Women Flashcards

Question

The impact of WW1?

Answer 1

opps to gain rights NAWSA leader, Carrie Chapman Catt, insisted that promise of suffrage would induce w to support war effort -> Wilson agreed

Answer 2

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

Answer 3

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

Answer 4

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

Answer 5

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

Answer 6

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

Answer 7

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

Answer 8

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

Answer 9

despite opp suffrage movement revived w/ merging of NNSA and AWSA in 1890 into NAWSA

Answer 10

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

Answer 11

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

Answer 12

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

Answer 13

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

Answer 14

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

Answer 15

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

Answer 16

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

Answer 17

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

Answer 18

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

Answer 19

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

Answer 20

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

Answer 21

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

Answer 22

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)

Answer 23

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

Answer 24

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

Answer 25

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

Answer 26

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

Answer 27

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

Answer 28

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

Answer 29

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

Answer 30

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

Answer 31

used by N in 1969 to describe mass of middle-class American's (Middle America) who were conservative and opposed social change -> asserted themselves

Answer 32

one of biggest barriers to change -> Daughter's of the American Revolution = re-emerging and led by an articulate, trenchant, determinated leader

Answer 33

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)

Answer 34

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'

Answer 35

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

Answer 36

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)

Answer 37

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

Answer 38

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

Answer 39

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

Answer 40

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

Answer 41

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

Answer 42

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

Answer 43

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

Answer 44

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

Answer 45

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'

Answer 46

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

Answer 47

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

Answer 48

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

Answer 49

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

Answer 50

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

Answer 51

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)

Answer 52

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

Answer 53

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

Answer 54

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

Answer 55

massive backlash of opp -> w's pos still = highly contetious issue

Answer 56

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

Answer 57

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