Women in the 19C United States of America: Winslow Homer (1836-1910) By The Shore

Wednesday, October 12, 2022

Winslow Homer (1836-1910) By The Shore

“Never put more than two waves in a picture; it's fussy.” Winslow Homer

Because my oldest grandchildren are off to Florida for 2 weeks, and because I am still trying to recover from those aging posts on the self portraits of Helene Schjerfbeck, I thought I would post a few sentimental, melancholy views of yesterday's beaches for us to look at today.

Winslow Homer (1836-1910) By the Shore

Winslow Homer (1836-1910) At Long Branch New Jersey

Winslow Homer (1836-1910) Beach Scene

Winslow Homer (1836-1910) Children on the Beach

Winslow Homer (1836-1910) East Hampton Long Island

Winslow Homer (1836-1910) On the Beach at Long Branch New Jersey

Winslow Homer(1836-1910) Girl on the Beach

Winslow Homer (1836-1910) On the Beach at Marshfield.

About this blog

In colonial America, men were considered superior to woman in all ways. In a strict patriarchal hierarchy, men controlled not only wealth & political power but also how their children were raised, religious questions, & all matters of right & wrong.

In the early part of the 19Cy, however, many Americans experienced a revolution in gender. The doctrine of “separate spheres” maintained that woman’s sphere was the world of privacy, family, & morality while man’s sphere was the public world -– economic striving, political maneuvering, & social competition. But women were interested in equality.

In 1848, New York passed the Married Woman’s Property Act. Now a woman wasn’t automatically liable for her husband’s debts; she could enter contracts on her own; she could collect rents or receive an inheritance in her own right; she could file a lawsuit on her own behalf. She became for economic purposes, an individual. By 1900, every state has passed legislation modeled after this, granting married women some control over their property and earnings.

In 1870 after the Civi War, the 15th Amendment was ratified, saying, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” African-Americans could vote, but women could not.

But it was not until 1920, that the 19th Amendment was ratified granting women the right to vote. “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”