1. Why It Matters
The idea of reform–the drive to improve society
and the lives of Americans–grew during the
mid-1800s. Reformers set out
to improve the lives of the disadvantaged,
especially enslaved people and the urban poor.

2. The Impact Today
The spirit of reform is alive and well in the
modern world. Individual freedom became a
key goal during the last half of the twentieth
century. Civil rights movements have advanced
racial equality. In many countries the women’s
movement has altered traditional female roles
and opportunities.

3. Chapter Objectives
Section 3: The Women’s Movement
• Examine how the antislavery and the women’s
rights movements were related. 
• Evaluate what progress women made toward
equality during the 1800s.
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.

4. Women and Reform
• Women abolitionists were the first to also
campaign for women’s rights, to improve
women’s lives, and win equal rights. 
(pages 425–427)
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.

5. Women and Reform (cont.)
• The first women’s rights convention took place
in Seneca Falls, New York, in July 1848. 
• It issued a Declaration of Sentiments and
Resolutions that called for the following: 
- an end to all laws that discriminated against women

- entrance into the all-male worlds of trade,
professions, and business 
- suffrage, or the right to vote
(pages 425–427)
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.

6. Women and Reform (cont.)
• The women’s rights movement grew. 
• Women held conventions. 
• Many reformers, including men, joined the
movement. 
• Beginning in 1890 with Wyoming but not
ending until 1920, woman suffrage finally
became legal everywhere in the United
States.
(pages 425–427)
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.

7. Progress by American Women (cont.)
• Women did not have advanced institutions that
they could attend, so they were prevented from
becoming doctors, lawyers, and other
professionals. 
• Before the 1830s, no university or college
would accept women. 
• The belief was that women should not have
advanced education and that it was useless and
even dangerous for women to learn such
subjects as mathematics.
(pages 427–428)
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.

8. Progress by American Women (cont.)
• Women made some gains in marriage and
property laws in New York, Pennsylvania,
Indiana, Wisconsin, Mississippi, and
California. 
• Some states passed laws permitting women to
share guardianship of their children with their
husbands. 
• Indiana was the first state to allow divorce to a
woman if her husband was alcoholic.
(pages 427–428)
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.

9. Progress by American Women (cont.)
• Some women were able to break into the fields
of medicine and the ministry or other
previously all-male professions. 
• Progress was limited, however, by social
customs and expectations.
(pages 427–428)
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.

11. Explore online information about the topics introduced
in this chapter.
Click on the Connect button to launch your
browser and go to The American Republic to
1877 Web site. At this site, you will find
interactive activities, current events
information, and Web sites correlated with the
chapters and units in the textbook. When you
finish exploring, exit the browser program to
return to this presentation. If you experience
difficulty connecting to the Web site, manually
launch your Web browser and go to
http://tarvol1.glencoe.com