The main reasons for the outbreak of the American Civil War had affected everyone. Eternal instability and uncertainty but a belief in a better life – this is how this period was characterized. At that time, a great number of black women activists were involved in the fight against slavery and inequality. They and I knew that all women were worthy of their own rights and freedom and were willing to sacrifice themselves, their time, and their health to achieve this.
My life of an ordinary black woman in the period before the American Civil War was full of challenges, such as injustice, inequality, violence and humiliation. Girls from a young age were considered only as a labor force; they could not get an education and focus on their personal and professional development, could not work and live where they wanted to. I had to earn a living by hard physical and psychological work during day and night, and it was normal for me, that i was subjected to physical and mental violence for non-compliance and non-suffocation. Despite the fact that my life of a black woman-activist was hard and unstable, I was actively involved in forming and maintaining different leagues with major demands for economic, social, and legal freedoms and rights for all women. The American society had to accept and legalize the principles of equality of both sexes. All women should have the right to choose an acceptable profession and education, to marry, to vote, and the right for a decent pay for their own work.
Summing up, it should be noticed that the role of black women-activists during the Civil War is great and unbelievable. The path to the desired goals was difficult and long, you had to go against yourself, fight with internal fear and external misunderstanding on the part of society. As Lange (2015) mentioned, “although the Civil War temporarily disrupted the women’s rights movement, women’s efforts and the organizations they created laid the foundations for a stronger movement after the war” (para. 4). However, this has led us, as female activists, to ensure that women have their own rights and freedoms.
Reference
Lange, A. (2015). Woman’s rights activists during the Civil War. The National Women’s History Museum. Web.