In the 1900's things were changing drastically in the United States. Business was booming, cities and industry were expanding and the American people were evolving. During the period of all this change, no social, economic, gender or racial group was quiet. Worker's fought for better wages and shorter shifts. Immigrants from across the globe fought for a voice. African American's fought for equality. And women fought for all of these things, they were beginning to want what they needed but did not have.
For a very long time women had their place in the world as a wife, care taker and follower. But they wanted a new face, women wanted to be heard, trusted, respected and followed. During the war, women had been put into the work force to support the war effort, after the end of the war they did not want to go back into the kitchen; they wanted to keep their new footing in the world.
[...] Pregnant women are of course moody, frightened and nervous and these new moods would cause a husband to be withdrawn creating a separation in the relationship. Sanger claims this can lead to resentment of the husband by his pregnant wife. All of this could have been avoided if they had had time to become a unified couple before the addition of a child; this took two years according to Sanger. If you have a child too you're your “lover and sweetheart” relation will be lost forever to the “mamma and papa” relation. [...]
[...] The women worked from 5 a.m. to 7p.m hours a day and 73 hours a week. The work rooms were filled to capacity, usually with 80 women and 2 supervisors per room. The noise from the machines was deafening and the rooms could easily reach 100 degrees in the winter. Even in the summer, when the temperatures were excruciating, windows in the factory were kept shut to care for the quality of the thread (Female). In their boarding houses there was usually six girls to a room, of course they had absolutely no privacy. [...]
[...] In 1872, Anthony cast a test vote; she believed the Constitution already permitted women to vote. She was caught and made to pay one hundred dollars in fines, which she refused to do. Though she died 14 years before women gained the right to vote, she is known as one of the leading advocates for women's suffrage. Meanwhile, in Lowell Massachusetts, industry was booming due to the plentiful amount of factories with willing and enthusiastic workers. The famous Lowell system of factory management had attracted young women from across the country. [...]
[...] And throughout the Civil war, most of the factories in the area went under. The women of the mills had been feisty and certainly had not held their opinions back. They pledged, “Equal rights, or death to the corporations” and they got it (Julianna). During the transitional period America went through in the late 1800's and early 1900's, women's voices were without a doubt not lost as they advocated for the vote, free speech and respect. They knew what they sought and thanks [...]
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