How Did The Development Of 1890-1925 Improve The Position Of Women

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The traditional views of women in America consisted of the women's role of being somewhat subservient to the men. Those opinions deteriorated quickly in the era from 1890-1925. Both economic and political developments of the United States in the era from 1890-1925 contributed to a substantial change in the assumptions about the nature of women and a significant improvement in the overall position of women in America. Economic developments of the era from 1890-1925 played a role in the rising position of women in our nation. Our nation was in the process of incredible growth on the coattails of the post-Civil War "Industrial Revolution." Our nation's cities were growing at an unbelievable rate, opening up jobs in manufacturing that were often …show more content…

The first key political development of the era was the onset of the Progressive party at the turn of the century. The Progressives were fed up by what they saw as an increasingly immoral society, and pushed hard for a number of reforms that would regulate government, break up the trusts that they saw as a major harm to a competitive free market, and reforms in society, including temperance and the women's suffrage. Progressives regarded women voting as a way to reform society by adding a more "subdued" aspect to politics. They agreed with the arguments of Jane Addams in stating that women could soften the harshness of modern life and, as some suggested, end war. The advent of World War I furthered this sentiment, and the Progressive movement provided a method for giving women more political power. Likewise, the women's suffrage movement improved its standing by tempering its message to fit a more conservative society. Whereas Elizabeth Cady Stanton had said in the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention that "all men and women are created equal," the leaders of the newer movement used more conventional arguments. Susan B. Anthony stated that the advancement of women was good for households, and that same quality could be given to the nation Jane Addams also argued that a vote for women would improve the home Finally, Charlotte Perkins Gilman stated that women would be able to improve society with their vote by influencing more stable policies and electing morally upright

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