Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- PREFACE
- CHAPTER I THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
- CHAPTER II THE LABOURING POPULATION—IRISH AND GERMANS
- CHAPTER III THE PRESS—ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE—PUBLIC OPINION
- CHAPTER IV RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CHARACTERISTICS
- CHAPTER V THE WOMEN OF AMERICA
- CHAPTER VI THE CITIES OF AMERICA—NEW YORK
- CHAPTER VII THE STEAMBOAT AND RAILWAY SYSTEM OF AMERICA—STREET TRAFFIC
- CHAPTER VIII EDUCATION—THE FREE-SCHOOL SYSTEM
- CHAPTER IX BUSINESS
- CHAPTER X MINERAL WEALTH OF THE COUNTRY
- CHAPTER XI THE LATE CIVIL WAR
- CHAPTER XII SANATORY FAIRS AND CHARITIES
- CHAPTER XIII POLITICAL CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE
- CHAPTER XIV COMMISSIONERS OF EMIGRATION—CASTLE GARDEN, NEW YOEK
- CHAPTER XV ADVICE TO INTENDING EMIGRANTS
CHAPTER V - THE WOMEN OF AMERICA
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 August 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- PREFACE
- CHAPTER I THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
- CHAPTER II THE LABOURING POPULATION—IRISH AND GERMANS
- CHAPTER III THE PRESS—ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE—PUBLIC OPINION
- CHAPTER IV RELIGIOUS AND MORAL CHARACTERISTICS
- CHAPTER V THE WOMEN OF AMERICA
- CHAPTER VI THE CITIES OF AMERICA—NEW YORK
- CHAPTER VII THE STEAMBOAT AND RAILWAY SYSTEM OF AMERICA—STREET TRAFFIC
- CHAPTER VIII EDUCATION—THE FREE-SCHOOL SYSTEM
- CHAPTER IX BUSINESS
- CHAPTER X MINERAL WEALTH OF THE COUNTRY
- CHAPTER XI THE LATE CIVIL WAR
- CHAPTER XII SANATORY FAIRS AND CHARITIES
- CHAPTER XIII POLITICAL CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE
- CHAPTER XIV COMMISSIONERS OF EMIGRATION—CASTLE GARDEN, NEW YOEK
- CHAPTER XV ADVICE TO INTENDING EMIGRANTS
Summary
The principle of equality laid down in the Constitution of the United States has influenced in a remarkable manner the condition of the women of the country. It may be that the world has heretofore been wrong in according to man a mental and physical superiority over woman, and that until the latter end of the Eighteenth Century, he usurped a controlling power in society to which he had no right. Whether this be so or not, the American women have taken what they deem their proper position in society, and according to their own manner of expressing themselves, if they cannot boss it over the men they will not be bossed, which simply means if they cannot be masters they will not be mastered. A married woman in the ranks of the working-classes in England knows she has certain household duties to perform, and she does them with order and regularity. She has learned to look up to her husband, not aa a master, but as a lover and protector. She has two strong motives for studying his health and attending to his wants and wishes—her affection is the first, and her self-interest the second. From the general nature of domestic arrangements the man and his wife slide as it were into their respective duties; he works for the siller, and she lays it out to the best advantage, and makes him a home in the best sense of the term.
In all civilized society, if we except America, women, from the very nature of their weakness, look up to man as a power above them, but they esteem that power with feelings of love rather than fear.
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- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009