American Democracy and Women’s Rights Paper

The legislative branch carried out the tasks of restoring the country. Because Congress was dominated by the Republicans, it was necessary for them to maintain power by increasing the number of supporting voters. The 14th amendment, as such, granted the slaves the freedom to vote (Dubois and Lynn 284). The right discriminated against the male gender, though. In Congress, however, women’s suffrage did not have the same support that male slaves did. Many of the Republican controllers who were abolitionists lobbied for the constitutional amendment to give them continued Legislative protection. For the 15th amendment, women leaders declined to push for the amendment of the constitution to grant them continued support over Congress. Women leaders failed to press for the 15th amendment due to lack of support from the male counterparts who controlled the Senate.

The reconstruction era presented many challenges. The former slaves did not have any form of economic support. Most of them returned to their previous masters and worked for them for a share of the farm produce. Although the conditions seemed fair at first, the slaves ended up accumulating debts that they could not pay. Others looked for their spouses who separated during the slavery and found that they had new homes. The slaves had a challenge in settling into the new life. On the positive side, other slave owned large pieces of land and became independent. The era gave the slaves a right to vote as well as the right to pursue education (Dubois and Lynn 291). The reconstruction freed the slaves ending slavery.

After the civil war, the occupation of women changed. Women abandoned domestic chores and agricultural labor to work in industries (Dubois and Lynn 294). Textile, garment and shoe industries provided employment for the women, breaking the norm of domestic duties. In 1870, the women rose to take office jobs such as copyists and stenographers. The printer’s union recognized the efforts of the women and allowed them into the union. The acceptance raised the percentage of women to 9% in the printing jobs (Dubois and Lynn 296). The occupations of women changed after the civil union. Women shifted from the common domestic chores to undertake employment opportunities reserved for men in the past. The civil war marked a positive trend for women at work characterized by higher pay and more responsibilities.

Work Cited

Dubois, Ellen C., and Lynn Dumenil. Through Women’s Eyes: An American History with Documents. 4th ed., Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2015.