While men were away from home fighting in the war, women had to keep the man’s income alive to survive. So that meant that women had to take men 's roles on the farm. Wives had to plow the fields, and even fix big farm machinery. They had to make clothing by hand, using spinning wheels for the men in the army, and made shoes out of whatever pieces of leather they could find. They also sold …show more content…
Almost 1 million women worked in factories during the Civil War era. They made shoes, processed food, harvested tobacco, worked at printing factories, made clothes, did laundry or worked in places that were usually considered to be “men’s workplaces.” Women had far less opportunities than men, in the same industries. Women got little training, which also meant they usually didn’t get promotions or paid any more no matter how long they worked there. Women during this time got paid at the most, less than half of whatever the men made, even when doing the same job. Women who worked in factories were usually young, sixteen to twenty-six years old, and not married. Young women didn 't mind working in factories at first because they thought marriage would be a way to get out of the factory jobs eventually, but when the men couldn 't provide enough money either, the girls would end right back where they …show more content…
After the Civil War, women wanted to vote, especially after the 15th amendment passed. This amendment to the Constitution was that black men now had the right to vote. Many women thought that would be their “prize” for keeping everything running while men were away. The Republican Party, who passed the amendment let the woman down. It made women feel worse too, because it was the first time the Constitution put in the word “men” instead of “citizens.” Women over the years kept fighting and protesting for the right to vote, and eventually the right came, but over fifty years from when the suffrage movement started.
In conclusion, women during the Civil War era were looked at like slaves before the war, and proved themselves to be well-rounded, smart, citizens after. After men came back from the war, women would keep the jobs they had to fill. Also when the men were away it finally gave women the courage to seek higher education, jobs, and politics. “Women have shown themselves to be strong, patriotic and competent at almost all kinds of work” (Sanders,18).
Without the Civil War, it might have taken women a lot longer to get recognized as more than just “housekeepers.” When the Civil war started, they took new roles, found jobs, and proved to men they were