1. Women in the Progressive Era, 1900 -1920
Dr. Lucia McMahon
TAH Presentation
March 2010

2. Origins: Seneca Falls Convention
July 1848
First women’s rights convention in the US
Sparked organized Women’s Rights Movement
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal...”
—Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Declaration of Sentiments

3. The “True Womanhood” Ideal
19th-century middle-class ideals stressed:
Domesticity
Piety
Passivity
Nurturing
Mothering
“Home as Haven”
Women’s legal status – NO rights to:
Property
Wages
Education
Political Rights (Voting, Office Holding, Jurors, etc.)
Picture from Unit 3 Power Point -- I could not find it online.

4. 19th-Century Women and Reform
19th-century women became active in a variety of reform movements, including:
Missionary/Bible Societies
Moral Reform Societies
Temperance Movement
Education/School
Abolition
Women’s Rights
Women used prescriptive ideas about “true womanhood” to justify their reform work

5. “New” Woman Emerges Late 19th-century:
“true womanhood” ideal  “new” woman
A “new” woman was:
Educated
Independent
Employed
Determined
Modern
Definition of “new” women from Unit 4 Introduction, Lucia McMahon

6. The “New Woman” in the Progressive Era
Women coming of age in late 19th-century had improved options:
More Employment Opportunities
Access to More Leisure Activities
Access to Higher Education
Supportive Networks
Revitalized Suffrage Movement

7. Women in the Labor Force
By 1920, women made up 21.4% of labor force:
Teachers
Librarians
Telephone Operators
Clerical Work
Sales Clerks
Nurses
Factory Workers
Maids
Cooks
Women’s wages only 1/2 of men’s

8. Women, Work & Leisure More Autonomy and Independence
Leisure Activities
Consumer Culture

9. Women and Higher Education
Expanded access to higher education:
Vassar, Smith, and other elite “sister schools” founded
Many new land-grant colleges were co-ed
By 1880, women represented 32% of college students
By 1900, 85,000 young women attended college
Many college-educated women delayed marriage or remained single
Anna Howard Shaw, President of NAWSA

10. Settlement House Movement
Provided professional careers for educated women AND
Social services for working class & immigrant women
Hull House founded in by Jane Addams
Served Immigrant Women and Children
Child Care
Kindergarten Classes
Adult Education
Social Events and Clubs
By 1910, there were 400 settlement houses in the U.S.
Many professional careers remained closed to women; only 3% of American lawyers were women in 1920 and 6% of American doctors

11. “Public Housekeeping”
“If a woman would keep on with her old business of caring for her home and rearing her children she will have to have some conscience in regard to public affairs lying outside of her immediate household [she] must take part in legislation which is alone sufficient to protect the home from the dangers incident to modern life.” – Jane Addams
Reformers used image of “public housekeeping” to describe their activities
Progressive Era women active in variety of reforms:
Child Labor Laws
Public Housing
Public Education
Public Libraries
Public Health
Playgrounds
Food Safety
Sanitation

12. Women’s Christian Temperance Union
Founded in 1873
Led by Frances Willard
160,000 members by 1890
245,000 members by 1911
Became single largest women’s organization
“Do Everything” Philosophy:
Along with promoting temperance laws, WCTU took on other “male vices”-- from prostitution to political corruption

13. Organizing Women Workers
1903: Women’s Trade Union League Founded
Coalition of union activists and elite women
1909: International Ladies Garment Workers Union went on strike in NYC
1911: Continued activism after Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Factory

14. Votes for Women New generation of women revitalize suffrage movement
Employed more militant strategies
Marches
Speaking tours
Picketing

15. Suffrage in the Progressive Era
Women’s suffrage seen as logistical extension of women’s various Progressive Era reforms
Suffrage was “the most potent means of social and moral reform.” ~Frances Willard

16. 1890: National American Women’s Suffrage Association (NAWSA)
State-by-State campaigns
Membership grew to 75,000 by 1910
State Campaigns Victories:
1910: Washington
1911: California
1912: Oregon, Arizona, and Kansas
1914: Nevada and Montana

17. New Leadership: Alice Paul and Lucy Burns
Experienced English militant suffrage movement firsthand
Joined NAWSA’s Congressional Committee
Organized a march in DC to coincide with President Wilson’s inauguration
Shift in strategy to focus on Federal Amendment

18. 1913 March in DC

19. Inez Milholland “Quintessential New Woman of the Era”
Used her wealth, intellect, beauty and connections to promote suffrage

20. New Women’s Party
Led by Paul & Burns, the strategies of NWP reflected more radical, tactics that were popular in the English suffrage movement:
Picketing
Hunger strikes
Strategic use of media and public spaces
1916: Members of the NWP picketing in Chicago where Wilson was delivering a speech

21. Gaining Momentum

22. World War I & Suffrage 1917: United States enters WWI
Suffragists split:
Support War Effort
Organized Relief Effort
Served in Red Cross
War-time Work
Peace Demonstrations
1915: Delegates from WPP attend International Peace Conference
Continue Suffrage Campaign
Jane Addams & Members of Women’s Peace Party (WPP)

23. NAWSA/WWI NAWSA linked suffrage to women's work in war efforts
Carrie Catt argued that the country should “reward” women with vote for their patriotic support of the war.

24. NWP/Wartime Protests NWP picketed White House
Protestors were arrested and imprisoned

26. “Iron Jawed Angels”

27. President Wilson’s Support
1918: After much pressure from NAWSA and the NWP, President Wilson finally supported the suffrage movement
September 30, 1918: Wilson’s Address to the Senate:
“We have made partners of the women in this war; shall we admit them only to a partnership of suffering and sacrifice and toil, and not to a partnership of privilege and right?”
“This measure which I urge upon you is vital to the winning of the war and to the energies alike of preparation and of battle.”
President Wilson Favors Votes for Women

28. The 19th Amendment
1919: House of Representatives and Senate approve 19th Amendment
¾ of states needed for ratification
August 20, 1920: Tennessee approved the amendment by one vote

29. “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by an State on account of sex.”

30. Web Sources and Image Credits
Jane Addams/Hull House:
National Women’s History Museum:
Library of Congress Exhibits on Suffrage:
Alice Paul Institute:
Bryn Mawr Women and the Right to Vote:

31. Conclusion
1848 – 1920, over 70 years of determination by pro-suffragists to achieve a common goal
Seneca Falls, Stanton and Mott  19th Amendment, Burns and Paul
Influenced by evolution of “true womanhood” ideal to “new” woman
Progressive Era progress and reform
Important women and events which shaped movement
Events of World War I