The American Women's Movement 1945-2000 Summary

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During the mid 1900’s citizens all over America started fighting for women rights. In Nancy MacLean’s book The American Women’s Movement, 1945-2000: A Brief History with Documents she discussed the details of this movement. These social changes started in the years after WWII and after other events such as the New Deal and the Progression movements. During this time The American Women’s Movement tried to tackle many issues. MacLean talks about issues including equal treatment for both males and females and the fight to end discrimination against women. There was a wide variety of people that joined the Women’s Movement which offered many different view points and desired goals. This gave them many different ideas and view points which led …show more content…

John F. Kennedy said “… we have by no means does enough to strengthen family life and at the same time encourage women to make their full contribution as citizens…It is appropriate at this time…to review recent accomplishments, and to acknowledge frankly the further steps that must be taken. This is a task for the entire Nation” (66). The nation took President Kennedy’s advice and joined the movement. Many of them consisted of African-American females, lesbian or gay individuals, single women, wives, mothers, and women in the work force. Because their were so many opinions and different views, The American Women’s Movement tried to tackle many different issues. Women “called for high quality, low-cost child care, equal treatment, in the workplace, Social Security for homemakers, an increase in the minimum wage, an end to discrimination against women of color and lesbians, protection for battered women, and end to legal rape in marriage, vocational training for women in prison, reproductive freedom, better representation of women in the media and the arts, and the passage of an Equal Rights Amendment” (1). The idea of women’s rights and equality grew rapidly and many different issues were

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