HISTORY- Womens civil rights 1865-1992

What opportunities existed for

women in 1865?
Impact of the civil war-1861-65 Work opportunities, especially in nursing
(however was seen as an extension of domestic
role)
1870 % of women in domestic occupation 13% of unmarried women
the expectation of working women entering To undertake domestic role subservient to
marriage husband
Homestead act (1862) Gave women the right to own their land (land
on the plains was harsh and deadly
15th amendment Did not extend the vote to gender only to race.
Women and work 1865-1914
1900 % of workforce made up of unmarried 17%
women
1890s white collar work Unmarried women with high school education
could earn $7 a week due to clerical positions
from invention of typewriter and telephone
1900 no. Of teacher's secretaries and librarians 949,000 (3.4 million by 1920)
Situation of immigrant women Worked in unskilled, unprotected by legislation
labour- 70 hour weeks for $5
Average birth rate 1900 3.56 (drop from 5.42 in 1850)
1900 high school graduates By 1900 50% of high school grads were female-
some expansion to higher education but mostly
regarded as prep for motherhood.
Rise in divorce rates 1900 Women were delaying marriage to pursue
careers after high school. Education blamed for
divorce rates.
Activists reformers and campaigns
1865-1914
Jane Adams Established hull house (1889)- social centre for
immigrant families- nurseries for working
mothers- 50 settlement houses set up by 1895
Temperance Demand for prohibition was able to galvanise
female support in a way that wouldn’t be seen
again till much later in CR-attack on the
domestic sphere
Womens crusade 1873 Mass movement banning sale of alcohol-
demonstrated women's ability to take action
Womens Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) Founded 1874 by Susan B Anthony- promoted
women's suffrage and dangers of excessive
drinking- end of 19th century 7,000 branches
National Consumers League (NCL) Founded 1899 to secure protective legislation
for women and children in the workplace and
secure fair wages- boycotts
National Association for Coloured Women Founded 1896 to secure vote and campaign
(NACW) against lynching and discrimination. 50,000
 members by 1915
Case study- the campaign for the
vote
3 women leading campaign for equal vote Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B
Anthony
Opposition to 14th and 15th amendments Split the women's reform movement-
compartmentalised
American Woman Suffrage Association Founded 1869- pledged to secure vote for male
(AWSA)- lucy stone AA’s- took moderate stance on women's right
to vote initially at state level
National Women’s Suffrage Association Founded 1869- campaigned more aggressively
(NWSA) for federal constitutional amendment allowing
women to vote
National American Woman Suffrage Formed 1890- merge of AWSA and NWSA
Association (NAWSA) -1915 100,000 members this was only half the
number of the women actively involved in the
temperance and prohibition groups.
Carrie Chapman Catt Took over NAWSA in 1900 – organised lobby's,
distributed leaflets and held public meetings
Alice Paul Formed more radical wing of the women's
movement with congressional union for
women's suffrage (1913)- replicated methods
of British Suffragettes
Right to vote 1918 – 20 states given right to vote in state
elections
President Wilson calls for amendment, reward
women's role in ww1
1919 – congress gave its approval
1920 – 19th amendment
1915-1940 war, boom, bust and
recovery
Impact of WW1 From 1914 America expanded production of
goods and supplies creating more job
opportunities for unmarried women and AA
worker. Upon entry into war in 1917, labour
demand increased resulting in married women
coming out of the home to take the place of
men. Women took over agrarian responsibility.
- 11,000 women work in navy as nurses or
clerical work
-1917-1918 1 million women worked in
industry
Not long-lasting impact as women had to give
up jobs when men came back
Post war boom impact - More jobs for unmarried women
- Invention of labour saving devices
allowed women more time with
children to support their education
- Working class married women increase

Little impact of post war boom?
The depression and its impact
The New Deal- 1933 FDR
social security Act (1935)
Aid to Dependant Children (1935)
The Fair Labor Standards Act (1938)
National recovery administration (1933)
Women and politics 1915-1940
19th amendment and immigrant+ southern AAs
Reaction of women to 19th amendment
Eleanor Roosevelt
Social improvements in this period?
from 22.8% to 28.8%
- Opportunities in law and medicine still
limited
Wage discrimination, men saw women as
threats to work and wages as men's wages
could be kept low if women's were lower.
- 1929 violent strike in north Carolina-
lead to death of 6 women
Expansion of women’s employment
opportunities receded.
- 1936 82% of American’s anti women
working
- 26 states banned married woman form
working- laws declared
unconstitutional before could be
passed
-string of policies intended to stimulate
economy
-biased towards male breadwinner
-women benefitted only when wider social and
economic issues addressed
-social security Act (1935)
-Aid to Dependant Children (1935)
-The Fair Labor Standards Act (1938)
welfare benefits for poor families- benefited
married women
aid to white women with young families who
could not work and had no male breadwinner-
humiliating process to get aid
-New minimum wage levels
-reduction in working hours
-no child labour
-female teacher still made 20% less than male
counterpart
Firmly established principle of lower pay for
women
Immigrant women Remained disenfranchised.
AAs unable to vote due to discrim and
intimidation
-married women- voted the same as husband
-working-class women- focused on every day
survival
Role model for women, joined the league of
women's voters in 1921, took staunch approach
to anti-lynching where FDR could only be
lukewarm
-Shepard Towner Act 1921- funding for
maternity and infant education, terminated in
1929
-legislation to ban child employment under 14
 + an 8 hour day for women- rejected by
supreme court in 1922 due to pressure from
businesses
The flappers Young women in 1920s dressing and acting in
radical way
-had little impact on social spheres
M Carey Thomas -AA woman
-founded Bryn Mawr summer school 1921
-school for working class women
The birth control controversy
Comstock laws 1873 Made the sale and advertisement of
contraceptives illegal
Marget Sanger -started crusade for women's rights in 1912
with newspaper advice for contraceptives
-opened her first birth control clinic in NYC
1916- closed by the police
-established American Birth Control League
(ABCL) in 1921
- 1924 ABCL 27,500 members- only in 8 states
End of Comstock laws 1938 -banned by federal gov
-state laws still enforced laws on contraceptives
CASE STUDY- the prohibition -1917- 18th amendment banned sale of alcohol
-1933- 21st amendment ratified to repeal 18th
campaign -demonstrated the significance of women's
organisations and leaders
-from 1874 the campaign was dominated by
WCTU under strong leadership from Frances
Willard
- early attempts to repeal 18th amendment
failed, 1922 M. Louise Gross set up anti-
prohibition event, failed as arguments relied on
free will instead of family and the home
- new crimes from prohibition laws like
racketeering were a threat to family and the
home
-Womens Organisation for National
Prohibition Reform (WONPR) formed in 1929
under Pauline Sabin
-reached 1.5 million members in 1931
-employment opportunities and stimulation of
economy from 21st amendment became
appealing to FDR due to great depression

A challenge to the “cult of true

womanhood” 1941-69
Impact of WW2 -like WW1, opportunities to work for women
-350,000 joined armed forces
-however 1945- 75% of women wanted to
remain in paid labour
 - many women laid off after WW2, idea of
social sphere had not been eradicated
Lanham Act 1942-1946 Federal grants for daycare centres for mothers
in armaments industry
Withdrawn by 1946
Dr. Benjamin Spock- common sense book of Published 1946
baby and childcare 23 million copies sold
Emphasised importance of women at home
Divorce rates 1946 -1940- 10.2%
-1946- 18.2%
Rise of juvenile delinquency blamed on women
G.I Bill 1944 -gave servicemen access to higher education
-allowed men to dominate professional
positions even more
-number of men in these positions increased by
40%
The 1960s for women in the -1960- 2x as many working women than in
1940
workplace -40% of all women over 16 working
-30% of working women were married
-1960- 6.6 million working mothers
- 1960s saw the rise of consumerism, with
husband making enough to be comfortable as
sole breadwinner, married women worked to
enjoy second income
The cold war -space race made US recognise it needed to
utilise all its talents both male and female
-marked recognition of what women can offer
and resulted in more opportunities in higher
education
Opportunities of a second income -daughters of working mothers more likely to
label their mother as the person they admire
most
-new generation of women grew up with higher
expectations of themselves- turning point
Activists, reformers and
campaigners 1941-69
Burial of true womanhood-1968 Group of young feminists demonstrate the
rejection of traditional womanhood in a
ceremony where they “buried” the old view of
women in Arlington cemetery
President Kennedy impact Mixed impact- commission on the status of
women report
Positives
-Equal pay act
-considered status of women seriously
Negatives
-commission promoted special training for
young women for marriage and motherhood
-didn’t respond to Margret Sanger for the

National Organisation for Women (NOW)
National Organisation for the Repeal of
Abortion Laws (NAARL)
1969-1992 a triumph for radical
feminism?
Work for women
NOW lawsuits
Opportunities for women
Radical feminism 1970s
The demise of radical feminism
provision of birth control to be the
responsibility of gov
-1964- Equal Employment Opportunities
Commision- fails to enforce 1964 CR Act- wage
gap
-formed 1966 with activists like Betty Friedan
author of the feminine mystique which
challenged attitudes to women
-pressed for equality through
lobbying/lawsuits
-1968 NOW became more aggressive in its
protests with women publicly throwing away
bras and high heels
-co-founded 1969 with Betty Friedan
- the “radical” nature caused divisions between
feminists and traditional role upholders
- saw the rise of anti-feminism in 1970s
-by the 1970s women could join police and fire
services
-more courses in higher education
-1970-1980 gender seg in employment
decreased by 10%
Forced employers to implement laws
appropriatley
-1979- lawsuit concerning a female firefighter
feeding baby on breaks successfully pursued in
Iowa
-women made up 42.8% of workforce
-47% of women had a job
- only 4.8% of Americas managers and
executives were women in 1970s
-glass ceiling
-mid 1990s wage gap for young educated
women was 2%
-failure of federal gov to legislate in favour of
paid maternity leave- 1980s only 5 states paid
partial maternity leave
-reached its peak in 1970s
-abortion issue created divide between
traditional valued women and feminists
-1972 1st edition of Ms magazine by Gloria
Steinem promoting feminist ideas
-1968- 65% of girls between 15-19 wanted to
be housewives
-1978-25%
-extreme pronouncements of radical feminists

Roe vs Wade 1973
Hyde amendment 1976
Planned parenthood vs casey 1992
The ERA
Progress in politics by 1992
invited rejection e.g radicalesbians claim all
women should be lesbian to be liberated
-survey in 1972 33% of men supported gender
equality
-only rose by 7% in 1990- men still dominated
congress so 40% is not enough
-anti feminist groups oppose legal abortion and
ERA- undermine feminists
-many women felt their needs had been met by
legislation of 1960s
-legalised abortion
-anti feminist opposed this organised under
Phyllis Schlafly
- attacks on abortion clinics and some murders
of doctors who performed abortions
-republicans strongly opposed abortion,
reagan and Bush appointed anti-abortionist SC
judges
-congress passed amendment banning federal
funding of abortion
-upheld roe vs wade
-made it possible for states to legislate waiting
period and informed consent for abortion
-Would make men and women completely
Equal
-passed by congress in 1972 after being
introduced in 1920
-never ratified
-schlaflys use of powerful arguments like the
loss of child support and women having to go
to war scared women
-1968- 20 women put themselves up for
election to both houses of congress
-1990- 78 women
-1992 election of bill clinton- 1/3 of his
appointments were female
- bush vetoed federal bill for parental leave-
1990s still no legislation for paid maternity
leave