Clinton began her speech talking about how women were facing interlocking chains of oppression, and had been for centuries in the United States, before the idea of emancipation had even been thought of. Slavery might have been ending in the United States, but women were fighting to be equal to men. Clinton focused a lot of her talk on the fictional character Scarlett O'Hara, and her fictional tales of being a female heroine during the time of the Civil War. There were however, real live women that were the unsung heroes of the Civil War. A woman such as Annie Whitmeyer was among the women of this time, who created a meal plan for soldiers in hospitals to speed up recovery.
Two women that Clinton referred to were Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell. These women gain support for the war effort, and helped create the WCRA with their 2000-3000 supporters. Also 6 of the 12 board members for the WCRA were women opposed to men, which was unheard of at this time for women to be in roles of power. The Civil War may have been almost impossible to fund without the help of women. In Chicago, for example, $800,000 was raised by women from a charity fair that was held. Manhattan, not to be outdone then raised $1,000,000 in a charity fair shortly after the one in Chicago. This fair that was held in Manhattan was built from the ground up by women, and 10,000 people attended. These great fundraising accomplishments could be made by women, because at the time the government was spreading this idea that work was more important than leisure time, which was very different before fighting broke out in 1861.
While women’s indirect efforts in fundraising were essential to United States success women also helped in more direct way. Women served as nurses during the war, often tending to soldiers on the battlefield in the line of fire. Some women even went so far as to impersonate men, and fight alongside them. Tales of women living as men to be allowed in battle were not uncommon at this time.
The Civil War was not only tales of triumph. Women were often hit the hardest in terms of war. One woman by the name of Sarah Balou lost her husband at age 39, and never was able to remarry due to an entire generation of men being whipped out by the war (with 3 out of 5 men dying from diseases and another 20% dying in battle). Women that worked struggled tremendously during the Civil War. Wages decreased as much as 50% during war time. This paired with inflation that doubled the price on every day necessities such as sugar, eggs, and bread made it nearly impossible for some women to survive. Another struggle not often realized during this time was the during the Civil War the sex trade was at an all-time high, often due to women’s necessity to make money just to survive during this time.
Women fought hard during the Civil War in various ways, and are still fighting for equality today. No women were invited to speak at a Fort Sumter benefit this past summer, and the on stage at the March on Washington were women in the choir. Women still have a long fight ahead of them to achieve equality, but the women of the Civil War laid a strong path for women today to follow.
No comments:
Post a Comment