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Republican Motherhood
Republican Motherhood was an unspoken movement where women who educated their sons to be the next leader/voter of America. Their job was to raise their children, specifically sons to be virtious Americans. Women were also expected to stay home and support their husband. -
Dorothea Dix
Dorothea Dix was an American activist, who helped isane individuals by creating the first generation of mental assylums. She helped people understand that insanity was a disease of the mind, not a purposeful act. -
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was an American suffragist, social activist, abolitionist, and leading figure of the early women's rights movement. -
Cult of Domesticity
The Cult of Domesticity was an opinion on women in the 1800s. Society believed that women should stay at home and were not to do any work outside of the home. They were also to be more religious and submissve. -
Separate Spheres
Separate Spheres determined a man and woman's place in the world. Separate Spheres is basically the same as what we call "gender roles" today. A "woman's place" was in the private sphere where she took care of her family and home. A "mans place" was in the public sphere where he got involved in politics and economics. -
Lowell Mill Girls
The Lowell Mill Girls were textile workers at the Lowell factories. More than half of the mill workforce was made up of girls. This gave girls a newfound sense of freedom, as they were free from parental authority and could earn their own money. This was unlike the other women of the timeperiod who ran the household and cared for children. -
Seneca Falls Convention
This was the first women's convention. It was a meeting discussing the social, civil, and religious rights of women. The leaders of this event were Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. About 100 people attended this convention, two thirds of them being women who wanted to stand up for themselves. -
Lucretia Mott
Lucretia Mott was a woman who stood up for female rights. She helped launch the meeting at Seneca Falls in 1848 and argued that men and women should be treated as equals. -
"A Century of Dishonor" by Helen Hunt Jackson
This book was written by a woman who argued how poorly indian's were treated during this time period. By a woman writing a famous book which contained her opinions during the late 1800's showed women were becoming more accepted. -
The "New Woman"
In the late 1800's, women started to break away from the traditional view of a woman. Previously, women had been taught the cult of domesticity and were supposed to stay home and raise their children. They were seen as morally superior and submissive to the male head of the house. During the gilded age, they broke away from these views and became more recreational, riding bikes and going out, also wearing shorter skirts and less full dresses. -
Women worked in factories and got jobs
During Industrialization, women began to work in factories and textile mills. They began to shape into the "New Women" and many got jobs sewing in mills. One specific example is the ladies who sewed for the Pullman company. They spent long hours in the factories on the sewing machines instead of staying home, resuming the traditional role of a woman. -
NAWSA is formed
The National American Women Suffrage Association was formed in 1890. They have leaders such as Stanton (first president), Alice Paul, and Carrie Chapman Catt. Their goal is getting a constitutional amendment passed granting women the right to vote in every state. -
Muller vs. Oregon
The court case of Muller vs. Oregon was a case disputing the law passed in Oregon that women could only work in the laundry business for 10 hours each day. Laundry owner, Muller sued, saying that the law was unconstitutional, but he was shut down, with a 9-0 majority ruling that it was constitutional. -
Support from Bull Moose Party
Women's suffrage was supported by Theodore's Bull Moose Party in the election of 1912. This was one of the first times women's suffrage was supported by a progressive party. -
Congressional Union
Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, members of the NAWSA, organize the Congressional Union (National Women's Party). They picket the White House, participate in hunger strikes, and protest in order to make their case known, advocating for a constitutional amendment. -
National Suffrage Parade
This parade was held on March 3, 1913 in Washington D.C. This was the day of President Woodrow Wilson's inauguration and attracted a large crowd. There were over 8,000 marchers participating, along with crowds of people watching. During the parade, men mobbed the parade course, injuring women and starting fights. The police did not get involved, which proved to show the small amount of support for the women. -
Temporary jobs opened up for Women
When the United States joined WW1 in 1917 many men left their jobs to go to war. This mean't that many jobs were open and companies were desperate for employees. Women then stepped up and filled in for men's jobs while they were away at war. Although they did not receive equal pay it shows how women were more respected by society. -
19th Amendment passed
The 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote was passed on June 4, 1919. It was ratified on August 18, 1920. Achieving this amendment took decades of protest and arguement, so when the passing of the amendment was a huge victory for women and campaigners. -
The start of Flappers
Flappers were the new form of young women in the 1920s. They wore knee length dresses, makeup, and high heels. They smoked in public and went to speakeasies. Speakeasies were underground bars for hanging out and illegally drinking alcohol. Another activity they often did was the Charleston, which was a catchy dance everyone knew. They also began to get part time job. Flappers had more freedom than women before and were more daring and rebellious. -
American Birth Control League
Margaret Sanger founded the American Birth Control League. This group was focused on distributing birth control information to women, doctors, and the local state and towns. She spent many years of her life devoted to making birth control an option for women and a mainstream in American society. -
African American Women
During the Great Depression, both women and men had trouble finding jobs. Even though everyone struggled with work, many African American women were able to find jobs more easily than their husbands. This was because they could be payed low wages and were able to serve as a varitey of things. Many black women served as clerks, domestic servants, and textile workers. -
WAVES
In the navy members of Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) held the same status as naval reservists. These women weren't permitted to serve aboard combat ships or on aircraft. Therefore they provided support stateside. -
Women's Army Corps
The Women's Army Corps, formerly known as Women's Auxiliary Army Corps was a womens branch of military introduced in May of 1942. It's members were known as WAC's and worked in more than 200 non-combat jobs in the theaters of war. By the year of 1945 there were more than 100,000 WAC's who were part of the military, claiming full military status. This was the first women's branch of the army and it was greatly urged by first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. -
"Rosie the Riveter"
The "Rosie the Riveter" was a propaganda campaign promoting women's involvement in WW11. The propaganda is based off a fictitious character character, the strong, bandana wearing Rosie who became one the most successful recruitment tools in American history. This campaign helped women during WW11 to receive jobs they never would have been able to get before and were more respected. Women techinically took the jobs of men who were away at war and usually worked in jobs supporting war efforts. -
WASPs
The WASPs were the Women's Airforce Service Pilots. This was a lesser known/recognized role of women, but an important one. The women had their pilots license and became the first women to fly American military aircrafts. Because of the WASPs, thousands of male pilots were able to help in active duty for the United States. More than 1,000 women served as WASPs and 38 of them lost their lives in war. They were not recognized as military status and didn't recieve military benefits until 1977. -
Suburban Housewife
During the cold war, suburban lifestyle became very popular. Women's role in this was being a stay at home mom who cooked, cleaned, and cared for children. Women were expected to only be a housewife and not work. -
Birth Control
In 1960, the Food and Drug Administration approved birth control pills in 1960. Birth control was advocated for by women and was finally approved. -
The Feminine Mystique
The Feminine Mystique was a book by Betty Friedan published in 1963. She wrote about how difficult it was to be a woman because she can only think about her family, and her needs come last. It criticized the cult of domesticity and sparked the modern women's movement. -
Equal Pay Act
Although it was not as effective as hoped, it required women and men to get payed equal wages as men for the same job. -
Civil Rights Act, Title VII
Title VII in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination base on race, religion, and gender. This meant that women could not be discriminated against because of their sex. -
National Organization for Women (NOW)
The National Organization for Women was founded in 1966 and called for equal employment opportunity and equal pay for women. They championed legal abortions and birth control as well. -
Equal Rights Amendment
Proposed by Alice Paul, the amendment would prohibit discrimination on account of sex. This was passed by congress but it never got 75% approval from state legislatures. Therefore it was never passed. -
Roe v. Wade
This was a supreme court case that ruled that a woman has the right to have an abortion because a woman should have the right to do what she deems best for her own body. This was controversial, as some people believe in abortions as murder.
