Women in American History Women

Women in American History

Women on the Oregon Trail to the Gold Rush

Thousands of women journeyed overland on the Oregon Trail during the Gold Rush with husbands and fathers, and even a few without. They faced weeks of boredom, scorching summers, freezing temperatures, flooded rivers, impassable mountains, and hostile Indians.

But, while a few were reluctant companions to adventurous husbands, most shared in the eagerness to make a "pile" from the golden hills of California. The journey's scenic wonders, such as Chimney Rock, captivated many women emigrants. But for some, the hardships left devastating memories -- often the death of loved ones. Whatever the individual pleasures and tragedies, after months and hundreds of miles of exhaustive travel on the Oregon Trail, all shared the fearful experience, on the California Trail, of the dreadful Sierra Nevada mountains and the final desert crossing -- 40 miles of hot, alkali-laden, waterless, scorching desert -- the seemingly impossible barrier to California's riches (Levy).

The entire trip was a crucible. Women found they could do things, must do things, they'd never done before. In walking nearly a hundred miles through sand and rocks, Juliet Brier frequently carried one of her children on her back and another in her arms. By the nightmare journey's end she was assisting her husband, who lost a hundred pounds during the three-month-long ordeal (Levy).

In the mining towns, women earned as much or more than their miner-husbands by baking pies, sewing, cleaning, ironing, washing, running hotels, dealing cards or pouring drinks in gambling houses -- whatever was required and earned the most (Perkins).

With awesome courage and a high sense of adventure they joined the army of men and carved out lives with their own female ingenuity and perseverance (Perkins).

Abolitionist Movement

The abolitionist movement was a reform movement during the 18th and 19th centuries to abolish slavery, not only in America, but also in Europe and Africa. It also sought to stop the Atlantic slave trade between those three continents. It has also been referred to as the anti-slavery movement. As a result of the abolitionist movement, slavery was abolished in Europe and America by the last half of the 19th century. Africa finally stopped the practice of slavery by the first quarter of the 20th century.

Women's Contribution

Women, both white and black, made enormous contributions to the abolitionist movement.

Ann Yearsley, Hannah More, Susan B. Anthony, Julia Ward Howe, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Frances Ellen Watkins, and many others worked against the enslavement of other human beings. While the white women used their status, money and freedom to work against slavery and help the black women to "find their voices," the black women could tell eye-opening stories of their own experiences to elicit sympathy and support.

In the early years of the movement, women were not really activists because of their perceived "private" role in a male-dominated society. Then, as the movement gained some popularity, stories and poems regarding the ills and evils of slavery began to appear.