Final answer:
Many women throughout history have taken action to combat oppressive restrictions by engaging in social reforms, creating organizations, and fighting for the right to vote. The path to women's suffrage was long and included challenging stereotypes about women's roles in society and employment.
Step-by-step explanation:
To remain free from oppressive public and private restrictions, many women throughout history have engaged in various actions. While a few resorted to riots, particularly during shortages in war times, others formed organizations or challenged existing laws. During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, women reformers made significant strides and were successful in introducing social reforms such as changes in married women's property laws, temperance, and educational advancements.
However, the right to vote and political power were still out of reach until the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. This historic victory for women's suffrage was the culmination of years of activism that also included efforts to gain rights in employment, education, property ownership, and legal standing.
Significant obstacles at that time included the pervasive belief that female employment outside of the home was unnatural and the idealized image of the dependent housewife. Women activists worked tirelessly to break these stereotypes and demonstrate that women's contributions in the workforce were essential and deserved recognition and equality.
Women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton fought for women's rights beyond suffrage, advocating for educational opportunities and property rights. Collectively, these efforts have led to more education, employment opportunities, and legislative changes that have greatly improved the lives of women and have propelled them into the public sphere, allowing them to become active leaders and reformers.