Blog # 7

Section A
1. During and before the Civil War the economy in the South was based on slavery therefore poor women were involved on it, women that lived under oppression of men and have no rights to decide their future. The small population of middle class women worked as mistresses and the elite women were the wives of the rich men; men that were the owners of the plantations whom the economy of the state depended on.
On the other hand, the North part of the country the economy relied more in factories and industrial companies therefore they were against slavery. The bottom class women were mainly working in factories, the middle class women were teachers and writers while elite women were able to vote and held their own properties. Elite women had more power in political issues in other words women in the North were more independent compared to women in the South.

2. The impact of the “New South” on women were devastated either because black people once they were freed they did not have where to go or work. Thus, some of them stayed in the plantations working for money in return of their labor, others looked for their families that were spread out. Black people were not allowed to assist to school therefore they struggled in society to find a better job. As a consequence, of this movement elite women needed to either pay for the domestic tasks or do it by themselves. The way the North was affected was that more women were competing for the same jobs as a result the overpopulation the wages of the factories brought down leading to an industrial capitalist economy.


Section B
1. The fundamental facts that motive to lynch Thomas along with his partnerships were the racism and the inability for white men to admit that white and black people now had the same rights. White men felt superior to black men therefore when Thomas decided to open a business called “Colored People’s Grocery Company” in a white neighborhood where a store owned by white men already existed. Lynching was used only to punish black men who dare to rape white women; this law was used as an excuse to terrorized black people who dare to compete with white men in business. Wealthy and prosperity was then banned to black people because white people believed that they should be subordinate to white men.

2. Ida B. Wells found that white men who where lynching black men were also raping black women. A fact that people could not denied therefore her conclusion that white men was using rape as an excuse to lynch black men. Wells also, challenged the community to judge white men for their acts as rapists against black women since they were too ease in hanging black males for the same circumstances.

3. White men believe that they were superior to black men or women. During slavery white men took this advantage to rape black women since they were their owners, also they abused black women to reproduced them and sale the child as a slave to get profit out of it when slavery was the main source of the economy. White men felt they had the rights to do whatever they want with their slaves since the paid an amount of money for them. It was absurd to think that black men and white women could be together as a couple and when a black male dared to be with a white woman was lynched, accused of raping white woman to save the reputation of white woman among their society. Wells saw the difference between the point of view of white men raping black women and black men raping white women –white men considered raping if a black male initiate a relationship with a white woman since white men considered black men no valuable and inferior to them. Unfortunately, this practice prevailed for many years in history because the people who had the power in this era agreed to

Blog # 6

Blog # 6

1. Distinct group of women went through different experiences during the process of American expansion setting also women against each other on the grounds of culture, race, and ethnicity.

The Indian group of women was affected by the invasion of white men that caused to relocate them to the west side of Mississippi. At the same time, Indian women learned domestic tasks of housewifery, develop their abilities in translation, drafted a political constitution, and some of them became slaveholders. However, after the relocation, driven by hunger and illness, Indians attacked the trial journeys that cross their lands. In addition, Indian women were raped, kidnapped, massacred, and finally syphilis devastated them.

On the other hand, Mexican women lost their rights of property during the expansion of American legislature. As a result, the new law favored Mexican women’s husbands over wives. The pressure of the uncountable immigrants to California and the adoption of the U.S. Law pushed Mexican women followed the path of Indian women into landless-ness, domestic service, and poverty.

2. Moral and temperance reform; family and sexual life were important concerns of the antebellum female reformers. More than four hundred female reform societies were formed in New York and New England were the majority of the reform societies took place.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Days Saints was the most historically important of these intended antebellum communities. Religious women motivated activism and took advantage of it by increasing their participation in economic, political and social issues.

The most profound impact that American history had was the movement to abolish slavery. Women abolitionist led the most controversial campaign in this period.

Moral reforms and temperance, petitions against slavery, and the Grimkes defense of equal rights were historical developments that led many women reformers into women’s rights. Women’s right advocacy conducted women to urge they had the same claim on individual rights to life, liberty, property, and happiness as men.

Section B

1. Maria Angustias de la Guerra Ord decided to hide Jose Antonio Chavez, an injured kidnapper, who was part of the Mexican War that took place in California.

Maria was curious about her brother’s thoughts of hiding Chavez in her house therefore she visited them at prison and asked them their opinion. Once she got the approval from her brothers she took Chavez to her house in hid him to protect him. Maria was afraid that the U.S. army could find Chavez in her house and kill him. Maria occulted her fears thus she confronted the U.S. army with courage, and spoke to them firm and calm to hide her consternation.

2. Maria’s source of strength drew to save Chavez’s life; were God, family, inner strength, and justice. She considered that Chavez will be killed unfairly and that is the reason she defended and covered him from the U.S. army. The absence of her husband forced her to take the household head place. In addition, Maria had more power, autonomy, and authority that allowed her to make her own decisions regarding her contribution as a woman in the Mexican War. In conclusion, the role that Maria played, while her husband was away, became more strong and important.

Blog # 5

Section A
1. White and black southern women suffered in the slavery system. The repercussion during the period of slavery affected white and black women in different ways. The luxury and culture of the white southern women were premised on the forced labor and sexual oppression of her slaves. Slavery turned black and white women against each other and set their interest and their perspectives in direct opposition.

Ninety percent of the slave women of the South labored in the cotton, sugar, tobacco, and race fields. The implications of slavery included sexual exploitation, physical and emotional abused by their owners. Because slavery became a profitable business during this period, slave owners arranged weddings among slaves to reproduce and sell them on the lucrative internal market. As a result, women attempted against their children during their pregnancies to terminate them or kill their infants rather than give birth for slave owners. In addition, masters were the legal owners of the slave’s women sexuality and reproductive capacity along with her labor. Any children of slave women were also a slave therefore the master’s benefit from them financially as well as sexually.

2. The importance of Harriet Jacob’s story is the description of her experiences as a slave woman on her own words. White and black women were unprotected by law from insults, violence or death. The cruelty used against slaves led into degradation, wrongs and vices that any human can imagine. Harriet Jacob’s extraordinary courage to fight for freedom was incredible and her writings are proving her story. Furthermore, they are evidence of the brutality that slaves were exposed to.

Section B
1. In both accounts slaves did not give up in their families. Yet, marriage was banned among slaves therefore the families were separated. Slave owners never let slaves to build strong bones with their families to have a total control of them. The slave owners were afraid to be hurt financially if slaves reveal against them hence masters took them apart for their own benefit.

2. Both stories are true stories that have great value regardless the way they were written. One of the stories was written by its own victim in contrast with the second one that was passed by word mouth. Even though the differences that these stories present in my opinion both accounts captured the essence of the story. Probably, recalls may not be very accurate but the significance of the real meaning of the narrative based on true stories are proof that happened in the past and that is what it counts.

Blog # 4

Section A

1. Women reflects a powerful ideology of gender roles that historians have labeled “the cult of true womanhood,” “the ideology of separate spheres,” or simply “domesticity.” This system of ideas, which took hold in the early years of the nineteenth century, treated men and women as complete and absolute opposites, with almost no common human traits that transcended the difference of gender. The ideology of true womanhood also saw the larger society as carved into complementary but mutually exclusive “spheres” of public and private concerns, work and home life, politics and family. “In no country has such constant care been taken as in America to trace two clearly distinct lines of action for the two sexes,” declared by to Alexis the Tocqueville. “American women never manage the outward concerns of the family, or conduct a business, or take a part in political life; nor are they, on the other hand, ever compelled to perform the rough labor of the fields, or to make any of those laborious exertions, which demand the exertion of physical strength. No families are so poor, as to form an exception of this rule.” The so called “true” of the gender ideology found no interferences in any of their characteristics because everyone seemed to believe it.

2. The first female factory workers composed for “girls” that they were unmarried, many in their teens, of farming families were advocated by choice to become the labor force of the textile industry. These young women could help to provide their families with the cash that they required. The farm girls of Lowell saw this opportunity as a new possibility of personal independence and economic contribution for their gender. The declination of prices in wool and cotton led to cut the wages twice in one year. The Lowell girls did not agree and in 1834-1836 they conducted strikes that laid-off workers as a result the mill shut down. When the economy recovered and the mills were re-opened, the Lowell workers were forced to work more hours, six days a week and produced more. Therefore the Lowell girls joined with male workers in other factories to petition the state of legislature to establish a ten-hour legal limit to their workdays as a way to resist work pressure and keep up levels of employment. But, because women had lacked of power in the political system and franchise male the Lowell women found no support in their legislative petitions they could not achieve any gains. In the other hand, Irish immigration took over the textile factories as a consequence the worker class was divided in two groups: working women and true women that were going in separate ways. During this period, women for the first time expressed their ideas freely, fought for their rights, and began to participate in the political and social spheres as part of the political process.

Section B

1. The moral nature of women according to Sanger’s view was the force of desire that remains slumbered and most women until it was aroused by some outside influences.

2. Sanger thinks that the causes of prostitution for women were desertion, seduction, subsistence, or forced into prostitution by some other extraordinary event over which they had no control such as the economic depression in 1857. The relentless financial pressure of poor urban women led to a high number of prostitutes during this period. Some of the consequences of prostitution were the spreading of venereal diseases and the missing of moral values. In addition, prostitutes with family were segregated by people and live on the fringe of society.

3. In conclusion, Sanger believed that prostitutes were victims as a result of men’s callousness and their own lack of economic opportunity. He hoped that his studies about prostitution will help to eradicate it by finding the sources with the most accurate information that caused or led women to become prostitutes.

Blog # 3

Section A

1. During the revolutionary era women had her great awakening in which women confront the patriarchal system, slavery, and oppression. In this era, women not only confront men’s authority but also debate women’s rights and roles in society. They started their movement in different spheres such as politics, economy, and social. Some of the biggest achievements were the right to get divorce and for widows to keep their common properties. Nonetheless, they were conditioned or need it to meet certain criteria. For example: in British women were not allowed to get divorce I contrast with America and only in South Carolina was approved although the process was not easy. Those were some of the restrictions that women had to deal with during their challenges. We need to emphasize that the patriarchal system was imposed for almost two centuries and to overcome to this system was very difficult because men were afraid of women to have the same rights (power). Their achievements were very limited or put it aside due to other events that were happening at the same time; as war, scarcity, immigration, etc.

2. That big turn over for women occurred when they decided to escape slavery. A decision that later on will give women’s opportunity to change or influence the government system. They started participating in their native councils’ deliberation alliances or they became loyalist or patriots. European women had an important role in war, protests, and boycotts what gave them recognition and value. Also, European women were more educated and active in society in contrast with native and african-american women.

3. The revolution led women to a new era leaving a deep mark during this era about what women were capable to do. They were positive advances as far as education, more participation in political roles, the escapism of slavery, autonomy, more favored for law in some states, and the right to vote. Men recognized and appreciated more women’s work and in some places women won more freedom and independence. The ideology of Republican Motherhood and the reforms of education allowed women also to move to different spheres and offered them new opportunities of expansionism for their political, economic, and social movements. However, not everyone was able to accept these changes and during the post revolutionary era they were only little changes in a very slow pace.

Section B

4. Rush’s views limits women’s education however he suggests to educate women in geography, bookkeeping, reading, and arithmetic to make them better wives and mothers. While men were able to take advanced mathematics, natural philosophy, or Latin or Greek classes. Furthermore, he emphasizes his dislike for women not to be educated in science and his strong conviction in women’s subordination. In the other hand, Murray’s fundamental propose was men’s and women’s mental and spiritual equality based in women’s capabilities and needs. She also contemplates the themes of liberty, equality and independence as in her own words.

5. Rush and Murray proposed a higher education for women that will lead to teach their children and prepare them for their duties as citizens, to make their homes run more efficiently, to be more knowledgeable in different subjects to be discussed with their husbands, and understand better family finance.

~Xochitl