short reading: an "ambitious organization of ladies"

Question 1

how and why did some women in the late 19th century california do better than women nationally?

Answer 1

western women benefited from the region’s desperate need for expertise and mastered unconventional means to become highly trained professionals at nearly twice women’s national rate

Question 2

how did clara shortridge foltz first find success after her divorce?

Answer 2

first female beneficiary (lawyer)

Question 3

what late 1870s fight did foltz (with her friend and fellow attorney) lose? which higher ed institution did they sue successfully? why did foltz sue a restaurant in new york city?

Answer 3

• fought to include suffrage in california’s second constitution. lost the battle, but won women the rights of equal access to employment and education – then unprecedented outside the state.
• at the same time, they also sued the university of california hastings college of law, in san francisco, for expelling them after ten days because their rustling skirts distracted the male students.
• sued a restaurant (in NYC) for the common practice of refusing service to women without male escorts.

Question 4

according to the author, what was foltz’ most enduring achievement?

Answer 4

the creation of the office of the public defender - then a radical innovation eventually adopted across the nation.