Impact of Women
While the main focus of the Civil War was on the soldiers who were fighting for liberty (all men at the time), women did many important things to help the Civil War, too. These women fought for equal rights for themselves and African Americans, not through guns and weapons, but through speech and action. One such woman was Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Elizabeth Cady Stanton got her start in fighting for equal rights when she attended an Anti-Slavery convention in London with her husband. She wasn't even allowed in to the convention! Stanton dedicated the rest of her life to trying to get all people in the United States to have equal rights. She was mainly a women's rights activist. She wrote the Declaration of Sentiments at the first women's rights convention ever, held in Seneca Falls. Here she described why women should have equal rights. She also wrote a newspaper called The Revolution, and was the first ever president of the National Women Suffrage Association. She often worked with Susan B. Anthony, another leading women's rights activist of the time.
Susan B. Anthony was born into an all-Quaker family, so she grew up around the idea of abolishing slavery. She, too, was a strong supporter of the women's rights movement. She often traveled the country speaking about getting the vote for women. Anthony once even voted illegally and was taken to court! She was very dedicated to the idea of equal rights for all, and was a very important figure in our country's history. She is even pictured on her own one dollar coin. This shows that she made a big impact on America.
The women of this time period were not just fighting for their own rights, though. They were also fighting for abolition. One woman of the time who had a focus on freeing slaves was Sojourner Truth. Truth's real name is Isabelle Baumfree, and gave herself the name she is known by today in 1843. She was born a slave in 1797, and escaped to freedom with her infant daughter. At the time of her escape, her other daughter and son stayed behind. When she learned that her son, Peter, had been illegally sold to a man in Alabama, she took the case to court, and won! It was one of the first times that an African American woman challenged a white man in court successfully. She was always ready to fight for what she knew was right. She believed that all people should be equals, no matter their race or sex. At the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in 1851, she made her famous speech "Ain't I A Woman?". She also helped fight for African Americans to be able to serve as soldiers during the Civil War.
Though many women helped fight for our country and its people while traveling all throughout our country, one woman made a big difference right on the front lines. This woman is Clara Barton. Barton, while working at her job as a clerk in the U.S. Patent Office (already an amazing thing for a woman of the time to accomplish), saw the needs of soldiers. She witnessed how many of them desperately needed medical care, food, or even just some warmer clothes. In 1862, she began treating men while they were on the battlefield. She risked her life to help them. Once, while she was treating a man, a bullet tore through the sleeve of her dress, without striking her, but killing the man she was tending. She did so much to help the soldiers, and pioneered many practices that we still use today. She is known as the "Angel of the Battlefield." After the war, she started an organization that is very critical to our nation today. In 1881, she founded the Red Cross, a humanitarian organization that provides emergency medical assistance and disaster relief all around the United States.
Even though men played a huge part in the way the Civil War played out, through inventing weapons, creating strategies, and fighting as soldiers, women did much for the Civil War, too. They changed the culture of our country by fighting for their equal rights, and the equal rights of African Americans. Barton even risked her life just to keep as many soldiers well as possible. These were incredibly brave women, who changed the culture of our country for the better.
Susan B. Anthony was born into an all-Quaker family, so she grew up around the idea of abolishing slavery. She, too, was a strong supporter of the women's rights movement. She often traveled the country speaking about getting the vote for women. Anthony once even voted illegally and was taken to court! She was very dedicated to the idea of equal rights for all, and was a very important figure in our country's history. She is even pictured on her own one dollar coin. This shows that she made a big impact on America.
The women of this time period were not just fighting for their own rights, though. They were also fighting for abolition. One woman of the time who had a focus on freeing slaves was Sojourner Truth. Truth's real name is Isabelle Baumfree, and gave herself the name she is known by today in 1843. She was born a slave in 1797, and escaped to freedom with her infant daughter. At the time of her escape, her other daughter and son stayed behind. When she learned that her son, Peter, had been illegally sold to a man in Alabama, she took the case to court, and won! It was one of the first times that an African American woman challenged a white man in court successfully. She was always ready to fight for what she knew was right. She believed that all people should be equals, no matter their race or sex. At the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in 1851, she made her famous speech "Ain't I A Woman?". She also helped fight for African Americans to be able to serve as soldiers during the Civil War.
Though many women helped fight for our country and its people while traveling all throughout our country, one woman made a big difference right on the front lines. This woman is Clara Barton. Barton, while working at her job as a clerk in the U.S. Patent Office (already an amazing thing for a woman of the time to accomplish), saw the needs of soldiers. She witnessed how many of them desperately needed medical care, food, or even just some warmer clothes. In 1862, she began treating men while they were on the battlefield. She risked her life to help them. Once, while she was treating a man, a bullet tore through the sleeve of her dress, without striking her, but killing the man she was tending. She did so much to help the soldiers, and pioneered many practices that we still use today. She is known as the "Angel of the Battlefield." After the war, she started an organization that is very critical to our nation today. In 1881, she founded the Red Cross, a humanitarian organization that provides emergency medical assistance and disaster relief all around the United States.
Even though men played a huge part in the way the Civil War played out, through inventing weapons, creating strategies, and fighting as soldiers, women did much for the Civil War, too. They changed the culture of our country by fighting for their equal rights, and the equal rights of African Americans. Barton even risked her life just to keep as many soldiers well as possible. These were incredibly brave women, who changed the culture of our country for the better.