Women's Inequality In The 1920s

Dakota Hitchcock HIS 200: Applied History Southern New Hampshire University March 5th, 2023 The ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment is a significant historical event due to its battle to end legal and social discrimination against women. During the time period, women did not have the same privileges as men regarding employment, divorce rights, property rights, and the many social privileges men had. This amendment was drafted by suffragist Alice Paul in 1923 and was fought for by women and supporters across America shortly after women gained the right to vote after the 19th Amendment was passed on August 20th, 1920. Despite ERA fighting for equality by being a “proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed

Many women were inspired and still remain inspired today about gender equality

By 1910, women were not quite equal to men, but they were drawing near. Those that believed the sexes deserved equality continued to fight – men and women

The 19th Amendment was passed on August 18th, 1920; women had been in a 70 year protest to finally gain women suffrage. Even after women gained equal voting rights as men, they struggled to get past the state laws that still held them unequal in numerous ways violating their natural rights. It wasn’t until 1974, almost 54 years after the amendment was passed, that the Supreme Court finally considered an Equal Pay Act, due to an employer paying women less than men for the same work (Corning Glass Works v. Brennan). Only a year before that, in 1973, did the supreme court revise and clarify that employers could not publish sex-segregated “Male/Female Help Wanted” ads. Although it may be protected under the constitutional right of freedom of speech and of the press, but instead was considered illegal because of sex-biased preference in hiring (Pittsburgh Press v. Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations).

The 1920s was a time of great change. From fashion to politics, this period is known as one of the most explosive decades in American history. After WWI, America became one of the world’s most formidable superpowers. The rise to power prompted the 1920s to become a decade of evolution for women’s rights, African American’s rights, and consumerism. In the early twentieth century, women’s status in society was continuously evolving.

Comparative Analysis: Their Eyes Were Watching God The beginning of the twentieth century in the United States was a difficult time full of oppression for most women, They're Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston along with Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour, and Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper all highlight female individualism and liberation from male oppression.

From the earliest of times in society, females have had to consistently fight for equality in society. The mistreatment of women often included violence, abuse, financial inequalities, harassment, voting inequalities, and many more inequalities that men have not had to face compared to females. These unacceptable actions that are often seen as “normal” in society are a grim reminder of what women endured and still have to endure today. Many women never had a platform to fight for change and call out injustice in fear of their safety, shame from others, and the threat of breaking “social norms”. However, many influential women risked many things for the basic rights that men have been enjoying for centuries.

Today, most would think that all humans have equal rights. Unfortunately, though, women are still not treated as equal as men. Women do not get paid as much as men do, they are expected to stay home and take care of the children, and they do not have as many job opportunities as men do. All of this is in spite of the fact that women have been fighting for their rights in this country since the 1800s. Two of the most widely known speeches are “Ain’t I a Woman” and “Speech at Seneca Falls Convention.”

In the early 20th century, women fought for the right to vote. After more than half a century of continuous activism, the 19th amendment was passed, granting women voting rights. This triumph was merely the beginning of what the women’s rights movement would accomplish. Over the next several decades, women campaigned for policies which challenged societal norms and gave them equal footing with men. Pinpointing a sole cause of this movement has proved to be somewhat problematic, as there are several factors to its rise.

Fortunately, due to the tireless work of decades of activist’s, laws have changed, amendments added to the constitution, and rights granted to those who were previously unjustly denied. One of these victories for women’s rights occurred when women were granted the right

The Unnamed Woman Up until the 1900’s woman had few rights, thus they relied heavily on men. Women could not vote, they could not own their own property, and very few worked. Women’s jobs were solely to care for children and take care of the home. Women during this time, typically accepted their roles in society and the economy ( “Progressive Era to New Era, 1900-1909”).

We all know that women didn 't have as many rights as men, and they still don 't. Women can now do more than they used to, but they still aren 't equal with men. They have had to fight for so many things like the right to vote and to be equal to men. The 19th amendment, the one that gave women the right to vote, brought us a big step closer. The Equal Rights Movement also gave us the chance to have as many rights as men. Women have always stayed home, cleaned the house, and didn 't even get an education.

During the 1890’s until today, the roles of women and their rights have severely changed. They have been inferior, submissive, and trapped by their marriage. Women have slowly evolved into individuals that have rights and can represent “feminine individuality”. The fact that they be intended to be house-caring women has changed.

Women, like all humans, are dynamic beings. They change overtime just like any other species and with that comes change on a larger scale. This includes society’s adjustment to their advancements and evolutions. Women no longer only tend to homes or fields or just carry water jugs on their heads with baby’s strapped to their chest. This was true even in the nineteenth century.

Even though this attitude towards women has carried forth into the 20th century, the impact and abilities that women had during the past went unnoticed. After careful