Essay On The Role Of Women In The 19th Century

During the 19th century, The United States was not a place of unlimited individual economic opportunity, nor a place where social equality and political democracy reigned supreme, as many people believed it to be. Women were not allowed to vote until mid-1919. Although slaver was abolished in 1865, black people were still not treated as equals. The political systems was littered with fraud and injustice. Even with the creation of labor unions in 1866, the country still fell into depression.

Social quality in the United States was unheard of; women were not even allowed to vote. The first national organizations for women’s suffrage were established in 1869. They were led by Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucy Stone. These ladies joined forces in 1980 to form the National American Women Suffrage Association. They began decade-long campaigns for an amendment that would include women. The 19th amendment became a part of the Constitution August 26, 1920. It read: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

During the Gilded Age politics were full of corruption and scandal. The presidency and congress were run by the Republican Party for much of this time. The representatives were owned by big business and
During the summer the country entered a normal recession where consumers stop buying as many goods. During this time stock prices on Wall Street increased. Investors began trading in mass quantities and the stock market crashed. After “Black Tuesday” millions of shares ended up being worthless. 4 million Americans were out of work in 1930 and that number increased to 6 million by the next year. The country’s industrial production dropped by half and American farmers couldn’t afford to harvest their crops forcing them to let them rot in the