During the Jacksonian period, an American married woman was legally inferior to her partner. Wives during this time were considered legally nonexistent and that all their property rights were passed to their husband once they had consented to marriage. In 1842, the husband was said to be the head of the household and the provider for the family, with that he had custody of his wife unless she was a victim of abuse within the relationship. The wife retained some rights separate from her husband; she was entitled to be morally, legally separate from her husband. But, it was said that the proper place for a woman was in the home. It was a privilege for the wife to be politically connected to her husband. The husband believed that there was the head of the family and he had all the power within the family, including any decisions that needed to be made.
In 1848, property rights for women had not changed but women were viewed to have independent minds. An unmarried woman controlled the rights of her own property and her own life but once she entered into a marriage she essentially lost all rights to her property along with her life. In Tennessee, the Rights of Women were clarified to say that if a man and women agreed upon marriage, the property she possessed before the marriage still belonged to her. This gave women a higher status in society than before. But in Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court affirmed that the wife had no control and disposition of property.
In 1854, the New York Legislature received a Petition from the behalf of women. The women’s wishes included: secure control of her property, conduct her own business, and secure and hold gains within industry. Women made up half of the population and felt that they would contain equal rights. The rights of women at this time stated that they were allowed to possess reason, affection, and energy only to put these emotions into their duties at home. In reaction to this petition, the legislature stated that men and women should not be equal and that marriage is something above and beyond a contract. A wife was eligible to collect income only if her husband was an alcoholic and neglected or abused her. The typical job for women was to educate their children. The wife could hire an assistant to ease the work in the household.
The importance of the female was extremely low if they were inadequately educated. A woman needed to teach her children and she would be useless without an education. Women began to establish themselves by becoming poets, painters, sculptors, educational writers, editors, and even farmers. They slowly gained respect for themselves from the community.