Throughout the era of history women in general have had fewer legal and career rights than men. The only job that was thought best fit for them was either to be a wife or a mother. In most cases the woman was required to do both. This however changed in the 20th century wherein women started getting the right to vote, work and the privilege to attain a higher educational degree. These were only accomplishable because they fought and accomplished a reevaluation of traditional perception of society.

Moreover, they had no political or social role except to be at the beck and call of their husbands and to obey as well as carry out their wishes. But this situation started modifying with the gradual development of the world. Right with the industrial revolution, the traditional trends and concepts regarding the status of women took a slight turn. The influence of industrialization was enough strong that with the passage of time, the importance of education increased. Nonetheless besides the expansion of education awareness among women for their rights started taking place. Now women realized to make their won space in the realm of family, society and even the countries politics and economics.

In the early days in the history of America, a man virtually owned his wife, like how he owned all the material and wealth that belonged to him. Major family decisions were made by the man. Some communities however modified the law to allow women to own properties if the husband agreed to it.
Although an appreciation of their viewpoint grew among the thinking elite, they were still being treated not as equals of men. Men folks in order to maintain their hegemony on society never allowed women to take place of their own as equals. The reasons given were varied and diverse. Some of the reasons impregnated by centuries of closely held beliefs were as follows:
1.Women are biologically weak. They bear children for the families and cannot fit in the working fields. They are more dependent on men so they cannot fill the demands of various jobs.
2. They are not suited to carry out difficult and hazardous work, as they are meek and submissive by nature. They could never imagine women to bring fighting fierce battles in the fields. This was only the men’s preserve.
3. Tilling of land and dong other agricultural chores needed hard work and grit which women lacked.
4. When they bear children, they are unsuitable for work. They cannot be considered fit to do any hard work during pregnancy and as such their usefulness as workers is restricted.
5. They being primarily involved in raising families and looking after households do not understand intricacies of societal behavior, therefore cannot be considered fit to become rulers and run the governments.
6. They being a weaker sex cannot be trusted for important responsibilities and assignments.
7. Another important aspect is hidden in the traditional belief of religious culture. It was thought that religion, which has been the basis of formation of social behavior, has assigned a lesser role to the women and therefore they cannot be considered equal to them.

If a glance at the past is taken, then it comes to the realization that men were free to acquire education in the fields of their choice, more over they were preferred to study from professional collages for various professional degrees. The logic behind this act was again the old customs and cultural heritages that men are the pillars of a family and they will be responsible for the house hold income department of their respective families. On its contrary women were first of all discouraged for education in various underdeveloped countries, as they were taken as responsible for only the household work. But later with the development and modernization of the world, these countries started realizing the importance of education thus now provide freedom for education to women but with in certain boundaries and limits. There are a few percentages that allow their ladies to acquire equal professional education as men do. Similarly these certain parts of the societies also give freedom of choosing the profession for a better career.

The Equity law, which was developed in England, gave emphasis to equal rights of men and women rather than what traditions had to say. This law had an eased up effect on the rights of women for e.g. a woman could sue her husband. This law had its effect in Mississippi in 1839, followed by New York in 1848 and Massachusetts in 1854. These states allowed women to perform the works of lawyers and own property. However, if a divorce ever occurred the husband kept legal control of the children and the property.

In July 1848 the first women’s rights convention took place at Seneca Falls, N.Y. The declaration that came out from this convention was a reproduced after the Declaration of Independence. This declaration was written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, an excerpt from that declaration goes as follows “all men and women are created equal the history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman." A long list of grievances was put up and a motion for equitable laws, equal education, job opportunities and the right to vote were made. (Chp. 10.2)

When the Union won the Civil War, woman abolitionist hoped that they could bring more suffrage to the women and blacks. But the 14th and the 15th Amendments of the Constitution which was adopted in 1868 & 1870 in that order granted citizenship and suffrage to blacks but not women.

In a particular time in history it was not considered respectable for a woman to speak before audience that had mixed spectators of men and women, there were two women who spoke boldly against slavery. Some of the few noted men who spoke up for women rights included William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, and Frederick Douglass. There was an instance when women were deprived of their places at the Slavery convention which was held in London in 1840. William Lloyd Garrison refused to sit in his respective seat but rather sat with the women in the balcony as spectators. (Chp 10.2)

One of the earliest publications by a woman reporter in 1845 was Margaret Fuller “Woman in the Nineteenth Century.” She wrote that when peoples role in society are defined according to their sex, human development was severely limited. Another leading theoretician was Elizabeth Cady Stanton. She published her “Woman’s Bible” which was published in parts during the years 1895 & 1898. She believed that the abolishment of organized religion was a must if the true liberation of women was ever to be achieved.

In 1850 about 25 % of the middle-class girls were not going to be able to marry. The reasons were that men died in small colonial wars, immigrated to the colonies or else remained bachelors. From these ranks of single women emerged the early Victorian feminists. In 1850 the North London Collegiate School was founded by Frances Mary Buss and in 1858 Dorothea Beale opened up the Cheltenham Ladies College. In these school women prepared young girls for the Civil Service Examinations, entry into business and commerce, university and one of the professions.
Although textbooks do not mention women or the fact that very little is covered about them. The truth is that during the American Revolution they have played a fiercely active role. During the colonial era a women’s primarily job was marriage and motherhood. They lost all property and legal rights when they were married. This is one of the main reasons that they were not expected to participate in war. Despite this women did participate. They knitted stockings, made the uniforms for the soldiers at the home front. They also participated in the battle field. Some of the women turned their homes into hospitals. One of the famous caretakers was Margaret Hill Morris. She had expertise in herbal remedies and medication and therefore the sick depended on her. On a chilly April night Sybil Ludington rode through Connecticut screaming that the British soldiers were burning Danbury and warned them to get prepared for a raid. Due to her actions the they were stopped from proceeding further on April 27, 1777 and the British were forced to retreat to Long Island Sound.
They also protested against the sale of British goods along with their male counterparts. In 1774 fifty one women signed the Penelope Baker’s declaration. This declaration was to ban the imports of English goods.