Under traditional systems prior to the Revolution, women were considered to be under the care of their fathers or husbands and as such could not own property or exercise a number of rights that were a fact of life for men. The situation began to change with the revolution. The status of women did not change radically, but despite the expressions of the authors of the time, it became obvious that women's rights began to be considered on an equal footing with those of men, as demonstrated by the New Jersey constitution which allowed both the sexes to vote provided they possessed sufficient properties (Brown & Carp, 2014). This was certainly a step in the right direction, but it did not realize the full potential of the revolution, just like the failure to free those held captive.