Women's Rights Dbq

1123 Words5 Pages

Before the 1900s, women were portrayed as fragile individuals incapable of taking part in any hard work or making any decisions for themselves. Their dreams of taking part in the economy, politics, and society were denied simply due to their gender. It wasn’t until suffragists such as Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton decided to take a stand in 1848 and hold a meeting known as the Seneca Falls Convention. This was the first step towards a change for women’s rights that had lasting effects on American society. This suffrage movement grew influence throughout the Civil War and even post-war to the point where women all over the United States joined the suffragists in fighting for thier rights. Then, on August 26 the Nineteenth Amendment …show more content…

The "We Can Do It" poster that was advertised during WWII expressed the ideology that women were just as capable as men of filling in their shoes and having the same occupations. Seeing as most of the men in families went to fight in the war, women needed to find a way to make a living to sustain their family. Ideas such as this poster that rapidly spread across America advocated for women's independence and thier capability in society. Furthermore, due to the war occupations that arose amongst women and the idea of a "professional woman" established itself in society. During this time pink-collar jobs were established which included jobs such as being a teacher, secretary, nurse day care worker, floristm or maid. It was these types of jobs that women specialized in that further promoted this idea of a working woman. Ninety percent or more of the nurses, midwives, telephone operators, secretaries, domestic service workers, and boarding housekeepers in 1940’s were women. These new professions and ideas about how women should be viewed helped to advance women’s rights movements, leading to significant gains in the decades following the passing amendment’s This reflects how the Nineteenth Amendment empowered women to challenge gender-based discrimination in all aspects of their