Final answer:
The key to the emancipation of women encompassed their involvement in the abolitionist movement, activism for legal property and wage rights, and the pursuit of universal suffrage and equal legal status.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question "What was considered the key to the emancipation of women?" refers to the complex history of the women's rights movement and its quest for equal rights. The emancipation of women is a broad term that encompasses women's liberation from legal, social, and political restrictions. In the context of the history of the women's rights movement, the emancipation of women was closely tied to their involvement in the abolitionist movement, the activism for legal rights over property and wages, and ultimately, the fight for universal suffrage and equal legal status.
The settlement house movement offered relief for working-class women by providing services that aided them in their daily lives and advocating for their rights. Women's roles in the antebellum reforms such as transcendentally, temperance, and abolition contributed to the growing consciousness of gender inequality. Women's limited role in property ownership and legal authority was challenged as early as the 1840s, when states began reforming property laws. These reforms granted women more control over their earnings and legal autonomy, setting the stage for broader rights and the eventual push for universal suffrage.
The Women's Rights Movement emerged from the shared ethos of the abolitionist movement, with prominent leaders like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony linking the struggle of enslaved people to the oppression of women. Central to this movement was the pursuit of equal rights and recognition of the political efficacy of women, demonstrated when Stanton formed the Women's Loyal National League which contributed to the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment.
Post-war, the landscape changed as the Reconstruction era offered an opportunity for the women's rights movement to push forward with their goals. Women's participation in advocating for an end to slavery had paved the way for them to assert their rights and advocate for their own legal and political emancipation, leading to significant collaborations such as the formation of the American Equal Rights Association (AERA). Ultimately, the key to the emancipation of women was their persistent struggle for equality, which found its roots in other social movements, leveraged legal reforms, and collectively aimed at reshaping the societal definition of womanhood and the rights affiliated with it.