Women in the 19th Century

AP US History

12/16/13

Throughout the 19th century, women were becoming more and more crucial to American society. People who were previously looked upon as weaklings who needed to be protected were now contributing to society, yet they were still looked down upon. Women took up jobs in factories, working in mills and manufacturing. Other women worked as field hands, and some were even just as capable as men at working in the fields. Even though women were showing that they were just as able as men, they were still being degraded and looked down upon by some. Although women took on bigger roles in society, and in some cases were just as competent as men, they were still viewed as inferior.

A female factory worker in wrote a letter to her niece, telling her about how wonderful the factory she works at is. The woman refers to how there are plenty of female workers and it is no longer a man’s job exclusively. “I suppose your mother would think it far beneath your dignity to be a factory girl. There are very many young ladies at work in the factories that have given up military dressmaking & school keeping for work in the mill.” (Document D) This letter, written in 1939, testifies to the growth in jobs acceptable for women during the first half of the 19th century.

Another example of a woman capable of performing a job as well as a man can is from a frontier woman in Iowa. This woman was a field hand on a farm, and her work was competent enough that her owner no longer needed a man working there, because the woman was doing apt work. “The hired man left just as corn planting commenced so I shouldered my hoe and have worked out ever since and I guess my services are just as acceptable as his or will be in time.” (Document I) This series of letters written by this woman in 1861 show how she is just as capable of performing in the fields as a man, and provides a great example that women and men are equal.

Despite these women clearly showing that women...