Women were focused on themselves, and the well-being of the community. Even though everyone thought that the women's place should be in the home, many stepped outside of their homes to volunteer to help in election settings, club work, and reform movements. They worked hard to get rid of problems with poverty and disease, but it wasn't something that could be solved at the local level, so they started to work on the legislation to make laws that dealt with the sanitary issues of the cities. This helped women gain political skills and feelings of self worth. A lot of the upper class urban women expanded from their home to the city and the state. Women were really concerned with the well-being of everyone at this point, and did their best to change regulations on food, and sanitation. In 1920 women earned the right to vote this didn't change anyone's life substantially, but it did give some women the initiative to search for some independence from their family by searching for a job outside of the home.
Sivulka, Juliann. "From Domestic to Municipal Housekeeper: The Influence of the Sanitary Reform Movement on Changing Women's Roles in America, 1860-1920." Journal of American Culture (01911813) 22.4 (1999): 1-7. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 31 Oct. 2010.
Well it was a big step I'm not saying that it wasn't an important thing or anything like that, but at the same time they voted and then that was it. It's hard to describe what I mean, but it wasn't a completely life altering change, their days were still all the same, and such. It makes sense in my head I guess, I think it was a big step, and maybe I would think differently if I was around during the change.
ReplyDelete