And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs and closed the flesh in its place. Then the Lord God made the rib, which the Lord God had taken from the man, into a woman and brought her to the man. And Adam said, 'This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; She will be called Woman, because she was taken from Man. During antebellum America, women became a cornerstone of history and helped shape how sex and gender were viewed in the United States. Women began to recognize the way they were treated and began to educate themselves about the rights they deserved and the effects this would have on future generations. Religion became a forum where women could feel a sense of empowerment, and the Second Great Awakening spoke of everyone being responsible for their own salvation, whether as male or female. However, before women's emancipation began, the American male hierarchy distinguished women as an inferior class and the numerous articles that will be mentioned will give evidence of women's struggle. The goal of the reform for women is equality between genders and opportunities. for women to thrive in America. The push for women's rights in the late 19th century proved to be a decisive factor in demonstrating that referendums on women were going in the right direction. Political participation was growing within the female population, which could be attributed to higher education among women. Women had gained the energy to promote equality, and by helping society and women in communities, women grew as leaders. However, before such power grew in women and the female circle, women had to live in a male-dominated society in... .... middle of paper ......Reborn: Visions of Youth in Middle-Class America, 1780-1850 (Penn, 2005), 148-176. [Beachboard]Horowitz Leftowitz, Helen. “Voices in the Sexual Conversation in Antebellum America,” Attitudes toward Sex in Antebellum America (Bedford/St. Martin's, 2007), 1-31. [Beachboard]Ryan, P. Mary. , "The Power of Women's Networks: A Case Study in Women's Moral Reform in Antebellum America," Feminist Studies 5.1 (Spring, 1979), 66-85. [J-Stor]Srebnick Gilman, Amy. “Who Murdered Mary Rodgers?: Police Reform, Abortion, and the Criminalization of Private Life,” in The Mysterious Death of Mary Rodgers: Sex and Culture in Nineteenth-Century New York (Oxford, 1997), 84-108. [Beachboard]Stansell, Christine. “Women in the City: Sex Exchange and Prostitution,” in City of Women: Sex and Class in New York, 1789-1860 (Illinois, 1987), 171-192. [ACLS Humanities E-Book, via Coast]