Academic Writing (Final)

Saki Kudo

C. Richardson

Academic Writing

13 January 2008

Why Women’s Status Changed in America
from the 19th century to the 20th century

The upper-class women in America gained in status from the 19th century to the 20th century, but the middle-class, and lower-class woman who had jobs of house works caught up with “Woman’s liberation”. There were several women who fought the government, society, and themselves for over 200 years. The women broke through the traditional nation which was controlled by men as women were subordinated to men. This paper will divide these parts in the 19th century to the 20th century, into three periods; 1860 to 1910 is “Coming of City Industry Society”, 1920 to 1950 is “American century”, and 1960 to the evening of the 20th century is “Changing worth of American”. We will follow women’s status changes in America in these several periods. Age of Coming of City Industry Society, upper-class’s ladies and middle and lower class’s ladies have the most radical difference. Age of American century, the ladies had equality. During the age of Changing Worth of American, the lady’s worth was changed.
From 1860 to 1910, the society of the industrial city was formed transportation systems which connect big cities to big cities and the foundation of service by big companies. Sasaki states that the American population became three times larger, five times the factory worker, twelve times the amount of factory production money, and twenty-two times the amount of factory investment money. In the 1890, the amount of factory production money superseded the amount of agriculture production money. The developed industries urged people to live in cities, so new big cities were produced in the central west side, and west side of America. In 1903 to 1924, 500 thousand immigrate came to America every year from northwest Europe, east Europe, and south Europe.
After the civil war, American women’s living was changed with rapidly changing American society, but women were separated by polarization of people into rich and the poor in the same age. Sasaki points out that the rich women tend to go to college, and the women who were registered there were 40 thousand in the 1880’s. Also, half those women did not hope to marry, and worked at offices in the big cities involved with factories, schools, and hospitals which had been traditional. Those women advanced the movement of woman suffrage.
Nazzal, Ross and M, Jenier said, “In the 1890’s, National American
Woman Suffrage Association's (NWASA) was organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and at the end of 19th century, woman suffrage was established in Wyoming and Colorado. The movement was accepted by men gradually because the movement became moderate by women reader’s alternation of generation; Alice Purl and Carrie Chapman Catt. In 1910, the woman suffrage movement was realized with the other movements of African American. In the same age, Women’s clubs and Christian temperate unions of women had a couple of million members, although the woman’s suffrage movement had 10 thousand members.”
Actually even over the middle-class women, the majority lived in houses as a house wife. In the 19th century, Victorianism, which is refined tradition of the United Kingdom, controlled American women more than in the United Kingdom. Women were pressured by the men to be true woman who had reverences toward God, be pure, be docile, and has affection for family. American women believed that a woman marries to man happily, protect her family, and educates their children with settled feeling. At the end of the 19th century, waterworks, electricity, sewing machines were popularized, and they could get grocery and clothing easily. Though girls with a higher education were familiarized, women were consumers of the wealth and culture which were produced by man. Some women questioned “What is the true woman” in a woman’s magazine; “Ladies Home Journal”, others wrote novels which is the house wife’s distress. According to Aruga Natshuki, “The famous novels, The Yellow Wall Paper which was written about pain of being confined in an attic, and The Awaking which was written about awakening of sex for the first time in the history, are the symbol of the age’s house wife.”
From 1920 to the 1950’s was American century. In 1914, world war started, and a large amount of people died. Aruga Natsuki focuses, “After WWⅠ, the democratic nations which American expected were not born, and many Americans were disappointed, but America became the center of the world, so the home market flourished with the high economic growth rate.” In brief, the mass consumption society was coming. People bought more than necessaries, and the society were many people could enjoy leisure came into existing for the first time in history. Before then, there were no countries that public people enjoy spare time because no one had money except household goods. One-fifth of all Americans had their own car, also the washing machine and the vacuum cleaner were popularized. The big department stores and the super markets were opened in big city, and people tended to buy fashionable clothes, watches, and heat-resistant dishes. People came to use restaurants and hair salons. By the use of advertisements, people were stimulated to consume products in the 1920’s. The new media, which was the radio, the film, and the telephone, had cultivated a new form of culture.
At last, women gained woman’s suffrage in the 1920’s. Aruga Natuki says that after that, most women worked with housekeeping individual with hope of complacence. On the other hand, feminists kept on with the social movement which is sexual equality, welfare for workers, immigrants, and children, and peace. These working women conflicted with men of the nation to be protected. Also, these women formed a group for the protection for the working women, and equal group which insisted on sexual equality and opposed special protect connect to woman’s discrimination. Also, the new women, who were liberated from the conventional woman image, were focused. The women who succeeded in a business world, worked as lawyers, doctors, actress, and “flappers” were appeared. “Flappers smoked cigarette, drank alcohol, enjoyed dancing, and enjoyed chatting with men. At first, flappers had looked like independent women who emancipated old moral forms, but actually the women had sought partners by using loud dresses and showy making up which emphasized sexual appeal”, Ariga Natsuki, 2008. The career women were only a small fraction, so that most working women worked for their living.
Most middle-class’s women were devoted to housekeeping and child care. After World WarⅡ, America began the prosperous years, a difference in wages became smaller, and the suburb was developed rapidly. The working-class tended to live in the suburbs too. The family living in the suburbs was a tool of capitalism versus the Soviet Union in the Cold War. The birth rate went up rapidly in this stable nation. In 1945 to the end of the 1950’s, 500 million babies were born. The baby boom meant family religion, and the traditional woman, who kept her own family as a house wife and mother, were wanted. The women polished inside of the house until it shone, made delicious meals for her family, took children to and from lessons or meetings of boy-scout, and welcomed her husband to their home with a smile. These images of family became popular through the introduction of the television.
In the 1960's to the end of 20th century, the worth of American changed. After the Cold War, the American nation gained the initiative to control the international situation. In the 1960’s, American culture had a core, created by high science and skills, and controlled other countries economically and militarily. The national interest as a center of the world was essential to the development of the world. Not only the government’s policy, but also the citizen’s productivity was improved by technical innovation, reasonable energy costs, information science, the development of computers and planes, the money for Research and Development, and money for education. According to the supply, the demand was increased. The middle-class gained, so they bought their house in the suburbs, and several necessaries.
In 1963, The Feminine Mystique was published by Betty Friedan which was written for middle-class’s women. Finally the feminist’s thinking reached middle-class’s woman. No, the feminism became not only the upper-class but also middle-class’s movement. Betty Friedan says that the educated women should be an independent women and bright with unique possible as a woman over the traditional image. The middle-class’s women, who were educated with men and lived in the suburb, felt caught in the house. While, the working women, who had increased after World War Ⅱ, felt the difference in wages of gender. The book represented these women’s mind and gave influential thought. After 40 years most of the middle-class’s women tended to fulfill the self esteem outside the house. Also, the lower-class’s women and immigrate women keep on working for their family with low wages.
For 200 years, woman’s status has radically changed. In the 1950's, a few women of the upper-class started to gain woman suffrage, all of woman suffrage in America expect immigrate. Several values of people came to mixing and average. The worth constructed in America were attracted from all over the world, and idealized in the individual imagination. American women castes off the traditional heavy cloth, and they changed to the modern light cloth. Also, “The Man” in the Declaration of Independence came to indicate all of the people involved women which replaced only white men. American women live with individuality and self esteem. (1567words)
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