Women 1865 to Present
Lisa Lincoln
HIS 204 American History Since 1865
Instructor: Jessica Schmidt
09/15/2014
This paper will be discussing the broadening and the evolution of women’s rights within the U.S. since the late part of the 1800s through now. In the beginning before the Civil War, women fought strong and hard for equal rights to those of men, which included the right to be able to vote. That was not granted to women until the year 1920 when the 19th Amendment was passed. While the eras of the progressivism and the New Deal were going on, women were still making efforts for changes within their family, sexual mores, and also social, they were also fighting for participation in the work force and the political arena. In the 1940’s women continued obtaining ground when they were told they had the right to serve within the military and they became notably more involved within the labor force. In the 1960’s, with the emergence of feminism, the focal point on women’s rights became even more crucial, as women fought even harder for equal pay and social equality. Even though it is true today that women have been able to achieve both economic and legal progress, they still experience several challenges. Which include balancing career with family demands, and unequal pay from that of men. Suffrage of Women 1865-1876
When the Declaration of Independence was drafted in the year 1776, it said that all men were created equally, but did not make any mention of women’s rights, or mention of their equality. Many leading women’s rights advocates, including Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, found this to be intolerable. The first organized campaign for women’s suffrage happened in the year 1848, in Seneca Falls at a convention. Cady Stanton “then 32, had drafted a “Declaration of Sentiments” patterned on the Declaration of Independence.” (Roberts, 2005, para.3). It included things such as a demand for equal voting rights. While they were fighting for their rights they endured verbal abuse and physical violence from non-supporters of their beliefs. With one of the most important resolutions in this document being a demand for equal voting rights for all women, some of the followers at this convention saw this as surprising, but Stanton felt that suffrage was going to be the only way that women could ever be truly equal to men. Stanton declared that she trusted, “The power to make the laws was the right through which all other rights could be secured.” (Roberts,2005, para.3). Unfortunately though, it took another 72 years after this convention in New York that this written right would finally become a true part of the United States Constitution with the passing of the 19th Amendment in the year of 1920. Social Reform 1877-1920 The Progressive Era, which lasted from the 1890’s through the 1920’s was an important time of growth for the women’s movement, most importantly in the field of Social Reform. Within this time, there were many women who began looking for what Jane Addams refereed to as “the larger life” of public occurrence. Addams founded the U.S. Settlement House Movement when she opened the Hull House in Chicago. “It was a home where women assisted the needy and provided social uplift for those suffering from what she called the “wrecked foundations of domesticity.” (Bowles,2012,ch.2.2). She felt that young women were not ready for the changes that were happening, and she wanted to ready them for becoming more involved in community affairs, and making independent decisions. Some activists also widened their activities to be able to include more open social reform and politics. These more open reforms and social politics opened many doors for women. “The progressive Era’s politically active women approached the state differently then men, mostly because they were situated to state power differently.” (Lipschultz,1996,para.3). Nineteenth Amendment An important aspect of this era was social