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Summary OCR A level history women revision notes
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summary of key facts and comparisons on women in civil rights. colour coded into themes
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Women revisionPolitical Social Economic
1865-1900s
Women had their separate sphere, and this represented the attitudes people had towards them.
Whereas men went out and worked, women were expected to be at home. Average children per couple
before 1861 was five but this fell to three by 1920. This shows their growth and how women’s roles were
changing and represented the advancements of birth control
After 1865, there was a considerable expansion of the number of women in the labour market. 10% of
free women held jobs in 1840, 15% in 1870 and 24% in 1924
Larger numbers of women workers led to a growth in union organisation. There were more strikes and
demands for better wages and conditions. But only 2% of trade unionists were women by 1914, even
though 25% of female employment was in factories.
Women were 1/3 of the labour force in Atlanta during the gilded age
The scale of women working, and the nature of employment changed. However, most work was
traditional areas associated with women. The attitude was also still prevalent that a women’s major
responsibility was in the home.
Women got their first taster of the political life through the anti-slavery movement and helped create the
set up for how women would organise themselves for suffrage.
After slavery became abolished, women moved on to the prohibition movement, which was a greater
introduction of women into public life as the degree of organisation required was essentially a political
act. `
Women wanted to stop men drinking so they would stop wasting money in taverns and coming home
and abusing their families.
The Women’s Christian Temperance Union was set up in 1874 and worked on banning alcohol to
safeguard the family. By 1880, the WCTU had grown to be a national organisation in 24 states with a
membership of 27,000 women. By the 1880s, it had 168,000 members and membership reached 800,000
by 1920.
Women had different opinions on the temperance movement, which caused tension as women against
didn’t like how they were claiming to ‘represent all women’
Presidents often ignored the temperance movement as they didn’t want to lose votes from both sides
but in 1918, alcohol was made illegal with the 18th amendment, and even though it was revoked
eventually, it showed the power women had even with no political voice
The suffrage movement:
Susan B Antony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton formed the National Women Suffrage Association (NWSA) in
1869, with membership restricted to women. This had a rival group led by Lucy Stone and Julia Ward
Howe, which included men, called American Women Suffrage Association. The cause was weakened by
the divide between them, as their strategies were different. However, they then merged in 1890 to form
the National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA) but the splits weakened them, and many
women put their effort into temperance and social reform.
Divisions in aims and methods were a major factor in weakening the improvements for many women.
The women’s suffrage movement split after the 15th amendment, which gave votes to AA men, middle
class white women couldn’t believe that former slaves got the vote before them. Leading to white and
black women to no longer have unity and the movement became racist. They would make black women
walk behind them at suffrage marches and southern organisations didn’t want to give AA women the
vote
Many men saw votes for women as unnatural and a distraction from domestic duties.
Among some immigrant’s opposition formed as they came from countries where women couldn’t vote so
they didn’t expect it, and Catholics saw suffrage as weakening family values.
Southern democrats disliked female suffrage, fearing that women in politics would introduce laws to hurt
the south or work against restrictions it has imposed on African Americans
In 1874, Virginia Minor sued the state of Missouri for preventing her from voting, the Supreme Court
ruled that women were not allowed national voting rights, but states could give women the right to vote.
She couldn’t even sue the state herself and her husband had to highlighting the little rights women had.
Led to Wyoming in 1869 and Utah in 1870 giving women the right to vote
, 1900- 1920s
Three million more women were working than in 1865. And the diversity of female employment
increased, with more women working in heavy industry and transport.
But when men returned from war, they expected women to give up their jobs and perception of
women’s roles hadn’t changed
12% of wives who worked in the 1920s did so because they needed to support their families and not as a
means of independence
in 1920, congress passed the 19th amendment granting women the right to vote- it remained difficult for
black women to vote even though all races were given the right. The amendment emerged as a reward
for the war effort women put in and because of effective campaigning by NAWSA, but not because men
suddenly had a massive change of heart or mind that women now deserved the vote as a matter of
natural justice and inherent democratic right.
The 19th amendment was the grand legislative achievement of the first wave. Although individual groups
continued to work, for reproductive freedom, for equality in education and employment, for voting rights
for black women- the movement began to splinter as it no longer had a unified goal with a strong cultural
momentum behind it.
19th amendment as a turning point:
In the 20 years after the 19th amendment there was only two female governors of state, both
standing in for their husband
Registration was not easy, married women had to re-register as individuals and there were
problems meeting the local residency requirements
Women struggled to travel voting stations or having someone look after their children whilst
voting
Some states were slow to amend legislation allowing women to be candidates for public office,
Oklahoma prohibited this until 1942
By 1933 there were 146 state legislatures and by 1945 there were 234
Many AA women could vote in theory but not in practise, due to literacy tests and grandfather
clause
Equal rights movement:
Women moved on the Equal Rights Movement led by the National Women’s Party, formed in 1916.
It was a very divisive effort and split many women’s groups.
It would confirm the move towards equality not achieved by the 19th amendment, but some feared it
would remove protections gained for women, such as working hours- 36% of states had regulations on
working hours by 1900. They also feared employers wouldn’t be able to afford to pay women equal pay
and as a result women wouldn’t be hired.
Only Wisconsin passed equal rights legislation (1921)
The ‘roaring twenties’ was associated with the relaxation of traditional attitudes during the war. Women
wore fewer restricting clothes, more sexual, had shorter hair. This was symbolised by the ‘flappers.
However, in conservative rural USA, there was limited acceptance of this, and women would have found
it difficult to behave in this way
The greater sexuality ended up with women often becoming sex objects to attract men and increased
double standards rather than achieving greater independence and emancipation
Also, greater sexual freedom highlighted the issue with limited birth control and abortions
It was suggested that there were a million illegal abortions a year before 1973.
In 1916, Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in the USA, in defiance of a New York state
law that forbade the distribution of contraception
In 1936 import of birth-control devices was made legal
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