Women in Revolution

Thich nu Tinh Quang

The early eighteenth century did little to improve the lives of women. At this time, such beliefs best suited the social structure, even if many did not subscribe to them. Wars, however, have traditionally been catalysts for changes in opinions about women's roles. During the Revolution, women had to fulfill men's roles as they went to fight battles. As the new nation was being established, women's roles were experiencing some shifts, especially in the area of marriage. Marriage was now not only necessary for the survival of the community; it was also viewed as an opportunity for domestic happiness for both men and women.

For example, people began to marry for mutual affection and companionship; motherhood likewise gained new respect in the years after the Revolutionary War which the new emphasis on motherhood came a cry for the education of girls, society recognized the importance of having educated mothers raising future generations as well as the necessity of women being able to manage estates and businesses in the absence of husbands. In the 1830s and 1840s, Catherine Beecher advocated moral education for women in order that they might have hegemony in the home. Women’s education was not an end in itself but a service to their families. Beecher believed that “the proper education of a man decides the welfare of an individual; but educate a woman, and the interests of a whole family are secured.  Women gained power within their home but at the expense of participation in the world outside it. At the same time it provided sound advice on home management, diet, meal preparation, household equipment and kitchen organization. Although the justification for the expansion of education was essentially service to family, the education itself expanded women’s horizons, for the knowledge required for household management, childrearing, and companionship could be quite wide-ranging. The Middle Class of 19th Century America was during the growth of the Industrial Age that the Middle Class was born. Roles became more discernable for men and women. Men were to be the ones who brought home the families income. Wives were to stay at home tending to children. These men were stricter with their children, and most particularly with sons, whom would follow after their father’s footsteps. The Middle Class began to venture out to make education and higher prospects for their sons. They paid more attention on meeting these needs than ever before as new opportunities opened up for their sons to step up and take the initiative for success in life, and the home was more stable than before, the pressure often did begin to show on the woman of the home; as she was confined to rise up the children in an environment where the father was not always around his children. Still, the conditions that the father set would place demanding expectations on the children, especially sons. For women, the past three centuries have been a time of monumental change, yet the roles they fill have mostly stayed the same. As mothers, women are still regarded as the primary source for values and for guiding the nation's youth. Ideologically, women may believe that men should bear half of household and child rearing duties, but in reality, very few men meet these responsibilities.