amendment that would give women the right to vote (Sigerman 3). With all the slaves free, the men and women would want suffrage, and they joined in the fight. One of the largest blows the women’s movement had to suffer was on February 3, 1870 when the 15th amendment was passed. The amendment stopped states from denying citizens the right to vote "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude," but said nothing about not discriminating based on sex. In this amendment, men were saying that the African-American men they had enslaved were of higher stature than their own wives (Stevenson 54). Despite this setback women continued to work for suffrage. Besides not having the right to vote, women did not have the basic civil right of owning property. When a woman entered into marriage, it was believed that the husband and wife became one unit. The husband was considered the head of that unit. If a woman owned any property, when she was married, it would legally become her husbands. Besides owning plain property, women were not allowed to own businesses either. It was believed that it was the husband's duty to make money for the family. A woman may have been able to sell a few goods out of her home, but that was the extent of it. Over time, some women, especially young women, began working in the mills. This gave them more freedom. Along with civil rights, women's social rights were not equal to those of men. Women were to be submissive to their husbands. As wives, women were expected to perform all of the household duties. They were expected to cook, clean, and take care of the children (Chafe 67). As the women's movement went on, new methods of performing these duties became available. Catherine Beecher wrote The New Housekeeper's Manual. showing women how to lay out their homes in order to save time, and create a cleaner, more comfortable home (Rydner 2). New appliances such as toasters and washing...
