Women’s Rights For as long as humans can recall, women have been the victims of incorrect stereotypical classifications, claiming that the male gender is superior. This creates a greater struggle when pursuing conventional rights for women. The view of women has been positively affected by the Progressive Era, war participation, and women’s suffrage. Events that occurred in the past century have shaped the way women are viewed in today’s society as a whole. One of the major time periods that helped change the perception of women was the Progressive Era. During the Progressive Era, citizens of the United States responded to the economic and social problems that were brought forth by industrialization in multiple strategies. For example, women …show more content…
during this time period created social clubs, in which they met in churches, parlors, and schools, etc. Two well-known clubs that the women were a part of was the Young Women’s Christian Association and the Association of Collegiate Alumnae. Clubs like these were created by women to fight issues that related to them, such women suffrage and the ability to serve in the war. Women during the Progressive Era were willing to do anything to get their point across; whether it was clubs, riots, or just being outspoken towards this great issue. For example, Margaret Sanger, a nurse during the Progressive Era, strongly believed that women should be free of unwanted childbirths. Sanger got this belief from seeing many deaths of mothers due to the birth process. Although the Comstock Act of 1873 said it was illegal, she spread useful information to mothers about birth control (Doc H). While Margaret Sanger was one woman who spoke up, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt also had the courage to stand up because of influential Progressive Era, which happened approximately twenty years before her husband’s term in office. The first Lady was thought to be a very instrumental part of her husband’s New Deal program. The New Deal manifested many of the reforms that women once fought for. While there were other female reformers during the Progressive Era, both Margaret Sanger and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt had a great impact on defining the roles of women in today’s society. Another thing that helped build the foundation of what roles women should play in society was the ability to be a part of major wars.
While women began to be a major impact in World War II, they had also been influential during the Revolutionary War. Women did this by the "enforcement of non-importation of British goods by targeting merchants who violated the boycott" (Doc D). Dating from the Civil War to World War II, women were given many opportunities, opportunities that were once labeled as male-only jobs. One of the most common examples was the opportunity to work in the factories and serve as nurses. While nursing and factory work was fulfilled by women, women also served as “Government Girls,” which was women who served in the government while men were at combat. Women also raised money for war bond, collected blood, and grew victory gardens. These opportunities led to women earning paychecks equal to any man during the war (Doc B). One of the most famous cultural icons, Rosie the Riveter, symbolized women’s contribution to war efforts since they could not physically serve in the war. She was the face of women who took over male jobs, such as jobs in factories and shipyards. All in all, being a part of the war was a huge success in shaping the roles of …show more content…
women. Lastly, women’s suffrage (the ability for women to vote) had a major impact on developing the roles of American women.
Advocates of women’s suffrage worked diligently to get their opinions across to others on the validity of women voters. During the mid-1800s women’s suffrage campaigns started putting together “Women’s Conventions.” At a convention in 1851, Sojourner Truth had an excellent speech on Woman’s Rights and how she highly believed that men needed women more than women needed them (Doc E). In other words, Truth was saying that women did not need men to survive because they had the full capacity of performing “men only tasks”; however, for men, it was the total opposite. Considering that Truth was an African-American woman, and all women were looked down upon during this time period, her speech gave women encouragement and light to fight for their rights. This encouragement was carried over to the twentieth century because the right to vote was becoming a larger problem in the eyes of many women. For example, Jane Addams stated the "electorate should be made up of those who can bear a valiant part in this arduous contest, those who in the past have at least attempted to care for children, to clean houses, to prepare foods,..." (Doc A). Addams had a strong argument because she felt that if she was smart enough to raise a child and teach them how to vote, then she had the right to vote as well. Another example of women being very courageous was when the National
American Women Suffrage Association sent a letter to all clergymen requesting that Ministers use Mother's Day sermons to campaign for women to vote. The note stated, "Women are recognized as the most religious, the most moral and the most sober portion of the American people. Why deny them a voice in public affairs when we give it for asking to every ignorant foreigner who comes to our shores" (Doc C). While not all foreigners are ignorant, women were suggesting that if foreigners were given the right to have a say in government, then they should too. Due to these courageous acts, women were granted the right to vote through the passing of the nineteenth amendment, which has positively affected the way in which the United States of America functions because women now have a voice in how our government should or should not be run. Although there were many other occasions that helped women advance in America, the Progressive Era, the participation of women in war, and women’s suffrage were the three most impactful events. In many cases, women had to show evidence of why they are not inferior to men. As seen, all three of these events helped override incorrect stereotypical classifications made amongst women. Without these three events and ones similar to them, women would not be viewed as important in modern day society.
In the past there were many biases against women and their lack of abilities compared to men. Although the male perspective has changed over the past few centuries, there are many feminists who still fight for ...
Rosie the riveter was the face of recruiting women into the Armed Forces during WWII. The increasing demand for soldiers was not being filled fast enough by just males. As a result, between the years 1940 and 1945, the percentage of female service members increased from 27% to 37%. Even on the civilian side of things, the ratio of married working women outside of their homes increased to one out of every four. The population of women that did not join the war was prompted by Rosie the Riveter’s iconic image of working in one of the many munitions industries throughout the US.
During the war, women played a vital role in the workforce because all of the men had to go fight overseas and left their jobs. This forced women to work in factories and volunteer for war time measures.
To begin with, there are many events in United States history that have shaped our general understanding of women’s involvement in economics, politics, the debates of gender and sexuality, and so forth. Women for many centuries have not been seen as a significant part of history, however under thorough analyzation of certain events, there are many women and woman-based events responsible for the progressiveness we experience in our daily lives as men, women, children, and individuals altogether. Many of these events aid people today to reflect on the treatment of current individuals today and to raise awareness to significant issues that were not resolved or acknowledged in the past.
During the war, men were off fighting for America, and the women were left behind to take over their jobs in the factories. Women proved that they can do almost all of the same jobs as men. Rosie the Riveter, a picture of a woman flexing with a caption of “We Can Do It,” became the symbol for women all across the nation. After the war, years later, women began to receive equal pay for the same jobs that the men were doing. Many other minority groups, such as African Americans, played a huge
At the start of World War II, most nations were experiencing a shortage of resources. In the United States, food, gasoline, and other scarce goods were being heavily rationed, and many government controls were initiated to lessen the economic burden of the war. At the same time, unemployment was at a record low. Wartime production created a huge labor market, eclipsing the available workforce. Due to the military conscription, most able-bodied men were led overseas to fight in the war, so the country turned to civilian workers, including women. Soon, “Rosie the Riveter” had become a national heroine, representing women laborers, who began replacing men in every facet of industry and performing with excellence (Carl, 34).
In the 1890s, American women emerged as a major force for social reform. Millions joined civic organizations and extended their roles from domestic duties to concerns about their communities and environments. These years, between 1890 and 1920, were a time of many social changes that later became known as the Progressive Era. In this time era, millions of Americans organized associations to come up with solutions to the many problems that society was facing, and many of these problems were staring American women right in the face.
The nineteenth century encountered some of most revolutionary movements in the history of our nation, and of the world – the movements to abolish slavery and the movement for women’s rights. Many women participated alongside men in the movement to abolish slavery, and “their experience inspired feminist social reformers to seek equality with men” (Bentley, Ziegler, and Streets-Salter 2015, pg. 654). Their involvement in the abolition movement revealed that women suffered many of the same legal disadvantages as slaves, most noticeably their inability to access the right to vote. Up until this time, women had little success in mobilizing their efforts to gain the right to vote. However, the start of the women’s rights movement in the mid-1800s, involving leaders such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, paved the path for the expansion of women’s rights into the modern century.
America was supposed to treat everyone equally, although, when the country was founded, women were excluded from the right to vote. It was socially unacceptable. Women were continually taught, from a very young age, that they weren’t mature enough, or mentally capable of making decisions for themselves. This was an injustice to women, and, in order for them to gain justice, they had to fight for their right to vote, a right that should’ve been given to them from the beginning.
Women have always been fighting for their rights for voting, the right to have an abortion, equal pay as men, being able to joined the armed forces just to name a few. The most notable women’s rights movement was headed in Seneca Falls, New York. The movement came to be known as the Seneca Falls convention and it was lead by women’s rights activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton during July 19th and 20th in 1848. Stanton created this convention in New York because of a visit from Lucretia Mott from Boston. Mott was a Quaker who was an excellent public speaker, abolitionist and social reformer. She was a proponent of women’s rights. The meeting lasted for only two days and was compiled of six sessions, which included lectures on law, humorous presentations and discussions concerning women’s role in society. The convention was organized by a mostly radical group of Quakers while ironically their leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a non-Quaker skeptic. Stanton and her Quaker followers presented a document entitled the Declaration of Sentiments to the convention, which was accompanied by a list of resolutions that were to be debated by the members of the convention before it was signed. One hundred of the three hundred attendees of the Seneca Falls Convention signed the Declaration of Sentiments. The Seneca Falls Convention was merely a single step in the right direction for the women’s rights movement; it was seen as a revolution in which women were fighting desperately for equality to their male counterparts. The Declaration of Sentiments became a staple document in the women’s suffrage, as it was the first time that men and women came together to demand women’s right to vote. Women’s suffrage gained national attention due to the conventio...
Throughout history, women, no matter what race or class they came from, have not always been given the right to participate in government. Through political attitudes and institutions, women’s rights were excluded. However, due to the fight women have put up against “old-fashioned” societal thinking, changes have been made from pre 1900 to post 1900 that have changed the way women are seen in a society.
The Progressive Era consisted of a movement for “reform that occured between 1900 and 1920. Many people beleived that irresponsible actions by the rich were coruppting both public and private life” (http://www.dictionary.com/browse/progressive-movement). Women played a major role in the success of the progressive movement by pushing for equality and to better the conditions of everyday life. The goal of women's suffrage was so hard to achieve because men generally held higher positions in government and social life and did not believe women were capable of handling the powers they were asking for. Although the Women's Suffrage Movement was strong, there were weaknesses within it.
The woman in the progressive era had very strict laws that they did not like. While married, women were not allowed to work, and only single, young, divorced, colored, or poor white women were allowed
Throughout history, women have remained subordinate to men. Subjected to the patriarchal system that favored male perspectives, women struggled against having considerably less freedom, rights, and having the burdens society placed on them that had been so ingrained the culture. This is the standpoint the feminists took, and for almost 160 years they have been challenging the “unjust distribution of power in all human relations” starting with the struggle for equality between men and women, and linking that to “struggles for social, racial, political, environmental, and economic justice”(Besel 530 and 531). Feminism, as a complex movement with many different branches, has and will continue to be incredibly influential in changing lives.
The role women play in today’s society is a drastic change from the previous role. Women used to be confined to the superiority of the man. Physically, mentally, and emotionally abused, belittled, embarrassed, and silenced. These are just a few examples of the emotion from the isolated treatment of the past. A woman’s role in today’s society is more valued than ever before.