The jobs of women changed drastically during the Progressive Era. Women started realizing that they could do and accomplish things, like men, and do things just as well. They started going to colleges, and working at jobs outside of the home. Women started to become their own person, not just the wife of a man.Before the Progressive Era began, women were not as important as men and had unequal rights. Most women did not work outside of the home. Their job was to clean the home and cook for the family. Also, their most important job was to care for their husbands and children. Sometimes, women would help their husband on the farm. Spinning yarn and sewing and making clothes took up a large amount of their time, as well. Unmarried and widowed women worked as servants in other households, or they helped the wife in that household. Widows and widowers remarried quickly. Some women had businesses, such as a barber shop, worked as a midwife, and a printer. The women that did work outside the home worked at factories for very low pay. Women did not get a very good education, either. They also were not allowed to vote in any election, which they disliked greatly and worked hard to change.The Progressive Era changed the lives of many women. Women realized they could attend a college and get a good job. They started to get a higher degree of education. The first college to accept women was Vassar College in 1865. To follow was Smith and Wellesley Colleges in 1875. Columbia, Harvard, and Brown still refused to accept women into the universities at that time. Though women were attending college, they still had to fulfill their duties at the home. Now, women had another alternative to just working at the home and getting married, they could attend a college and get a high-quality job. About half of the women that attended a college never married because they wanted to keep their independence.
Also, women earned the right to vote. The 19th Amendment allowed women the right to vote in elections, and it was passed on August 26th, 1920. Susan B. Anthony was an advocate for women during this time. She spoke out for women, but mainly tried to obtain the right for women to vote. Susan and Elizabeth Cady Stanton founded the National Women Suffrage Association, also known as the NWSA. This eventually turned into the National American Women Suffrage Association, which was led by many well-known women. They worked constantly to gain the right to vote through an amendment. Also, Sophia Smith played a very important role during this time. She was the founder of Smith College, and she believed that women should have the same opportunities at college as young men. She worked hard to create an equal environment and teach equally.
Susan B. AnthonyWomen were very much in support of prohibition. Women were affected the most by this because they were the ones that had to deal with drunken husbands coming home. Drunken men would abuse their wives and children, and this is why they were in favor of prohibition. Women called saloons a place of evil. Women also worked for what is called “social housekeeping”. Since they could not vote, they put a lot of effort towards creating a better workplace, education reform, and better food and drug laws.Women started working outside the home, as well. They worked in factories, such as textile factories. They also would work as telephone operators. One out of five women had a job, and 25% of them worked in factories. Women were still paid less than men, which was about half as much. Women also started working in offices, stores, and classrooms.
telephone operators
This was a great time for women, and they accomplished a lot for themselves. Men started to worry about women’s roles in society because they were achieving a lot of what they worked hard for. After this period of time, life changed a lot more for women.After the Progressive Era ended, women’s roles and rights changed even more. They were allowed to vote, and they could become candidates in an election, as well. More and more women started attending colleges, mainly in the 1960’s. Now, there are more females attending colleges than males. In 1988, 90% of young women had obtained at least a high school diploma, while 87% of men had. Also, 29% of women had a bachelor’s degree, while men were at 26%.Prohibition took affect from 1920 until 1933. It was the 18th Amendment that stated this. This was when the making, selling, and transportation of alcohol was prohibited. Women had a lot to do with this. It was eventually repealed on October 5, 1933, which made alcohol legal once again.
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