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Kathleen Ernst's 'Breaking Tradition'

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“Woman could not vote or sign contracts,” this is a quote from the passage “Breaking Tradition,” by Kathleen Ernst. In the passage she talks about the change that women in the mid 1800’s went through when the civil war broke out. They go from people that have barely, to no rights in society, to a group that have the right to vote and have many different jobs. In the passage, the author uses the way woman’s role in society changed from the results of the civil war, to show how women 's lives changed after the war. In the beginning of the passage, the author talks about how woman are basically only good for taking care of the babies and children, and to take care of the wounded. For example the author states,” Women were expected to keep busy …show more content…

For example, the author gives the example, “Other women entered new occupations created by the Industrial Revolution, which replaced the work of individual craftspeople with machine manufacturing.” This quote comes to show that because of the war women were given new opportunities to explore. Another example to show how the war changed the lives of women is, “ The civil war, and the absence from home of so many men, brought profound challenges and opportunities to all women.” Which shows that women 's lives changed by the civil war because the men were gone and the women got to fill in their jobs, which was a huge improvement from what they were doing before. Finally, the author shows how the women’s lives changed for the better, after the civil war, because of the absence of men and the independence that the civil war gave them. In conclusion, the author, Kathleen Ernst, talks about how women’s lives changed from before the civil war, and after the civil war. In the beginning of the passage, before the civil war, the author states that women were only good for tending the wounded and taking care of the babies and children. However towards the end of the passage, after the civil war, she tells that women were given new opportunities because of the independence that the war

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