The roaring twenties were the decade of modernization. Women had been fighting for years to gain respect and equality. World War I had ended two years prior, this was the time for a change. Women in the roaring twenties rejected all aspects of the Victorian age and were the driving force for the gain of women’s rights and modernization. The 1920’s were an indication the Victorian age was over. “Unemployment was down, from 4,270,000 in 1921 to a little over two million in 1927. The general level of wages for workers rose” (Zinn 382). New innovations were being built and brought into production to make life more convenient. Many businesses had adopted Henry Ford’s production process, the assembly line, thus creating new jobs for men and women.
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Although all women won the right, voting was still a middle-class and upper-class activity (Zinn 384). After the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, women brought domestic and social issues to legislation. For example, the Cable Act in 1922 which gave women equal citizenship with men and the Women’s Bureau in the Department of Labor in 1920 (Baker 233). Women of the era also advocated for birth control and equal rights for women of divorce. Lucy Stone and other well known woman suffragist knew that winning the right to vote was only just the beginning. Carrie Chapman Catt transformed the National Women Suffrage Association into the League of Women Voters in 1920; she expected the league to encourage voter participation, educate voters, and lobby for improved legislation (Bausum 85). Some suffragist dedicated the rest of their life to continuing the improvement of women’s rights. Even though women could vote, Alice Paul still saw women were not treated equally and advocated the equal right amendments (Bausum 86). In the end, the women of the roaring twenties broke the mold of the traditional woman and modernized her. Women suffragist advocated for women’s right and education. They brought domestic and social issues to legislation. Without the struggles and triumphs of the women in the roaring twenties, women today would have less opportunities and
Although all women won the right, voting was still a middle-class and upper-class activity (Zinn 384). After the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, women brought domestic and social issues to legislation. For example, the Cable Act in 1922 which gave women equal citizenship with men and the Women’s Bureau in the Department of Labor in 1920 (Baker 233). Women of the era also advocated for birth control and equal rights for women of divorce. Lucy Stone and other well known woman suffragist knew that winning the right to vote was only just the beginning. Carrie Chapman Catt transformed the National Women Suffrage Association into the League of Women Voters in 1920; she expected the league to encourage voter participation, educate voters, and lobby for improved legislation (Bausum 85). Some suffragist dedicated the rest of their life to continuing the improvement of women’s rights. Even though women could vote, Alice Paul still saw women were not treated equally and advocated the equal right amendments (Bausum 86). In the end, the women of the roaring twenties broke the mold of the traditional woman and modernized her. Women suffragist advocated for women’s right and education. They brought domestic and social issues to legislation. Without the struggles and triumphs of the women in the roaring twenties, women today would have less opportunities and