Today women are: house speakers, in sports, in entertainment, activists, law enforcement, presidential candidates, home owners, business owners and much more. Women had to endure a tremendous amount of trials, tribulations, doubts, negativity, and animosity to obtain the rights and opportunities they have today. So many achievements have been accomplished already, but women had to start at the bottom and prove themselves just to gain the trust of their society.
In the early 1800s, women had little to no freedom, no rights, and no voice in any way. Their main duties during this time were to tend to the children, the household chores and to cook their husband's meals. One major achievement for women in the early 1800s was due to Sarah Josepha Hale. She was trying to make a living for herself and support her children when she decided to give writing a try. In 1828, she became the editor of a magazine that later evolved into Godey's Lady's Magazine, and was billed as "the first magazine edited by a woman for women ... either in the Old World or the New.” The magazine focused on promoting the idea of women’s education and knowledge.
At this time African-American women were enslaved and could be sold and bought, like property. Unfortunately, they were property; they had no rights, equality, or freedom. Harriett Tubman, abolitionist, helped slaves from the South cross through the Underground railroads to get to freedom. She helped her sister, her sister’s family, her family, her parents, and many more get free of the treacherous conditions of slavery. Miraculously, she was never caught and never lost a passenger, even with a $40,000 reward for her death and capture. Since her achievements were highly praised, Union military commanders recruited her as a spy during the Civil War. She would wander the streets under the Confederate control and ask other slaves about the placement of the Confederate troops and their supply line. She was also a respected nurse guerrilla operative, helping to heal dying black and white soldiers.
In 1948 in Seneca Falls, New York the first meeting to discuss women’s rights and the initial meeting that launched the suffrage movement took place. The organizers of the convention were Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. Only 100 people showed with a third of them being women. At this convention, Stanton made a draft of the “Declaration of Sentiments, Grievances, and Resolutions.” It emphasized the equality of men and women, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal,” which heavily resembled the Declaration of Independence. The goal of this historic document was to obtain equal social status, legal rights, and the right to vote for women. All of the attendees of this convention signed the Declaration of Sentiments.
In 1850, Stanton met a School teacher, Susan B. Anthony, who also took part in the abolitionist movement. They worked together to help try and gain women’s rights in equality, the right to vote and other social issues. Unfortunately they had no luck and decided to focus their efforts solely on the gaining the right to vote. In 1851 Sojourner Truth, a abolitionist, preacher and anti-slavery speaker, began a lecture tour that included a women’s rights conference in Akron, Ohio, where she delivered her famous “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech. It was famous for seeking the political equality for women, but also for expressing concern for black women’s rights. “I am a woman’s rights. I have as much muscle as any man, and can do as much work as any man. I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more than that? I have heard much about the sexes being equal. I can carry as much as any man, and can eat as much too, if I can get it. I am as strong as any man that is now,” said Truth. Her activism for the abolitionist movement gained the attention of President Abraham Lincoln, who invited her to the White House in October 1864. He showed her a Bible given to him by African-Americans in Baltimore.
In 1869, two different organizations for the suffrage movement emerged, both advocates for women’s suffrage. The first being the National Woman Suffrage Association(NWSA), created by Anthony and Stanton, which directed their focus on the fact that the 15th amendment excluded women, therefore they opposed it. The second organization, The National Women’s Party (NWP), was led by Alice Paul. The NWP undertook more physical actions including picketing the White House, in order to convince Wilson and Congress to pass a woman suffrage amendment. There was another reorganization that helped with the suffrage movement; American Suffrage Association (AWSA), created by Lucey Stone, a lobbyist for women’s rights. The AWSA and NWSA eventually merged together and formed the he National American Woman Suffrage Association. The NAWSA undertook campaigns to enfranchise women in individual states, and simultaneously lobbied President Wilson and Congress to pass a woman suffrage Constitutional Amendment. With years and years of fighting for rights, women finally got some hope. In 1869, Wyoming granted women the right to vote, then all other sates followed in later years. By 1920, with all the combined efforts of these organizations and great perseverance, the 19th amendment was finally ratified and women gained the right to vote in all elections.
By 1941, many women were entering the workforce to help pick up what the men left behind due to being enlisted in WWII. More than six million women joined the work force to build planes, bombs, tanks and other weapons that would eventually help to win the war. Rosie the Riveter’s first appearance was in a song written by Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb in 1942, "that little frail girl can do/more than a man can do.” The influential posters of Rosie the Riveter was a big turning point in women’s history because it was the first time women were allowed to work full shifts and support their family, as men normally would have in this era. This gave them the confidence and knowledge they needed to know what they were actually capable of.
In the 90s women had started to gain certain rights and confidence within themselves that they did not need any man’s approval for anything. Mini skirts that showed of women’s legs became a popular fad during this time. Clothing was very bright and eccentric with brightly colored leggings and puffy leg warmers to match. Neon colors were everywhere, as well as high waisted jean shorts, jeans, skirts, and anything else that could be worn on bottom. There were matching suits, two piece outfits, windbreakers, crewnecks and plenty of heels and sneakers to match.
By 2013 women were able to enlist in the war and get married to the same sex under the Supreme Court’s reversal of the law which stated marriage for same sex couples is unconstitutional. By 2016 Hilary Clinton became the first female to run in a presidential election making world wide history for women everywhere.
The accomplishments and rights women have achieved thus far is remarkable and things are still underway. There are 102 women in Congress today, over 200,000 professional female athletes, 300 plus in entertainment, and so much more. The boundaries women are breaking is remarkable. The month of March is dedicated to all women nationwide because between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month. Since 1995, Presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush and Barack Obama have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month,” recognizing women for the incredible, brave, and admirable achievements they have made and overcome all these years.
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Many of the 90s and 80s trends are still today’s fashion with high waisted shorts, plenty of floral, and lace galore circulating in society. Women have paved the way for many great fashion icons today, men and women.
In 2007, Nancy Pelosi becomes the first female speaker of the House and Hilary Clinton announces her running for presidency.
Even though she lost, she still handled it with grace and gratitude, “I have...spent my entire adult life fighting for what I believe in. I have had successes and I have had setbacks. Sometimes really painful ones. Many of you are at the beginning of your professional, public and political careers. You will have successes and setbacks, too. This loss hurts but please never stop believing that fighting for what's right is worth it.”
By 1928, Amelia Earheart became the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean. She then wrote a book about her famous flight, won countless awards and became the editor of Cosmopolitan magazine. However, during her flight across the world she disappeared and her, her navigator Freed Noonan, nor the plane was ever found.
In 1916, nurse and women’s-rights activist Margaret Sanger opened the first American birth-control clinic in Brownsville, Brooklyn. It did not last long due to her clinic being “illegal.” Despite many attempts to reopen the clinic, it kept getting raided and eventually shut down for good. By 1921, she formed what is now know to be Planned Parenthood. In 1921, Edith Wharton won a Pulitzer prize, making her thee first women to ever win one. By 1925 the American Indian suffrage act was granted by Congress, granting them them gift to vote as well.
In 1933, Frances Perkins became the first female member of a Presidential cabinet; serving as Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Secretary of Labor. In 1937, The U.S. Supreme Court upholds Washington state’s minimum wage laws for women and the following year the Fair Labor Standards Act establishes minimum wage, regardless of gender.
By 1943, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League became the first professional baseball league for female players. In 1960 the birth control pill Enovid, was first approved by the FDA, giving women ways to protect themselves against pregnancy. Following that, in 1972 the Supreme Court rules the right for an unmarried person to use contraceptives. By 1963, The Equal Pay Act is passed by Congress, promising equitable wages for the same work; regardless of the race, color, religion, national origin or sex of the worker. In 1973, Roe Vs. Wade deems abortion legal in the United States. In 1977, Janet Guthrie became the first woman to drive in the Indy 500. By 1978, the Pregnancy Discrimination act bans employment discrimination against pregnant women. By the late 1980s women have been been more prominent in the work force and have tried their luck on the political side of the job market. In 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor becomes the first woman to serve in the Supreme Court appointed by President Ronald Reagan. In 1983, Sally Ride becomes the first American woman to ride into space. In 1984, Joan Benoit wins the first women’s Olympic Marathon, where she finished in 2:24.52. Madeleine Albright becomes the first female Secretary of State in 1997. In 2005, Condoleezza Rice becomes the first black female Secretary of State in the United States.
This year, Serena Williams is ranked as the greatest athlete of all time despite her struggles with racism, injuries, mind games, and animosity with her attire. She is the only female who had a baby and still came back strong with 23 grand slams.
Women’s dress attire in the 1800s was very conservative; they were not allowed to show much skin. The traditional dress was stockings, long dresses, drawers, bonnets and corsets. Modesty was seen as beauty and a sign that a woman cared for her body during this time, therefore skirts were all long and cleavage was hardly shown. Unfortunately, since the corsets gave off the illusion of an hour glass figure, women were choosing beauty over their health to uphold the standards they thought they needed to, to be deemed beautiful. The corsets caused a lot of major health problems that damaged to their organs, caused mammary abscesses, and breathing issues. During the 1910s and 1920s the female attire dramatically changed with the new foundations for women, their equality and their presence in society. They were known as “flappers,” and they wore their hair in bobs, wore shorter skirts with pleats or slits, and wore tight fitting cloche hats. By the1930s women’s attire shifted back to a more conservative manner. They wore longer skirts, the waistline returned to its old position and the clothing was back to its old ways. The forties brought on some dramatic changes due to less materials for clothing. The skirts were knee length and the attire became lighter and thinner. The fifties and sixties were a time where long pencil skirts emerged as fashionable and a more tailored, feminine look became popular. Tailored suits had fitted jackets to go with them, shirt dresses became popular along with wearing halter tops as sundresses. The 70s was known as the “disco” era, with loose clothing becoming more favored. Women wore platform shoes, wide-legged/flared jeans, hot pants, fitted blazers, crop tops, ‘hippie’ looking clothing such as tie dye shirts and flower bands. The eighties were a more prevalent time period, with history repeating itself, this era and the 90s are probably the most fashionable yet.
Many of the 90s and 80s trends are still today’s fashion with high waisted shorts, plenty of floral, and lace galore circulating in society. Women have paved the way for many great fashion icons today, men and women.
the 1990’s floral dresses, lace shirt/ blouses, silk button up tops, and babydoll tops were all popular items. Denim jackets and hipster jeans evolved from the earlier decade.
There is still more women need to accomplish, but the future looks very bright.