What were some things women could not do before the civil war?

In the South in particular, they were not meant to try to talk about business, politics or war, and they had to be carefully chaperoned at all times. (In exchange, they were treated like domestic goddesses).

North and South, however, this was a superficial piece of social theatre, in which the wealthy families were just boasting that their womenfolk did not need to work. In most families, they worked the farms alongside their menfolk, having to ride horses and round-up cattle, as well as running shops and most other kinds of businesses.