Shadows of Society

Sphere of Women: Women
were the center of the household.  

     In the mid-19^th century, society was determined to keep women silent and obedient; shadows of the society.  As stated in the Laws and Practices, it was “improper for women to speak in public”.  They could not own property and were not able to vote in any state in the union.  It was also once legal for men to beat their wives.  One woman wrote in 1813, “The idea of soon giving birth to my third child and the consequent duties I shall he called to discharge distresses me so I feel as if I should sink."  Marriage and having children only chained the mother into her role in the house hold.  She couldn’t escape her motherly duties and follow another profession or dream she may have wanted.  Women weren’t allowed to read books or be educated because "Such reading will unsettle them for their true station and pursuits, and they will throw the world back again into confusion."  A women’s job was only to keep the home orderly and cook and take care of the kids.  The time came in July 1848 when women had had enough and stood up for themselves. 

     The Seneca Falls convention in New York was the nation’s first women’s rights convention.  The convention was the first time that the right to vote for women was publically demanded by a gathering.  The convention showed that the abolitionist movement was expanding the idea of freedom for everybody.  Some people praised the movement and gave the women thumbs up, but according to the Mechanics Mutual Protection newspaper, the majority “either deprecated or ridiculed them.”  The newspaper remarked how women should be in subjection because “Adam was born before Eve” and “Eve sinned before Adam.”  Other newspapers like the North Star encouraged women.  On July 28, 1848, the newspaper wrote about how “All that distinguishes a man as an intelligent and accountable being, is equally true of woman…there can be no reason in the world for denying to women the exercise of the elective franchise, or a hand in making and administrating.”  Newspaper’s like the North Star believed that “Right is of no sex.”  Things were changing slowly as society became less ignorant and opened arms to strong and bold women. 

     From what I’ve seen and watched, 21^st century society definitely gives equal rights to men and women, but sometimes women are expected to act differently than men.  In a Pantene commercial aired in the Philippines, many actions men and women perform and are compared.  When men do something, it is not seen the same way as when women do the same thing.  For example, when men are leading a project or a business, they are seen as a boss, a leader.  When women are leaders of organizations and businesses, they are described as bossy.  Women are sometimes seen weaker than men, not being capable to do some things like men.  But, just like one of my favorite authors has written, “Men may be stronger, but it is women who endure.” (Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Series)  Things have improved so much in the last few centuries.  Women now have the same opportunities as men and have equal rights.  We can vote, own property, run in elections, and be CEO’s of companies, but sometimes women are judged because of the way they act.  That shouldn’t stop any of us though.  We can do whatever we want and we shouldn’t let society or anyone else limit us to anything.  

"The Seneca Falls Convention (Reason): American Treasures of the Library of Congress." The Seneca Falls Convention (Reason): American Treasures of the Library of Congress. Accessed January 30, 2015. http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trr040.html.

Described in Judith Nies, Seven Women: Portraits from the American Radical Tradition (New York: Penguin, 1977), p. 68

 "The Intimately Oppressed." The Intimately Oppressed. Accessed January 30, 2015. http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/zinnint6.html. 

The Beginning of Democracy

     

     Democracy is a very important concept in our world today; especially since many countries in the world have a democratic system.  It is defined as a “system of government in which the whole population or all the eligible members of state elect representatives.”  People have the power and they can make their own decisions and decide who will have leadership positions in the government.  As the concept of voting spread, a larger number of people had a say in who governed them.  There were problems with early democracy though; it wasn’t all bipidee-boppidee-boo and everything was perfect.  Progression was slow, but the people were given a right to vote whether they owned property or not. 

     This chart shows how as the years go on, the voting requirements change.  Gradually, the voting requirements did not include and ownership of property and the tax requirements varies, but it wasn’t as demanding as in the beginning. 

     This chart shows how through the years, more and more people elected presidential electors rather than the legislative.  By 1836, all the states had people electing president electorals except for South Carolina.   

Trust Yourself

“There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till…Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.”  ~Ralph Waldo Emmerson

This excerpt was taken from Ralph Waldo Emmerson’s Self-Reliance.  Ralph Waldo Emmerson is one of the most remembered transcendentalists from the 1800’s.  Born in Boston, MA, Emmerson wrote great pieces of work and essays like Self-Reliance and Nature.  He was a philosopher and a teacher.  Emmerson believed that people should not conform to society and be independent.  He believed people should trust himself and in Self Reliance, an essay he wrote, Emmerson explains his convictions about being true to yourself.  This essay is very trustworthy because it is a primary source and was written by Emmerson himself.  Transcendentalism was a reform movement from early to mid-19^th century.  It emphasized the importance of the individual and self-discovery through nature.  Transcendentalists believed that everyone was good and once they were able to trust themselves and their intuition, chaos would stop and people would refrain from bad things like alcohol.  Transcendentalism believed that one should not need to study the bible or attend church to know God, God is already inside you.  They also believed that by studying nature you will come to understand yourself and God much better.  According to the excerpt from Self-Reliance, Emmerson stated that there will be a time in everyone’s life when they will want to be like someone else; look like someone else or follow in someone else’s footsteps.  Emmerson exclaimed that if you started behaving like anyone but yourself, then you are not living your life.  He stated “imitation is suicide” and that living like someone else is basically destroying your life because it isn’t your life your living.  It’s someone else’s.  He wants people to trust themselves and their intuition and to be independent.  Transcendentalism preached confidence and free thought.  

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Self-Reliance. Hoboken, N.J., 1888.