobs
Once married, a woman's property and any money she
earned became her husband's
Women also lacked guardianship rights over their children Western women worked on farms to survive
Wealthy Southern Women ('belles') worked with husbands on plantations
Poor Southern women were slaves on plantations
Wealthy Northern women worked in their homes
Poor Northern women worked in factories Location's effect on women's roles Major Reform Movements of Women Temperance Movement-the prevention of drinking alcoholic beverages
caused a decline in alcohol consumption that lasted until the 1860s
Education Movement-Emma Willard opened The Troy Female Seminary as the first academically rigorous schools for girls in 1821
in 1837 Ohio's Oberlin College admitted four women to their degree program, setting their name in as the nation's first fully coed college
Health Reforms-Elizabeth Blackwell opened the New York Infirmary for Women and Children
Catharine Beecher took a national survey of women's health, and found that there were three sick women for every one healthy woman