Outline a brief history of Women's movements in colonial times.

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Outline a brief history of Women's movements in colonial times.

In the early colonial period of the 17th century, women in American colonies grappled with strict Puritanical values that confined them primarily to domestic and maternal roles. Legal systems reinforced their subordination, denying property rights and public participation. The Great Awakening in the 1730s and 1740s provided some women with opportunities to engage in religious activities, fostering a modest increase in education for women. 

Women in early American colonies were often subject to strict Puritanical values, limiting their roles to domesticity and motherhood. Legal systems reinforced women's subordination, denying them property rights and the ability to participate in public life .The Great Awakening sparked religious revival and provided some women with opportunities to participate in religious activities. The emphasis on personal connection with God led to increased education for women in some communities.

The Revolutionary era in the late 18th century saw some women questioning their subordinate status, exemplified by Abigail Adams urging her husband to consider women's rights. However, the Victorian "Cult of True Womanhood" in the early 19th century reinforced traditional roles, prompting the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, marking the beginning of the organized women's rights movement. The suffrage movement gained momentum in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with organizations like NAWSA and NWP advocating for voting rights. 

The Progressive Era saw women engaging in broader social and political issues, and World War I contributed to the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote in 1920. Despite this victory, challenges persisted, leading to the emergence of second-wave feminism in the 1960s and 1970s, addressing issues beyond suffrage, such as workplace equality and reproductive rights. The women's movements in colonial times laid the groundwork for ongoing struggles toward gender equality, each era contributing to an evolving understanding of women's rights and roles in society.