correct showing the strength of the U.S. and ARVN forces as if they could take back or hold “five of six major cities, 36 of 44 province capitals... military and economic facilities” [ ], then the Americans and South Vietnamese must have been in strong potion to hold or take back all of these potions with-in a few days. However this was some-what weak as there were some exceptions, for example in the ancient capital city of Hue the Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army held the city of three weeks of heavy fighting. Yet since this was one of few of the major cities which the VC and NVA held for over a few days, it cannot been seen as a ‘loss’ for the Americans in the slightest. Even in Saigon, where the American embassy was assaulted and generally “was typical: American and South Vietnamese forces quickly... within six days the city had been secured” [ ]. This was correct as the embassy itself was recovered in four hours of the assault beginning.To what extent did the Federal Government help and hinder the development of women’s rights in the USA in the period 1865 – 1992?
Government and state laws both hindered the right of women over the contraception issue. The issue of birth control and the accessibility of contraceptive had always been an issue in America, especially within the poorer families who could not afford ‘under the counter’ contraceptives or illegal ‘back street abortions’. Before 1873, contraceptives were available for purchase in pharmacies across America. It was not until the Comstock Laws (1873), which were a collection if federal and state laws, which made contraceptives or any information and advice about them illegal, were introduced; this dramatically hindered women’s rights as birth control, was a major issue throughout the period. The Comstock Laws were effectively ended in 1938, when the federal ban on birth control was lifted. However, states continued to hinder women’s right by enforcing their own state laws on contraception.
It was not until the case of Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) that the Supreme Court finally overturned the state laws about contraception. The Supreme Court’s decision that the use of contraceptives rested within a couple’s ‘right of privacy’ within the terms of the constitution, helped further women’s right. This decision finally helped women across America by firmly establishing that it was a women’s right to decide about whether or not to use contraception.
President Roosevelt’s ‘New Deal’ policies were intended to help save America and help those who needed it. However, these policies were biased towards the male breadwinner and did little to help women’s right, were women did benefit, it was intended to address wider social and economic issues. The Fair Labor Standards Act (1938) did set up new minimum wage levels, which