Edexcel A Level History - In Search of
the American Dream – Women Test
Questions with Solved Solutions.
-Women were paid less than men for doing the same job, even if they had more experience.
-They were last hired and first fired
-They were constantly passed over for promotions.
-They were unlikely to reach the top level in their work environment.
-They were turned down for work or refused for promotions on the grounds they would get
pregnant and leave.
-Single women could work but were expected to stop when they got married to have a family.
-Some jobs were barred to married women (not allowed), eg teaching, many employers made it
a rule not to employ them.
-There was a mainstream idea that men and women had different spheres: men should work
and support a family and women should be at home to raise children. - Answer What
problems did women face?
-Most women were fired from their jobs when WW1 ended.
-The Equal Rights Amendment was introduced to Congress in 1923, it was never passed.
-It took until 1980 for women to turn out to electrons at the same rate as men.
-Poorer women voted less than rich women, and black women in the south could not.
-By 1980, disproportionately few women had been elected to Congress: there were never more
than 20 representatives at a time out of 435. - Answer What problems were faced following
WW1/in the first wave of feminism?
In 1995, Carrie Chapman took over leadership of the National American Woman Suffrage
Association (NAWSA) and decided that the organization would support the war effort after
American joined WW1 in 1917.
-There were demonstrations:
-A petition with 0.5 million signatures
-A march in New York with 40,000 people
The National Women's Party opposed the war, they were more radical and many were jailed,
, During WW1 many women were employed in traditionally male jobs.
In 1918, with Wilson's support, the 19th Amendment (gave women the vote) won ⅔ of the
House of Representatives - ratified by 3/4 of states by 1920
-The League of Women's voters was set up to conduct voter registration drives - but mainly
middle-class white women
Destroyed argument that women were emo - Answer What successes were made following
WW1/in the first wave of feminism?
Widespread electrification and the development of consumer household products made
housework more convenient and faster to do.
Single, well-off, mostly white women's lives were most open to change.
The American Birth Control League (now Planned Parenthood) was funded by Margaret Sanger
in 1921 to educate Americans about how to control fertility using lectures and pamphlets, and
setting up clinics where contraception would be provided.
The birth rate fell from 28 to 21 per 1,000 from 1920-30
Divorce rates rose from 1 in 8 to 1 in 6 marriages, with ⅔ of divorces being granted to women.
Women started to act more like men:
-They had more independence
-Owned their own car
-Could go to a bar
-Earned their own living - Answer What effect did the roaring twenties have on women?
After the war ended there was an expectation things would return to 'normal' - women
resuming traditional roles and not take the work of men returning home.
the American Dream – Women Test
Questions with Solved Solutions.
-Women were paid less than men for doing the same job, even if they had more experience.
-They were last hired and first fired
-They were constantly passed over for promotions.
-They were unlikely to reach the top level in their work environment.
-They were turned down for work or refused for promotions on the grounds they would get
pregnant and leave.
-Single women could work but were expected to stop when they got married to have a family.
-Some jobs were barred to married women (not allowed), eg teaching, many employers made it
a rule not to employ them.
-There was a mainstream idea that men and women had different spheres: men should work
and support a family and women should be at home to raise children. - Answer What
problems did women face?
-Most women were fired from their jobs when WW1 ended.
-The Equal Rights Amendment was introduced to Congress in 1923, it was never passed.
-It took until 1980 for women to turn out to electrons at the same rate as men.
-Poorer women voted less than rich women, and black women in the south could not.
-By 1980, disproportionately few women had been elected to Congress: there were never more
than 20 representatives at a time out of 435. - Answer What problems were faced following
WW1/in the first wave of feminism?
In 1995, Carrie Chapman took over leadership of the National American Woman Suffrage
Association (NAWSA) and decided that the organization would support the war effort after
American joined WW1 in 1917.
-There were demonstrations:
-A petition with 0.5 million signatures
-A march in New York with 40,000 people
The National Women's Party opposed the war, they were more radical and many were jailed,
, During WW1 many women were employed in traditionally male jobs.
In 1918, with Wilson's support, the 19th Amendment (gave women the vote) won ⅔ of the
House of Representatives - ratified by 3/4 of states by 1920
-The League of Women's voters was set up to conduct voter registration drives - but mainly
middle-class white women
Destroyed argument that women were emo - Answer What successes were made following
WW1/in the first wave of feminism?
Widespread electrification and the development of consumer household products made
housework more convenient and faster to do.
Single, well-off, mostly white women's lives were most open to change.
The American Birth Control League (now Planned Parenthood) was funded by Margaret Sanger
in 1921 to educate Americans about how to control fertility using lectures and pamphlets, and
setting up clinics where contraception would be provided.
The birth rate fell from 28 to 21 per 1,000 from 1920-30
Divorce rates rose from 1 in 8 to 1 in 6 marriages, with ⅔ of divorces being granted to women.
Women started to act more like men:
-They had more independence
-Owned their own car
-Could go to a bar
-Earned their own living - Answer What effect did the roaring twenties have on women?
After the war ended there was an expectation things would return to 'normal' - women
resuming traditional roles and not take the work of men returning home.
