Freyhof 1

Nolan Freyhof

Mr. John Hanson

AP US History

2/11/22

The Effects of the Market Revolution in Regards to Women

The market revolution was a very influential decade in the history of the US which took and

changed a lot of things for women in colonial society. This push for more automation and more

manufacturing would end up not just affecting the men in society but the women as well. It in

some ways gave them a little bit more freedom but it also would establish a familial hierarchy

that would leave men distinctly at the top for many years. This period would define what a

woman was supposed to be for a long time and what was determined here would send ripples

down in history that still affect us today.

One of the main things that changed for women during the market revolution was the molding

of what a woman's place should be during this time. Women were for the most part completely

subservient to their husbands in all manners of life. This became known as the cult of

domesticity or spheres of domesticity. This social construct said that women were to stay at

home and the man was supposed to go out into the world to support the family while again the

women were at home weaving sewing clothes and preparing food for the family. This belief like

others was being taken from the rich and wealthy upper class and at the time wasn’t an attainable

thing. In most families, especially poor families, the women and children were necessary to keep

the family afloat as during the revolution buying and spending money at stores was at an all-time

high.
 Freyhof 2

While it did limit women to the house the revolution also seemed to get rid of the beliefs of

women in comparison to men. While maybe not avidly expressed in the laws or rights that were

given to the women some things were changing. One of the misconceptions that were

proliferating was the thinking of women having nothing to bring to the table which wasn’t the

case. Most women had to do non-monetary tasks at the home that were imperative to the success

of a family structure working out. Another thing that would benefit women would be the rise of

schooling for women. The slow rise of schooling was a big leap and would even lead to colleges

like Oberlin who let women enroll at the school. Later as public schooling was becoming more

and more widespread they needed teachers to teach the upcoming generations and the task of

teaching would ultimately fall to the women. This need for teachers would give women a post-

hhighschool education opportunity in the form of normal schools which would train them how to

be a teacher.

While women didn’t have very many avenues of occupation they did have a few that

unmarried women could benefit from. This wouldn’t help married women as much as they

couldn’t keep the money as housing and managing money in colonial times was something that

was usually only left to the men. With the increased manufacturing throughout the country, it

was getting more and more expensive for the putting-out system to be profitable as the

machinery was becoming more and more expensive. This would lead women to go to the

factories to do jobs like in spinning mills or textile plants as they could no longer afford to do

them at their own homes. Another avenue that was open to women was the rise of “motherly”

jobs where they tended to people or did things with children. These kinds of jobs included

elementary teaching nursing and anything else that would be seen as an extension of their role as

mothers.
 Freyhof 3

While the changes and influences might have been subtle the effects have been profound

much after the 1830s. Between copying the rich or being a stay at home mom these are things

that still impact us to this day. The Market Revolution gave more work to people and started the

activation of the other half of the population to dip their toes into the economy. While some of

the negative effects have been brushed off, what happened during this revolution will affect us

for years to come.