Living in the North or the South gave exceptionally different recompenses and exposure to the political atmosphere for the women in the early republic. A women's ability to acquire an education as well as an opportunity to advance on a social, political and economic platform was dependent on where she lived, how wealthy and educated her father may have been and most importantly the color of her skin.1 The divide between customs and traditions were entrenched in the social hierarchies that persisted in the south.
It is important to understand how the development of Human rights and liberties were so closely associated to the traditions and customs that persisted in the south such as race. Marylyn Salmons study of the legal status of women in the early republic reveals that the literacy skills in the south amongst women were much lower than their northern counterparts. Even then the statistics are amongst white women. Black women living in the south had no access to education. The laws associated to coverture and the customs of the nation bound white women of the early republic. The legal rights of women were almost non-existent, black women had little to no custody rights whether to themselves or the lives of their children. However black families had no limitation or protections of marriages. The institution of slavery heavily impacted the way in which women looked amongst themselves and the deprivations that were acquired by a women race and social standing. .
When looking at the achievements of women in the early republic is it also important to understand that we are examining the achievements of wealthy white women and how the progression of these women left a residual effect that would ultimately trickle down to women of the middle and poor class and eventually to women of color. .
Issues Surrounding Women .
The major issues examined in this paper are the institution of education and the ability of women to capitalize off of formal education to insight a social revolution.