Women's Equality In The 1920s

Throughout history the inferiority of women can be seen everywhere in society. That is why the ratification of the long hard fought 19th amendment to the Constitution in 1920 guaranteeing women the right to vote was a major achievement on the path to equality. But, however it was a minor turning point in United States women’s history. It was a minor turning point in United States women’s history because before the amendment was ratified most women only participated in the domestic household parts of their lives and never really had to earn money or make their own decisions.

In a time where suffering took place to gain suffrage, women were willing to make any sacrifice necessary to achieve equality. In America during the 20th century, tensions were high between many societal groups and classes. During that time, justice and equality were familiar yet misunderstood concepts to many Americans, and change was forthcoming. Societal change is the shift from night to day, and from day back to night; unavoidable and frequent. One such unavoidable change was the suffrage for all genders, races, religions, and free peoples in the United States of America.

Bloemhof 1 The social life of women in the United States took a progressive leap in the 1920s. The 1920s was a time of economic growth, lifted spirits and new outlooks on life. The 1920s commonly known as the Roaring Twenties brought many useful advancements and cultural changes to American life.

In the late 1800’s, women had a very small role in american politics. Only a small percentage of wealthy white men were allowed to vote and every other race and gender were not allowed. The question of Women’s suffrage was highly controversial due to the fact that many believed that women were inferior. The belief was that by giving women the right to vote, it would take away from their roles as wives and mothers.

Women’s Rights and The Constitution At the mark of the Seneca Falls Convention’s 75th anniversary, 1923, Alice Paul drafted the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) that called for a constitutional amendment that specifies equal rights of citizenship for women. The ERA, however, took half of a century to be passed by Congress for ratification, and this passage to the state legislatures is reflective of the period’s strengthened political demands of the women’s movement. Inspired by the concurrent Civil Rights Movement, sparked and moved by Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique and the National Organization for Women (NOW), and rendered by the real economic and political advancement of American women, the ERA was able to launch a serious nationwide discussion for itself in 1972.

Throughout American history, women have requested and demanded to achieve recognition for having the same legitimacy as men. Naturally born rights, such as access to equal education, and the right to speak out in public were denied to females. Perhaps, the most powerful right they were denied was the right to vote. Though women were considered inferior and given limited roles in society, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Carry Nation played a crucial role in the movement for women’s rights. Women did not achieve this right immediately, but that did not stop them from fighting.

Imagine a time of war when alcohol is prohibited, jazz music fills the streets, and people think women should be laboring in the kitchen rather the workforce. It’s difficult to grasp this, because society has come such a long way. However, the roaring twenties was an age of dramatic social and political change. After the Civil War, the nation experienced historical economic growth. This was a foreign concept to most people; citizens were buying the same goods, listening to the same music and using the same slang for years.

Women's rights during the 1920's progressed in a cultural and economical way. In the this time period 25% of women were unemployed. Women had office jobs and jobs as telephone operators. There wasn't anymore bias towards women who were married with families or black women.

Throughout history, women fought for equal opportunity to build onto the infrastructure of America. Once the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920 giving women voting privileges, their rights increased substantially to present day. Although, one issue that has been pressed in current time, is the wage gap between genders. The noticeable income gap between men and women reflects stereotyping of women, and how America lessens women’s roles in various occupations. The ongoing issue with stereotyping women, partly stems from activities they did in the past, correlating into present time.

Being a woman is a task in its own; it takes more than having a female sex, and being able to reproduce. A woman is not just someone with a sway in her hips, grace in her walk, and having a rich voice. She is a conqueror, able to endure hardships, is not easily broken, patriotic, but most of all she is a protector. Even with all of these qualities women are looked down upon, and have to fight for things that should be giving to them. A woman 's heart is with her children even though she doesn 't have the right to them.

Women have experienced centuries of hardship on account of the oppressive dominion of American society. They have endured the absence of the fundamental American rights and unrestrained opportunities which were solely devoted to their male counterparts. However, women did participate in notable aspects of American society, including social movements and war. Beginning in the mid-1800s, women became extensively involved in social reform movements; by aggregating their social influence, they were able to counter detrimental institutions such as slavery and alcoholism. However, despite their aggressive action for reform, women were frequently hindered as their rights were stripped and their positions were taken for granted.

Women as Well as Men Susan B. Anthony once told the nation, “men their rights, and nothing more; women their rights, and nothing less.” Women such as herself and Sojourner Truth are the reason as to why women received the rights they have now; civil rights given to all U.S. citizens under the document that laid the foundation of the country, the Constitution. Women’s civil liberties of the past have been resolved thanks to activists like Anthony and Truth who gave females the right to vote, showed how valuable a woman can truly be, and left legacies forever imprinted into our history. With her words and resistance against what was socially unjust, Susan B. Anthony gave women the right to vote. In the year 1872, back when women were not

“I raise up my voice- not so I can shout but so that those without a voice can be heard…,” once said Malala Yousafzai. Women’s rights in the 1930s were a serious issue. Women had just received the right to vote, yet there was still many discriminatory actions towards women. This dramatic period in time took place during the Great Depression, which caused women’s rights to be overlooked.

Although still not entirely popular or accepted, women also began to emerge more and more in postsecondary education. Women were only seldom allowed to go to college in the beginning of the 1920’s and when they did, they attended an all-women's school. By 1921 a woman was enrolled in a college that did not traditionally allow women (Benner). This was a monumental step for women’s educational rights. Women were allowed to graduate and become nurses or teachers, the only careers seen fit for women.

Women’s ongoing fight for equality from the 1920s to the 1970s was reflected through their attire. The 1920s were marked by the shockingly short hemlines and their right to vote. While women struggled to get fair pay in the 1930s, they got hired more often than men, which gave them greater independence. However, due to the gloom of the Great Depression, women lost their confidence and their clothing became more conservative. By contrast, the 1940s provided greater opportunities as the United States went to war.