Role+of+Women+throughout+the+1920s+and+30s

Women’s rights actually were achieved in small increments, such as in states, during the 19th Century and early 20th Century. In 1920, the nineteenth amendment was added, giving women all rights that men had. Women often were given lower paying and less desired jobs, and had very little variety.

[] =The Rapid Changes in Women's Roles from 1900 to 1920 = Since the beginning of time women have fought to find a lasting and prominent position in their society. In the short span of twenty years, between 1900 and 1920, the roles of women changed dramatically in the United

States. Women went from homebound producers to wage-earning consumers to political and social reformers in the short course of these twenty years. Though these women were not always seen as politically productive by men of their time, many women became active and independent and productive in their new found roles by changing what was an acceptable role for a woman to excel in.

At the turn of the century the United States was changing rapidly and the roles of women were not different. As industrialization and immigration changed the face of most cities, women were slowly changing from homebound producers to wage-earning consumers. In Amy Peiss’ book __Cheap Amusements__ this facet of new women’s roles is discussed in detail. Peiss points out that, “By 1900 important changes in the social organization of labor and expanding job opportunities… created new work experiences for women”. These new work experiences took them out of the home and gave them a new independence and freedom from their previously male and home dominated lives. It also gave them a new world within which to explore and succeed. While so many married women barely left the house, this new breed of women left the house for work and leisure as Peiss points out, saying, “many mothers went out no more than twice a week.” With incomes of their own, even if they gave most or all of their paychecks to their family, women found a new niche in society as workers and indirectly then as consumers. With money of their own, aside from that spent on family, they were free to buy things that had before been traditionally made at home, such as clothes. As workers, they became more influenced by the society around them, not just influence from family or neighbors and, in turn, led them to realize a change needed to be made in society. This expansion of world brought reform minded women to the front of society. With this new independence in women’s roles, women began to explore activeness in society. Women soon became social and even political reformers, dedicated to the Progressive movement and other reform movements

that sought to help the good of society. In realizing these new roles expanded women’s roles beyond just the local scheme, Kathryn Sklar writes, “Thus although their own communities were essential to their social strength, women were able to realize the full potential of their collective power by reaching outside those boundaries.” The women now had interests outside the home and realized that society not only needed to be reformed, but that if it were to be reformed to their standards it was their responsibility to join together and work to accomplish their goals. Maureen Flanagan supplements this by stating, “the women were asserting their right to involve themselves in every decision made by the Chicago city government, even to restructure that government.” Women were developing into political and social activists who worked through public means to reform what they could of society. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">They did a lot of this through various groups, usually strictly female groups, which worked through the community to better the standard of living where they could. Sklar points out that, “it [social settlement movement] provided <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">them [women] with access to the male political arena while preserving their independence from male-dominated institutions.” Women’s groups kept independent from men’s groups showing not only their independence but also <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">their worth and ability to work without working through men. These reformers worked to change the face of social and political interaction, widening their role from caretakers of the home and neighborhood, to caretakers of society, <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">striving to better various communities, all the while doing the best they could to separate themselves from the influence of men in order to accomplish their own goals.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Despite the rise in women’s importance on the economic, social, and political scene, many men still did not see them as strong, productive, or politically active members of society. A leading politician of these two decades, <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Theodore Roosevelt, on more than one occasion belittled the woman’s standing in society. Many men who might have believed that a woman’s only role was within the family, it can be assumed, shared Roosevelt’s view. Roosevelt is <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">quoted as saying “I am more and more convinced that the great field, the indispensable field for usefulness of woman is as mother of the family. It is her work in the household, in the home, her work in bearing and rearing the children… <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">which should be normally the woman’s special work.” Though he tries to make it sound like a noble cause, and in some ways it is, he completely ignores and/or neglects the possibility that women can be anything useful except mothers. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">His thought, it can be construed, that women in the political arena searching for reform were only a weakness, as politics was a man’s role. This viewpoint from such a prominent politician was not an isolated opinion. Many reformers <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">became historical figures of great significance, such as Jane Adams. Also, drawbacks such as political disapproval did nothing to stop the evolution or movement of the role of women. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Women’s roles were constantly changing, whether men saw it or not. These changes continue today as women’s roles continually change. Women’s roles, in this period, had evolved into outside the home and

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">active members of society, not just community. Despite many obstacles, such as men’s popular disbelief and disapproval in their ability to succeed in these roles, women’s roles evolved from local to widespread, from producer to consumer, <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">and from homebound to community oriented. Though not all changes in the woman’s role in society was a direct product of their changing surroundings, many of the changes can be traced back to the changes in society, economy, and politics <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">during the two decades between 1900 and 1920.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Amy Peiss, Cheap Amusements (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1986). Kathryn Kish Sklar, Hull House in the 1890s, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985). Maureen A. Flanagan, “Gender and Political Reform: <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The City Club and the Woman’s City Club of Chicago in the Progressive Era,” Who Were the Progressives?, (2002). John Milton Cooper, Pivotal Decades, (New York: W. W Norton & Company, 1990). []


 * ||  || **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 18pt;">Women Gain Rights, Fashion, and Flappers (The 1920's) ** ||

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">In 1920, the 19th Amendment was passed in the United States, granting suffrage to women. Four years later, in 1923, women living in Great <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Britain also gained a step forward. The Matrimonial Causes Act was put into force. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">This meant that in the event of a divorce, both spouses were regarded as equals. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">In the 1920's the world experienced several revolutions in areas such as music and new scientific discoveries. People seemed to be taking part in this <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">"change" as well. For instance, women adopted new fashion standards (usually more casual) and beliefs. For women, hair was cut shorter (sometimes the Eton crop) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">and clothing changed drastically, becoming shorter and less "covering." So revolutionary were these changes that in 1925, the Archbishop of Naples pointed a blaming <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">finger at short skirts. He believed that they were the cause for an Italian earthquake. More liberty was granted to women when advancements in technology created <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">cars with electric self-starters. They would no longer have to hand-crank them or have the assistance of a male. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The flapper, a sign of the 1920's, characterized the changes that were occurring in the decade. Flappers were young ladies, usually dressing in the styles described <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">in the paragraph above. Some were also known to be cigarette-smokers and cosmetics-wearers. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">[] ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Females advanced in the work force as more women began to get hired for office jobs. They also gained several rights and a freer lifestyle.

<span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif';">Women gained the right to vote in the 1920s. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Also, at first they weren't considered to be people so the famous five (Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Henrietta Muir Edwards & Irene Parlby) took this to the Supreme court but they lost. They then tried again and took this to the Privy Council in England and on October 18, 1929 they ruled that women were "persons". <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Protests were held by women in order to obtain their rights, by holding campaigns, having marches near the White House and writing letters to the government. Although women had won the right to vote during the Civil War, few women were elected to government. Even if women did manage to break through sexist barriers, they had to adapt to working conditions designed by and for men.

Sometimes referred to as **The Empress of the Blues**, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s. She was one of the greatest singers of her era and, along with Louis Armstrong, a major influence on subsequent jazz sigers. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">﻿[] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
 * Bessie Smith** (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The move for women to have the vote had really started in 1897 when Millicent Fawcett founded the National Union of Women's Suffrage. "Suffrage" means the right to vote and that is what women wanted - hence its inclusion in Fawcett's title. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Fawcett argued that women could hold responsible posts in society such as sitting on school boards - but could not be trusted to vote; she argued that if parliament made laws and if women had to obey those laws, then women should be part of the process of making those laws; she argued that as women had to pay taxes as men, they should have the same rights as men and one of her most powerful arguments was that wealthy mistresses of large manors and estates employed gardeners, workmen and laborers who could vote........but the women could not regardless of their wealth..... <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Britain and Europe was plunged into World War One in August 1914. In a display of patriotism, Emmeline Pankhurst instructed the Suffragettes to stop their campaign of violence and support in every way the government and its war effort. The work done by women in the First World War was to be vital for Britain's war effort. In 1918, the Representation of the People Act was passed by Parliament. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">[]