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Appendix H

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L. Haughbrook

November 25, 2012

The status of women in the history of the U.S. is dramatically different than the status of women in the U.S. today. If I were to sum up or put a label on how women were treated years ago, I would say they were no more than property.

When women were married they gave up their name. Of course this is still common practice today, but back then it meant much more. They gave up their identity along with her property. Everything she owned, including herself and her children were under the husband’s control. They were pretty much owned by the husband.

Women were allowed fewer rights, less educational opportunities, and less career opportunities than men. They stereotype was started that a woman’s place was in the home. Women were raised and trained by their own mothers to be wives, housekeepers, cooks, and mothers. This was supposed to be more important than the young girl’s education, so the girl normally did not attend school for very long.

Women were considered to be less than, weaker, and inferior to men. Some people even viewed women as sources of temptation and evil.

A woman also had less chances of acquiring credit. A married woman did not get approved for credit cards, and a single or divorced woman had great difficulties in getting credit for homes and/or vehicles.

With women having so much against them already, I can only assume that having biased laws only worsened things for them. If an abused woman killed her husband, she would be charged with homicide, but if a man killed a woman it was called a passion crime. The woman would be sentenced to the maximum punishment, and men would get off scott-free most of the time.

Things began to change for women in the 20th century. Women finally won the right to vote, and around this time their educational and career opportunities began to improve. There were more female colleges for the women to attend, thus leading to better careers....