Women in the 1920's
By: Helen Flock
Women's Rights Movement:
One of the biggest and most know leaders of the Women's Right's Movement was Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony
Known as being the largest speakers and motivators for Women's Rights. She was born on February 15, 1820 in Adams, Massachusetts. She became a teacher and was so for 15 years. Afterwards she became active in temperance movement, which was a movement in the moderation of alcohol, or complete abstinence of drinking. Anthony was a woman and was unable to speak at rallies for this movement. This led her to join the women’s rights movement in 1852.
She soon became dedicated to leading the way for women. She ignored the law and kept traveling across the nation to give lectures and speeches on why women's suffrage should end. She also became involved in campaigns for the abolition of slavery, the right for women to own their own property and retain their earnings, and advocated for women's labor organizations. In 1900, helped led the University of Rochester to admit women into their University.
She was a active advocate of her own rights and the rights of women around the nation until the day of her death on May 13, 1906.
Status in Society:
Another change happened when women were accepted into colleges. Most women before hand had gone to all women colleges and most became teachers and nurses. The first women was accepted into a none women specific college in 1921 at North Carolina State University, but not until 1928 they were allowed as open enrollment.
Another change that occur was the invention and commonality of electricity and plumbing. Household chores and work became easier to be done & with plumbing can water inside the home and cleaning was something that could be completed in a few minutes and not the whole day.
Lastly most women in the early 1920's didn't hold paying jobs, but with the growth of manufacturing of cotton women were given jobs within the factories and child-care jobs for workers of factories. At this time paying jobs for young women right out of college became more common. By 1930 one in four women held paying jobs.
Dress
The 1920's was the year of the flapper. Colorful and dresses made of less fabric that were flowy and made of many patterns, fabrics & textures. Silk stockings and shoes became more and more popular. Dresses were adorned with fur and the hem lines started to become shorter and shorter as time went on, but at the end of the 1920's they seemed to go back to below the knee, like before.
The common hairstyles were "the bob" and finger waves became more popular as well from the help of many famous singers and actresses sporty the hairstyles.