To What Extent Did the Political and Economic Developments Affect the Positions of American Women During the Period 1890-1925?

To What Extent Did the Political and Economic Developments Affect the Positions of American Women During the Period 1890-1925?

Even since the development of this country, women have been looked down upon in society. They were needed for children, for food, and for cleaning, but were never equal to men. Through the Gilded Age, the Progressive Era and the First World War, from the years 1800 to 1925, many political and economical developments greatly effected the position of American women.
The Gilded Age brought the Industrial Revolution upon society. Factories became more common and many women were needed for their small hands, as Document D shows. The Lowell System also came about, calling for recruitment of young girls to work in factories. These became the first jobs for many of women. Though their income may not have been huge, it was a step in the right direction.
Women's responsibility increased enourmously when World War 1 cam about. Men were forced to depart to fight, leaving women to fill their roles. Many women took on an extra job or two, and many times that would mean labor. As document A describes, the economy depended on women in a way it had never done so before. The War was a push women needed to show their potential, as described in Document C. For the first time, they could show that they could handle wearing men's shoes.
When the Progressive Era came about, women became furious for their own rights. African Americans had gained the right to vote, yet they had not. Eventually, in 1918, 43 years after African Americans had the right to vote, so did women.
After these long years for women, they were still not equal to men. However, they were much closer to being so. It is almost impossible to say their position hadn't changed during these times, as they were pushed in every way, and they proved they could handle what a man could.

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