Women+on+the+Homefront


 * HMS Civil War Project **

Women on the Homefront

The Civil War greatly affected the women. For one, with all the young men who have left home to join the army, the women are forced to marry men who are much older than them. Some 16 year old women were marrying 60 and 70 year old men- men older than their fathers. The army needed as much help as they could get- the Union and the Confederacy. Women on the homefront helped out in what seemed to be small ways. However, these small little things the women would do to help their side made a big difference. Some of the things they would do was send care packages, candies, canned fruits/veggies, and more to the men who are serving. The women would also send __lint(1)__ and torn up sheets to use to help the injured. The sheets would be used to bandage wounds while the the lint would be used to stop the bleeding. Not only did the women at home help by sending things to the men and the hospitals but they were also mothers who had to take care of their children and earn a living for their family. Now that the men were gone the women had to take some of their jobs in factories and farms. Even though there was a war going on, the econmy must keep going. These women worked just as much and in many cases more than the men. The men were in charge of taking care of the farms, animals, and earning money. The women were in charge of household things and taking care of the children. The women now doubled up and had to continue there regular jobs (like watching the children and keeping the house clean) and the jobs that were normally for the father or the man of the house. This proved the women just as capable as the men. Ideas started to come into the minds of many women- If we can do it just as well as the men can, why don't we have the same rights? Why are we normally forbiden and looked down apon for doing jobs like these? - This is what kicked off the idea of womens rights.

1. __lint__- a soft material for dressing wounds, procured by scraping or otherwise treating linen cloth.

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