Women Flashcards
What are ‘separate spheres’?
At the start of the 20th century men and women had very different lives
Changes of the position of women in the USA 1865-1917:
The Civil War (1861-65) temporarily offered opportunities for married women to work outside the home as agricultural labourers or nurses to care for wounded
Industrialisation transformed the US economy, creating many more jobs for women an changing the pattern of female employment from domestic service and agricultural labour to factory, office and shop work
Westward expansion of the USA into areas previously uninhabited by white people created job opportunities for women as cleaners, cooks, nurses, teachers and agricultural labourers.
15th Amendment to the US constitution in 1870 gave the vote to black men but not to women, angering female activists
Improvement for the position of US women during the Gilded Age:
By 1865, 29 states had passed acts protecting married women’s rights to own property and by 1887 2/3 of the states had given married women control of their earnings
By 1900, half of high school graduates were female - during this period women gained more access to higher education
By 1890s single women with a high school education could work in offices as secretaries and receptionists
Women became increasingly active in trade unions
Birth rate amongst white US women feel from 5.4 to 3.6 between 1850 and 1900
Divorce rate doubled between 1880-1900 from 1 out of 21 marriages to 1/12
Limitations to the position of US women during the Gilded Age:
“Separate spheres” idea remained dominant
1887 - 1/3 of US states had still not given married women control of their own earnings
Female employment increased but only in junior low paid roles
Number of agricultural jobs declined and working conditions were harsh
“Laissez faire” meant workers had no legal protection
Women were invariably paid less than men
By 1900, only 2% of union members were female
Women workers often suffered sexual harassment from employers
Comstock laws in 1873 banned the marketing, sale and distribution of contraceptives
Women’s activism during the Gilded Age:
Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 - can be seen as the start of the campaign for female suffrage
2 main suffragist groups, NWSA and AWSA united in 1890 to form NAWSA to campaign more effectively for the vote
Temperance activists like Frances Willard who founded the Women’s Christian Temperance Union in 1879, also campaigned on issues like female suffrage and working conditions
Jane Addams set up Hull House in Chicago in 1889 as a social centre to support the settlement of newly arrived immigrant families and campaigned tirelessly for better accommodation for them
By 1890 around 400 centres like Hull House, staffed by middle class white women, had been established across the USA
Settlement House Movement - gave women opportunities to gain positions of leadership denied to them in government or business and a chance to get involved in politics by campaigning against poverty, slum housing and child labour
When was the Feminine Mystique published?
1963
What was the Feminine Mystique about?
Betty Friedans book argued for an end to sexual discrimination, particularly in the workplace
When was Weeks v Southern Bell?
1967
What was Weeks v Southern Bell?
First successful prosecution of sexual discrimination in the workplace
When was the Executive Order 11375?
1967
What was the Executive Order 11375?
Outlawed sexual discrimination in companies working for the government
Arguments “Gilded Age” was an improvement to the position of women in the USA:
By 1865, 29 states had passed acts protecting married women’s rights to own property and by 1887 2/3 of the states had given married women control of their earnings
By 1900, half of high school graduates were female
Number of women employed in domestic service halved 1870-1900 while the number in better paid clerical work increased tenfold
Arguments “Gilded Age” was not an improvement to the position of women in the USA:
Most women in 19th century America were not politically active and women did not gain the vote nationally until 1920
Until 1890 the suffragist movement was divided between NWSA and AWSA over whether to campaign at state or federal level
“Separate Spheres” remained dominant
Female employment increased but only in junior low paid roles
When were the Comstock laws?
1873
What were the Comstock laws?
Banned the marketing, sale and distribution of contraceptives - meant that contraceptives could only be obtained on the black market, making them unaffordable for working class women
Benefits from the New Deal for women:
National Recovery Administration, created in 1933, helped women join unions - number of female trade union members rose from 265,000 to 800,000 during the 1930s, despite reduced female employment.
Social Security Act 1935 - introduced welfare benefits for poor families
Aid to Dependent Children, introduced in 1935, helped single mothers who were unable to work b/c they had to care for their children
Works Programme Administration, begun in 1935, gave work to single women
Fair Labour Standards Act 1938 set new minimum wage levels
Limitations from the New Deal for women:
New Deal started from assumption that men were the breadwinners in each family and therefore govt aid should be focussed on them
Only 7% of the jobs created by the Civilian Works Administration went to women
Despite New Deal, 42% of US families in the 1930s lived at or below subsistence level
Despite the Fair Labour Standards Act, women still earned less than men for the same work
Black and Hispanic women benefitted least from the New Deal
African American women and 1960s Feminism:
Most black women felt they suffered more b/c of their race than their gender, so they felt they had more in common with black men than with white women
For this reason black women had little involvement in the “New Feminism” of the 1960s b/c it was dominated by white middle class women like Betty Freidan
Evidence that Black Power benefitted African American women:
Ella Baker played a leading role in setting up SNCC in 1960
Played the leading role in the community activities of the Black Panther Party
2/3 of Black Panthers were women
Director of FBI, Director J Edgar Hoover, described free breakfast programmes as the “best and most influential activity going for the BPP”
Malcolm X celebrated the beauty of black women, condemning the prejudice that black women were “ugly” simply because they were black
Addressed the needs of poor black women
Evidence that Black Power didn’t benefit African American women:
Male black power activists often had blatantly sexist views
Some male Black Power activists argued that black women should not use birth control devices since having children was the main service to the black race
Kathleen Cleaver complained that in the BPP her ideas were often rejected in favour of men’s
BPP experimented with the idea of communal living and communal sexual relationships
Evidence female activism was the main reason for progress in gaining civil rights for women in the USA 1865-1992:
During progressive era, Jane Addams, Florence Kelley and the National Consumers League campaigned for reforms of health, housing and working conditions
National Association of Coloured Women campaigned to uphold the reputation of black women and against lynching and segregation
Seneca Falls Convention 1848 can be seen as the start of the campaign for female suffrage
Divisions within the women’s movement:
1869 - there was a split between the National Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) and the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) over whether they should support the 15th Amendment
Further split in 1913 when radical young women like Alice Paul started the Congressional Union to campaign more militantly for the right to vote like the Suffragettes in GB
Women were divided by class and race
Roe v Wade judgement in 1973 exposed divisions over abortion
Phyllis Schafly opposed the Equal Rights Amendment
No real agreement about what gender equality really meant
Arguments divisions within the women’s movement were not the most important factor in hindering the attainment of gender equality in the USA:
Divisions were not always permanent e.g. the NSWA and AWASA merged to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) in 1890
For most working class women, economic and technological changes had the most impact on their lives
Male opposition to women’s rights had a greater effect in limiting progress towards gender equality
Both employers and trade unions resisted equal pay for women
Congress passed the Comstock laws banning the circulation of information about birth control in 1873
Most states passed laws banning abortion in the late 19th century
New Deal prioritised jobs for men
American women were divided in support of the issue of gender equality in the period from 1865-1992:
Women were divided on whether they wanted equality with men or to have their differences recognised
Feminists in late 20th century were divided on pornography
Different groups campaigning at the same time had different priorities
Women were divided on whether to retain or repeal Prohibition
Differences within the suffrage movement between NSWA and AWSA
Religious, class and racial divisions
Issue over abortion
Arguments women were united in support of gender equality:
Women have always been united on issues like property rights, divorce and access to education and the professions
NSWA and AWSA merged in 1890 to campaign for the vote
Suffrage groups were sufficiently united to ensure the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920 giving women the vote
Widespread support for feminist campaigns like the ERA
Most women supported their right to choose contraception and abortion
Arguments developments in the US economy did more to advance women’s rights in the USA than any other factor:
For middle class women, economic changes have been fundamental in liberating them from the restrictions of the “separate spheres” concept
Periods of economic expansion, like the Gilded Age, the 2 World Wars and the booms which followed them, have coincided with the most important improvements in women’s rights
Economic expansion has increased women’s access to education
Periods of economic expansion have also been ones in which attitudes to fashion, marriage, sex and childbirth have been transformed
Arguments other factors did more to advance women’s rights in the USA than the US economy:
Economic expansion did not significantly increase the educational opportunities open to women until after WW2
2 World Wars expanded women’s opportunities much more quickly than general economic growth
Role of federal legislation was crucial, especially female suffrage 1919-20 and the Equal Pay and Civil Rights Act 1963-64
Sustained female activism was necessary for change to be achieved
Social attitudes changes
Took inspiration by the Black Civil Rights movement
Arguments reasons for opposition to gender equality remained the same:
“Separate spheres” idea was never completely overthrown, men continued to dominate politics, business
Concessions to women often owed more to pragmatic, self interested considerations than a principled belief in women’s rights
Margaret Sanger’s campaign for birth control started as early as 1911 but not until 1973 (Roe v Wade) was it first successful
Arguments reasons for opposition to gender equality changed over time:
There was a general development towards greater gender equality, with opposition receding as the “separate spheres” idea had been steadily eroded
Opposition to female equality was further eroded after WW2 by the growing progress of civil rights for other groups
What was passed in 1873?
Comstock Laws passed (banning contraception)
What happened in 1890?
NWSA and AWSA merged to form NAWSA
What happened in 1911?
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
Margaret Sanger campaign for Birth Control
What happened in 1920?
Women gained the vote and implementation of Prohibition
What happened in 1923?
Campaign for ERA started
First legal birth control clinic set up
What happened in 1933?
Start of the New Deal
Frances Perkins became first female US cabinet
What happened in 1944?
Servicemen’s Readjustment Act
What happened in 1946?
Spock’s “Common Sense Book of Baby and Child care” published
What happened in 1963?
Publication of the “Feminine Mystique”
Passage of Equal Pay Act
