Most people in the world today think of women and men as equals, but it was not always like that. Before females were given the right to vote, they were only thought as objects, and worthless without a man. One of the few circumstances in which women were thought as a near equal to a man was amid the age of war. One critical war in the battle for gender equality was the Civil War, in which women had important roles.
Even though men said the battlefield was no place for women, these ladies contributed in their own ways. One of the main ways women committed to the war effort was by taking the job of a nurse (Youhn). Women had a lot more experience caring for the sick and wounded, along with keeping a room sterile, than men (Youhn). Some of these
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In the Civil War, they impacted the lives of many soldiers through being nurses (King). The females in the Civil War also started paving the way for gender equality. By going against the orders of men and doing what they thought was right, women started to prove that they were worthy of independence (Youhn). They also showed how useful women could be if given the chance (Galante-DeAngelis). Women who were willful enough to actively participate in the Civil War were also inspirational to the troops that were fighting (Youhn). Being called “Angels of the Battlefield”, these women convinced soldiers to keep fighting, keeping up morale (Youhn). Without women, things during and after the Civil War would have been very different.
The roles women had were vital to the end result of the Civil War. By contributing their skills in the field of nursing and aiding the war effort by being on the battlefield, ladies saved the lives of many men. With these women pushing so hard, the gender barriers were bound to crumble eventually. Now, due to the incredible efforts of women throughout history, girls today have the chance to make their own decisions and live their own
Women in the Confederacy had a great impact on the Civil War. They were thrown into totally different lifestyles--ones that did not include men taking care of the land and other businesses. Women had more control of their lives than ever before. Some took it upon themselves to get involved directly with the war while others just kept the home fires burning. Whatever roles they played, women contributed a multitude of skills to the Civil War effort.
Thus, women became the caretakers for the wounded soldiers and the people manufacturing the supplies necessary for their loved ones to fight in the war. Because of this, women found their fight against disenfranchisement much easier by the end of the war in
They were not allowed to work in factories or allowed own a business. They were discriminated of their rights to work. They were not allowed to join a war legally and could not own property. Women had no rights politically or economically. However, a positive for women was that they took men’s jobs during the civil war. Increasing their pay and showing men that they could work also. They took men’s jobs in factories and held business. They helped their side of the Civil War greatly and contributed by healing their men. They worked very hard to help keep soldiers healthy and to allow them to keep fighting. Working hards in men’s places, women helped the army stay in good
In the American history, Civil War takes one of the prominent places due to the significance of it role in formation of American consciousness. The Civil Was of 1861-1865 identified the directions that the nation would take in the future development. Still, despite the importance of this event in the history of the United States, its impact on different spheres of human lives is commonly given less attention than necessary for understanding of the future changes in the American mentality. Specific interest is presented with the question of roles of women during wartime, and especially Confederate women. Given the simple fact that men were all gone to war, women were presented with the pressing need to deal with the things they have never took part in, pushing them into public life and making them the central cell of the society instead of their fathers, brothers and husbands. With this, the ideology of domesticity that was present before the Civil War in Confederate women had to change under the pressure of new circumstances. This has put the beginning for the future equalization of rights of men and women and the fight for it that women gradually came to understand the need for.
While the Civil war was going on, women decided not to stand around and not do anything, they took action into their own hands. Some stood up and fought right alongside the men in the war. While the men did not know it, women secretly disguised themselves as men and altered their names to be in the army. Some women acted as spies against their side to feed their own side information about battle plans and strategies for the war. For the women that didn’t fight in the war, they took up jobs that the men regularly had to earn
During the civil war women were more important than everyone thinks. The reason this is true is because during the civil war women there were women spies, who men who help people in the war , and some women were in war
Throughout the history of the United States, women have played vital roles in war efforts. This holds especially true in wars such as the Civil War, World War I, and World War II. Women played vital roles up front in the field, and as well as behind enemy lines. No matter what role these women took on, their lives and those after were forever impacted.
The women during the war felt an obligation to assist in one form or another. Many
The day is July 21, 1861. Two armies are clashing in a battle that marks the beginning of a long war that split their country. Throughout the battle, a Union soldier is brought into the the army hospital tent on a stretcher with four bullet holes in his chest. He is escorted to the nearest bed for treatment and is shocked to find a woman performing the operation. On the same day, in the battle, another man is astonished to find a soldier that looks like and may be a woman fighting the enemy beside him. Like these women, many others took part in the war. Contrary to what many believe, women had played a role in the civil war as spies, nurses, soldiers and on the home front.
Before the Civil War women were used in a strict capacity as domestic house wives. They cooked, cleaned, took care of the kids and their husbands. Their roles changed drastically at the on-set of the Civil War and all throughout the civil war, they became a very important part of war efforts. Their contribution to the civil war was not only as domestic help, but also on the frontline in combat as well. Specific women in the war played a different role in sharing their support.
The Civil War altogether influenced the lives of American ladies. A modest bunch camouflaged themselves as men and joined the battle. Others served as spies and nurses. Numerous more tackled new parts at home after their spouses, siblings, and fathers reacted to the invitation to battle. A large number of oppressed ladies started the move to flexibility, starting new lives in the midst of the revulsions of war. By war's end, the amazing loss of life of roughly 620,000 officers had left endless ladies in grieving. Contrasted with past eras, American ladies in general had enhanced their instructive standing, secured extra lawful rights, and procured more noteworthy access to made merchandise by the mid-1800s. Ladies had taken part conspicuously
They did multiple things in the war; including providing supplies, sewing uniforms, and providing medical assistance. They put in their time and used their talents to supply the basic necessities to the men fighting in the war (“Healing the Wounds: Medicine and Sanitation”). Some women would even fight alongside men, by disguising themselves. One of these brave women was Mary Steve Jenkins. She had enlisted in Pennsylvania, while still in school, and joined the army for two whole years. As written in, “Living Through the Civil War,” she says she, “...received several wounds, and was then discharged-without anyone ever realizing she was female,” (Rees, p. 56,57). Although women had to go to extreme measures to assist in the war in ways like fighting, they still chose to do so. Another very influential woman in the Civil War was Clara Barton (1821-1912), who was also known as “the angel of the battlefield.” She helped a great deal with nursing and aided with collecting supplies to bring to battlefields and hospitals. After the war had ended, Clara was still helping in many ways; “Barton is also known for her postwar campaign to have the United States join the International Red Cross,” (“Healing the Wounds: Medicine and Sanitation”). Working alongside Clara was another important woman: Dorothea Dix (1802-1887), who was a nurse for the Union. She was well known, even before the war, because of the
Women during the Civil War Women during the Civil War had a lot of different responsibilities. They also played a huge role in the Civil War. Men had to go serve in the war while the women had to take care of the children. While the women were at home they were thinking, “Why can’t we serve in the war.” They thought of themselves as useless people who had to stay home and do nothing.
During the Civil war,women played very important parts. 400 women and more disguised themselves as men and fought in the Union and Confederate armies. A good amount of women served as spies and nurses. A handful of them disguised themselves as men and joined the war. The women at home took on the husband, brother, and father roles. In the past generations, women improved their educational standing, acquired greater access to manufactured goods, and secured additional legal rights by the mid-1800s. A majority of American women led daily lives that was focused mainly on their families, households, gardens, and crops. There was about 250 female Civil War soldiers that have been documented by historians and there was probably more. Women took
The Civil War opened up many opportunities for women to expand their places of business and, most importantly, expand their significance in society. As a result of the men leaving their homes to fight in the war, the women took on many of the roles that men had to fill in their place. Women became nurses, managers, executives, and even ministers. A journalist even went so far to call the civil war a woman’s war by saying that, “No conflict in history was such a woman’s war as the Civil War”. Women, even though they were not apart of the physical fighting, grew stronger from this war. They proved that they could handle managing businesses while their men were