Lillian Serece Williams
From State of the Union: New York and the Civil War
“Men and women, white and black, were involved in every aspect of war on the battlefield as well as on the home front. Men and women, regardless of their race, used the war to mediate the ideals of American democracy and directly linked the successful waging of the war to the extension of freedom… White women were empowered and began an aggressive campaign to get the vote. Black and white women experienced expanded job opportunities and greater access to the public sector and for some perhaps greater independence as a result of the Civil War.”