Gender

"It was a sad looking place, which for many years had not known the gentle presence of a mistress, old Monsieur Aubigny having married and buried his wife in France, and she having loved her own land too well ever to leave it."

- Desiree's Baby

This section provides insight into the rights of women during the 19th century. Click on the links to learn about women's suffrage and the 19th Amendment, the activists who propelled the movement, the Constitution of the United States and other historical events. Keep the essential question in mind: How did limited gender roles restrict the role of women in society?

Women's Rights in the 19th Century

This website is an encyclopedia entry that provides an overview of the women's rights movement, with a particular focus on the history of the movement in the United States.

Declaration of Sentiments

This website is hosted by the National Park Service and provides the full text of the Declaration of Sentiments, a historic document produced at the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention that helped to launch the women's rights movement in the United States.

Our Deportment, or the Manners, Conduct, and Dress of Refined Society

This selection is an excerpt from "Our Deportment, or the Manners, Conduct, and Dress of Refined Society" by John H. Young, a guidebook on etiquette and social customs for the American bourgeoisie during the 19th century.

Verses Written by a Young Lady, on Women Born to Be Controll'd!

This poem explores ideas of gender and power in the context of 18th-century society.

The Married Lady's Companion: or Poor Man's Friend

This excerpt titled "Advice to the Newly Married Lady" provides guidance on how to maintain a healthy and satisfying marriage during the Victorian era.