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Women's role in south
-placed on pedestal
-"flowers of the south"- too delicate
-women could not inherit property
-women did not own anything, all the property was the husband's
-greatly valued, but had no power -
Women in Puritan Society
-had 8-9 children
-sexual expression frowned upon
-more women than men
-women not allowed to join church, although could attend -
Anne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson criticized the Puritan chuch by believing in and preaching predestination. She was brought to trial in 1638 and banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony because she was a threat to the chuch and government, and moved to New York. -
Women's role in the Pre-Revolution
1764-1775
-women took care of the households, substituted for things they needed, and were very resourceful in finding ways around the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, and Townshend Act.
-Boycotts would have failed without women
-"Women were deeply involved in making the boycotts work, and, actually, that's what got the tax laws repealed;... it was women who enforced these boycotts as consumers" -Carol Berkin, REvolutionary Mothers:Women and the Struggle for America's Independence -
Women in the Revolutionary War
In the revoluionary war which lasted from 1775-1783, women played a very important role. They participated in the boycott of British goods and provided support services for the Continental Army. Some even spied on British troops and many ran their homes while their husbands were at war. They helped mainted economic stability in the colonies by managing the households while the men were gone. (The picture is of Abigal Adams) -
Lowell Mill Girls
The Lowell Mill Company was formed in 1814. This company employed mainly women who lived and worked at the mill for very low wages. The women had long hours and rough conditions to live in. However, for many single women, this was the best way to make money. -
Dorothea Dix
From the 1830's-1840's Dorethea Dix campainged for better treatment of the mentally ill. She was an important leader of this reform movement which was part of many going on during its time. -
Seneca Falls Convention
This was an important women's right's convention held in Seneca Falls, NY. Leaders of the meeting included Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Over the course of 2 days women (and a few men) at the meeting discussed women's rights and wrote the Declaration of Sentiments outlining their desires for women in society. At this time the right to vote was not a largely important right that women pushed for. -
Declatation of Sentiments and Resolutions
Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, spoken at the Seneca Falls Convention by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. It was very similar to the Declaration of Independence, but asked for women's suffrage. It included a list of greivances, and was signed by 68 women and 32 men -
Harriet Beecher Stowe writes Uncle Tom's Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe, an influential female author wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin, an important novel that depicted the lives of African American slaves. This was an extremely influential abolotionist novel and became very popular in the US and abroad. -
1865-1890: Industries
Women were the most strongly affected by the new industrial era. As new technology arose (telephone, typewriter, etc), more jobs became available for women -
Wyoming: first state to grant unrestriced suffrage for women
The Wyoming Territory was the first area in the United States to grant suffrage to women. It was later named "the Equality State" because of this. Many states later followed Wyoming's example. -
National Women's Suffrage Association Forms
Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Womens Suffrage Association in order to achieve womens suffrage. This organization planned to gain suffrage through means of a Constitutional Amendment -
Women gain suffrage in Utah
Women in Utah gain the right to vote -
Victoria Woodhull and Tenesse Claflin publish Woodhull and Clafin's Weekly
women proclaim their views of moarlity to society -
WTCU Founded
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union organized in 1874 by Annie Wittenmyer. Frances E. Willard takes over in 1876 and brings the organization to become a leading group in the fight for women's sufrage and prohibition. -
Women's Rights amendment first introduced to congress
The first Women's Rights amendment is introduced to Congress. It does not pass until 1920 -
Women Take the "Moral View" of Indians
Helen Hunt Jackson publishes the book A Century of Dishonor and believes that Indians should be assimilated into American society instead of violently terminated -
American Red Cross
Clara Barton founds the American Red Cross in 1881 -
Hull House Founded
The Hull House, a settlement house, was created by Jane Addams. Because women did not yet have the right to vote, settlement houses became centers of women's political activism and social reform suring the Gilded Age. -
New marital rights for women
By this point, most states had passed laws allowing wives to own and control property after a divorce. -
Most states pass laws to permit women to control property after marriage
Women are passing new equality laws -
Gibson Girl
Charles Dana Gibson creates the modern image of a new indepdent women of the middle class -
Mary Lease speaks out for Populism
Mary Lease becomes a female representative for the Populist Party. She preaches for farmers to raise "more corn less hell" and denounces buisnesses and Wall Street. -
National American Woman Suffrage Association is formed
Women's suffrage was ingored when black suffrage was being fought for, but it is now a major issue again. Founders include Elizabeth Cady Staton and Susan B Anthony. It is formed from the combination of NWSA and AWSA -
Anti-Saloon League
The Anti-Saloon League formed in 1893, protesting liquor. They had specific phrases, such as "the saloon must go," "vote for cold water, boys," and "lips that touch liquor are lips that will never touch mine." -
Women's Suffrage in Colorado
Women gain the right to vote in colorado -
Henry Street Settlement
Lillian Wald founded the Henry Street Settlement -
National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW)
National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) is founded by Hannah Greenbaum Solomon -
National Association of Colored Women forms
Formed after a meeting between Mary Church Terrell, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Margaret Murray Washington, Fanny Jackson Coppin, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Charlotte Forten Grimké, and former slave Harriet Tubman in Washington, DC -
Women's Suffrage in Idaho
Women gain the right to vote in Idaho -
Charlotte Perkins Gilman stands up for women's rights
In her book Women and Economics, Gilman encouraged women to abandon their depdent status at the home and contriubte to society by becoming involved in the community -
Kate Chopin publishes The Awakening
Kate Chopin was a daring feminist author who wrote about abuldtery, suidice, and women's ambitions. One of the most respected female authors of her time -
National Consumers League created
Florence Kelley took control of the National Consumers League in 1899 to urge women to fight for laws to safeguard women and children in the workplace -
General Federation of Women's Clubs is formed
Women's organizations grow in cities -
Ida M. Tarbell publishes an article in McClure's
Ida M. Tarbell displays the power of female journalists by publishing a popular expose on the Standard Oil Company -
National Women's Trade Union League
National Women's Trade Union League was established to improve women's wages and working conditions -
Helen Keller
Helen Keller was the first deaf and blind woman to graduate Radcliffe College. -
Sullivan Ordinance
The Sullivan Ordinance, passes in New York City, made it illegal for women to smoke in public -
Women's Right to Vote in Washington
Washington state gives women the right to vote -
Triangle ShirtWaist Fire Kills 146 Women
146 female workers are killed in a fire during a tragic incident at a NYC Triangle Shirtwaist Factory because of poor labor conditions and regulations -
National Woman's Party
To abolish discrimination against women, Alice Paul founds the National Woman's Party -
War Encourages Suffrage Movement
As women began to step up in the war effort, Woodrow Wilson began to support Women's suffrage -
NWP is formed
The National Women's Party is formed by Alice Paul and her feminist supporters. -
Founder of first birth control clonic arrested
Margaret Sanger is arrested for opening the first birth control clinic in the United States. -
First Woman Elected to Congress
Montana elects Jeannette Rankin to be the first woman in Congress -
Female Suffragists Picket the White House
Women from the National Women's Party picket outside the White House for a constitutional ammendment -
Female Suffragists Arrested
In July of 1917 Alice Paul along with other NWP feminists who were picketing the white house were arrested on the charge of "obstrcuting traffic". While in jail, they participated in hunger strikes and were treated very poorly -
League of Women Voters
The league of Women Voters is founded -
19th Amendment: Women's Suggrage
The 19th Amendment was passed in 1920, giving women the right to vote -
Sheppard-Towner Maternity Act of 1921
This act provided federally financed instruction on matter of maternal and infant healthcare. -
Equal Rights Amendment
States that "men and women shall have equal rights throughout the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction.” -
First Woman to be Governor elected in Wyoming
Nellie Tayloe Ross is elected as governor of Wyoming and becomes the first woman elected as a governor in the United States. -
Women in the OLympics
Women compete for the first time in the Olympics -
Baby Boom
Beginning at the end of WWII, women began having many more babies . By the end of the 1950's there were more than 50 million babies added to the population. This definitely influenced the popular image of women during this time which was to be a dedicated mother and house wife. -
Postwar Women
After World War II Ended, there were many jobs avalible to women. At the end of WWII women accounted for a quarter of the American work force. However, even as women played a bigger role in the workforce in the 1940's-1950's, popular culture glorified an image of a more traditional housewife living in the suburbs. This image represents the popular image of a women in the postwar culture even though this was not realisticllly what all American women were like. -
Rosa Parks Begins Montgomery Bus Boycott
In December 1955, Rosa Parks, a black seamstress and one of the first women members of NAACP, refused to leave her seat on a bus in Montgomery to make room for a white person. She was arrested and her arrest began a year long black boycott. -
Role of Women in American Government 1960
Women played a very limited role in American government in 1960. Even though they made up about half of the voters, there were no female Supreme Court Justices, federal appeals court justices, governors, cabinet officers, or ambassadors. Women began protesting for equality. -
Equal Pay Act
Congress passed the Equal Pay Act which required equal pay for men and women who performed the same jobs under equal conditions. This was an important reform in the fight for gender equality. -
Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique
In 1963, Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique was published and launched the modern feminist movement by protesting the role of women during the 1950's. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act that was passed by LBJ in 1964 prohibited discrimation not just in regards to race but also in regards to sex. Many people were unhappy with the addition of the sexual clause. This clause was an important step in creating gender equaltiy under the federal law. -
Affirmative Action
LBJ issued an executive order requiring all federal contractors to take "affirmative action" against discrimination. This helped women to have more equal opportunities to be hired in the workforce. -
NOW is Formed
Betty Friedan and 300 other women formed the National Organization for Women or NOW. They formed this organization to pressure the EEOC to enforce laws prohibiting sex discrimation and to achieve other forms of equality for women. -
NOW's second national conference/ ERA
In November of 1967 at NOW's second national conference they organization drew up an 8 point bill of rights for women. They called for the adoption of an Equal Rights Ammendment to the consitution which was eventually passed by congress in 1972 BUT never ratified so it did not go into action. -
First African American Woman Elected to Congress
Shirley Chisholm of New York becomes the first African American woman to be elected to Congress -
Title IX of the Education Amendments Act
Prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex in public schools. -
ERA Amendment Passes through Congress
The Equal Rights Amendment, which states that men and women must be treated equally under the law, passes through Congress. However, it falls 3 states short of ratification and never becomes an Amendment. -
Ms. Magazine
Gloria Steinem publishes the first edition of Ms. Magazine, a feminist magazine.All 300,000 copies were sold within the first 8 days it came out. -
Women Admitted into US Military Academies
For the first time, women are admitted into United States MIlitary academies -
Women's Army Corps Dismantled
In 1978, the Women's Army Crops is dismantled and women are integrated into the U.S. Army
