Final answer:
Southern women, particularly during and after the American Revolution, did not retain title to property due to the legal doctrine of coverture. Within the deeply patriarchal society of the antebellum South, women's roles were largely domestic and subservient to males. Post-slavery laws like the Jim Crow laws continued the gender and racial inequality, especially affecting black women's rights to own property.
Step-by-step explanation:
During the period of American history leading up to and following the American Revolution, southern women did not get to retain title to property due to the doctrine of coverture, which dictated that married women had no separate legal identity from their husbands. Under coverture, the legal existence of a woman was suspended during marriage, and all property rights were transferred to the husband. This doctrine was part of a broader patriarchal system that defined women's roles primarily in domestic terms and kept them in subordinate positions both legally and socially. The patriarchal structure of society in the antebellum South further reinforced the male dominance over property and societal roles. Men were considered sovereigns over their households, and women were relegated to a subservient domestic role. This division of labor and power contributed to the oppression of women and the continuity of gender inequality. Further complicating matters, after the abolition of slavery, Jim Crow laws contributed to maintaining an oppressive social order. Black women, in particular, faced the prospect that any property they owned would pass to their husbands upon marriage, which discouraged marriage and contributed to a cycle of poverty. These laws and societal rules ensured not only the continuation of a racial hierarchy but also the perpetuation of gender disparities.