Women's Rights Revision Flashcards
How many children worked in industry or coalmines in 1900?
4 million
How many states had abolished child labour by 1907?
30 states
How many women worked domestically or in factories by 1870?
13%
By 1900, by how much had work domestically/ industrially increased?
Trebled - 17% of the entire workforce. Married women still remained at home, however
Why did work opportunities in the 1890s change?
Innovation. Introduction of the typewriter and telephone, which saw clerical jobs soar. Women could earn $7 a week
How many women were teachers, secretaries, librarians and telephone operators in 1900 and 1920?
949,000 women worked as teachers, secretaries, librarians and telephone operators. 1920 rose to 3.4 million
How many hours did immigrant women have to work in order to earn $5?
70 hours
What are the stats of farm workers in by 1900 in comparison to 1870?
1900= 37.5% 1870= 53%
what were the average family sizes in 1850 and 1900?
1850 = 5.42 1900 = 3.56
How many grads in 1900 were female?
50%
By how many had the ratio of divorcees increased by 1900?
1:12 from 1:21
Why did the 15th Amendment annoy female activists?
No rights for women, but that stupid untermensch of an African American population got some!
What did Jane Addams set up?
Hull House, inspired to emulate charity in the slums of London - social reformer
What did Hull House do?
- help immigrant families settle
- Child care classes
- English lessons
- Help finding jobs
- Day nurseries
- 1895 - 50 houses est.
What did the 1873 Women’s Crusade achieve?
Not a lot really. Mass movement of women demanding prohibition
Who led the Women’s Christian Temperance League?
Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Est. 1874
Who did the WCTU appeal to?
Middle Classes, who wanted suffrage and prohibition
How many branches did the WCTU have by 1900
7,000 branches
Who was the second president of the WCTU?
Frances Willard
National Consumers League, what, when why?
1899 - associated with Hull House, wanted fair working conditions for women and children. Employers who met their standards were awarded an NCL White Label, those who didn’t were boycotted.
National Association of Colored Women, who what when where why?
Ida B Wells
50,000 members
Campaigned against racial and gender discrimination
Who organised the Women’s Rights Convention at Seneca Falls, with Stanton in 1848?
Lucretia Mott - became a founding member of the 1866 American Equal Rights Association, too.
What did Elizabeth Cady Stanton do?
- Drew up reform programme @ Seneca Falls
- Worked with Anthony for women’s right to vote, own property, access children after divorce et liberalise divorce laws
What did Susan B Anthony do?
Founding member of the American Equal Rights Association 1866.
1872 voted illegally in president elections in protest
Against abortion - feared for woman’s health
What did Lucy Stone do?
Founded the American Women’s Suffrage Association (AWSA)
What did the National Women’s Suffrage Association believe in contrast?
NWSA believed in the pursuit of the constitutional amendment to give women the vote. Led by Anthony and Stanton, essentially rejected male and AAs suffrage as a goal
When did the NWSA and AWSA merge?
In 1890, creating the NAWSA. By 1905, only had some 17,000 members. 1915 - 100,000 (only half that involved in temperance)
Who became president of the NAWSA in 1900?
Carrie Chapman Catt - believed in moderate campaign; lobbying politicians, distribution of leaflets, marches and public meetings
Who led the CUWS (And what was it)
Alice Paul
Congressional Union of Women’s Suffrage - breakaway group from 1913 which emulated British suffragettes. Became National Women’s Party in 1917
Who founded the National League of Women Voters?
Carrie Chapman Catt, 1920
How many states legalised female voting by 1918?
20
When was the 19th Amendment ratified?
1920 - women over 21 given the vote, except for immigrants who had naturalised yet
So, what did WWI do for the aspirations of women?
11,000 became nurses, clerical workers and telephone operators in the US Navy. In the year 1917, 1 million women worked in industry. Married women started to work, but this abruptly ended by the coming of the end of the war
In the 1920s, how many working class married women were there?
28.8% of the pop.
What happened in the 1929 North Carolina Strike?
Led to the deaths of 6 women
How had female representation in TUs changed by 1930?
It rose from 265,000 to 800,000
How many Americans were unemployed in 1926, 1930 and 1933?
1926 - 1.8%
1930 - 8.7%
1933 - 24.9%
In 1936, how many women were opposed to working?
82%
How many states proposed laws banning women from work?
- Only 1 (Louisiana) made it illegal, however this was declared unconstitutional by the SC
How many women were working by 1930?
12%
What did the 1935 Social Security Act bring?
The Social Security Act brought welfare benefits for poor families
What Act provided support for mothers who were the sole source of income?
1935 Aid to Dependent Children
What Act brought in a national minimum wage, and a cut to working hours
The Fair Labor Standards Act, 1938
What else did the FLSA do?
Abolished Child Labour
Recognised Trade Unions
Who was the first woman to be elected to the House of Representatives?
Jeanette Rankin
How much less would a female teacher earn in comparison to her male counterpart in 1939?
20% less
By 1939, how many women had entered politics?
9
Who was the first female director of the Mint?
Nellie Taylor Ross, 1933
Who was the first female judge on the US circuit of appeals?
Florence Allen, 1934, elected by Roosevelt
Who was the first AA woman to enter into government?
Mary McLeod Bethune - Director of Negro Affairs, 1936
What did McLeod Bethune establish?
a school for girls - 300 students, 1922. Campaigned against Jim Crow and lynching, voted despite KKK threats
When did Bethune become Vice President of the NAACP?
1940
Who was Frances Perkins?
1924 Chairman of Industrial Board - reduced women’s working hours to 54 a week. Roosevelt made her Labor Secretary in 1933, first female in the Cabinet
Why was the Equal Rights Amendment rejected by anti-feminists?
the ERA was opposed because women were physically different to men, and could not do the same jobs. The KKK had a splinter group dedicated to opposing ERA, painting women as spinsters and lesbians
What did Mary Talbert stand for>
Opposition to lynching, racial discrimination and generally for AA women
When was the Women’s Bureau created in the Department of Labour/
- Aimed to improve working conditions. Opposed by men
What was the Shepherd Towner act, 1921?
Funds made available for maternity and child health education, funding cut in 1929 - medical professions didn’t like giving away free of charge
When was the first piece of legislation to ban child labour and introduce an 8 hr day rejected?
1922 by the Supreme Court
When was the Volsted act introduced?
1920
When was Volsted reversed?
1933
Who were the rebellious women from the 1920s?
flappers, middle upper class women
Who fonded the Bryn Mawr Summer school?
M Carey Thomas
What did the Young Women’s Christian Association discuss?
Multicultural meeting to discuss common concerns
What was the 1873 Comstock law?
Ban against the sale, advertisement and distribution of contraceptives. Too expensive on the black market, which led to illegal abortions
When did Comstock end?
1938, but abortion was still legal
Who was Margaret Sanger?
A woman. She stood up for women’s right to choice over abortion. Wrote articles in 1912, opened her first birth clinic in 1916 in Brooklyn.
When did Sanger begin the American Birth Control League?
1921.
How many members did the ABCL have by 1924?
27,500 members, but only with ten branches across 8 states
What factors helped the passage of the 18th Amendment?
nativisim, WW1 led to hostility towards Germany which brewed many bears, the ‘wets’ who opposed prohibition weren’t united.
What opened in 1893?
The anti-saloon league - main group for prohibition, supported by religious groups. 1913, lobbying tactics had won 9 states.
What did the Molly Pitcher club do?
Led by M. Louise Gross, attempted to unify movement against prohibition. Limited impact – localised response only.
What the hell was WONPR?!
Women’s Organisation for National Prohibition Reform - 1929
who led WONPR?
Pauline Sabin
Why was WONPR successful?
Well organised.
1931 - 1.5 million supporters, biggest org.
More appealing because it used the private sphere as a tool to bring about prohibition’s removal. Wealthy upper class membership. Lobbied and pressured Congressmen, held rallies and conducted home visits. Non-partisan. 21st Amendment made part of the constitution 5th Dec 1933.
How many more women were working than in 1940 in 1945?
5 million more
How many women joined the armed forces in WWII?
350,000
How many women wanted to remain in work after WWII?
75%
What was the divorce rate in 1940 and 1946?
1940 - 10.2%
1946 - 18.2%
What did the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act bring?
ex-servicemen encouraged into higher education – colleges became flooded by men. Number of men in high professional occupations increased 40%, including social work.
How many more working women were there in 1960 in contrast to 1940?
x2. 40% of all over 16 yr old women were working, 30% married
Numbers of working mothers in 1940 and 1960
1940- 1.5million
1960- 6.6 million
What did the Space Race show?.
Women could be as talented as men - govt. reappraised educational opp.
What did the Cold War do?
Panicked people. People married younger and had more children. Families from 3.09 (1950) to 3.77 (1957). Women married at 20.7 years of age
Why can the 1960s be seen as a turning point?
turning point in attitudes as children aimed to get better education for a career as they saw their mothers going off to work.
What did JFK do?
President’s Commission on the Status of Women 1963 - led to the Equal Pay Act, but promoted women as housewives. JFK refused to support Sanger
Equal Employment Opportunities Commisssion
- 1964 (post CRA)
- Supposed to enforce EPA, didn’t
New Feminism rejected what?
rejected private spheres
What did Friedan write in the Feminist Mystique 1963?
believed women should escape their homes and discover their own identities. Appealed to mass of middle class women.
What did Friedan create?
National Organisation for Women - desired de facto equality - lobbied politicians, filed lawsuits and sought support from general public
Why did Feminists not accept the Pill?
Concerned for the risks to Women’s health - worked to bring more research and modifications to it before its release in late 60s
How did NOW become more aggressive in 1968?
publically throwing away heels, bras and curlers. Campaigned for abortion – lost mass support.
Who did the Women’s Strike for Equality unify?
Aug 1970 - radical and moderates, attracted national media coverage
How many girls (15-19) wanted to be housewives by 35?
1968 - 65%
1978 - 25%
when could single and married women apply for credit in their own name?
1969
what did Friedan co-found in 1969?
National Organisation for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (NORAL)
How many women were in Congress in 1969?
- None supported the vote
By how much had gender discrimination declined by in 1970-1980?
gender discrimination decreased 10%
What % of the workforce were women in 1970?
1970 women made up 42.8% of the work force and 47% of all women had a job
By 1989, how many married women with children worked outside the home?
73.2% of married women with children aged 6-17 worked outside the home – often well-educated middle class
How many women were senior managers in 1970s?
4.8%
When did the wage gap virtually close?
1992 - 98% of men’s wage
How many unmarried AA women were there in 1960s, 1980 and 1990
1960s – 73,000 unmarried AA women, 1980 = 1 million, 1990 = 2.9 million
What did The Feminists believe?
offshoots from NOW, radical 1968-73, believed that truly liberated women must be separate from men, opposed marriage
Who were the Radicalesbians?
Wanted an end to gender acknowledgement
What did the early 1970s usher in?
pill available to all women over 18 – led to women marrying later to take advantage of employment opportunities
How many women in HE wanted a career?
40%
How many women considered themselves feminists in 1986?
56%
How many men supported equality in 1970 and 1990?
1970 - 33%
1990 - 40%
Roe v Wade 1973, what?
Women given the right to safe, legal abortion
What was the reactionary movement to Roe v Wade?
National Right to Life Committee - reps in every state, protected the unborn child
Who in politics opposed abortion?
Republicans. Targeted middle class anti-feminists
Who was Phyllis Schaftly?
Roman Catholic anti-feminist published The Power of the Positive Woman 1977, believed housewives and mothers were liberated. Wanted to destroy the ERA. 1972 established National Committee to stop ERA – used arguments such as conscription and unisex bathrooms plus threat to home and family
What happened to ERA in the later period (post Paul’s est. in 1920)
Passed by Congress 1972, 1979 became clear that it wouldn’t be ratified. Some said to be treated as equal was impossible due to physical differences, some felt the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Equal Employment Opportunity Act 1972 and 14th Amendment had achieved most of the ERA’s objectives. Time scale for ratification ended 1982. Not ratified.
How many women put themselves forward for election to Congress in 1968? and 1990?
20
78
Who was the first AA woman to campaign for presidential nomination?
Shirley Chrisholm
What opened in 1971?
National Women’s Political Caucus - set up to encourage and prep women to stand in election
Who ran for vice presidency in 1984?
Geraldine Ferraro
How many females were in HoR in 1970 and 1990?
1970 - 12
1990 - 42
How many of the 100 big cities had female mayors in 1992?
19
How many states had female governors by 1990?
8
In 1978, how many women said they’d vote for a female president?
76% of women said they’d vote for a female president, 19% said no. 1991 = 86% and 9%
How many women did Clinton appoint in 1992?
1/3 of the 500 appointed
What did the 1980 Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues secure?
pensions for elderly women
What did Bush snr veto?
Paid maternity leave
What was brought in in 1974?
Equal Credit Opportunity Act
What was brought in in 1972?
Child Development Act – day care centres to help working mothers. Nixon vetoed it.
