🙋🏽‍♀️Gender in Modern American History Unit 4 – Gender & Progressive Era Reforms

Key Concepts and Definitions

• Progressive Era (1890s-1920s) period of social activism and political reform in the United States
• Muckrakers journalists who exposed social and economic injustices through their writing
• Settlement houses community centers that provided social services and education to the poor and immigrants
• Temperance movement aimed to limit or ban the production and sale of alcohol
• Suffragettes women who advocated for the right to vote
• Maternalism belief that women had a unique role in society as mothers and caregivers
• Domesticity ideal that women should focus on the home and family life

Historical Context

• Rapid industrialization and urbanization led to social and economic challenges
  • Overcrowding in cities
  • Poor working conditions in factories
  • Exploitation of labor, especially women and children
• Influx of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe changed demographics
• Rise of the middle class with increased education and leisure time
• Victorian era values emphasized separate spheres for men and women
  • Men in the public sphere of work and politics
  • Women in the private sphere of home and family
• Women's clubs and organizations emerged as a way for women to participate in public life

Gender Roles in the Progressive Era

• Traditional gender roles were challenged and redefined during the Progressive Era
• Women increasingly entered the workforce, particularly in clerical and factory jobs
  • Driven by economic necessity and expanding opportunities
  • Still faced discrimination and lower wages compared to men
• Women's roles as consumers and household managers gained importance
  • Home economics movement emphasized scientific approach to homemaking
• Changing attitudes towards marriage and sexuality
  • Companionate marriage ideal emphasized emotional intimacy and partnership
  • Birth control movement advocated for women's reproductive rights
• Men's roles as providers and protectors were reinforced
  • Muscular Christianity movement promoted physical fitness and moral character

Major Reform Movements

• Women played a significant role in various progressive reform movements
• Settlement house movement, led by women like Jane Addams, provided social services to the poor
• Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) advocated for alcohol prohibition
  • Argued that alcohol abuse was a threat to family life and women's safety
• National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) fought for women's right to vote
• National Association of Colored Women (NACW) addressed issues facing African American women
  • Focused on education, social services, and civil rights
• Women's Trade Union League (WTUL) supported women workers and labor reforms
• Purity crusades aimed to combat prostitution and sexual double standards

Women's Suffrage Movement

• Long campaign to secure women's right to vote in the United States
• Seneca Falls Convention (1848) marked the beginning of the organized suffrage movement
  • Declaration of Sentiments outlined grievances and demands for women's rights
• National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) formed in 1890
  • Led by Susan B. Anthony and Carrie Chapman Catt
  • Focused on state-by-state campaigns for suffrage
• More militant tactics emerged with the National Woman's Party (NWP) led by Alice Paul
  • Picketing, hunger strikes, and protests
• Ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920 granted women the right to vote nationwide

Labor Reforms and Gender

• Women workers faced unique challenges and exploitation in the industrial workforce
• Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire (1911) highlighted dangerous working conditions for women
  • Led to increased support for labor reforms and unions
• Women's Trade Union League (WTUL) advocated for women workers' rights
  • Supported strikes and lobbied for protective legislation
• Minimum wage laws and maximum hour laws were passed in some states
  • Muller v. Oregon (1908) upheld Oregon's 10-hour workday for women
• National Consumers' League boycotted products made under exploitative conditions
• Women played a key role in the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU)

Social and Cultural Changes

• New opportunities for women's education and professional development
  • Women's colleges like Vassar and Wellesley were established
  • Women entered professions like teaching, nursing, and social work
• Rise of the "New Woman" ideal challenged traditional gender norms
  • More independent, educated, and politically active
  • Reflected in fashion changes like shorter skirts and bobbed hair
• Increased participation in sports and physical activities
  • Bicycling craze of the 1890s gave women greater mobility and freedom
• Birth control movement, led by Margaret Sanger, advocated for reproductive rights
  • Opened the first birth control clinic in the U.S. in 1916
• Changing sexual mores and the rise of dating culture
  • Increased social interaction between young men and women
  • Challenged traditional notions of courtship and chaperonage

Legacy and Impact

• Progressive Era reforms laid the groundwork for later social and political movements
• Women's suffrage paved the way for greater political participation and representation
  • First women elected to Congress in 1916 and 1920
• Labor reforms improved working conditions and wages for women and men
  • Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established federal minimum wage and maximum hours
• Social welfare programs and government regulations expanded
  • Laid the foundation for the New Deal and the modern welfare state
• Cultural changes in gender roles and expectations continued to evolve
  • Flappers of the 1920s represented a new ideal of femininity
  • Women's participation in the workforce increased during World War I and II
• Legacy of women's activism and leadership in social reform movements
  • Inspired future generations of feminists and civil rights activists