Upper Class White Women in 18th and 19th century

1. US History to 1877
Matthew Campbell, Shaneena Wapinsky-Smith, Jonathan MacNally
Professor Jared Haas
Wentworth Institute of Technology, Spring 2015
Upper Class White
Women
How they contributed to:
•The economy
•Politics
•American Identity

2. Goals
To understand the influence 18th
and 19th
century white upper class
American women had on:
•the economy.
•politics.
•the American identity.

3. Objectives
After observing this presentation, viewers will be able to:
•describe upper white class American women.
•identify their major contributions to the development of the United
States.
•And have a better understanding of the long lasting impacts on
American economy, politics, and the American identity.

4. Upper Class White
Women
The Influences that Upper Class White Women had on the Economy in
the 18th and 19th
Century

5. Who really are the Upper
Class White Women of the
18th
century
• Even in the Upper class the head male patriarch ruled. He would be
dictator-like over his wife and children, a dominating father-
centered standard (ushistory.org).
• Women had to choose between submission to God or the head of
the household.
• Upper class white women had no control over their own wealth or
property passed down from their fathers (Boundless 5).
• Women had strict roles as mother and housekeeper.
• “The work patterns of elite white women changed radically after
the Civil War, depending on their stage in the life cycle. Women
over age 50 changed least, insisting that they needed servants and
continuing their traditional managerial roles. The next generation,
comprising the young wives and mothers during the Civil War,
depended much less on black servants, and displayed greater
flexibility toward household work. The youngest generation, which
matured during the war and Reconstruction, did many of their own
domestic chores. Some sought paid jobs outside the household,
especially in teaching, which allowed an escape from domestic
chores and obligatory marriage” (worldheritage.org).

6. The Married Women's Property Act
•The Married Women's Property Act allowed women to finally be able to obtain their own wealth.
• Catalyst for women’s emergence into American economy (Boundless 5:1)
•Young women were becoming more educated (history.org)
• Were now being allowed to attend colleges.
• Around 1820-1830 women began to displace men as schoolteachers
•Catherine Brewer was the first American woman to achieve a Bachelors
• Wesleyan College in Macon, Ga. on July 16, 1840
•Helen Magill earned the first Ph.D. granted to an American woman
• Boston University in 1877

7. Upper Class White Women’s Influence on the
Economy
Women brought Humanity and Equality to the work force (Boundless
5)
by:
-developing Labor laws.
-developing skilled work force.
-establishing social welfare groups.

8. Labor laws helped
protect women from
economic strong holds.
Safer working conditions improved the
health and mind state of workers as a result
of improved conditions.
•Large-scale mills that emerged in the early 1800s required laborers to work long hours in difficult conditions.
Most workers in the booming industries were women, though textile manufacturers frequently employed
children as well (Boundless 4:12).
•Safe working conditions
• Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire took the lives of 146 workers, most all of whom were women and children (history.com).
Upper class white women were also influential in:
•Child welfare laws
• “Catharine Beecher strongly supported allowing children to simply be children and not prematurely forcing adulthood onto
them. She believed that children lacked the experience needed to make important life decisions and that in order for them
to become healthy self-sufficient adults, they needed to be allowed to express themselves freely in an environment suited
to children. It was these beliefs that led to her support of the system of kindergartens” (worldheritage.org).

9. Equalizing the playing field…
Industrialization created more job opportunities, and the women in
the work force grew (Boundless5)
•Women’s unions
• “In 1868 Susan B. Anthony encouraged working women from the printing
and sewing trades in New York, who were excluded from men's trade unions,
to form Workingwomen's Associations” (worldheritage.org).

10. • Fair pay for fair work
• “As a delegate to the National Labor Congress in 1868 Anthony persuaded
the committee on female labor to call for votes for women and equal pay for
equal work, although the men at the conference deleted the reference to
the vote” (worldheritage.org).

11. Impact On the Development of the
American Workforce
EDUCATION is key because knowledge is power!
•The first co-ed university in the United States was Oberlin College in
Oberlin, Ohio (1833) (Boundless 5:1)
-This opened the doors for Upper Class women to obtain the knowledge
needed to go with their wealth.
•Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman in America to earn a medical
degree; her sister Emily received the third medical degree
(worldheritage.org).
•They later established the Women's Medical College, training many more
female doctors

12. Development of Social Welfare Groups
• Dorothea Dix, a social justice reformer. From 1840-41, she conducted
a statewide investigation of how her home state of Massachusetts
cared for the poor and mentally ill (Boundless5:3)
• “With Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell, they established the New York
infirmary, which she superintended two years, as resident physician
and manager. In 1862, Marie Zakrzewska founded the New England
Hospital for Women and Children, the first hospital in Boston, the
first with a school for nurses and the second hospital in America to
be run by women physicians and surgeons” (worldheritage.org).

13. The American Identity
Characteristics of Upper Class Women
in the 19th
Century
 Property Ownership Rights
 Higher Education
 Voice for Equality
 Wealth & Status ljblog12.blogspot.com

14. Upper Class Women: Property Ownership Rights
Fact # 1
“The Married Women's Property Act of 1839 was an Act of Statute in
the state of Mississippi that significantly altered the law regarding
property rights granted to married women, allowing them to own and
control their own property.” (https://www.boundless.com, Chpt 5 section1)
Fact # 2
“The Married Women's Property Act set a precedent for women's
property rights that are thought to have affected legislators' decision to
maintain gender neutral language in the Homestead Act of 1862,
allowing any individual to file an application for a federal land grant.”
(https://www.boundless.com, Chpt 5 section1)

15. Women Acquiring Property Ownership Influenced
the American Identity
How?
The pursuit of rights for women to own and control their
own property is an ideal that carries over into the American
Identity as it relates to the “American Dream”. The
“American Dream” is to purchase and own your own home
and land. The Upper Class Women were the ones that the
best chance to realize this dream after The Married
Women's Property Act and the Homestead Act. There’s a
sense of pride in land ownership in American culture.

16. Upper Class Women Received Higher Education
Fact # 1
“In the nineteenth century, higher educational opportunities for women became
more common, though still limited.” (https://www.boundless.com, Chpt 5 section1)
Fact # 2
“Rather than emphasizing ornamental aspects of women's roles, this new
model encouraged women to engage in more substantive education, delving
into the arts and sciences to further develop their reasoning skills.”
(https://www.boundless.com, Chpt 5 section1)
Fact # 3
“The education of elite women in Philadelphia after 1740 followed the British
model developed by the gentry classes during the early 18th century.”
(https://www.boundless.com, Chpt 5 section1)

17. Higher Educated Women Influenced
the American Identity
www.connerprairie.org
Getting an education could only be afforded
by the upper class. Once the upper class
women were able to attend and earn an
education this opened many doors for them
to explore and also gain more respect. By
involving themselves in education this led to
more opportunities to be involved with politics
to help lay the ground work towards women's
rights. These women also were wives and
mothers that were responsible for bring up
their children. There educations helped
inspire their children's education which
helped build a greater educated population.

18. Upper Class Women Exercised
their Voice for Equality
Fact # 1
“Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and
girls of all ages in many societies. The idea is that women should have
equal rights with men.” (https://www.boundless.com, Chpt 5 section 3)
Fact # 2
“The Seneca Falls Convention was an early and influential women's
rights convention held in Seneca Falls, New York, July 19–20, 1848.
After two days of discussion and debate, 68 women and 32 men signed
a Declaration of Sentiments, which outlined grievances and set the
agenda for the women's rights movement.” ” (https://www.boundless.com
Chpt 5 section 3)

19. Upper Class Women Voicing Their Right to
Equality Influenced American Identity
The upper class women are
gaining more and more passion
to express their voice with in
America at this time due to their
gain of knowledge through
education and willingness to fight
for their rights to be viewed as an
equal to men. These women's
voices were heard in politics and
throughout the social
environment such as town hall
meetings. en.wikipedia.org

20. Upper Class Women had Wealth and Status
Fact # 1
“The upper class consisted of the aristocrats, ruling families, titled people, and
religious hierarchs. Those people usually had a fortune to be born with their
high status and they didn’t have to make much effort to earn their place in
society.” (http://www.glbrain.com)
Fact # 2
“The main and crucial difference was their noble family name. It was the most
appreciated and valued thing they owned. Their aristocratic names could not
lose reputation or be forgotten easily.” (http://www.glbrain.com)
Fact # 3
“Characteristic for upper classes is that they rarely ever considered selling
enormous amount of land and moving to some more modest places”
(http://www.glbrain.com)
Cont’d.

21. Upper Class Women had Wealth and Status
Fact # 4
“Rather than emphasizing ornamental aspects of women's roles, this new
model encouraged women to engage in more substantive education, delving
into the arts and sciences to further develop their reasoning skills.”
(https://www.boundless.com)
Fact # 5
“The most prestigious of the classes for British women to fall under was upper-
working class. These women were immediately distinguished by their strict
clothes that consisted of “laces, corsets, veils, and gloves so that their bodies
were properly covered.” (Huysman, online)
Fact # 6
“These women often had some sort of inheritance passed down to them from
their fathers, so they were often courted by men of high standing who wished to
increase their own wealth.” (http://staff.washington.edu)

22. Wealth & Status Affect on American Identity
www.studyblue.com
The American ideal is to gain power and
status which typically is measured by wealth
and image and translates into the American
Identity to aspire to. “Women of the upper
and middle classes were especially
preoccupied with the variety and complexity
of dress, which showed their status and
position. This has always been true
regardless of the historical era, though.
Particularly geared to the fashions for most
of the nineteenth century were long skirts
and blouses that emphasized a small waist,
ample bosom, and inaccessibility.”
(http://web.clark.edu)

23. Upper Class White
Women in Politics
Women’s Rights
•“Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women
and girls of all ages in many societies. The idea is that women should
have equal rights with men.” (Boundless, Ch.5)
•Women fought for equal rights in many ways
including:
– political demonstration
– Lobbying
– Raising public awareness
Upper Class white women had the political connections, power and money
to help make a difference in the movement,

24. Women’s Rights Movement
Prior to much of the 18th
and 19th
century,
women had no rights to speak of. They
could not vote, own land, gain higher
education, etc. The 19th
Century was a huge
turning point for women’s rights. They finally
gained the rights to:
– Property Ownership
– Higher Education
– Wealth and Status
– Had the Power to Fight for Equality

25. First Wave Feminism
• First-wave feminism is the feminist movement
which occurred during the 19th
and early 20th
centuries.
• Focused on:
– Women’s suffrage
– Women’s right to vote
• During the early 19th
Century
– A limited number of women fought for equality
– The feminist movement opened other women’s eyes to the fact if
they speak up, they too can make a change.
(Boundless, Chapter 5)

26. 1st
Women’s Rights Convention
• July 1848
• Seneca Falls NY
• 300 People Attended
• 68 women and 32 men signed a Declaration of
Sentiments, which outlined grievances and set the
agenda for the women's rights movement. (Boundless, Ch.5)
• 12 resolutions were adopted, calling for equal treatment
of women and men under the law and voting rights for
women. (Boundless, Ch.5)
• The fact that all of these women gathered together for
the same cause helped them to gain power and
momentum in their fight towards injustice.

27. National Women’s Rights Convention
of 1850
• A second large political convention
That helped strengthen the fight
• Brought together individuals
who had been working for women’s
Rights into one place
• Women worked together to
Plan out the goals of the Women’s
Rights Movement
• The main goal was that “attendees
resolved to secure legal and social
equality for women on par with men. Lucy Stone
(Boundless, Chapter 5)

28. Men Joined the Fight
• Women were able to gain support of men in politics to
help in the fight to achieve equal rights
• This opened up the eyes of other men and helped them
to understand it from a man’s point of view.
• Gaining the support of men in politics helped strengthen
their campaign.
• Gerrit Smith – Liberty Party Candidate for President in 1848
• William Lloyd Garrison – Abolishonist
• Wendell Phillips – Politician
( Boundless, Chapter 5)

29. Divorce in 1860
• Women lobbied for divorce rights in 1860 and
won the right to divorce for the reasons of:
• Adultery
• Desertion
• Drunkenness
• Cruelty
The political impact was that women could divorce a man and become her
own successful independent woman based on the new laws. Upper Class
White Women could also keep money from the husband and remain in the
upper class.

30. Women’s Rights
Women lobbied and were granted rights:
•Property rights
•Keep their own wages
•Shared ownership of children
•Their children’s wills, wages, property
The continued support and fight for women’s
rights opened up new doors and avenues
for advancement of their cause. (Boundless,
Ch5)

31. Women in Politics
• “Further advances and setbacks were
experienced in New York and other states,
but with each new win the feminists were
able to use it as an example to apply more
leverage on unyielding legislative bodies.”
(Boundless, Chapter 5)
– Women continued the fight even though it was a
constant struggle.
• All of the early efforts set the groundwork for
women’s rights today.

32. Women in Politics
• Women’s rights activists started gaining
ground in the 1800-1900’s
• The political events set the ground work
for future feminist movements against:
• Social inequalities
• Cultural inequalities
• Political inequalities
(Boundless, Chapter 5)

33. Work Cited
• Boundless. (n.d.) US to 1877. Retrieved from
http://www.boundless.com
• Clark. (n.d). Retrieved from http://web.clark.edu
• Glbrain. (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.glbrain.com
• Washington. (n.d). Retrieved from http://staff.washington.edu
• Worldheritage. (n.d). Retrieved from http://worldheritage.org
• History. (n.d). Retrieved from http://history.com