Woman benchmark 5 Flashcards
Reasons for progress in gaining civil rights for women in the USA 1865-1992? - Female activism
- Seneca Falls Convention 1848 - start of the campaign for female suffrage and the issue was taken up in years later by female activists like Susan B Anthony and Lucy Stone
- Temperance activists like Frances Willard who founded the Women’s Christian Temperance Union 1879, also campaigned on issues like female suffrage and working conditions
- Friedan - Feminine Mystique 1963 - immediate bestseller and launched 1960s feminist movement - also founded the National Association for Women in 1966 which campaigned for the ERA and right to choose abortion
Reasons for progress in gaining civil rights for women in the USA 1865-1992? - not female activism
- Phyllis Schlafly campaign against the ERA contributed to its failure to be ratified
- The Progressive Era focused on a wide range of social reforms, many of which, like reforms of political corruption and banking systems - traditionally male dominated fields and most campaigners were men
- Woman divided by class - most suffragists middle class whilst working class women more concerned with bread and butter issues - and race - the NWSA and AWSA split in 1869 on whether to support the 15th amendment which gave the vote to black men but not to women
Reasons for progress in gaining civil rights for women in the USA 1865-1992? - economic factors
ECONOMIC expansion - Gilded Age 1970-1900, the 2 world wars and the booms which followed them, coincided with the most important improvements in US women’s rights. Also increased women’s access to educated (especially uni level after WW2) jobs and consumer goods, including domestic appliances which gave more freedom from chores
- Anti-feminist backlash which started in 1970s with the reaction against Roe v Wade and the ERA coincided with a shift to the right in economic policy, against state intervention as witnessed during the New Deal and Great Society
Reasons for progress in gaining civil rights for women in the USA 1865-1992? - not economic factors
- Changes did little to benefit the working class and usually ethnic minority women, most of whom remained trapped in unskilled, low paid or part time jobs with little or no trade union protection. The separate spheres idea never fully applied to the bc of econ necessity compelled to work outside the house
- Did not significantly increase the educational opportunities open to women until after WW2 arguably not really until 1960s - Fem mystique expressed frustration of intelligent women
- 2 world wars expanded women’s opportunities much more quickly than general economic growth
Reasons for progress in gaining civil rights for women in the USA 1865-1992? - social and political factors
Legislative and judicial progress depended on male politicians (presidents like Kennedy and Johnson in the 1960s who passed Equal Pay and CRA) and the SC which legalised contraception in 1965 and abortion in 1973. Women could not vote nationally until Congress had legislated for this in 1919 and enough states had ratified it in 1920
- Social attitudes changed - amongst men and women as in the 1920s and 1960s when attitudes towards women’ fashion, sex and public behaviour changed radically
- Improvements in medical science like the invention of the contraceptive pill have always had a massive impact on women’s freedom
How far do you agree that divisions within the woman’s movement were the most important factor hindering the attainment of gender equality in the USA 1865-1992? - Internal divisions
- 1869 split between (National Woman Suffrage Association) NWSA AND AWSA (American Woman Suffrage Association) on whether to support 15th amendment to US giving black men vote even if it didn’t give women the vote (NWSA opposed - female suffrage through amendment to constitution whilst AWSA thought state by state campaigns
- Racial divisions - black women excluded from NAWSA had to form their own group. Many women joined revived KKK in 1920s and opposed post war civil rights movement bc neglected women issues
- Roe v Wade 1973 exposed divisions over abortion an activists, especially Phyllis Schafley, opposing Equal Rights Amendment which contributed to failure to ratify it as a constitutional amendment .
How far do you agree that divisions within the woman’s movement were the most important factor hindering the attainment of gender equality in the USA 1865-1992? - not internal divisions
Not permanent - NWSA and AWSA merged to form the NAWSA National American Women Suffrage Association 1890
How far do you agree that divisions within the woman’s movement were the most important factor hindering the attainment of gender equality in the USA 1865-1992? - economic opposition
- Male opposition to women’s rights had a greater effect in limiting progress towards gender equality then divisions in women’s movement. Both employers and trade unions resisted equal pay for women despite need for female labour during the 2 world wars
- Equal pay for women not conceded until 1963: in 1930s on average a female teacher earned 20% less than a male, southern bell telephone company barred them from skilled positions even after CRA 1964 and air stewardesses were forced to retire at the age of 35 or if they got married
- New Deal prioritised jobs for men on grounds that they were the main breadwinners - didn’t prioritise lower class women. Only 7% of jobs created by Civil Works \Administration went to women and female dominated jobs like retail excluded
How far do you agree that divisions within the woman’s movement were the most important factor hindering the attainment of gender equality in the USA 1865-1992? - political opposition
- Congress passed Comstock laws banning circulation of information of birth control 1873, until WW1 Congress and most states resisted giving women the vote
- Most states passed laws banning abortion in the late 19th century
- Republican dominance in both 1920s and 80s led to cuts in welfare provision which mainly affected women and a refusal to provide maternity leave and affordable childcare as was customary in Europe
Why did woman make more progress in the USA 1941-92 than 1865-1941 - employment
WW2 gave women more opportunities to join armed forces, work in war industries and earn higher wages - more independence and challenged traditional views of a women’s role.
BUT
- Temporary
- Arguably the improved employment opportunities for women, especially in middle class professions like law, medicine, the civil service and politics were a result of long term econ changes before
- BAME woman did not benefit, lack of educational qualifications, low skilled, low paid, non-unionised jobs
Why did woman make more progress in the USA 1941-92 than 1865-1941 - education
- Expansion of education, especially at uni level, gave women qualifications to aspire to middle class careers and the intellectual assurance to challenge male supremacy
- Post war period cultural attitudes gradually changed among bothb men and women from seperate spheres idea to acceptance of equal opportunities
BUT Servicemen Readjustment Act 1944 gave preference to ex servicemen over women in terms of access to higher education after the war.
Why did woman make more progress in the USA 1941-92 than 1865-1941 - marriage and childbirth
Women gained increased educational and job opportunities and more freedom generally as a result of the increased availability of divorce and birth control 9especially the introduction of he contraceptive pill 1960s) and the Roe v Wade judgement on abortion
BUT these trends predated 1941 (Margaret Sanger had been advocating birth control since 1911)
Why did woman make more progress in the USA 1941-92 than 1865-1941 - legislation
The federal government was generally sympathetic to women’s rights after 1941, especially since the 1960s with the passage of the Equal Pay and CRAs
BUT this also happened before 1941, with Congress voting for female suffrage in 1919 and New Deal legislation which helped women in the 1930s - Works Progress Administration created jobs for unemployed women
Why did woman make more progress in the USA 1941-92 than 1865-1941 - female activism
The women’s movement made more impact after 1941, especially in the 1960s with Freidan, NOW and the campaign for the Equal Rights Amendment which made far more impact from the 1960s onwards than after WW1
Assess the view that developments in the 1960s had more impact on gender equality in the USA than developments that occurred in any other period 1865-1992? - Employment and education
- The Equal Pay and Civil Rights Acts 1963-4 gave woman access to equal pay and banned gender discrimination in employment and education
- JFK New Frontier and LBJ Great Society increased women’s access to welfare, including minimum wages, maximum working hours and trade union rights
- By 1992 more women more mployed than men and women owned 7M businesses
Assess the view that developments in the 1960s had more impact on gender equality in the USA than developments that occurred in any other period 1865-1992? - not employment and education
- Even by 1992 women still earned on average 1/3 less than men because of the discrimination (the glass ceiling) the fact that did well less well paid jobs like cleaning, waitressing, nursing and the fact that they took career breaks and to have children and/or worked part time because of family responsibilities
- By 1900 half of high school graduates were women, giving them access to office work. Female uni graduates could work in teaching or social work
- Technological developments like typwriter before WW11930s more freedom and opportunities
- New Deal 1936 460K women employed WPA alone
Assess the view that developments in the 1960s had more impact on gender equality in the USA than developments that occurred in any other period 1865-1992? - political participation
- Emergence of New Wave Feminism generated by Feminine Mystique 1936 led to female participation in politics, with the number of congresswomen quadrupling 1970-92
- By 1992 - 7 female state governers and 19 of the USA’sbiggest 100 cities had female mayors
Assess the view that developments in the 1960s had more impact on gender equality in the USA than developments that occurred in any other period 1865-1992? - not political participation
- Even by 1992 only 6% of congresswomen were women, far less than in European countries, any progress from the 1960s onwards was from a very low base
- Radical feminist tactics like ‘bra burning’ trivialised the women’s movement and lost them support
- Political activism in the late 19th and 20th century arguably had more impact than in the 1960s, leading in 1920 to the gaining of the vote and prohibition as well as legislation improving health and safety work
Assess the view that developments in the 1960s had more impact on gender equality in the USA than developments that occurred in any other period 1865-1992? - birth control
- The contraceptive pill which became available to women in 1960s gave women not only more sexual freedom but also the ability to plan their family around their career rather than vice versa
- Contraception was legalised for married women in 1965; as a result of feminist campaigning which started in 1960s, contraception was legalised for single women in 1972 and abortion in 1973
Assess the view that developments in the 1960s had more impact on gender equality in the USA than developments that occurred in any other period 1865-1992? - not birth control
- White middle class women benefitted from more reliable contraception, the rate of pregnancy among single women actually increased from 1960s onwards bc so many ethnic minority or working class women were still so ignorant of contraception
- Margaret Sanger coined the phrase ‘birth control’ in 1911 and campaigned for it from then onwards, opening the first legal contraceptive clinic 1923
- The federal ban on contraception was ended in 1938
How united were American women in support of the issue of gender equality in the period 1865-1992 - political rights
- Women were divided on whether they wanted equality with men EG Schafly opposed the ERA on the grounds that it would endanger women privileges like the right to separate toilets and schools, exemption from military combat and maternal preference in divorce cases
- Different groups had different priorities EG during the progressive era the NAWSA focused on the right to vote while the Women Christian Temperance Union campaigned for prohibition
- Most of these pressure groups were set up by educated middle class women whose concerns had little interest for working class women in low paid or part time work who were more concerned with practical and economic issues
How united were American women in support of the issue of gender equality in the period 1865-1992 - not political rights
- NWSA and AWSA merged in 1890 to campaign together for the vote
- Suffrage groups were suffeciently united to ensure the passage of the 19th amendment in 1920 giving women the vote
- Widespread support for feminist campaigns like the ERA; every opinion poll taken 1970-82 indicated that most women supported it
How united were American women in support of the issue of gender equality in the period 1865-1992 - birth control
- Feminists in the late 20th century campaigning were divided by pornography, whether to prioritise sexual freedom for women or protection from sexual exploitation by men
- Abortion issue highlighted in Roe v Wade 1973, divided secular feminists who insisted on women’s right to choose from socially conservative women both Protestant and Catholic, who regarded abortion as a sin
BUT women since 1960s supported right to use contraception
How united were American women in support of the issue of gender equality in the period 1865-1992 - social and economic issues
- Failure of Prohibition became increasingly clear in the 1920s women were divided over whether to retain or repeal it EG Sabin formed the Women’s Organisation for National Prohibition Reform in 1929 to campaign for repeal
- Suffrage groups were white dom and excluded black and immigrant women - white women took little interest in black issues like lynching and many joined the KKK in the 1920s
- Religious divisions between middle class Protestant evangicals who campaigned for temperance and the urban working class women who were often Catholic immigrants with socially conservative views little interested in the right to vote
BUT united on property rights, divorce, and access to education and the professions
