Uncle Tom's Cabin: A Feminist Analysis

766 Words4 Pages

The first traces of the twentieth century feminist movement dates back to before the Civil War began. Women like Harriet Beecher Stowe influenced the masses through their feminist beliefs. Stowe, through her strong female characters in Uncle Tom’s Cabin, created a persona of women that was not typical of her time period; women who showed strength and independence apart from male figures. It was this type of literature and speaking that influenced the feminist movements that emerged again at the turn of the nineteenth century. Feminists during this election were desperately trying to gain the right to vote, and the 1912 candidates had varying viewpoints on this issue. Roosevelt supported women’s suffrage, “At that time you would have found a great number of worthy …show more content…

With the influx of immigrants, and the monopolistic industries, unskilled work was a common job and many people lived in poverty because of this. The conditions of the workplaces, the pay of the workers, and the treatment of the workers, are what caused an uproar. Theodore roosevelt was the first President to pass Legislation which supported the labor Unions. In his Square Deal, Roosevelt instituted regulations on many industries including 8-hour in specific industries like the irrigation industry, and in general, it helped the lives of laborers all around. During the 1912 election, this was a very popular belief among every candidate. The labor class made up a huge percent of the American population, and it both held a majority of voters and many candidates felt it was simply the moral thing to support. The amount that each candidate favored the laborers varied however. Roosevelt did institute legislation to protect laborers; however, he also allowed “good” trusts to remain and he believed in perfecting the American Capitalist system, not helping one social class