Women's Role In The Civil War

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Throughout history and even today, women have fought and strived for equal rights. The circumstances of certain time periods allowed women to expand their role in society. For example, the Civil War played a major part in the advancement of women’s roles. When the Civil War broke out, women rose up to serve next to men. With women partaking in the Civil War in roles such as spies and nurses, women transcended their stereotypes and their participation in the war lead to their newly found drive to fight for women’s suffrage in the following years. Before the Civil War, women were fighting a war of their own: a war for rights. In colonial America, at this time, women’s rights were incorporated into those of her spouse. This happened …show more content…
Although not completely known, estimates say that hundreds of women acted as spies for the both the Confederacy and the Union. The fact that hundreds of women deliberately took up a role, an unfamiliar one of that, shows how women manage to break through the barriers of their gender’s stereotypes.A woman’s main task as a spy included finding information about the other army, whether it consisted of battle plans, army size, fortifications, or supplies. To carry out this task, women used their gender to their advantage. For example, women smuggled information by writing it down on scraps of paper or fabric and then sewed them into their dresses or rolled them into their hair. Similarly, women carried goods like morphine, ammunition, and weapons by attaching them to the frame of their hoop skirts, or hiding them in a basket or dolls. Women were perfect candidates to play the role of spies also because soldiers easily trusted the women, so the men let their guard down around women. Although many fantastic tales of women spies exist, the one of Rose Greenhow or “Wild Rose” stands …show more content…
The period before the Civil War began the movement for women’s right, but the war postponed that movement. During the war, women stepped out of their traditional roles to serve in the war. After the war ended, the fight for women’s right was more alive than ever before with their newly found confidence they gained from the war. Because of the war, women recognized their importance in society, both in a political and social
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