The Long Fight for Women’s Rights in the American History

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The Long Fight for Women’s Rights in the American History
American Revolution brought about independence in the United States of America. Through Revolution, families were reunited, businesses went back to normal, and in general, America gained sovereignty. Another mega change that was brought about by the American Revolution was women's rights. These rights were different during the two eras. These two eras are before and after the American Revolution.
Before the American Revolution, women were mostly expected to do domestic chores and duties such as cooking, washing, and serving their husbands. Men were considered superior to women; hence were allocated high-ranking positions such as leadership positions in the society since they believed that women could not handle such posts. It was thought that women were not brave enough to lead the army into community wars because this was one of the roles of a leader of a particular society (Eschbach, 1902). Therefore, most of the leaders before the American Revolution comprised of men. Secondly, before the American Revolution, women were not engaged in political talks. This is because women were considered weak in decision-making since the political discussions revolved around making wise decisions for the political future of the community. Therefore, men dominated political meetings during those times. In such scenarios, women had the responsibility of serving the men in those political meetings with food.
Before the American Revolution, men were the only people who were mandated to handle family finances. Women were not given a chance to plan financially for the family, basically because it was believed that women did not know how to make wise decisions. In addition to this, women were considered as resource-wasters; therefore, planning financially for the family could result in wastage of finances (NA, 1845). For instance, it was perceived that women would allocate funds to unnecessary items such as buying of jewelry rather than buying food and water for the family. Besides, women were not engaged in marriage talks that concern dowry payments. Dowry payments were associated with wise decisions as well as finances. Women were undermined due to the perception that they could barely make smart decisions, not to mention their inability to handle finances appropriately.
Women were denied access to education before the American Revolution. They were only confined to house chores and duties, as explained above. This is because they were considered inferior to men; therefore, educating them would not add any value to society. Nevertheless, women did not have the right to own property. Men owned property such as land, livestock, and houses. This is because women were seen as poor managers of such property. Relatively, women did not have a right to vote because it was believed that women did not have any knowledge concerning politics, and that is why they were also not involved in political talks as earlier mentioned.
Women did not have a right to sign any contract. This is because of their uneducated nature as well as they were seen as inferior human beings in society. Before the American Revolution, when women enter into marriage, they had no right to keep wages earned from their hard work. They were expected to surrender the money to their husbands. This is because women did not know about handling finances other than exploiting and squandering funds. Before the American Revolution, women did not have the right to wear trousers or any pants. These types of clothes only belonged to men in society. Wearing trousers among women was considered as a violation of societal norms and beliefs. Therefore, any woman who was spotted wearing a trouser was subjected to thorough punishment and eventually regarded as an outcast in society (Grasso, 2016).
Further, women were denied the right to pursue any professional career that will lead them to employment opportunities. This is because it was perceived that women did not add value to society. Because at the end of the day, the women were not the ones paying dowry during marriages; therefore, men enjoyed employment opportunities during those times (Cogliano, 1780). Additionally, women were seen as inferior beings than men, thus exposing them to employment opportunities will lead to underperformance of any company. The company would also become financially unstable due to the perception of women concerning the handling and management of finances.
Slavery was also rampant in the United States of America, more specifically among women. Women who were subjected to slavery were from both races; black and white Americans. However, black women were given many domestic chores in a setting that comprise of the two races. Additionally, white women gained favor in the eyes of American leaders compared to black women during those times. Apart from slavery, white women received more favors than the black women. For instance, when women were being appreciated in society for commendable jobs, most of the white American women acquired these titles. Moreover, black women were subjected to massive forms of punishment compared to the white American women in case they were found on the wrong side and submitted to the full force of the law governing the society. Domestic violence was vibrant in the early times in America, more so on women. Before the American Revolution, women were to subject entirely to their husbands. They were to act as vice-presidents in their families. They hand no right to make family decisions at all.
The type of domestic violence that dominated the United States of America in the early centuries was Intimate Partner Violation (IPV). This is a violent and fatal perpetrated by one partner of a spouse on his or her partner. Before the American Revolution, women suffered IPV from their men. Ridiculously, women were subjected to IPV due to poverty in the family, yet they were neither allowed to seek employment opportunities nor get educated and pursue a professional career. However, studies show that the rate of IPV among black women was high compared to that of white women (Lee et al. 530). Black women experienced IPV from their husbands, more specifically white husbands because of their low social status and racism, the major contributing factor. The type of IPV victimization that dominated in the early times includes sexual harassment, physical assault, and stalking (Lacey et al. 2016). However, after the American Revolution, IPV has been seen ...