Women Flashcards
Women in public affairs before the CW (positive)
increasingly active
growth in religious enthusiasm -> w.e = active in c.ch society
participated in campaign against slavery -> often ardent abolitionists
many (e.g Harriet Tubman) -> heroic role in rescuing slaves
promotion of temperance
development of a movement for women’s suffrage
link btween social concerns and wider pol issue of suffrage
to promote change w needed a pol voice at national, state, local levels
before CW many w orgs -> expanding interests outside home
campaigns for wking conditions to imp property rights
involved in childcare, helping poor, bible study
opposition to prostitution
Women position before the CW (Negative)
prevailing concept = women’s place in the home
remained strong until 20th century -> pol active w = minority
Political participation (pos)
anti-slavery movement led to w organising and promoting a pol cause
1837: first female Anti-Slavery Convention -> model for orgs set up to demand voting rights for w
first convention to discuss female suffrage = Seneca Falls, NY, 1848
-> put issue of suffrage into wider context
if w had vote they would bring compassion and social concern to bear on pol decisions
notable AA campaigner = Sojourner Truth
main instigators of Seneca Falls = middle-class white w (e.g Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton)
able and eloquent leaders acted as role models for later campaigners
Economic and social developments
interest of w in public causes = a reflection of the diversification in US society
development of urbanisation, new technology meant easier communication, greater literacy, better education before 1865
with greater prosperity more middle class women did not work outside home so had more time to get involved w/ causes by mid 19th century although they were a minority
for some, expectations that they would nurture the family became transferred to wider social concerns (looking after the interests of the wider conmmunity, bringing womanly values of care/love to those in need -> required a more public profile)
The impact of the CW (positive)
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s famous novel ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ (1852) greatly publicised opp to slavery
many women wanted to vote in order to protest about slavery
Impact of the CW (negative)
men leading abolitionist movement were not comfortable when women’s rights = associated w/ abolition
abol leaders did not want to lose support by making it appear that abolitionists = feminists
after the war, cause of AAs and w = seperated
How did the CW affect women?
more public participation
supported the war and org a considerable array of charitable orgs and fund raising
w/ men away, women had to take on greater eco responsibility, often left alone
the war brought considerable eco and social change and disruption
if a AAs could vote and sit in congress why not women who had played an imp part in war and campaigned for abolition?
many women did not want to return to pre-war domesticity and built on their wartime example of wking in public sphere
Kleinburg on CW impact on women
1999
“the CW contributed to the redefinition of women’s political roles. women gained in moral authority”
The end of the war (positive)
by 1865, opps for greater change for w seemed strong
the end of the war (negative)
many inequalities to overcome:
- few men supported political rights for women
growth of industry and prosperity = view that a woman’s place = inside the home and men should work outside the home
greatest female employment = domestic e.g cleaning
westward expansion meant men and w worked together but male viewed w as being responsible for family
limited birth control = large families
Prohibition
temperance = greater perticipation in public life
major reason for development of suffrage
degree of org required to change law and society = essentially a pol act
1874: Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)
appealed to protestants in Midwest
initially worked to ban alcoholic drinking to safeguard family
1880: 27,000 and national org in 24 states ; 1920: 800000
org activities and strategy and programme -> valuable exp in publicity and mobilising
Prohibition
temperance = greater perticipation in public life
major reason for development of suffrage
degree of org required to change law and society = essentially a pol act
1874: Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)
appealed to protestants in Midwest
initially worked to ban alcoholic drinking to safeguard family
1880: 27,000 and national org in 24 states ; 1920: 800000
org activities and strategy and programme -> valuable exp in publicity and mobilising support
leader = Frances Willard
achieved pol aims -> persuaded local legislatures to ban alcohol
pol pressure and lobbying and mass meetings
much of the reforming energy of pre-war women’s groups = temperance
North: members supported abolitionismand w suffrage
South: appeal mainly due to desire to restrict alcohol sale to AAs and believed that drunkenness -> violent and uncontrollable
AA w = enthusiastic due to moral aspect (strong r belief of Baptist chs)
link bet r and pol demands = imp aspect of cr movement
worked as a group rather than relaint on gov
Rural and urban political involvement (pos)
w = active in rural protests esp Grange Movement and Farmer’s Alliance
w spoke at pub meetings against influence of spreading of railways
Elizabeth Lease = orator for Populist Party -> shield protests despite bitter hostility from business interests
NA w formed Women’s National Indian Association for NA rights in 1883 -> reforming impusle during GA
cities = female pub activity = often charities
Charity Organization Society = major outlet for w’s energies
exp of charoty w appointed to administer pub charities
-> exp of influencing local gov
w = effective in persuading states to pass pension leg in 1900s
female graduates pioneered settlement house movement in late 1850s est 400 settlement houses in cities
poor ppl could find educational, recreational, cultrual activities
took on pol aspect in some areas (meeting places for reformist rooms for t.u meetings)
Rural and urban political involvement (negative)
pressure on farms increased food production 1870s
small/ medium farms competitors = needed a pol voice
-> supported Populist Party
The break with abolitionism (positive)
1866: American Ewual Rights Association
- wanted to remove racial and gender restrictions
Break with abolitionism (negative)
14th Ammendment: equal rights but only penalised states which denied rights “any of the male inhabitants of such state”
15th Ammendment: did not mention sex
Abolitionists: AAs = 1st responsibility not w
little supp for w’s suffrage
abol distanced itsef from suffrage
Suffrage organisations
leaders of w suffrage = Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cody Stanton
-> but w/o former allies
1869: National Woman Suffrage Association (NSWA) = only w
rival org = American Women Suffrage Association (AWSA) = inc then
NWSA = national change ; AWSA = individual states (get w voting in state leg)
NWSA = broader view and feminist opp male domination ; AWSA = one-issue org
-> cause of women -> weakened by division
merged in 1890 -> National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA)
but the splits caused many w to put energies into social refrom as alternative
divisions in aims and methods = major factor in weakening movement
Progress in some states
fed pol structure gave w more opps to make progress
indiv states gave w right to vote (1869: Wyoming, 1870: Utah)
In Utah, Mormons wanted to show that polygamy did not mean that w = exploited/ no rights -> some morm w = enthusiastic wks for the franchise -> right revoked due to 1887 Edmund’s Tucker Act
Wyoming’s own history website
Wyoming’s own history website entitles the section on the vote: ‘Right choice, wrong reasons:
1) wanted good publicity
2) hoped would bring more w (men: w = 6:1)
3) hoped the w could vote for the party that gave them the vote - Democrats
4) wanted to embarass the Republican governor John Campbell
5) Unnamed legislators - if AA and immigrants can vote why not bring in the women as well
The voting issue (positive)
1875 - SC: could give right to vote
20 states only widows with schoolage children could vote
Voting issue (negative)
to test 14th and 15th Ams, Anthony and 150 other w tried to vote in 1871+2:
- arrested and tried for electoral malpractice
- judge refused right to speak and told jury to find guilty
- by 1890 the suffrage campaigners managed to get 8 states to hold vote on issue but all reformers = defeated
- -> 33 total campaigns but only Colorado and Idaho voted in favour in 1912
- hostile crowds often prevented w voting as they believed it was unnatural and a distraction from domestic duties
- campaign basis shifted from democratic args about equal rights to practical advocacy of w being suitable for dealing w/ domestic issues e.g temperance
- often args = not focused on natural justice and inequality, but on args that w needed to influence laws to help them w/ wking conditions and social reforms and ban alcohol
Opposition
1911: National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage est - est by Josephine Dodge
-> one largest and supported by journal, ‘The Remonstrance’
groofs saw w’s rights as eroding special place/respect for w in house
feared that pol equality would work against interests of w who were content with existing status as ‘angels of the hearth’ -> continuing ideas ; suffaced again in 1960s
some Catholic imms: saw suffrage reform as weakening family
Southern Democrats: disliked suffrage and feared that w in politics would introduce labour laws which may hurt south or work against restrictions on AAs e.g JC laws
How much progress had beenmade by 1900? (negative)
Little impact:
- old splits had not entirely healed
- S organisations were unwilling to give AA w vote
- not complete agreement about which types of w should vote
- opp = vociferous
- movement = distracted by other causes, e.g temperance
- links w/ temp = seen by some as ‘too protestant’
How much progress had been made by 1900? (positive)
1900s: US movement = inspired by British suufragettes
Harriet Stanton Blatch led by public parades and more links w/ tvs
1913, Alice Paul and Lucy Burns formed more militant Congressional Union -> renamed National Women’s Party in 1916
The impact of WW1?
opps to gain rights
NAWSA leader, Carrie Chapman Catt, insisted that promise of suffrage would induce w to support war effort -> Wilson agreed
Was WW1 more important in the development of w rights than the CW?
both wars, coop and commitment of w = needed
CW = more protracted and total war in South
WW1 inc eco activity; Allied propaganda of liberal alliance w/ progressive France and UK against autocratic/ militarist Germany shifted opinion -> how could one fight democracy but keep w disenfranchised?
states = more receptive to NAWSA args
Enfranchisement: NY and Illinios = 1917; S Dakota, Michigan, Omaha = 1918
NAWSA targested anti-suffrage senators -> some = defeated
by 1919, Congress = willing to pass 19th Amendment not giving all w right to vote -> effective from 1920
Was the 19th Amendment in 1920 a major turning point? (positive)
Gaining vote could be seen as:
- reward for war work
- symbolic extension of US democracy
- extension of the movements towards pol rights
- major move towards using w’s interests/abilities on national scale
effective campaiging by NAWSA and gratitude for war work
confirmed w = free/equal citizens; yet, still = discrim in wages, social attitudes, ability to exercise rights
Was the 19th Amendment a TP in 1920? (negative)
not as a result of massive change in opinion that w deserved vote as a matter of natural justice/inherent demo right
once in Congress, had to conform to the male-dominated society, voting how their husbands favoured
much eco and soc change during war = short-lived
AA w in N = better off tht in S
discrim in wages, social attitudes, ability to exercise rights
How far did the extension of the franchise lead to other changes?
splits within women’sorg’s imeeded progress
some: w should wk within existing two-party system; others: hopeless
unlikely that either party would choose substantil no’s of w as candidates or that w would become active on equal level to men
they thought the way forward = w to form seperate party
w/o unifying cause of gaining vote, divisions and loss of impetus as diff causes took the energies of w devoted to contributing to pub life
Women’s suffrage organisations (positve)
1920: NAWSA changed into League of Women Voters (LWV)
interest in non-party pol issues e.g Women’s International League for Peace
Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching urged federal action
not all female pol activity = radical; conservative orgs = popular, most famously the Daughters of the American Revolution
Women’s suffrage organisations (negative)
but direction = divided between campaigning on w’s issus (e.g Jane Addams) or integration into national pol life and develop into equal citizens (e.g Carrie Chapman Catt)
w turnout in 1920 elections = low
only 5-10% of NAWSA members joined the new org
more continuity w/ general tendency of pre-war period w to campaign for specific social/civic issues
Continuing opposition
female suffrage = unwomanly
many men thought that men should have first access to jobs during Depression and that w should return to the home after WW2
National Association Opposed to Women Suffrage and Daughters of the American Revolution and Conservative w = similar outlook
-> opposed new feminism of later 20th C and Equal Rights Amendment
but some wanted universal suffrage, other: white elite
NAWSA feared loss of support but did not encourage AAs
Continuing opposition (positve)
despite opp suffrage movement revived w/ merging of NNSA and AWSA in 1890 into NAWSA
Continuity or change in period 1865-1920
congress, gov, judiciary not rqual radically altered by 19th Amm
Equality = far off by 1920
pol activity = focused around issues specific to w rather than national concerns. Inter-war campaigns incuded:
- a struggle for independent citizenship
- right to own land
- right to run for public office
- right to register as voters in some states
- right to have access to all posts in civil service
- right to serve on juries
there = difference in practice between states on these issues, pol activity = more fragmented
vote depended on residence which depended on power of husband who had right to decide where family lived and voted
some states, even by 1960s, would not allow married w to sign contracts independently or run own businesses w/o special permission
citizenship issues being raised these = often diffuse and state based and progress towards full and equal legal/civic rights = intermittent
men dominated pub life -> US society did not accept w equality
How much progress had been made between 1865 and 1940s? (positive)
by 1941 eligible to vote were members Congress and local legislatures held local/national office and there was a w cabinet minister
by 1945 more evi of w being involved in national politics
both parties campaigned for w support which they did not in 1865
by 1945 dismissal of w’s attempt to register in 1871-2 = part of distant past when w voted and elected in 1941
attitudes changed considerably
How much progress had been made between 1865 and 1940s? (negative)
campaign for constitutional change in an ERA not a great deal more powerful/ better supported than suffrage in 1860s and perhaps less so than when the suffrage orgs combined in 1890
problems for ERA change = more
devotion to equality not shown by w who achieved power and influence in ND orgs -> divisions = as apparent as during suffrage divisions in 1860s/70s
attitudes did not change universally
attitude towards equal pay and legal rights = more resonance w/ 1870s
Equal Rights Ammendment
National Women’s Party attempted to consolidate reforms by appealing for an Equal Rights Am to confirm move to equality implied but not achieved in 1920 -> some fear it would remove some protection already gained e.g wking hours
SC decisions in 1912 declared state regulation legal -> by 1920, 75% of states restricted w’s wking hours
some: if equal pay introduced, disatrous effect on w employment prospects as emps not able to afford w wks
only Wisconsin 1921 passed an equal rights leg and later attempts in 1970s did not succeed due to deep divisions or opp in Congress state legislation and emos
What problems did women face acctually voting?
had to re-register as individuals -> problems in meeting local residenc requirments
diff for w looking after children w/ husbands away wking to even travel to voting stations
w achieved substantial rep of party committess only in a minority of states by 1940
some states = slow to amend leg allowing w to be candidates for public office -> Oklahoma prohibited this until 1942
by 1945 234 w in state legislatures
in 20 yrs after 19th Ammendment, only 2 female governers of states -> both standing in for their husbands
many AA w in South could vote in theory but not practice as result of restrictions e.g literacy tests or threat of verbal/physical abuse
-> only overcame these obstacles in 1960s
Women and New Deal (positive)
contraversial how far w benefitted from ND
some pol changes in bringing w into gov (although largely due to social reform = thought it was an appropriate sphere for them)
Eleanor Roosevelt (1st lady) pushed for more w public office
most sig appointment = Frances Perkins as Secretary for Labor and member of cabinet
w = sig represented in expanded gov agencies of ND
Women and New Deal (negative)
federal agencies = largely run by men
having pol rights did not translate into being able to achieve social justice in ND leg -> discrim against mothers and married w to boost emp for men
AA w = racial discrim in social security in S
pension inequality due to much of ND leg rested on assumption that men wked and w looked after men and home
no attempt in labout leg to secure equal wages
these inequalities = accepted by influential w on advisory boards in ND
desire for equal rights expressed by National Women’s Party = limited influence
Huge gap between implications of equality in 19th Am and agree of equality achieved
The impact of war in this period
Civil war might be seen as more imp than WW1
inc participation in public affairs and greater confidence and higher expectations of w outside home
freeing of slaves brought changes to AA w
WW1:
pol changes and amendment
but the vote was not accompanied by comprehensive change in w social, eco, legal status
Second World War and its impact on women (positve)
WW2 = closer to total war of CW than WW1 as female participation
greater no of w in work -> removed restrictions
propaganda gave impression of considerable expansion of opportunity/responsibilty
Women’s Advisory Committee advised on utilisation of w for war effort
inc inclusion in state legislatures from 144 to 228
some inc in w in Congress public office but not extensive
w wked in some skilled jobs
WW2 and impacts on women (negative)
not involved in wartime decision-making on home front/aims/methods
ND gov agencies = dominated by men
unable to secure childcare/ resturant wk that British Wking w achieved
expected to combine domestic responsibilities w/ demanding wk
had to accept unequal pay
despite National Council of Negro Women little consultation w/ AA w and little opp for them to join armed forces/ managerial roles
as a result of harsh treatment of Japanese after Pearl Harbor, Jap w = discrim
little real influence in pol parties
remained divided -> even in wartime, conservative w’s groups did not support greater help for wking mothers -> believed the war should not erode traditional family values
The results of the war
inc eco activity during the war led to sustained period of prosperity
-> led to greater domestication of w as did early indus growth before CW
-> reduction of social issues which w campaigned for
Cold War brought a period of conservatism -> easy to see campaigning for equal rights as supportive of communism
post-war = stagnation, even regression
Post-war successes
sig female participation in cr movements
Rosa Parks initiated Montgomery protest in 1955
Elizabeth Eckford -> Little Rock 1957
AA w took leading role in grass-roots cr orgs, esp Ella Baker
Post-war failures
by end of 1946, 2 million w fired from heavy indus
within 2 months of end of war, 800,000 more lost jobs
right to pol participation could not prevent wholesale discrim against w wks
not all w returned home but had to accept lower pay and status and exclusion from key jobs (now considered too heavy for them)
gap btwen m and w pay inc 1945-60
sexual exploitation inc as new consumerism tried to take adv of w’s sex appeal
still expected to combine work w/ domestic responsibilities
conc of w in trad caring roles (nursing, teaching, social work)
pub pol roles were not much different from post-CW period
AA wages = worse byt more expected thatthey would work
eco discrim = linked w/ pol discrim in S (states tried to deny AA rights)
The campaign for political rights
just as issues for AA and w = linked before CW and 1920s lynching campaign also linked w/ inc movement for cr m in 1960s
1964: Howard Smith (S Congressman) wanted to sabotage CR Act -> jokingly suggested that ‘sex’ should be added (thinking it would discredit the measure) but it was actually added (result = good but attitude = bad)
led to many w bringing legal cases against discrim
-> caused formation of National Organization for Women (NOW) 1966
had a wider remit than many of the previous orgs
aim = “full participation in the mainstream of American Society” and “a truely equal rel w/ men”
-> these aims = more diff than many of the prev aims of organised w’s groups as a result of single constitutional aims of suffrage had a sharp focus and indiv campaigns e.g temperance
Aims of NOW
wider and threatened the Suburban culture
- new kind of Feminism which challenged the basis of w’s role in society and was influenced by writers e.g Betty Friedan (published ‘The Feminine Mystique’ 1963) -> “a woman is handicapped by her sex”) ;
demands for pol/soc change = underpinned by an ideology not so apparent in prev w’s movements
a study (1963) commissioned by Kennedy - ‘Report on American Women’ - wked on by highly educated w and read by the elite who found the statistics of unequality disturbing
movement for change by 1960s -> Kennedy’s ‘New Frontier’ gave impression that change = needed after a long period of internal stagnation and that USA needed modernisation
Johnson’s Great Society (posiitve for women)
re-emergence of pol demands coincided w/ change in US pol and soc
some parallels to progressive era and ND
reconsideration of role of w
subject matter of w’s demands went far beyond what suffrage orgs asked for, e.g right to have abortions and control reproductive rights
New feminist campaigns and orgs wked within existing system and wanted national laws
w’s groups inspired/energised by new fem = diverse but shared overall aim of equality which had been lacking in 30s/40s
specific female issues e.g paid maternity leave
unifying thrust = equality in key areas e.g education, employment, pol orgs
even breakaway groups e.g Women’s Equity Action League (which rejected NOW’s support and for abortion-law reform) campaigned hard for equality in education -> brought action against 300 schools and colleges discriminating against w
NOW brought legal actions against emps who broke 1967 executive order against sex discrim
Great Society negative
not united in aims or stratergy
considerable conservative opposition often from women
neither party took up the causes directly
radical supporters often alienated mainstream support
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
major focus of w’s orgs from 1970 = passing of ERA
introduced into congress in 1923 “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the US or by any state on account of sex”
-> their constitutional rights were equal but not legal and social status
every year from 1923 to 1970 a proposal made to pass the amendment
only in 1972 did it get to stage of being debated in Congress
it had been passed in 1953 by Senate but attached a condition allowing w to keep their existing and future special protections that men did not have
-> w/o full equality not acceptable to supporters
The evolution of the ERA
from 1967 ERA = expressed policy of NOW -> vital symbol of equality
Aug 1972: strike of 20,000 calling for full equality
most sig expansion of militancy since 1890-1917:
- Betty Friedan’s ardent advocacy supported by Congresswoman Martha Griffiths and direct action/demonstrations on pol issues e.g Vietnam War
- 1972: resolution introduced by Martha Griffiths calling for ERA passed House of Representatives
- edited version, exempting w from the draft (conscription) passed Congress
- Nixon accepted the measure -> Ratification deadline set for 22 March 1979
- through 1977 recieved 35/38 necessary state ratifications
- seemed destined for ratification until Phyllis Schlafly mobilised
conservative women in opp
Opposition to the ERA
remarkable and unexpected development
Phyllis Schlafly, Republican journalist org w to oppose measures as effectively as previous reformers had org in support of change
“non-criminal sexual harassment on the job is not a problem for the virtuous woman except in the rarest of cases” - 1981
Two levels of opp
rational arguements -> w might find themselves liable for mil service; lose protection rights; alimony would be threatened; argued that it = a measure for young single w competing w/ men for jobs, rather than for older/ wking-class w
appeal for traditional values -> common for w to be looked after by m; danger that w would not gain custody in divorce cases as easily, undermining widespread belief that children needed to be raised by mother
Nixon’s ‘silent majority’
used by N in 1969 to describe mass of middle-class American’s (Middle America) who were conservative and opposed social change
-> asserted themselves
Divisions among women
one of biggest barriers to change -> Daughter’s of the American Revolution = re-emerging and led by an articulate, trenchant, determinated leader
Republican impact on women’s rights
Conservatism move meant Republican Reagan won in 1980 and prevented ERA being ratified
withdrew support in 1980 even though Eisenhower has backed amm
polls show less support for amendment in 80s than when it was introduced in 70s
through 80s and 90s activists tried to revive ERA but had not been successful by 1992 (first ratified: 5 April 2017 by Nevada Legislature)
Positive sig of radical feminism
parallel to trad and broadly pol activities = campaigns against social sexual discrim -> demanded that the whole way men treated and viewed w needed to change -> new type of ‘sexual politics’
roots in pol activism
conciousness raising - feminists saw as unconventional political activity
- small groups of women met to discuss pos of w -> made w more aware of ‘unequal power relationships’
significance of radical feminism (negative)
byt again alliances between campaigns for w’s issues and those supporting other cr = problematic
veteran cr campaigner Frederick Douglas rejected linking w’s rights w/ AA cr in 1868 -> black activists of 1960sndid not always see a role for w
-> one AA leader: “the only position for women in the SNCC is prone”
protests, writings, meetings against sexism did not take form of an org movement
Kate Millet: ‘sexual politics’, 1970 -> “every avenue of power’s entirely in male hands”
pol disillushionment w/ conventional means of attempting to gain pol influence
lack of pol equality = mirrored in eco equality
female wages = 63% of mens in 1956 -> fell to 57% (1973)
day-care centres were not adequate for the no of wking mothers and no tax relief for children until 1977 although well est for w in UK
Political movement of the 1970s and 1980s
1970s: 80-100,000 w = participants in some form of w’s groups comparable to wide support for temperance in 1870s/80s
wider social adgenda: health, abortion, marriage/divorce, rights for older/ wking w
direction of pol for w moved from prev conventional forms -> more an extension of trend est after CW for concerns over social and spec w’s issues
secon-wave feminism (1st wave = focused on right to vote and narrower pol rights)
The situation by 1992 (positive)
1980s = an expansion of education for w -> nearly 50% of degrees = w
Geraldine Ferraro 1984 = vice presidential candidate
1981 Jeanne Fitzpatrick appointed ambassador to UN
major pol development = 19th Am
excitment of ‘second wave feminism’ led to major issues and great deal of heightended awareness of gender issues
w incorporated into laws on idniv states
The situation by 1992 (negative)
old culture persisted: proportion in science and engineering = much lower
less than 8% of engineers = w in 1990
maj of w still studied ‘female subjects’ and wked in ‘female occupation’ as they had done before WW1
limited no of w in decision-making pos despute right to vote
despite Equal Pay Act of 1963, paid 32% less than m
took until 1984 for major party to select a woman as vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro - on losing side in 1984
took until 1981 for woman to be appointed to SC and hold major diplomatic post
sig = failure of ERA which may have been more of a milestone than 19th Am
pol terms - did not lead to equal rights being guaranteed by constitution
wholesale changes in w holding major gov posts or having decision-making roles in local/national gov or major national institutions had not occured by 1992
Women and work after 1986 (positive)
after 1865, considerable expansion of no of w in labour market
big in in white-collar jobs
biggest change = greater expansion of paid work among single and married w
range of female emp changed
end of CW: 60% = domestic servants; 1% = white collar
1920: 18% = dom ser; 40% = clerical and prof (did not apply AA w)
growth in un org due to larger no of w in wk
more strikes and demands for better wages/ conditions
btwn CW and WW1 -> mixture of change and continuity
wk gave w more independence and was background to greater involvement in pub affairs and beg of indus orgs
women and work after 1865: change and continuity (negative)
higher prop of AA married w than white but as eco grew more demand for w wks
but only 2% of trade unionists = w by 1914 even though 25% of female emp = in factories
most wk = in trad areas -> attitude still that w’ major respons = home
Social change 1865-1914(pos)
w/ prosperity, family size fell as middle class Americans wanted to ensure their children could prosper -> w had fewer children and expected more of partners
w gained from social change in many ways: 1920 no of boys/girls in school = more equal but % inc from 10-30% 1870-1914, prop of w teachers inc from 60-86% 1870-1914
growth in education and emp led to w being more confident in participating in pub campaigns
led to more co-op and expansion of w’s clubs
Social changes 1865-1914 (negative)
but prop of w in higher education remained lower although no of w w/ degrees doubled, only 30% of deg awarded to w by 1920
less progress in eco opp
The social and eco impact of WW1 (positive)
WW1 did not bring w into factories for 1st time but added to no emp
3 million more w = wking than 1865
diversity of female emp inc -> more in heavy indus and transport
no’s in farming grew
30,000 w worked directly for armed forces although less change due to the wk = extended domestic service service e.g laundry/nursing
growth in gov extended opps already developed befire 1917 for clerical wk
over 20,000 w travelled overseas in support of armed forces -> 358 killed
the war accelerated higher levels of female emp inc w’s confidence in tackling more demanding work and ass w w/ national cause
Social and economic impact of WW1 (negative)
did not make radical change
much of the work continued to be in trad roles after war, many w did not stay in their new roles in indus -> pressured to give up roles for men returning from war
although wages rose not equality btwn male and female labour
little attempt to provide childcare facilities or to help w who faced dual respon at wk and in the home
The flapper era (positive)
part of Roaring Twenties -> revolution of trad attitudes
w wore less restircting clothes; shorter hair; smoked; more ostentatious about sexuality; shorter skirts -> symbolised by ‘flappers’
more independent and emancipated young w going against ‘Victorian norms’
Flapper era (negatives)
limited acceptance in conservative, rural USA
urban areas - greater overt sexuality resulted in w becoming sex objects to attract men and inc double standards rather than achieving greater independence and emancipation
pressure on w to be fashionable and alluring before marriage then adapt to become housewives
birth control = limited -> abortions = main means of preventing birth
-> million illegal abortions a year < 1973
-> birth-control pioneer, Margaret Sanger = arrested for obscenity
-> birth-control not available until late 50s; abortion legalised in 1973
w seemingly had freedom to celebratre own sexuality and independence but the men who fathered the children did not
Women and work
sexual prejudice in offices -> less likely to make decisions
by 1930 s mainjos: secretary, clerk, saleswoman, waitress, haridresser
better educated w would be teachers/ nurses
due to degree of continuity w/ pre-war era despite surface changes and exp of women
expectations run hom, prevents unwanted preg, unqual pay
divisions among w as th their role
The Great Depression and New Deal (positives)
w worked for less, they were often emp in preference to men by companies hit hard and anxious to reduce costs
1930s: no of wks inc from 11.7% - 15.2% of total workforce
The Great Depression and New Deal
onset of GD made pos worse
inc press to not steal jobs from men
diff for married w to find work -> some states stopped married w taking jobs in any public run institutions
GD put press on wages -> hit AA w hard
small progress made in the prof in 1920s = reversed by GD
prog. leg made more equal pay levels mandatory, problems in enforcing this -> uns put interests of men first
ND stimulated public activity but 1930s = regression
-> idealised w in movies = sharp contrast to exploited and underused w in many eco sectors
WW2
comapred to 1917-18: more men in war, greater expansion of inducstry, less rejudice against direct female participation
100,000 women served in armed forces (Women’s Army Corps, Navy, Women’s AirForce)
propaganda urged w to take over men’s jobs (BUT clear that this was not permenant and only for war)
more w in jobs such as taxi drivers, heavy industry wks, piolet training
6 million w entered wkforce -> over 1/3 of labour force -> WW2 absorted 16 mil men
however - no parity in pay -> 1944 avg weekly salary for manufacturing work
- w = $31.21
- m = $54.65
How much social change did the war bring? (positive)
new jobs and more responsibilities
been subject of prop campaigns -> enc to be adventurorus
WW2 had arguably taken social change much further than WW1, despite no great symbolic change like gaining vote
more w going into higher education
more into the professions
more had taken a leading part in cr movements
more using birth control
by early 60s reaction against disappointments of 40s/50s
-> stage set for ‘New Feminism’
most sig victory was not a pol one like sufrage issue but was a social one (1973 Roe v Wade)
How much social change did the war bring (negative)?
37,000 w killed in ammunition factory accidents
however reaction against change may have been greater than after WW1
Cold War enc social conservatism
growth of suburban America and extended period of prosperity tended to reinforce trad attitudes
changes in rights focused on AA not w
The abortion issue (background)
1970: Norma McCorvey (under name Jane Roe) brought case against state of Texas in person of Attorney General Wade
abortion = only permitted in Texas when medically necessary to save mother
Roe and her female lawyers challenged this on constitutional grounds
-> obscurely claimed that w’s rights over her own body fell into a “zone of privacy” and that privacy = protected under 14th Am
Roe v Wade (positives)
1973 case reached SC -> historice decision
put rights of mother above foetus which court ruled was not a person whose rights needed to be protected in earlier states of pregnancy
decision supported rights of w over own bodies and over attitudes which denied them freedom
American opinion had moved towards greater recog of widespread freedom
challenged trad view that w’s primary duties/responsibilites = as mothers/carers of others, rather than themselves
w’s right to choose to have children = put above other social responsibilites
Roe v Wade (negatives)
massive backlash of opp -> w’s pos still = highly contetious issue
The New Feminism (positives)
w/ failure to pass ERA, feminist movement/opinion in 1980s focused on key social issues e.g:
- domestic violence and providing shelters for w and issues of sexual abuse
- protectin from sexual harassment in wkplace
- education for w in their history and rights
- protection from Conservative attempts to restrict abortion/contraception
- funding for education for young w
above issues = more specific to w than post-1865 period
-> often depended on looking at a male-dominated world w/ hostility
but w = becoming more represnted in pol and soc
- by 1993, 7 female senators in Congress
- 1986: 1/2 of uni grads = w
- w in pos of authority was not unusual
- casual sexism of 50s/60s = as remote as Victorian concern to w wearing trousers
- greater availibility of contraception
- dec in no of illegal abortions
- change in family life undreamed of in 1865 due to technology and greater willingness by men to be part of home/ child-raising
New Feminism (negatives)
by 1990, only 2 w senators and limited consensus about aims/methods of second wave feminism
some w felt that insufficient attention had been given to sexist lang
others: feminine sexuality had been downplayed in a sort of puritanism
others: too much ass. w/ pol left
recuring problem since 1865 = division
suffrage movement split due to w = ficsued on other reforms - divisions over best way to use vote after 1919, no agreement about ERA, now further disagreements about abortion and nature of direction of feminism
however, period 1942-5 when w = so imp in the nation and where achievements = so publically praised and sense of adventure and enterprise = so welcomed, may not have been entirely reconstructed even in 80s
full social implications of franchise may yet to be recog
