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Essay / The Role of Women in the Second Great Awakening
The Antebellum Market Revolution and the Second Great Awakening marked a turning point in the role of women in the family, the workplace, and in society in the years 1815-1860. This is because women gained greater prominence in churches and were honored for their role in their families. Women became the main followers of the new church and thus led the way in the development of society, such as with the abolition of slavery. From 1815 to 1860, the antebellum market revolution and the Second Great Awakening had a great impact on the role of women, as they gained more attention in daily life and fought to increase equality of life for all in the nation. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayThe Second Great Awakening was a religious revival that took place in the early 19th century in the United States, which caused widespread religion one of the main goals of many people at the time. As churches experienced the greatest growth during this period, women became the largest new members and played an important role in the revivals and reforms of the era. Charles Grandison Finney, a preacher, encouraged women to pray out loud and was one of the first preachers to embrace women's religion. Finney had commented on a conversion that occurred in 1831, the result of “conversation and prayer.” After this happened, “the woman’s heart broke and she settled into joyful faith.” The conversion allowed him to become a member of the Church. This encounter allowed her to return to the Christian faith in which she once believed. Women also had the responsibility of teaching their children morals and good virtues at home. They were deemed suitable for the position because they no longer had as many usual household chores, which left them more time to teach their children. In the Sarony and Major painting, “The Happy Mother”, produced in 1846, we see a woman with her two children. At this time, family size was decreasing and women generally married later. Women also spoiled their children, since they became the center of the house. Additionally, Godey's Lady Book of 1845, a women's magazine, illustrated how women are "constituted as the first teacher of every human being" according to God. However, they are still “denied the privileges of education which can only enable them to discharge their duty to their children.” Women also benefited from new employment opportunities in factories, thanks to the shift to a market economy. However, the working conditions in which they had to work were not favorable and women also had to work six days a week for low pay. Harriet Farley described in the Lowell Offer, a newspaper that featured the work of textile girls, what it was like to work in the Lowell textile mill. She said it attracted "dignified, virtuous, intelligent and well-educated girls", which would be their first experience of independence. They worked to “get money, as much and as fast” as they could. Although women were given new roles in society, African Americans were still subject to slavery, which led many people to believe in abolition. In the film “Selling a Mother to Her Child”, a mother is separated from her child. This was done “very often, and frequently too” since they “sold the mother while keeping her.