Final answer:
In the 19th century, women were thought to be superior to men in moral sensibility and artistic refinement, shaped by societal norms. First-wave feminism fought against legal discrimination, leading to the Nineteenth Amendment and women's suffrage. Education and advocacy were key to challenging intellectual biases and securing legal rights for women.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the nineteenth century, women were widely thought to be superior to men in areas of moral sensibility and artistic refinement. This belief was a product of societal constructs such as the Cult of Domesticity and the Victorian era’s doctrine of "separate spheres", which dictated distinct roles for men and women in society. While men increasingly worked outside the home in the public sphere, women were idealized as the moral guardians within it, expected to cultivate and uphold Christian values and spirituality.
First-wave feminism emerged as a response to the legally-mandated discrimination against women, emphasizing the need for equal education, property rights, and suffrage. Rigorous efforts at local and state levels by women paved the way for the eventual success of the suffrage movement, leading to the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. However, prior to this success, women were severely limited in legal rights, such as voting, property ownership, legal status, and control over their offspring.The successes in the late-nineteenth century resulted from decades of advocacy and the belief that, with comparable education, women could demonstrate intellectual abilities equal to men’s, challenging the biological determinism of the time.