Before the Civil War, women were used to their domestic lives in the house. While men worked in the fields or factories, women were obligated to nurturing the children, cleaning the house, cooking, and other household chores. However, the Civil War gave women the opportunity to become more independent since they were forced to work outside their homes due to the absence of their husbands who were off fighting. By working men's jobs and volunteering as nurses to assist with the war effort, women had earned more respect and broadened the idea of what women are capable of.
Near the beginning of the war, women had organized supplies and fund-raising campaigns for the soldiers; however, as the war went on they began trying to become more active and involved in the war effort which led to the creation of the United States Sanitary Commission. At first, women sewed uniforms for soldiers, baked foods, canned foods, and organized events. These events, such as county fairs, raised money for the medical supplies and weapons needed for the war. Later, women had begun caring for the ill, and weak soldiers. This led the federal government to create the United States Sanitary Commission service that would allow women to improve army camp conditions through cleaning, acting as laundresses and nurses. One famous nurse during this time was Clara Barton. By showing up with new medical supplies and her determination to nurse the wounded soldiers back to health, Barton had been praised with the name, "Angel of the Battlefield". Later in life, she would go on to found the American Red Cross.
As a result of their involvement in the war, many women were inspired by their actions and became more active in women's suffrage movements. Although men had believed that their participation in the war was only an expansion of a woman's natural duty, women had grown more independent and inclined to advocate for equality and mainly, the right to vote.
Written by Ragan Krames, P4.
Clara Barton ^
Sources: https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
http://civilwarsaga.com/the-roles-of-women-in-the-civil-war/
I really like how you gave a lot of examples of things women did for the war effort and how pivotal of a role they played in keeping the war effort alive. A trend I've noticed is that during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, wars started to have women play a significant part as they often tended to soldiers and provided them supplies. Other than the Civil War, we see this in World War I and World War II. In my opinion, the female role in these wars was the final push needed in the centuries old woman's suffrage movement and the results show this: women gained the right to vote in many countries (including the US) soon after World War I. I wonder what the state of woman's suffrage and rights would be if these wars did not take place, thus eliminating this chance for women to show their capabilities in a time of crisis.
ReplyDeleteSources:
https://www.theworldwar.org/learn/women
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/when-did-women-get-the-right-to-vote.html
I thought your post was really interesting and informative- I liked how you talked about how the actions of women at this time contributed to their changing beliefs about their social status. In particular, I thought it was cool to see how Clara Barton, arguably the most famous nurse during the Civil War, became an advocate for women's rights after the war ended. She was a huge proponent of women's suffrage. In a speech Barton gave to support women's suffrage, she cited the work of women in the Civil War, stating that they were the backbone of the effort and therefore should be given equal rights.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.clarabartonmuseum.org/womens-suffrage-speech/
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/clara-barton
After reading this post, I think you did a great job in explaining how women's roles were expanded during the war from outside of the domestic sphere and even after the war they kept on pushing for more rights. I agree that they contributed a lot toward the war by directly participating as nurses and organizing fund-raising campaigns. Another way women contributed to the war effort was that they took up jobs in factories to provide the soldiers with enough supplies and also formed ladies' societies in which they sewed clothes and provided food for the soldiers. After contributing so much to the war, it definitely helped women's suffrage movements.
ReplyDeleteSource:
https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
I found the general connection and insight between women's role in the Civil War and the later impact on Woman's Suffrage interesting. Something else I found interesting during this period was the growth in actual war participation as troops from women. It has been speculated that 400 - 750 women participated as troops in the civil war, and one was even given a pension after the war. These women saw the war as an opportunity to increase their role from just the private sphere. One soldier, Sarah Edmonds Seelye, said that she "could only thank God that I was free and could go forward and work, and I was not obliged to stay at home and weep." I found it fascinating that the war was able to open up opportunities, even in the military sphere where woman's rights were not as active.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/female-soldiers-civil-war