The American Woman

I. Women in the Colonial Era

A. Better than England 1. Women enjoyed expanded property rights 2. Womens roles still viewed through a Biblical prism arranged marriages are common B. Anne Hutchinson 1630 1. Sets a standard of female independence a. Antinomianism i. You are not obligated to follow morality and ethics of religious authorities but be guided by conscience and Bible ii. Had liberal view of women subordinate status in the Church

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Women in the Colonial Era contd

C. Abigail Adams 1776 Remember the ladies 1. ...remember the ladies, and be more generous and favorable to

D. Republican Motherhood 1776 Abigail Adams in the fore 1. Republicanism required a virtuous, selfless, civically involved citizenryand the mother was responsible to raise them. E. The emergence of separate spheres 1. Men handled public life work, voting, leading, civic duty 2. Women handle the domestic realm children, home, etc.

them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation .

II. The New Nation to the Civil War

A. Impact of Industrial Revolution 1. Fewer families need every hand farming a. Women from farms to factories i. Feminine jobs factory, domestic service, teaching b. Expanded opportunities for women in higher education B. Marriage for love and family by choice 1. domestic feminism a. women begin to assert and enjoy more rights in the home

II. The New Nation to the Civil War contd

C. 2nd Great Awakening spawns first wave feminism and reform movements 1. First Wave understood a. Focus on changing laws and official policies and gaining suffrage 2. Seneca Falls 1848 a. Emerges from abolition movement and lack of womens rights b. Declaration of Sentiments i. We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of those who suffer from it to refuse allegiance to it, and to insist upon the institution of a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happinessThe history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of a state tyranny over her. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world. ii. Early cries for suffrage

II. The New Nation to the Civil War contd

3. Women head other reform movements a. Temperance Movement i. Carrie Nation ii. hatchetations b. Abolition i. Harriet Beecher Stowe c. Mental hospitals i. Dorothea Dix D. The nineteenth century is dominated by the idea of separate spheres 1. Cult of domesticity women to have perfect virtue in their sphere kind mother, loving, passive, delicate E. Early leaders of the First Wave 1. Lucretia Mott a. Leading early abolitionist 2. Elizabeth Cady Stanton a. Wrote the Declaration of Sentiments b. Founder of the Womens rights movements

III. Civil War to 1920s

A. Womens suffrage 1. Women in Wyoming get suffrage in 1869 a. Women on the frontier enjoy more rights and freedom 2. National Womens Suffrage Association founded in 1890 B. A new image of women The Gibson Girl - 1900 1. Athletic, independent, confident 2. New fields open to women in typing and switchboarding a. Tied to emerging technology at turn of century

III. Civil War to 1920s contd

C. Women in the progressive movement 1. Ida Tarbell a. Muckraker journalist wrote an expose about the anti-competitive business practices of the Standard Oil Trust 2. Carrie Chapman Catt a. Leader of suffrage. Founded the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) 3. Jane Addams a. Founder of Hull House 1. Settlement houses served the needs of the poor in urban areas. 4. Issues of concern around domesticity a. reconstruction, temperance, child labor, et al D. Womens working conditions 1. Muller v.Oregon a. Womens health should be a factor in working conditions and limitations

III. Civil War to 1920s contd

E. World War I brings gains for women 1. Large scale employment for women 2. Woodrow Wilsons support for their war effort lead to passage of 19th amendment F. 1920s 1. Flappers challenge sexual mores of the time period 2. Margaret Sanger 1921 a. founds American Birth Control League which is the precursor of Planned Parenthood i. She is indicted under Comstock Laws for mailing obscene materials

IV. World War I to Present Day

A. World War II 1. Womens employment on unprecedented scale a. Rosie the Riveter b. Women by and large return to the home after the war and are part of the baby boom c. The independence of women in this time sets the stage the for 2nd Wave feminism of the 60s and beyond B. Betty Friedan the The Feminine Mystique 1. Premise suburban women are trapped in their roles and want more a. Highly influential and starts the 2nd Wave

IV. World War I to Present Day contd

C. The 2nd Wave 1. Less concern for legal status of women and more attention paid to social and psychological impact of oppression. a. Many think the 2nd wave is a backlash against the rise of suburban families after the gains women enjoyed in WWII. 2. National Organization of Women 1966 3. Title IX Legislation a. No discrimination in federally funded activities i. Rise of high school and college sports for women 4. Roe v. Wade - 1973