The Effect of Civil War on Women Rights' Movement in United States

HOW DID CIVIL RECONSTRUCTION AFFECT WOMEN’S RIGHTS MOVEMENT?
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Introduction
Emancipation and reconstruction are often thought to be the same, but women knew better. Emancipation is when one gains freedom from legal, social, or any political restrictions. On the other hand, Reconstruction could be defined as the process of putting back together what was broken or rebuilding after a structure or a system has been brought down. Apart from just seeking their freedom and independence, women sought to cement their values and roles in society for good. When a nation could not agree on ways to go forward, some individual states decided it was time to venture out on their own and form their governments. This led to secession and tensions arose, and civil war broke out. To save itself, the government embarked on a reconstruction mission that would make the nation one again. Men went to war, and women stayed back to take care of children and make themselves useful. This paper will look into how civil reconstruction affected women and what challenges they faced during this great period.
In 1863 the Union was successful, but that did not bring happiness to the people as the war still ravaged. The war was mainly a result of the enrollment act. The enrolment act had class restrictions, which finally led to this war gaining the label, “A rich man’s war, but a poor man’s fight.” The emancipation proclamation had its adverse effects, especially in the Northern cities where the immigrants believed that the wealthy individuals would steal their jobs. However, in some other places, people basked in unity, especially in the North, and they organized fairs that further propelled the economic muscle of these cities. The fairs led to the collection of millions of dollars for the Union and its soldiers. Because of this, the women began taking more seriously sanitary affairs and occupied strong leadership positions to steer these affairs further forward. As a result, most women began to exert confidence in themselves.[Shearer, H., 1993. Man bites town—New York: St. Martin's Press.] [Wilson, P. and Franklin, J., 1963. The Emancipation Proclamation. p.204.]
The same instances were equally experienced in the confederacy. The conscription act was passed in the spring of 1962, and it required that all the men that had no disabilities and between the ages of eighteen and twenty be enrolled into the military. This limit was further extended to the age of forty-five years. However, anyone found to own slaves who exceeded twenty was considered an exemption from this act and was safe from recruitment as they were deemed to be of a better class. This was a clear indication of class segregation. 1863 saw the greatest number of revolts as most people were by this now fed up. The majority of the population got to their furthest point of discontent. When a food shortage arose, most took to the streets to riot in several confederate cities, mainly Virginia and Augusta, Richmond, Macon, and Columbus, Georgia cities. Confederate women played a significant role in these strikes as they led people in riots against the inflation that was rampant in the confederate south coupled with the food shortages. With this authority and power, these women exerted their control with petitions to governors to stop the violent actions against rioters and release their husbands from the military. More women witnessed this and became aware of their role and impact in society. Most of them vowed to make their voices heard and to familiarize themselves with the voice. Hence, the civil war had provided women, both from the confederate and the union, a chance to participate actively. The sanitary commissions in the North particularly centralized women to volunteer as nurses, raise funds, and donate supplies in the hygienic affairs. Through this, the women gained began embracing responsibility since it was clear they could make more achievements if they exerted themselves and were accorded an equal opportunity.[Michigan Law Review, 1917. Constitutional Law: Conscription Act of May 18, 1917, Validity of. 16(1), p.42.]
In the spring of1871, the National Woman and Educational Committee was brought into existence. The committee pledged to handle the issues that affected women around the United States and be the brain and heart of actions against Congress and the country as a whole. They pledged to do this by making women more intelligent and thoughtful on debates that concerned them and all the generations of citizens. Issues were discussed and passed that made women want to participate in their democratic right to vote and demand equal rights.[Adams, R., 1992. The right to participate. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 5(2), pp.91-99.]
Women now fought against oppression, taxation without representation, and trials conducted by those, not their peers. The formation of the National Woman and Educational Committee provided women with a platform to air their views and channel their views without fear of being inferior. It gave them the ability to make a stand and have their voices heard.[Americanyawp.com. 2021. Civil War Nurses Illustration, 1864 | The American Yawp Reader. [online] Available at: [Accessed 11 March 2021].]
A woman activist by the name Mary E. Tillotson is known to be among several other women who championed for equal rights for all before and even after the civil war. She tried to woe her sister into joining her in her new found home in Vineland and wrote her a letter describing how life was at her new residence. She expressed her enthusiasm in writing about the “woman’s right union” and even the first women’s rights conference held in New York on the 10th of May 1866 that she attended. The letter read:
“No end to reformers—the best speakers—& so many good entertainments, (something every night) that I can’t go to a tenth of them. I think there will be a good theatre ere many years. We’ve a "woman’s right union" & you may believe we talk large things. Very many are in principle dress reformers, & dress right at home, & are beginning to feel that they shall go out in it soon. The Union are going to send representatives to the Woman’s Right Convention in N.Y. May 10th, & open correspondence with Mrs. Stanton, Lucy Stone &c we are discussing the right of suffrage in earnest.”[Gilderlehrman.org. 2021. The women’s rights movement after the Civil War, 1866 | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. [online] Available at: [Accessed 11 March 2021].]
Tillotson showed very strong support for the women’s rights that she even wore a “science costume” instead of the normal long and heavy dresses that were typical of that period. She managed to live as a single mother and this inspired the idea that a woman could live her life independent of the presence of a man. It was during this phase that feminism came and took like a wave.
In 1862 April, Union forces under Captain David's leadership had marched past the weak confederates and had overturned things (captured New Orleans). The New Orleans women, even during ...