machines started becoming available to aid women with their chores. Today men and women do housework, and our society has a lot of new technology that helps with housework. Before about 1900, women were still not able to control their own bodies, and were not allowed to use birth control. A woman was bound by law to her husband. She was forced to consent to his wishes. If she did not, it was legal for him to beat her as punishment (Rydner 34). A woman was not allowed to control whether or not she wanted children. Before 1873 women could learn about birth control through advertisements in women's magazines. This right was taken away from women in 1873 when Congress passed the Comstock Act after Mr. Comstock's prodding. This law prohibited selling distributing, or mailing obscene literature and defined contraceptive devices and any information about them as obscene. The new form of birth control was "voluntary motherhood" (Rydner 37). Supporters of this form stated that if women were able to have children when they wanted to, the women would have happier, healthier children because they were wanted. In order to use this form of birth control, women needed the right to say no to their husbands. Some religions encouraged this practice because it prevented "sexual excess." It is not known to what extent this method worked, but from 1800 to 1900 the birthrate among American women declined by about one half (Ryder 39). Many women helped in achieving women’s rights. Some of these women were Jane Addams, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Catharine Beecher.The first woman to talk about was Jane Addams. Jane Addams was a progresser. She worked for the rights of the immigrants, the poor, and for urban reform. On September 18, 1889, Addams opened the Hull House. Hull House residents could live here and have many opportunities. When the house first started it included a nursery, a gymnasium, a playground, an art ga...
