Women in the USA: 1865 – 1992
Summarise the state of play for women by 1865:
-Civil War 1861-1865 briefly offered opportunities for women to work outside of the home, mainly
in agricultural jobs when men had gone off to fight, but, as in WWI and WWII, seen as a temporary
measure
-Many women also worked as nurses for the wounded, but this was more seen as an extension of
the role of women within the home. Little chance of progress beyond nursing
-Civil War acted as a catalyst for industrial growth and thus increased job opportunities post-war: by
1870, 13% of unmarried women worked outside the home
-Married women still expected not to work outside of the home, this was enforced with employer
policy or state legislation. If poor, expected to take in laundry/mending/lodgers for income
-Westward expansion: especially hard for women who relocated to the Great Plains; struggle to
survive, many died in childbirth due to lack of medical care. However, had given some women the
opportunity to own land in their own name under Homestead Act 1862
Evaluate factors such as economic, cultural and educational shifts and the extent to which they
increased opportunities for women 1865-1900:
-Economic: growth of manufacturing industry meant more working opportunities for unmarried
women. 1870: 13% of women worked outside the home, 1900: women = 17% of workforce
-Women with high-school education could graduate from factory floor to cleaner and safer white-
collar jobs thanks to economic shift. However, still little upwards mobility – men remained managers
-However, only really benefited white women; European, Hispanic and some AA women took the
factory jobs, exploited, sweatshop conditions, workers had no rights in law protecting them in the
workplace due to laissez-faire approach of the govt
-Cultural: expansion of the urban middle-class = better quality housing; refrigerators/washing
machines etc. liberated the wealthier women from the ‘daily domestic grind’.
-Birth rate for native white Americans fell from 5.42 in 1850 to 3.56 in 1900 although not as true for
immigrant families, especially those from Ireland and Italy who tended to be Roman Catholic
-Smaller families and fewer domestic chores = many women looking for fulfilment outside of the
home, although not necessarily the case – many women took the extra free time as an opportunity
to spend more time with the family
-Educational: by 1900, education was one of the key factors in creating better opportunities for
women. By 1900, half of high school graduates were female and expansion of opportunities for
women in higher education (although many women still saw uni just as the place to meet a man)
-Women graduates beginning to delay marriage in order to look for career opportunities, but
traditionally male dominated professions such as medicine and law remained difficult to access
-Partly reflected by rise in divorce rate from 1/20 in 1880 to 1/12 in 1900
Summarise information about early activists on temperance and working conditions:
-Minority of mainly middle-class women asserted themselves to condemn what they saw as social
injustices/threats to the well being of the family
-Jane Addams: established Hull House in Chicago in 1889 as a social centre to support settlement of
newly arrive immigrant families e.g. influential pressure group re: slum housing
Summarise the state of play for women by 1865:
-Civil War 1861-1865 briefly offered opportunities for women to work outside of the home, mainly
in agricultural jobs when men had gone off to fight, but, as in WWI and WWII, seen as a temporary
measure
-Many women also worked as nurses for the wounded, but this was more seen as an extension of
the role of women within the home. Little chance of progress beyond nursing
-Civil War acted as a catalyst for industrial growth and thus increased job opportunities post-war: by
1870, 13% of unmarried women worked outside the home
-Married women still expected not to work outside of the home, this was enforced with employer
policy or state legislation. If poor, expected to take in laundry/mending/lodgers for income
-Westward expansion: especially hard for women who relocated to the Great Plains; struggle to
survive, many died in childbirth due to lack of medical care. However, had given some women the
opportunity to own land in their own name under Homestead Act 1862
Evaluate factors such as economic, cultural and educational shifts and the extent to which they
increased opportunities for women 1865-1900:
-Economic: growth of manufacturing industry meant more working opportunities for unmarried
women. 1870: 13% of women worked outside the home, 1900: women = 17% of workforce
-Women with high-school education could graduate from factory floor to cleaner and safer white-
collar jobs thanks to economic shift. However, still little upwards mobility – men remained managers
-However, only really benefited white women; European, Hispanic and some AA women took the
factory jobs, exploited, sweatshop conditions, workers had no rights in law protecting them in the
workplace due to laissez-faire approach of the govt
-Cultural: expansion of the urban middle-class = better quality housing; refrigerators/washing
machines etc. liberated the wealthier women from the ‘daily domestic grind’.
-Birth rate for native white Americans fell from 5.42 in 1850 to 3.56 in 1900 although not as true for
immigrant families, especially those from Ireland and Italy who tended to be Roman Catholic
-Smaller families and fewer domestic chores = many women looking for fulfilment outside of the
home, although not necessarily the case – many women took the extra free time as an opportunity
to spend more time with the family
-Educational: by 1900, education was one of the key factors in creating better opportunities for
women. By 1900, half of high school graduates were female and expansion of opportunities for
women in higher education (although many women still saw uni just as the place to meet a man)
-Women graduates beginning to delay marriage in order to look for career opportunities, but
traditionally male dominated professions such as medicine and law remained difficult to access
-Partly reflected by rise in divorce rate from 1/20 in 1880 to 1/12 in 1900
Summarise information about early activists on temperance and working conditions:
-Minority of mainly middle-class women asserted themselves to condemn what they saw as social
injustices/threats to the well being of the family
-Jane Addams: established Hull House in Chicago in 1889 as a social centre to support settlement of
newly arrive immigrant families e.g. influential pressure group re: slum housing
