Essential Questions: How did mid19th century American society react to women's demands for equality? Does 21st century society still react differently to men and women?
The women's reform was a huge movement for women in America. They wanted more rights such as the right to speak publically, the right to own property, and the right to divorce. They also wanted the right to vote. When women did the same job that men did, they only got payed about 30-50% of what men made. Women were not allowed to do any of these things during the mid 19th century. Women did not like being treated unfairly so in July of 1848 they held the first ever convention for women's rights. It was called the Seneca Falls Convention. Society reacted very differently to the demands that women made for equality. An example of a reaction is the article that was posted in the National Reformer on August 3, 1848. The article said " It being the first convention of the kind ever held, and one whose women is guaranteed all the rights now enjoyed by the of half of creation." The author of the article believed that the convention will work and that eventually women will be equal to men. This is an example of society reacting to women trying to gain rights.
In the 21st century, women are pretty much equal to men. They can get payed the same, have equal job opportunities, and all laws are for men and women. There are some differences though. There has never been a women president. Some people might think that women are not as capable as ruling than man. I personally believe that there will be a women president within 10 years. I would like this because it would be an interesting change. It could also be a start of a trend which could spread across the globe. Women are also criticized a lot about how they dress. We see this a lot in school. There is a dress code for girls but there isn't really a dress code for boys. Except it't interesting that girls can wear tank tops but guys can't. To sum it back up, I think that women and men have equal rights, but there are a lot more social rules for women than there are for men.
National Reformer, Aburn, Thursday, August 3, 1848. E.W. Capron, Editor.
