1865 - 1914 A Women's place

Question 1

What did the civil war do for women?

Answer 1

• It offered married women an opportunity to work outside the home demonstrating their ability to handle economic responsibilities
• Women replaced the men who had gone war in agricultural work, and many also worked as nurses to attend to the wounded, however nursing was not fully seen as a profession by some by rather an extension of domestic work.
• Enslaved Women were freed by the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th amendment, however they still faced issues like poverty, discrimination and unemployment

Question 2

Why did Medical Colleges have strict controls on the number of women they admitted?

Answer 2

• Because there was a lot of opposition from male physicians

Question 3

What happened as a result of the civil war?

Answer 3

• Sped up the US becoming the worlds leading industrial nation
• Thus it increased Work opportunities for Women when the War ended
• By 1870, 13% of all unmarried women already worked in domestic occupations or increasingly in factories

Question 4

Why were married women barred from working outside the home?

Answer 4

• Because of the expectation that once they were married they would give up their jobs and be entirely focused on the home and family
• And separate sphere ideology that argued that men belonged in the public sphere (work) and that women belonged in the private sphere (home)

Question 5

What happened to unmarried women in the 1890s?

Answer 5

• Unmarried women with high school education moved from factory labor to clerical jobs due to the invention of the typewriter and telephone
• Women were able to earn $7 a week and gained some status
• However men still held managerial positions and there was still an expectation that these young women would still at one point leave the workforce to go marry

Question 6

What did the number of women working as teachers and secretaries rise to?

Answer 6

• from 949,000 in 1990 to 3.4 Million in 1920

Question 7

What happened to immigrant women?

Answer 7

• As white women moved into office jobs, factory jobs were increasingly filled by young immigrant women such as hispanic and african american workers
• they faced harsh working conditions with low pay and long hours
• they also took up domestic work such as laundry jobs

Question 8

What did businesses adopting a laissez faire policy do for women?

Answer 8

• Allowed businesses to exploit their workers

Question 9

What were women’s attitudes to political power?

Answer 9

• Before the first World War, women in the US had no political power and a majority of them has not aspiration to achieve it
• However they were still prepared to protest and ensure that their voice was heard

Question 10

What is an example of an Individual who attempted to influence social reforms for women?

Answer 10

• Jane Addams, who founded the Hull House in Chicago in 1889 , which was a community center that provided services to immigrants and the poor

Question 11

What is Temperance and why was it an area women wanted to reform?

Answer 11

• Temperance was a movement aimed at reducing alcohol consumption
• This was because it threatened and undermined the home and family life

Question 12

What was the NCL and what role did it play for women?

Answer 12

• The National Consumer’s league founded in 1899
• gained recognition for the rights of women in the workplace for example by pressuring for the improvement of wages for female sales clerks and pressure on state governments to provide aid for mothers and improve facilities for children

Question 13

What was the NACW?

Answer 13

• National Association of Colored Women
• Established in 1896
• Led by educated black women
• Aimed to improve social, political and economic conditions of African American women and it fought against racism and segregation
• by 1915 it had 50,000 members
• Key figure was Ida B. Wells

Question 14

Describe the campaign for the vote for women

Answer 14

• After the civil war, the campaign for women’s voting rights gained momentum, it was led mostly by white, educated middle class women.
• Key figures were Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
• Started when the extension of the right to vote to all males contained in the 15th amendment infuriated feminist activists because it meant all men despite what wealth and background they were from were enabled to vote whilst still failing to establish the right to vote wealthy and well educated women

Question 15

How did opposition to the 14th and 15th amendment effect Women’s reform movements

Answer 15

• AWSA ( American Women Suffrage Association ) was formed in 1869 by Lucy Stone which advocated for getting the right to vote for AA men and took a moderate approach to achieving women voting rights at state level
• NWSA ( National Women’s Suffrage Association ) formed also in 1869 by Stanton and Anthony and it had a more aggressive approach towards campaigning for federal amendment recognition of women’s right to vote
• in 1890, the two organisation’s merged to form NAWSA ( National American Women Suffrage Association ) and this became the main organisation for pushing for civil rights and by 1915 they had 100,000 members and it was led by Carrie Chapman Catt

Question 16

What was the impact of the Suffragists activities?

Answer 16

• by 1918, 20 states had given women the right to vote in state elections
• Wyoming was the first state to give women full voting rights
• Accelerated federal action for example it led to President Wilson’s call in 1918 of the 19th amendment which gave women the right to vote