Elaine King

Women were treated very different in the early 1800’s. Women were not allowed to vote, own property, keep the money they made, or even sign a contract. Most women were uneducated and were thought of as housewives and mothers (Introduction 2007). Women were often judged on how well they were doing at motherhood. In fact it was not unusual to have multiple kids. Amy Wilde found that women had an average of seven kids in 1800. Wilde also found a survey that said 30% of women in Illinois had ten or more children in 1820. Even though women were pregnant they were still expected to continue their everyday lives, they thought it would “help women prepare for labor” (Wilde 2015). This included working out in the fields and this is where Kies’ invention was extremely helpful.