Participation of women in the abolition of slavery in the nineteenth century
Introduction
This work is intended to link to what extent feminist women participated in abolitionist movements in the United States during the 19th century. The struggle of women due to equal rights and freedom is subject to a long and conflicting process, as well as the processes of abolition of slavery internationally. During the French Revolution, there is the first sample of claiming rights for women, the Declaration of Women’s and Citizen Rights, proposed in 1791 by the National Assembly of France by Olympe de Gouces.
According to the Boaz author (2015), he affirms that it is not by chance that the rights of women and the abolition of slavery arose from the industrial revolution and the French Revolution, it is during the industrial revolution, where women begin towin "protagonism".
Slavery did not abolish in the United States until the War of Secession, with the victory of the unionist and abolitionist states of the North on the secessionist and slave states of the South.
The purpose of this research is to analyze historical and literary sources, with a critical sense, as the work develops answering the initial question of inquiry. The choice of the subject is linked to the context that takes place today, provides the possibility of knowing more on the subject, which is often a rare issue in historiography.
A feminist is anyone who recognizes equality and full humanity in women and men.
(Gloria Steinem)
Origin of feminist movements, repercussion and abolitionist movements:
Throughout history, research around women is a rare issue in historiography until the mid -nineteenth century.;The simple, the day -to day of women, the care of the house and the children, their duties, obligations begins to study, the inequality that was lived was very evident and, therefore, women are currently studied in all in allYour fields, times and aspects. There is an important participation of women in various social issues, social conditions.
Following the Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Citizen, proposed in 1791 by the National Assembly of France by Olympe de Gouges, movements that fought for the equality and freedom of women arose, which results in important modifications forImprove the quality of life, education and economic opportunities. The United States was a percussion of reformist movements, which are born as a result of the Protestant movements of religious reform that defended the moral regeneration of society and the abolitionism of slavery.
The objective of this research is to be able to link and verify how the role of feminist women in abolitionist movements is related, in this way it is relevant to take a brief tour of the process of conquering the rights of both social movements.
The first women’s mobilizations begin to emerge in Europe and the United States, at the beginning the fight was for universal suffrage;However, in the last decades of the 19th century, feminist movements begin their insatiable struggle for women’s rights, it is in this period where these movements begin to popularize and newspapers around the world begin to write about women. The London newspaper ¨The secular Chronicle¨ for the first time in 1859 began publishing a page dedicated to women, to the defense of social and domestic issues that affect the so -called "fragile "sex. During the following decades this period continues to make publications about women, and transforms into an essential tool for the dissemination of the campaign for better education levels.
On July 4, 1876, during the celebration of the Centenary of the Independence of the United States, he was interrupted by a group of women released by suffragist Susan B. Anthony, who, reading an open letter addressed to the government, the feminist manifestOur complete development (…) and we deny the dogma maintained for centuries in the codes of all nations – that the woman was made to serve the man … we do not ask our special privileges or special legislation. We ask for justice, equality, we ask that the civil and political rights enjoyed by the citizens of the United States are guaranteed forever to us and our sisters ”. This publication not only arises in US newspapers, but it expands rapidly, after this event there were successive similar facts always for the same purpose. Precursors such as Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, promoted the movement of women’s rights in the United States.
In 1792, the English Mary Wollstonecraft published the book "Vindication of Women’s Rights", one of the most radical feminist manifests in history. The work was inspired by the idea that the woman not only exists for male pleasure and with the proposal that women receive the same treatment as men in terms of education, political rights and work, in addition to being judgedWith the same moral patterns. Contemporary feminism resumed the debate and raised a criticism of democracy for not paying enough attention to laws and institutions and, from a more radical perspective, its omission of the private dimension has been questioned.
As for abolitionism as a movement, no doubt numerous women were incorporated, which favored a temporary alliance with whom they demanded the manumission of slaves;It also generated a speech that, in the long run, supported the political demands of the female sector. Many American women contributed their time and resources to the struggle for the abolition of slavery. These women caught attention when protesting the abuses of the body of slaves and sexual abuse. In fact, getting involved in abolitionist activities resulted in many women to begin to question the need to have suffrage, linking their ability to demand transformations in society with a political right.
It is in this period that the notion of equality arises, since a series of social changes begin to occur as a result of a modification in the structure of a society.
(Valcárcel, 1997) The modern notion of equality arises in the 18. More recently, together with the progressive expansion of citizenship and suffrage especially women, equality has consisted of a convention through which the same value is granted to components of a society whose diversity is based on sex reasons, classsocial, ethnicity, culture, race or age, among other characteristics. Equality is an end, a beginning and an objective of the democratic and social state of law.
Triangular trade and abolitionism
(Cipolla, 1974) During the 16th to 18th centuries, slave triangular trade was a very common commercial practice during the centuries that slavery lasted in America. The lucrative transoceanic triangular route consisted of a trade system in which the ships sailed through the Atlantic Ocean playing three different regions: they left Europe, they arrived in Africa, from there to America and finally returned to Europe. Due to this system, it led to American lands about fifteen million blacks in such underlying conditions that it is estimated that 20% already died in a journey of about two months due to illness, hunger, suicide or severe punishment for rebellion. Consequently, slave traffic caused in Africa an important decrease in the number of inhabitants and serious internal problems between different ethnicities.
The slave trade came to an end with the abolition of slavery in the 19th century. England was the main promoter of abolition. One hundred years before had been one of the main slave merchants. In 1853 the transport of slaves to overseas was prohibited, although illegally, on a smaller scale, it would continue to be practiced by several more decades. The abolition of slavery itself would take longer to impose itself. Denmark was the first country to ban in 1792 the maritime transport of slaves, followed by England in 1807 and the United States in 1808, in the case of the United States the reason for abolition perhaps it was not so much because of humanitarian character, but a more formto cut the ties with England that monopolized traffic.
The process of abolition of slavery to be carried out through slave actions, feminist movements, free blacks and white abolitionists. The strategies that were implemented: armed rebellion, public protest, destruction of properties, diplomatic negotiations and electoral pressure were innúmeras. It can be affirmed that this process was very slow, difficult, with various difficulties, obstacles during the tour, although substantially very positive, without a doubt the participation of women in the abolition of slavery was key. The end of slavery in the United States did not mean the end of marginalization and violation of human rights.
(Baez, 2010 Page. 25) female activism was important in the abolitionist movement, which remained in force during the first decades of the twentieth century. Both white women from the upper and middle classes of society, and African -American reformists and some belonging to the working class joined the campaign.
Bibliography
- BOAZ, D, (2015). Liberals and the fight for women’s rights. Editorial. Huffington Post . USA.
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