Women's Rights Mid-1900s

In the past 200 years, the United States of America has grown exponentially in several different ways. One of the most prominent is the change in women's’ rights. Today, no one would not be surprised to see a woman attend college to later become a career professional. Sadly, women in the United States began in a world where they were not able to get a job other than taking care of their own household; education and professional careers were completely off limits. Through several significant events since 1865, women have been able to earn the fundamental rights they should have always had
Firstly, the late eighteen hundreds are where woman start to change their position in society. During this time, women gained rights as a result of the …show more content…
The mid-1900s social reform was pushed by President Roosevelt, World War 2, and the invention of the Television. Initially, President Roosevelt expressed his respect for women when he made national history. “Roosevelt appointed the first female member of the cabinet in the history of the nation: Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins” (Brinkley 607). The first female cabinet member was able to show the nation how women have just as powerful and effective voices as men. Yet again, the war changes the women’s movement; this time it was World War 2. Brinley states, “The number of women in the workforce increased by nearly 60 percent during the war” (641). The importance of the war to women’s suffrage was that women were now taking over industrial jobs and gaining skills that would keep them in the workforce following the conclusion of the war. On the other hand, a new technology changed the future as well. Televisions were invented in 1927 and quickly took over American households. The Unfinished Nation claims,“Television news concern with unprecedented power the social upheavals that gradually spread beginning in the late 1950s” (Brinkley 689). The ability to broadcast events all over the country spread the word of movements that occurred. This gave smaller groups an even bigger …show more content…
Voting, education, and careers were now common for women in America; the late 1900s were a time of social rights. This period sparked a change through Betty Friedan’s writing, the new wave of feminism, and the supreme court ruling towards abortion. Alan Brinkley says, “The 1963 publication of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique is often cited as one of the first events of contemporary women’s liberation” (745). Her writing shed light on the epidemic of unhappiness that was plaguing women, even though they were now living out the middle-class dream. She focused on the lack of outlets for women who had education and skills. Similarly, the feminist movement worked to help lower class women. The Unfinished Nation reads, “They created women’s health clinics, centers to assist victims of rape and abuse, day-care centers, and particularly after 1973, abortion clinics” (Brinkley 746). Women’s sexuality is still a widely silenced topic in present day. Thankfully, the feminist movement during this era is working to end this. Raising awareness about issues as the feminists did, helped to push women along in society by developing solutions. Finally, abortion has come and gone in a legal sense throughout our country's history. By the beginning of the 1900s abortion was deemed illegal across the country. According to The Unfinished Nation, almost a century later in 1973, the supreme court case