Women's Rights Reform
Brianna Rios, Dulce Arzate, and Melissa De Leon
Embedded Files
Table of Contents
Overview
Overview
The Progressive era was successful in advancing women's rights in America by expanding women's roles, particularly through social reforms. Although true social and economic equality for women was still out of reach in the early 1900s, this era laid the foundation for future changes by expanding women's political visibility and influencing societal attitude toward gender roles. The progressive era represented a critical movement in the wider aspect for the ongoing struggle for gender equality.
The Gilded Age created a huge inequality and corruption, which then led to the Progressive movement. Women played a major role in pushing for reforms such as suffrage, better labor conditions, and overall protection for women and children. They also fought for laws to limit child labor, improve public health, better education, environmental conditions, and more. Through their efforts, they helped drive the social, political, and economic changes that shaped the Progressive Era.
Political reforms: 19th amendment, Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)
Social reforms: The Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA), Children's Bureau, Emergence of female reformers
Economic reforms: Minimum wage laws, Settlement House movement, Womens Trade Union League (WTUL)
History of Womens Suffrage
History of Womens Suffrage
The womens suffrage movement began with the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. By 1869 Elizabeth C. Stanton and Susan B. Anthony founded the National Womens Suffrage Association (NWSA) to push for a change in the 15th amendment that allowed women and black men alike the right to vote. In 1897, suffrage groups united under the National Union of Womens Societies, using petitions, speeches and boycotts to push for womens suffrage. More radical women adopted more extreme tactics like hunger and worrk strikes. Decades of activism led to the establishment of the 19th amendment in 1920, thus granting women the right to vote.
Key Figures
Key Figures
Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony
A leader in the suffrage movemet, she co founded the NWSA and organized the Seneca Falls Convention
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
A writer and activist, she co wrote the Decleration of Sentiments at the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention and worked close with Anthony to push for the 19th Amendment
Ida B. Wells
Ida B. Wells
A journalist and civil rights activist who faught for both womans suffrage and racial justice. She challenged segreagation within the movement advocating for black womens voting rights.
Why is the 19th Amendment so Important?
Why is the 19th Amendment so Important?
(Political reform)
The 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, was a major step forward for American democracy because it gave women the right to vote after years of activism. This change created a more representative government and gave women a voice in political decisions. Groups like the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) and the National Womans Party (NWP) fought hard for this right through political protest and public campaigns. Gaining the vote not only gave women more political power but also helped bring attention to issues like labor laws, education, and healthcare. The success of the womens suffrage movement also set an example for future civil rights efforts, inspiring later fights for votingg rightd such as those during the civil rights movement.
The Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA)
The Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA)
The Fair Labor Standards Act, enacted in June 1938, represented a significant milestone for employees advocated for social reforms in response to their harsh working conditions. This legislation granted workers essential protections aimed at addressing the unjust and detrimental working conditions they had endured. The act established the following :
Minimum Wage - the minimum you could pay a worker was settled as $7.25 per hour
Overtime pay - Employees must receive pay for the overtime hours of work (40 per week)
RecordKeeping - Keeping track of employee's work time and pay records
Child Labor - To prevent the employment of children, keep them out of child labor and enable them to pursue and seek education instead.
Women's Trade Union League (WTUL)
Women's Trade Union League (WTUL)
The Women's Trade Union League was an organization that successfully fought for economic reforms between 1907 and 1922. Members of this organization marched alongside other workers who were upset with their employers' unjust attitudes. Key events, such as the garment industry struggles, boycotts, and particularly the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, brought significant awareness to the poor working conditions inside factories. Following the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, a four-year investigation began, ultimately leading to new regulations. The League members advocated for reduced working hours, minimum wage, the prohibition of women's night labor, and the abolition of child labor. Devastatingly so, by mid-1920 the league had fallen off during the great depression as a result of struggling with financial complications that weakened the organization. By 1950 the league had been gone.
Political Cartoons
Political Cartoons
Sources
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https://www.britannica.com/topic/Womens-Trade-Union-League
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