How did women impact U.S. History from 1877-1920?

Each essay must have a thesis (main argument), body and conclusion. You can use all class material for the essay (Notes, textbook and documentaries), however, you MUST cite at least three primary sources (primary sources are the documents posted under “Files” that are labeled “Document 1,” “Document 2”). You can cite parenthetically. You do not need MLA or ALA.

Here are some suggestions on how to organize your ideas for the Midterm essay.

How did women impact U.S. History from 1877-1920?

One way to approach this question is highlighting the role of women in making political changes. For this you would want to use the Declaration of Sentiments (Document 2) to show that women had been advocating for political changes and the vote since the 1840s. You can also discuss the actions of Ida B. Wells-Barnett. Wells-Barnett was a fierce advocate for passing Anti-lynching laws in the U.S. Wells-Barnett was also a journalist and owned her own newspaper. These were huge accomplishments for any women in the early 1900s. It is increasingly significant because Wells-Barnett as African-American. Having control of the press allowed Wells-Barnett to have a platform to inform political discussions during the early 1900s. Another person to cite is Carrie Chapman Catt. Catt was an advocate for voting rights for women. Catt, unlike some other women, believed that if women gained full citizenship (voting) they should also support the U.S. role in World War I (Document 9).

A second area to focus on is the role of women in encouraging social change. Several women pushed for social changes including Emma Goldman, Josephine St. Pierre, Margaret Sanger, Pauline Saban and Mary Gibson. Goldman argued that marriage and love were not the same thing and that women should think twice before committing to marry. Goldman believed in was another form of oppression that facilitated capitalism (Document 4). Margret Sanger and Josephine St. Pierre advocated for women to have control of their reproductive freedom through contraceptives. Pauline Saban was a strong advocate for Prohibition in the U.S. because alcohol harmed the family. Mary Gibson believed that women should help newly arrived immigrants assimilate into U.S. society (Document 7).

A third way to discuss the role of women is to highlight their impact on working-class and labor issues. Mother Jones worked to end child labor and make factories safer (Document 3). Hellen Keller believed that wars were oppressive to the working-class and that the rich send people to die to benefit capitalism (Document 11). Lucy Parsons advocated forms of direct action including some violence in order to achieve labor rights (Document 2).

A fourth contribution of women is on culture. Women in the 1920s who identified as a Flapper changed the way society saw women. They broke barriers about women in public spaces. They challenged social norms and were criticized for their actions. Yet, they also were creating a new form of self-identity for women. The women involved in the Zoot Suit culture did the same thing. These women pushed back against their family traditions and discrimination from U.S. society. Josephine Baker was another woman to challenge political and cultural ideas. Baker believed discrimination in the U.S. was wrong so she decided to move to France in protest. Baker was a political trailblazer and a social advocate. Being an African American actor was a huge accomplishment. It provided baker with a platform to advocate change. Lupe Velez was another actor who was criticized for her artistic choices. Despite the criticism, Velez was another trailblazer for non-white women in film.

A final way to approach the role of women is the contributions of non-white women. Many non-white women influenced history. Dora Ibanez tried to persuade Mexican-American communities to keep their traditions and not assimilate into U.S. culture (Document 16). Non-white women influenced cultural changes including Josephine Baker, Lupe Velez and the Zoot Suit women. Lucy Parsons pushed for changes to the economic rights of laborers and Ida B. Wells-Barnett fought for anti-lynching laws. Josephine St. Pierre advocated for women to have reproduction freedoms.

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