Women Vs Women

Great Essays
Determination, tenacity, and drive are all qualities working men and women attain in order to fight each other to find a place for themselves in the workforce. A place for themselves that was amidst the extraordinary political, social, and economic changes going on in the United States. The United States experienced dramatic increases in industrialization, immigration, and urbanization. Trades were becoming mechanized as times were changing, and so more men and women were working long hours for little pay in factories or mills. Along with industrialization came many immigrants who began to crowd industrial cities. Overcrowded and unsanitary cities resulted from immigrants who wanted to have industrial jobs and be prosperous. The influx of immigrants …show more content…
Unfortunately, these desires and dreams were often put on hold, seen as necessary for women to have. The necessities women were believed to need was food and shelter, while the men are the providers for the household. While women were expected to stay home, the expectations for men to support the house was tremendous. An idea that women were to get married, have children, and take care of household duties was a belief that coincides with this statement saying, “working class men argued for a ‘family wage’ that would make it possible for women to avoid wage work outside the home” (Who Built America? page 38). While a man works and a women stays home seems ideal, not all families had the luxury or ability to do such. There were women who were the only source of income for their family, or women who had children they needed to care for. Jobs that women could take up included domestic service, agricultural laborers, and seamstresses. The Triangle Fire film depicts how many of the young women came from immigrant families, coming from countries where they faced natural disaster or persecution. While there was controversy or unease with sending women off to work, immigrants were described as, “having an American dream which depended on their willingness to work” (Triangle Fire Film). Young women were looking towards the …show more content…
When a person of elite status aids people from the working class, the voice of the working class can be better heard, being the elite have the platform to help them. The Knight of Labor encouraged women in their organization to learn more, and Levine states, “For women the lists and libraries represented a crucial link to the knights’ movement, which expected them to be educated in the questions of the day as their brothers” (Labor’s True Woman). Women first need to understand the issues that they should be concerned with, then after understanding their concerns work towards their duties to gain the rights that they believe should be theirs. The Triangle Fire film talks about the factory workers’ strike, and the support mentioning, “Anne Morgan takes up the women’s cause as unacceptable to be beating up these women for their rights of equality” (Triangle Fire Film). A person of high social position will cause police to be careful before thinking about raising a club on them. Middle and upper class reformers who were concerned with the condition that their sisters were working in were known as the Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL). These reformers were few of many women who wanted to help their fellow sisters. A prominent figure like Jane Addams investigated and wanted to improve conditions in Chicago.

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