Final answer:
In the 1800s, unmarried women had more rights than married women, particularly in property ownership and legal autonomy due to the principle of coverture. Option A is correct.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the 1800s, unmarried women actually had more rights than married women when it came to legal and property issues. Married women, under the principle of coverture, were not recognized as separate legal entities; their identity and property rights were subsumed by their husbands.
Therefore, unmarried women had more control over their property and legal affairs. In contrast, married women could not conduct business, sue, or sell property without the consent of their husbands. This lack of rights extended to not having control over wages if they worked outside the home.
However, by the end of the nineteenth century, there were some reforms. Married women began to gain rights to their own earnings and the right to sue. Despite these gains, they still lacked many fundamental rights such as suffrage, which was only achieved after much struggle, culminating in the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920.
The women's rights movement in the United States and Europe during the 1800s marked the beginning of significant changes, leading to the legal and social improvements that would occur in the 20th century, including reproductive rights and legal equality.
Legal reforms slowly improved the situation, though significant rights such as suffrage weren't gained until the 20th century.