OCR textbook - campaign for political rights 1960-92 Flashcards
1966
formation of national organisation for women (NOW)
aim of NOW
‘full participation in mainstream american society’ & ‘truly equal relationship with men’
what had these new aims (eg. NOW) emerged from
- new feminism
- study published in 1963 & commissioned by president kennedy =
‘report on american women’ - by 1960s, there was movement for change eg. kennedys ‘new frontier’
what was new feminism
- challenged basis of women’s role in society
- influenced by writers eg. betty freidan
- demands for political/social change were underpinned by ideology that hadn’t been apparent in previous women’s movements
what was the ‘report on american women’ 1963
- survey worked on by several highly educated women
- ready by elite
- found statistics of unequal pay, opportunities, political participation & status disturbing
when was the feminine mystique by betty freidan published
1963
what was the feminine mystique about
expressed (mainly middle-class) women’s discontent with post-war period
kennedys assassination
1963
who succeeded kennedy
lyndon b. johnson
what did johnson introduce
johnson’s ‘great society’
what problems did johnson’s new impetus for reform face
- not united in aims
- face considerable conservative opposition
- neither of political parties took up causes directly
- radical supporters often alienated mainstream support
what was expressed in the NOW conference 1967
women’s demand for abortion & ‘the right of women to control their own reproductive lives’
give an example of a breakaway women’s group, their disagreement with NOW & what they fought for/results
eg. women’s equality league action
- rejected NOW’s support for abortion-law reform
- pressed hard for equality in education
- brought action against 300 schools/colleges who were discriminating on women
who did NOW bring legal action against
- employers who broke the 1967 executive order against sex discrimination by companies with federal contracts
what was a major focus of womens organisations from 1970
passing of the ERA
wording of ERA
equality of rights under law shall not be denied/abridged by the united states or by any state on account of sex
when did the ERA get to the stage of being debated by congress & how
1972
- due to increased pressure from NOW & other women’s groups
from when did the ERA become the expressed policy of NOW
1967
what did supporters of the ERA do in 1970
picketed congress & disrupted a congressional committee considering lowering the voting age in order to raise the equality issue
what happened in august 1972
strike of 20,000 women calling for full equality
what marked the most significant expansion of militancy since 1890-1917
- betty friedans ardent advocacy - supported by congressman martha griffiths
- plenty of direct action/demonstrations
martha griffiths
- lawyer who in 1954 became 1st female democrat elected to congress by michigan
- campaigner for women’s rights who successfully got sex discrimination included in civil rights act of 1964
- went on to be assistant governor of michigan
what passed the house of representatives in 1972
- what passed congress
resolution introduced by martha griffiths calling for an equal rights amendment
- an edited version, exempting women from the draft, passed congress
how many states accepted the amendment
30
draft
us term for conscription/calling up civilians for military service
opposition to ERA
- phyllis schlafly
phyllis schlafly
- born in st louis
- financed college education via testing machine guns in arms factory during war
- conservative journalist
- wrote in support of family values & against feminism
- thought real right of a woman was to stay at home
what was able to stop the amendment being ratified
movr towards conservatism - led to victory of repuboican ronald reagan in 1980
who wrote ‘sexual politics’ in 1970
kate millett
kate millets view
‘every avenue of power is entirely in male hands’
what was the lack of political equality mirrored in
econokic equality
eg of economic equality
female wages were avg. 63% of mens in 1956
—> by time of 1970s = 57%
political movement of 1970s-1980s
- 80,000-100,000 women participated in some form of womens group
- social agenda was wider: health, abortion, marriage/divorce, sexuality & rights for older women/working women
- ‘second wave’ feminism
situation by 1992
- 1980s saw expansion of education for women —> nearly 1/2 undergraduate & masters degrees = women
- old culture persisted
- proportion in science & engineering = much lower
- many still studied ‘female subjects’ & had ‘female jobs’
- limited no. of women in decision-making positions
- women paid on average 32% less than men
how many women were engineers in 1990
fewer than 8%
major political developments/not by 1992
- nineteenth amendment
- NOT = failure of ERA
first women to be appointed to supreme court & hold major diplomatic post
= jeanne fitzpatrick 1981
appointed ambassador to united states
