The Movement for Women’s Rights in the Victorian Era
Instructor: Herb Kaufman
The woman of the Victorian era was taught to be seen and not heard. Many men considered women as wallpaper, lovely to look at but silent in a room. The laws at that time required women to be obedient to their husbands and prevented them from owning property, including the wages they earned. Women fought for the abolition of slavery, and the creation of laws that gave women equal rights with men, better wages for working women, and gaining the right to vote. This was remarkable given that the laws of the country, often enforced by the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court, stood against women gaining equality. This is the story of some of the women who, regardless of the culture of the era, made significant strides in establishing their role as fully equal members of society and led the way for the greater establishment of women’s equality.
