Historians such as Suzanne Lebsock have been interested in the extent to which southern women’s access to property gave them freedom and autonomy. Looking at Petersburg women of different classes and races, evaluate how much freedom they had in the household, in general decision making, and in their sexual behavior. How does their freedom and position compare with that of Helen Jewett or the young women who worked in textile mills in New England? Reference: The Free Women of Petersburg by Suzanne LesbocK

In the Introduction to her book, Lebsock writes, "Women in Petersburg experienced increasing autonomy, autonomy in the sense of freedom from utter dependence on men" (page xv). In Petersburg, Virginia in the nineteenth century, fewer women decided to marry, more women worked, and some married women were able to have separate estates that their husbands could not own. This loophole was developed so that women could maintain property even if their husbands went into debt, as many did in the panics and economic turbulence of the nineteenth century. As the author points out, women were not allowed this freedom because of feminism, but this freedom allowed women to develop autonomy. 
Women in Petersburg who were wealthy had more sexual choice and power. For example, only 28.6% of the wealthiest widows in the town married, while 72.7% of the poorest did (27). This shows that while people were beginning to desire companionate marriage (a marriage based on love and respect), women did not feel that marriage often offered them this chance. Therefore, if they could support themselves, they did not choose marriage. In addition, women's growing power within the family is suggested by the declining birth rate. At the beginning of the 19th century, the typical white woman had 7 or 8 children, but this number fell to 3 to 4 by the close of the century (50). In addition, although women controlled less than a third of the property in Petersburg, one third of them established separate estates for their daughters (78). This statistic shows that they valued the power and freedom that separate estates could offer to their daughters.
Free black women also possessed a great deal of autonomy. In Petersburg, one half of the free black households were headed by women from 1800 to 1860 (89). While black women struggled with poverty and discrimination, they held 40-50% of the property among free blacks (90). The author writes that free black women experienced less inequality between the sexes than did white women.
Young women in New England who worked in mills were still subject to patriarchal rules. They often lived in boarding houses, where their hours were strictly controlled. In the late 1830s and 1840s, financial depression made their situation even more desperate, and they were often forced to work two looms at a time (see the source in the link below). In addition, they generally earned far less than men. Helen Jewett was a Maine-born prostitute who was killed in New York City in the 1830s (when she was in her early 20s). Her accused killer was acquitted. The mill girls of New England and figures such as Helen Jewett had less autonomy than the women in Petersburg who were able to inherit estates. 
http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/sarah-bagley-avenges-new-england-mill-girls/