Political Rights of Women in Antebellum South
Although the wealthy women and the poor women of the south lived different lifestyles and had different work responsibilities, both groups lacked almost all the same rights. They had almost no rights at all, and were seen inferior to men, causing men to control all of a woman's life.
-Women had no power or control over their choices, the men in their lives would control everything for them.
-Husbands of the women were the legal guardian of the children, although the women took care of the children.
-Any property or wages that a woman made belonged to the husband.
-Women could not vote, and could not serve in juries.
-Divorce was not common during this time period, and it was difficult for women to obtain a divorce because of abuse or neglect.
-Mary Boykin Chesnut, daughter of a wealthy politician during the antebellum period, wrote in one of her diary entries, "There is no slave, after all, like a wife...Poor women, poor slaves...All married women, all children and all girls who live in their fathers' house are slaves."
All women of all financial statuses are considered to be inferior to men. Because all women in the antebellum south were thought to be inferior to men, they lacked many political rights. George Fitzhugh, an American social theorist of the 1800s, stated in his book, Sociology for the South, " In truth, women, like children, have but one right, and that is the right to protection. The right to protection involves the obligation to obey." According to Fitzhugh, women were expected to obey men in order to gain protection, for it was the value of society that women were considered weak and needed protection from men. In the Declaration of Sentiments, women were denied the rights of a citizen, all property and wages women earned belonged to the men. These are just a few examples of the rights all women were deprived of during the antebellum period. Because women lacked rights, women had to become dependent on men, making men superior to women. Men had complete control, which meant it was a woman's duty to appease her husband. Without rights, it was very difficult for women to voice their opinions, and allowed them to have little power during the antebellum period.
-Women had no power or control over their choices, the men in their lives would control everything for them.
-Husbands of the women were the legal guardian of the children, although the women took care of the children.
-Any property or wages that a woman made belonged to the husband.
-Women could not vote, and could not serve in juries.
-Divorce was not common during this time period, and it was difficult for women to obtain a divorce because of abuse or neglect.
-Mary Boykin Chesnut, daughter of a wealthy politician during the antebellum period, wrote in one of her diary entries, "There is no slave, after all, like a wife...Poor women, poor slaves...All married women, all children and all girls who live in their fathers' house are slaves."
All women of all financial statuses are considered to be inferior to men. Because all women in the antebellum south were thought to be inferior to men, they lacked many political rights. George Fitzhugh, an American social theorist of the 1800s, stated in his book, Sociology for the South, " In truth, women, like children, have but one right, and that is the right to protection. The right to protection involves the obligation to obey." According to Fitzhugh, women were expected to obey men in order to gain protection, for it was the value of society that women were considered weak and needed protection from men. In the Declaration of Sentiments, women were denied the rights of a citizen, all property and wages women earned belonged to the men. These are just a few examples of the rights all women were deprived of during the antebellum period. Because women lacked rights, women had to become dependent on men, making men superior to women. Men had complete control, which meant it was a woman's duty to appease her husband. Without rights, it was very difficult for women to voice their opinions, and allowed them to have little power during the antebellum period.