In the beginning of the 1800"s women generally stayed at home but as the century progressed and the Civil War began the men went out to fight and the women were left home and had to provide for their families. It became a necessity for women to work to survive. When the men came home after the war, they obviously did not like their wives to work and this was the beginning of suffrage. Women couldn't vote at this time and education for women was frowned upon as well. It wasn't until the 1900's when all that changed.