“He has monopolized nearly all the profitable employments, and from those she is permitted to follow, she receives but a scanty remuneration. He closes against her all the avenues to wealth and distinction which he considers most honorable to himself. As a teacher of theology, medicine, or law, she is not known. He has denied her the facilities for obtaining a thorough education, all colleges being closed against her.”
—Declaration of Sentiments, Seneca Falls Convention, 1848
Which of the following developments in the early to mid-nineteenth century most directly contributed to the grievances expressed in the excerpt?
- The expansion of the Market Revolution, which drew men into public, wage-earearning roles while confining middle-class women to the domestic sphere.Answer
- BA decline in factory production and a return to home-based artisan manufacturing that isolated women from the national economy.
- CRulings by the Marshall Court that weakened the federal government's power, leaving the regulation of interstate labor entirely to individual states.
- DThe deployment of the Monroe Doctrine to forge military alliances with Latin American nations to protect female workers abroad.
Answer
The expansion of the Market Revolution, which drew men into public, wage-earning roles while confining middle-class women to the domestic sphere.
The correct answer is correct because the Market Revolution transformed the American economy by moving production from households to commercial factories. This economic shift drew men into public, wage-earning jobs, while reinforcing a social ideology of 'separate spheres' for middle-class families. Under this ideology, women were expected to remain in the domestic sphere, while professional avenues such as medicine, law, and higher education were closed to them, directly motivating the grievances detailed in the Declaration of Sentiments.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Abolitionism and the Women's Rights Movement