Women have been consistently devalued throughout history. Treated as second class citizens in America, women have lacked many rights taken for granted by men. The right to vote, the right to choose an abortion, the right to feel safe and protected in her own home, the right to be paid fairly (or sometimes at all) for their labor, have all been denied to women in America. Ours has been largely a patriarchal society.
Women and Education
It was not until the 1800’s that women were allowed to attend college. This lack of education frequently meant that women simply did not believe that they were smart enough to enter the male-dominated worlds of business, politics, and many other areas. Women were denied an education, then kept out of many areas of society for being uneducated. Today in America, women are free to attend college just the same as men, but this was not always the case.
In the 1700’s, the purpose of education for a woman was to become skilled at household duties and chores in order to find a suitable husband. A women educated in academics was seen as an oddity. Education for a woman was geared toward social etiquette, sewing and hemming, cooking, and nursing in preparation for life as housekeeper, wife, and mother. Reading was sometimes taught for the purpose of reading the bible. Here we can see a clear message about a woman’s place in American society: serve and enable men by performing tasks deemed beneath them. This was all true for white women. African American women faced a very different set of obstacles.
After the Revolutionary War, changes in expectations for women’s education came around. The education of women was seen as one way to prepare the country and its citizenry for success. This education was not for their own personal benefit, but to better enable them to mold future generations into good citizens and civic leaders. This idea of Republican Motherhood meant that a woman could get some access to the worlds of education and politics in the interest of raising an educated, well-rounded, patriotic son.
In the late 1700’s the shift from homemade clothing to manufactured clothing was well underway. This meant more free time for middle class girls, which meant more time for education. This included a landmark event for women’s education - the opening of The Young Ladies Academy. Opened in 1787, this was the first all-female academy in the United States. Women could learn reading, spelling, math, and geography from male instructors.
By the mid 1800’s, women were being admitted to coeducational state colleges. In 1815, the Female Seminary Movement began with the goal of creating educational institutions with the ability to provide women an education equal to that of men’s universities. The increased number of students made for a shortage of teachers. Despite concerns and protests over the idea of women in the traditionally male-dominated teacher role, many women did become teachers. This transition was smoothed over in part due to the fact that schools could pay female teachers considerably less than they paid men, a common theme throughout history.
With the emancipation of slaves in the mid 1800’s, some facilities dedicated to educating African-Americans began to emerge. This idea was often met with strong opposition and violence from those who refused to see African Americans as equals. Native Americans were in a somewhat similar situation. The US government established boarding schools for Native Americans in the interest of civilizing them and assimilating them into European American culture. Due to the frequent relocations by white settlers who wanted their reservations, activities such as tanning and quilling were no longer possible. Native American women were taught quilting, sewing, washing, and cooking. Many became servants in European American homes.
Although Oberlin College was the first to admit women in 1833, it was Vassar college nearly 30 years later that first admitted women and maintained a curriculum similar to that of men’s courses. Unfortunately, the high quality and high standards also meant high tuition rates, so Vassar was only an option for the wealthiest families. Women were still educated separately from men into the 1960’s, as there were widely-held beliefs and concerns about co-education such as:
Once coeducation began to be common, there were still obstacles in place. At some schools, a woman could not use the library unless no male students were present, or women had to remain standing until all male students arrived and were seated. Some classes were available to male students only.
In the early 1900’s, there was debate over how African-Americans should be educated. Some believed that they should receive the same education as whites in the interest of equality. Others believed that they should receive practical education to prepare them for the types of jobs that were available to them. In 1904, Mary McLeod Bethune founded Daytona Educational and Industrial School for Negro Girls. Here, girls could learn basic academics as well as how to do laundry, clean houses, make brooms, and raise chickens.
In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, it was common practice for a female teacher to quit or be fired if she got married. It was also common for a school district to refuse to hire a married woman, as a woman’s place was in the home. In 1941, several Supreme Court rulings brought an end to this practice. [1]
In 1972, title IX of the Education Amendments was passed, prohibiting sex discrimination in the education system. Subsequently, female college enrollment increased greatly. In 2008-9, women earned more doctoral degrees than their male counterparts.
Women and Politics
The 14th amendment was a complicated issue for many women. It would introduce the right for African Americans to vote, furthering the cause of equality in America. It also introduced the word “male” to the constitution, implicitly excluding women. The women’s rights movement was divided over whether or not to support an amendment that, on one hand, furthered the cause of equality, but on the other hand was a strike against equality. The amendment did pass, and women would have many battles of their own ahead.
Despite lacking the right to vote, women were instrumental in getting the 18th amendment passed. Alcohol abuse was a very real problem for many women in America. This was not in the sense that they abused the drug, but domestic violence incidents greatly increased with the use of alcohol. Husbands would also often squander family finances on drinking at bars and saloons. The Women's Christian Temperance Union was key in convincing senators to pass the 18th amendment, prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol. [2][3]
In 1872, Susan B. Anthony became the first woman to vote in a presidential election. She was arrested for having “voted illegally.” Her subsequent trial allowed her a great deal of publicity with which to spread word of her cause. She never paid the fine she incurred for voting illegally. [4]
It wasn’t until the 19th amendment was passed in 1920 that women finally had a voice, gaining the right to vote. It was also in the early 20th century when women began to earn representation in the political world by gaining seats as senators, governors, and congresswomen. The frequency with which women gained these positions was, and is, disproportionate to that of men. As of 2015, women occupy roughly 20% of federal or state political positions.[5] Our population is comprised of 51% women. Of our American presidents, 0% have been women. It is noteworthy that 24 other nations have elected women as president, vice president, prime minister, or governor-general.
Women and Employment
Economically, women have been subservient to men dating back to the industrial revolution. It was at this point where a distinction between work and home was created. A family’s livelihood was no longer tied to growing, selling, and trading crops. Men now went away to work at factories and workshops while women stayed in the home to raise the children and do household chores. Men controlled the means of production and employed other men. Men made the laws. It was a widely held belief that a woman’s place was in the home, in the kitchen, and in a position subservient to men.
When women were allowed to work, it was frequently in positions of care giving, such as nursing or as a nanny, or in clothing manufacture. These jobs were extensions of domestic work, frequently referred to as “woman’s work.” This work was always at a reduced pay rate compared to men. World War II accomplished a lot for women in the work force. While the men went away to fight in the war, the women went to work in many traditional men’s jobs. Factory work was especially publicized, through the mostly-fictional “Rosie the Riveter” character on propaganda posters. Instruments of war had to be manufactured, and women were frequently the ones to do the work. This proved that women were capable of performing so-called “men’s work.” [13]
With the Equal Pay Act of 1963 [6], American companies were forbidden from paying different wages based on gender. In 1972, women earned 58% of what men earned. By 2012, that number had increased to 77%, though the number has changed very little over the last decade. [14]
These factors combine to form a reality where women have been made to be financially dependent upon men. Fewer available jobs and lower pay made for financial hardship. A divorced woman would lack the skills and experience to support herself, not to mention the social stigma that comes with divorce. The clear message from American society to women was “If you want to live a life of comfort, marry a man and take care of him.”
Looking at some employment numbers, we can see how prejudices against women have persisted. As of early August 2009, 70 percent of federal judges were white men, 15 percent were white women, 10 percent were minority (African-American and Hispanic) males, and 3 percent were minority females. [7] As of 2010, 29% of physicians with an active license to practice medicine in the Unites States were female. [8] In 2015, the number of licensed female lawyers in America is 35%. [9] That these high pay, high prestige jobs are still disproportionately male dominated speaks the imbalance in how US culture treats, views, and prepares women for professional work.
Women and the Legal System
Women have been subject to rules governing them, and also victimized by a lack of laws to protect them. Consider the issue of domestic violence. Historically, this has been widely considered a private matter outside the purview of legal authorities. In 1850, Tennessee became the first state to outlaw wife-beating. In the 1871 case of Fulgham v. the State of Alabama, a domestic violence case, the court ruled that “…the privilege, ancient though it be, to beat her with a stick, to pull her hair, choke her, spit in her face or kick her about the floor, or to inflict upon her like indignities, is not now acknowledged by our law.” [10]
Abortion has also been a sensitive issue and remains so. In the 1700’s and early in the 1800’s, early abortion was legal. Early abortion meant any time before the quickening, when the expectant mother could feel the baby move. Before this stage no one, even the Catholic Church, believed that a life existed. Abortions were fairly common in the early 19th century, with drugs available to induce early miscarriages, and specialists who performed abortion procedures. The criminalization of abortion was largely about professional men who were worried about the makeup of the abortioners’ clientele - primarily married, white, native-born Protestant women of the upper and middle classes. There was also concern over demographics. If these white, protestant, middle-upper class women weren’t reproducing, then they would soon be crowded out by Catholics and immigrants. This debate had many facets to it. There was the self-righteousness of the anti-abortion supporters against the perceived immorality of abortion supporters. There was the double standard of promiscuity being accepted from men but persecuted from women. There was the fact that doctors were men, and many who specialized in abortions were women, and many male doctors did not want women in the profession. There was the controversial idea of separating sex from procreation for women. The Comstock Law was passed in 1873, which included abortion and birth control in federal anti-obscenity laws. [11]
Abortion would remain illegal in the United States for the next century, though the procedure was still performed in homes, and sometimes in hospitals and clinics. In 1973, 100 years after the Comstock Law was passed, the Supreme Court presided in the historic case of Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional a state law banning abortion except where the life of the mother is in danger. The court argued that the constitution’s first, fourth, ninth, and fourteenth amendments formed a “zone of privacy,” covering areas such as child-rearing, marriage, and contraception. Abortion is legal, but remains a hotly debated subject with passionate supporters on both sides of the issue. [12]
References:
[1] https://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/education/1700s_1.htm
[2] https://www.nwhm.org/html/exhibits/progressiveera/wctu.html
[3] Taken from https://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/progressiveera/wctupictures.html. Illus. in Harper's Weekly, 1974,
Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-61022
[4]http://www.iwdc.org/resources/timeline.htm
[5] http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/current-numbers
[6] http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/epa.cfm
[7] http://jurist.org/paperchase/2009/08/federal-court-demographics-changing-to.php
[8] http://www.nationalahec.org/pdfs/FSMBPhysicianCensus.pdf
[9] http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/market_research/lawyer-demographics-tables-2015.authcheckdam.pdf
[10] http://faculty.law.miami.edu/zfenton/documents/Fulghamv.State.pdf
[11] http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft967nb5z5&chunk.id=d0e71&toc.depth=1&toc.id=d0e71&brand=ucpress
[12] http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/landmark_roe.html
[13] http://www.icphusa.org/index.asp?page=26&blog=80&focus=
[14] http://billmoyers.com/content/facts-figures-women-and-pay-inequality/
Header image taken from http://f.tqn.com/y/womenshistory/1/W/M/e/3/sexism-114898019.png
Women and Education
It was not until the 1800’s that women were allowed to attend college. This lack of education frequently meant that women simply did not believe that they were smart enough to enter the male-dominated worlds of business, politics, and many other areas. Women were denied an education, then kept out of many areas of society for being uneducated. Today in America, women are free to attend college just the same as men, but this was not always the case.
In the 1700’s, the purpose of education for a woman was to become skilled at household duties and chores in order to find a suitable husband. A women educated in academics was seen as an oddity. Education for a woman was geared toward social etiquette, sewing and hemming, cooking, and nursing in preparation for life as housekeeper, wife, and mother. Reading was sometimes taught for the purpose of reading the bible. Here we can see a clear message about a woman’s place in American society: serve and enable men by performing tasks deemed beneath them. This was all true for white women. African American women faced a very different set of obstacles.
After the Revolutionary War, changes in expectations for women’s education came around. The education of women was seen as one way to prepare the country and its citizenry for success. This education was not for their own personal benefit, but to better enable them to mold future generations into good citizens and civic leaders. This idea of Republican Motherhood meant that a woman could get some access to the worlds of education and politics in the interest of raising an educated, well-rounded, patriotic son.
In the late 1700’s the shift from homemade clothing to manufactured clothing was well underway. This meant more free time for middle class girls, which meant more time for education. This included a landmark event for women’s education - the opening of The Young Ladies Academy. Opened in 1787, this was the first all-female academy in the United States. Women could learn reading, spelling, math, and geography from male instructors.
By the mid 1800’s, women were being admitted to coeducational state colleges. In 1815, the Female Seminary Movement began with the goal of creating educational institutions with the ability to provide women an education equal to that of men’s universities. The increased number of students made for a shortage of teachers. Despite concerns and protests over the idea of women in the traditionally male-dominated teacher role, many women did become teachers. This transition was smoothed over in part due to the fact that schools could pay female teachers considerably less than they paid men, a common theme throughout history.
With the emancipation of slaves in the mid 1800’s, some facilities dedicated to educating African-Americans began to emerge. This idea was often met with strong opposition and violence from those who refused to see African Americans as equals. Native Americans were in a somewhat similar situation. The US government established boarding schools for Native Americans in the interest of civilizing them and assimilating them into European American culture. Due to the frequent relocations by white settlers who wanted their reservations, activities such as tanning and quilling were no longer possible. Native American women were taught quilting, sewing, washing, and cooking. Many became servants in European American homes.
Although Oberlin College was the first to admit women in 1833, it was Vassar college nearly 30 years later that first admitted women and maintained a curriculum similar to that of men’s courses. Unfortunately, the high quality and high standards also meant high tuition rates, so Vassar was only an option for the wealthiest families. Women were still educated separately from men into the 1960’s, as there were widely-held beliefs and concerns about co-education such as:
- Women would suffer nervous breakdowns if they were to compete in a man’s world.
- They would be corrupted and lose their purity.
- Their reproductive systems may be harmed.
- A learned woman might be an unfit mother and wife.
- Education would masculinize women.
- If men and women associated together in college they may begin to find each other less attractive
Once coeducation began to be common, there were still obstacles in place. At some schools, a woman could not use the library unless no male students were present, or women had to remain standing until all male students arrived and were seated. Some classes were available to male students only.
In the early 1900’s, there was debate over how African-Americans should be educated. Some believed that they should receive the same education as whites in the interest of equality. Others believed that they should receive practical education to prepare them for the types of jobs that were available to them. In 1904, Mary McLeod Bethune founded Daytona Educational and Industrial School for Negro Girls. Here, girls could learn basic academics as well as how to do laundry, clean houses, make brooms, and raise chickens.
In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, it was common practice for a female teacher to quit or be fired if she got married. It was also common for a school district to refuse to hire a married woman, as a woman’s place was in the home. In 1941, several Supreme Court rulings brought an end to this practice. [1]
In 1972, title IX of the Education Amendments was passed, prohibiting sex discrimination in the education system. Subsequently, female college enrollment increased greatly. In 2008-9, women earned more doctoral degrees than their male counterparts.
Women and Politics
The 14th amendment was a complicated issue for many women. It would introduce the right for African Americans to vote, furthering the cause of equality in America. It also introduced the word “male” to the constitution, implicitly excluding women. The women’s rights movement was divided over whether or not to support an amendment that, on one hand, furthered the cause of equality, but on the other hand was a strike against equality. The amendment did pass, and women would have many battles of their own ahead.
Despite lacking the right to vote, women were instrumental in getting the 18th amendment passed. Alcohol abuse was a very real problem for many women in America. This was not in the sense that they abused the drug, but domestic violence incidents greatly increased with the use of alcohol. Husbands would also often squander family finances on drinking at bars and saloons. The Women's Christian Temperance Union was key in convincing senators to pass the 18th amendment, prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol. [2][3]
In 1872, Susan B. Anthony became the first woman to vote in a presidential election. She was arrested for having “voted illegally.” Her subsequent trial allowed her a great deal of publicity with which to spread word of her cause. She never paid the fine she incurred for voting illegally. [4]
It wasn’t until the 19th amendment was passed in 1920 that women finally had a voice, gaining the right to vote. It was also in the early 20th century when women began to earn representation in the political world by gaining seats as senators, governors, and congresswomen. The frequency with which women gained these positions was, and is, disproportionate to that of men. As of 2015, women occupy roughly 20% of federal or state political positions.[5] Our population is comprised of 51% women. Of our American presidents, 0% have been women. It is noteworthy that 24 other nations have elected women as president, vice president, prime minister, or governor-general.
Women and Employment
Economically, women have been subservient to men dating back to the industrial revolution. It was at this point where a distinction between work and home was created. A family’s livelihood was no longer tied to growing, selling, and trading crops. Men now went away to work at factories and workshops while women stayed in the home to raise the children and do household chores. Men controlled the means of production and employed other men. Men made the laws. It was a widely held belief that a woman’s place was in the home, in the kitchen, and in a position subservient to men.
When women were allowed to work, it was frequently in positions of care giving, such as nursing or as a nanny, or in clothing manufacture. These jobs were extensions of domestic work, frequently referred to as “woman’s work.” This work was always at a reduced pay rate compared to men. World War II accomplished a lot for women in the work force. While the men went away to fight in the war, the women went to work in many traditional men’s jobs. Factory work was especially publicized, through the mostly-fictional “Rosie the Riveter” character on propaganda posters. Instruments of war had to be manufactured, and women were frequently the ones to do the work. This proved that women were capable of performing so-called “men’s work.” [13]
With the Equal Pay Act of 1963 [6], American companies were forbidden from paying different wages based on gender. In 1972, women earned 58% of what men earned. By 2012, that number had increased to 77%, though the number has changed very little over the last decade. [14]
These factors combine to form a reality where women have been made to be financially dependent upon men. Fewer available jobs and lower pay made for financial hardship. A divorced woman would lack the skills and experience to support herself, not to mention the social stigma that comes with divorce. The clear message from American society to women was “If you want to live a life of comfort, marry a man and take care of him.”
Looking at some employment numbers, we can see how prejudices against women have persisted. As of early August 2009, 70 percent of federal judges were white men, 15 percent were white women, 10 percent were minority (African-American and Hispanic) males, and 3 percent were minority females. [7] As of 2010, 29% of physicians with an active license to practice medicine in the Unites States were female. [8] In 2015, the number of licensed female lawyers in America is 35%. [9] That these high pay, high prestige jobs are still disproportionately male dominated speaks the imbalance in how US culture treats, views, and prepares women for professional work.
Women and the Legal System
Women have been subject to rules governing them, and also victimized by a lack of laws to protect them. Consider the issue of domestic violence. Historically, this has been widely considered a private matter outside the purview of legal authorities. In 1850, Tennessee became the first state to outlaw wife-beating. In the 1871 case of Fulgham v. the State of Alabama, a domestic violence case, the court ruled that “…the privilege, ancient though it be, to beat her with a stick, to pull her hair, choke her, spit in her face or kick her about the floor, or to inflict upon her like indignities, is not now acknowledged by our law.” [10]
Abortion has also been a sensitive issue and remains so. In the 1700’s and early in the 1800’s, early abortion was legal. Early abortion meant any time before the quickening, when the expectant mother could feel the baby move. Before this stage no one, even the Catholic Church, believed that a life existed. Abortions were fairly common in the early 19th century, with drugs available to induce early miscarriages, and specialists who performed abortion procedures. The criminalization of abortion was largely about professional men who were worried about the makeup of the abortioners’ clientele - primarily married, white, native-born Protestant women of the upper and middle classes. There was also concern over demographics. If these white, protestant, middle-upper class women weren’t reproducing, then they would soon be crowded out by Catholics and immigrants. This debate had many facets to it. There was the self-righteousness of the anti-abortion supporters against the perceived immorality of abortion supporters. There was the double standard of promiscuity being accepted from men but persecuted from women. There was the fact that doctors were men, and many who specialized in abortions were women, and many male doctors did not want women in the profession. There was the controversial idea of separating sex from procreation for women. The Comstock Law was passed in 1873, which included abortion and birth control in federal anti-obscenity laws. [11]
Abortion would remain illegal in the United States for the next century, though the procedure was still performed in homes, and sometimes in hospitals and clinics. In 1973, 100 years after the Comstock Law was passed, the Supreme Court presided in the historic case of Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional a state law banning abortion except where the life of the mother is in danger. The court argued that the constitution’s first, fourth, ninth, and fourteenth amendments formed a “zone of privacy,” covering areas such as child-rearing, marriage, and contraception. Abortion is legal, but remains a hotly debated subject with passionate supporters on both sides of the issue. [12]
References:
[1] https://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/education/1700s_1.htm
[2] https://www.nwhm.org/html/exhibits/progressiveera/wctu.html
[3] Taken from https://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/progressiveera/wctupictures.html. Illus. in Harper's Weekly, 1974,
Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-61022
[4]http://www.iwdc.org/resources/timeline.htm
[5] http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/current-numbers
[6] http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/epa.cfm
[7] http://jurist.org/paperchase/2009/08/federal-court-demographics-changing-to.php
[8] http://www.nationalahec.org/pdfs/FSMBPhysicianCensus.pdf
[9] http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/market_research/lawyer-demographics-tables-2015.authcheckdam.pdf
[10] http://faculty.law.miami.edu/zfenton/documents/Fulghamv.State.pdf
[11] http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft967nb5z5&chunk.id=d0e71&toc.depth=1&toc.id=d0e71&brand=ucpress
[12] http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/landmark_roe.html
[13] http://www.icphusa.org/index.asp?page=26&blog=80&focus=
[14] http://billmoyers.com/content/facts-figures-women-and-pay-inequality/
Header image taken from http://f.tqn.com/y/womenshistory/1/W/M/e/3/sexism-114898019.png