Charles Nguyen009914383History 170

Major Events of Women’s Rights Movement (1900-1930)

The idea of the women’s movement first started during the Civil War and carried off well into the

twentieth century. The women’s involvement in the Civil War was the first time that women had been

politicized and as Foner stated in Give me Liberty!, “For many northern women, the [Civil War] opened

new doors of opportunity”. (Foner) Women took advantage of the Civil War to take jobs that were

generally male professions such as clerks, retail sales, and nursing. Many campaigned for the black’s

right to vote in hopes that it would branch to women but were denied their rights with the ratification of the

fifteenth amendment. The rights that they gained were short-lived and due to the results of the fifteenth

amendment, it eventually split the women’s movement. By the turn of the 20th century, the women’s rights

movement gained momentum through the progressive era and ultimately women gained the right to vote.

The progressive era reforms developed a network of women activists that reignited the women’s

movement thus leading to the ratification of the nineteenth amendment.

The progressive era proved to be a big step forward not only for the United States but also for the

women’s rights movement. By the time the 1900’s came around, women became more noticeable in

society gaining jobs outside the domestic field such as office workers or telephone operators. By the end

of the progressive era, almost twenty-five percent of women were employed in the labor force. However,

the dramatic shift in gender roles eventually brought along problems that were evident regarding the

rights that women had. With the rising idea of personal freedom and women in social positions, women

began protesting for their free sexual freedom and freedom over their birth control.  In addition, the

working conditions that came along with these jobs were poor and provided little pay causing women to

unite together to start the new feminist movement.

A new feminist movement and campaign for women's suffrage brought about the creation of

several women’s unions such as the National Women’s Trade Union or the National Woman’s Party with

each having their own agenda. The National Women’s Trade Union was created in response to the poor

working conditions and fought for a feasible pay. Whereas Alice Paul’s National Woman’s Party main

purpose was to fight for the women’s right to vote. Although many of these unions or groups were

created, they generally fought for the benefit of women and eventually built a network of women’s rights

advocates that mainly aimed for the right to vote. Several campaigns were brought up through these

advocates and spread through the United States in the form of women’s rights conventions and parades.

The successes of the campaign slowly spread from the Western states to the East and by the early

1900s, “more than half the states allowed women to vote in local elections… Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho,

and Utah had adopted full women’s suffrage” (Foner). Although many of the states began to allow women

the right to vote, the campaigns often were difficult and proved to be expensive thus causing the main

goal of the movement to shift towards a national amendment allowing women the right to vote. By the end

of the Progressive Era, as Foner stated, “[the] campaigns, which brought women aggressively into the

public sphere, were conducted with a new spirit of militancy” (Foner). Women were slowly gaining respect

and it wasn’t until the first World War that women began to earn themselves the right to vote through the

eyes of the public. Despite the success that these campaigns achieved, the general public still didn’t

agree with the movement and in fact offended them.