Roles of Women during the 1920s

The beginning of the fight for women’s rights in the United States began in the

late nineteenth century, and the roles of women drastically changed. The first true

meeting that devoted to women’s rights was held on July 20, 1848, in Seneca Halls, New

York. At this convention, the “Declaration of Sentiments, Grievances, and Resolutions,”

was created and stated “All men and women are created equal.” To improve their status

in society, women began to get an education. The women in the Progressive Era started

to graduate from high school and college. Only one percent of Americans attended

college in 1870 and twenty percent of them were women. Even though it took seventy

years, the women worked hard to create the nineteenth amendment, which was ratified on

August 18, 1920, and gave women their right to vote. The changes of the roles of women

during the 1920 are dealt with suffrage rights, employment opportunities, and leadership.

A major change in the 1920’s for women was suffrage rights. The idea for voting

rights for women came originally from the Western states before World War I. Pacific

Coast and Rocky Mountain states did not have Protestant and Catholic divisions unlike

the Eastern states. Both of these religious groups opposed the idea of women having

suffrage rights. Groups such as the National American Women Suffrage Association

(NAWSA) supported the war effort. They believed they would be able to get suffrage

rights for women if they favored patriotism. Another group that supported suffrage rights

for women was the National Women’s Party, but they disagreed with NAWSA’s

conservative methods. It was generated by Quaker activist Alice Paul, who wanted more

aggressive ways of getting people to agree with her. The National Women’s Party

picketed the White House, and burned President Wilson’s letters in public. They also
denounced the Democrats for not creating a voting rights amendment to the Constitution.

Even though both groups had different methods of promoting their cause, President

Woodrow Wilson agreed with them and urged the legislation to pass a women’s suffrage

amendment.

In addition to suffrage rights, another change for women in the 1920’s was

employment opportunities. World War I for women meant a chance to shift from low-

paying jobs to higher paying industrial employment. Females began to get jobs which

were previously for men only such as plant workers, drill press operators, and train

engineers. The war also allowed getting jobs overseas. Some of the common ones were

clerical workers and canteen operators. Since more females were getting employed, the

Labor Department created the Women in Industry Service (WIS). This group set

standards for the treatment of women by creating an eight-hour day, minimum wage, rest

periods, meal breaks, and restroom facilities. Also, in 1920, the Women’s Bureau of the

Department of Labor was established to gather information of the situation of women at

work, and to advocate for changes it found were needed. When the war ended, the

returning servicemen replaced the working women; however the female employment rate

still increased, because women found jobs such as telephone operators and secretaries.

Furthermore, the 1920’s were not only years for suffrage rights and increased

employment rates for women, because leadership played a great impact on society where

women showed their power and intelligence. Before women received their right to vote,

many female reform leaders such as Alice Paul, Lucy Stone, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and

Carrie Chapman Catt all set an example for following female reformists. With all of the

effort of the women’s groups, the Prohibition movement to eliminate alcohol

consumption was successful. Alcohol was the primary reason for poverty, family

problems, and unemployment. The Woman’s Christian Temperance Movement became

the largest women’s organization in America’s history. Along with the benefit of

removing alcohol from the American diet, there was economic benefit as well. Grain

would be preserved if alcohol was outlawed, and Americans would not have to drink

German alcohol. In 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment was passed which banned alcohol

consumption. Not only did it make females happy, but also the religious group

Protestants. Another example of a woman leader is Margaret Sanger. Sanger was an

advocate of birth control and founded the National Birth Control League in 1914. She

worked with women who suffered from repeated pregnancies and self-induced abortions.

She stuck up her believe for every woman having the right to control her body, which

supported the new women’s right movement.

Women have always fought to find a lasting and prominent position in their

society. The 1920’s, also known as the “roaring twenties”, was a time for shocking

changes considering women. They went from housebound mothers to nurses, teachers,

and even worked in businesses. Some of the social areas where women’s roles drastically

changed were suffrage rights, employment opportunities, and leadership positions. Even

though women still faced discrimination in work and politics, the 1920’s were a huge

step, and women would not be where they are today without those years.