WOMEN IN THE 1920 s Introduction Quote American

WOMEN IN THE 1920 s

Introduction • Quote: “American women were transformed after World War I. They seemed to embody the changes going on in the country itself. The United States went from a young industrial state that was accumulating the capital to build factories and railroads to a world power with a consumer economy that relied on its citizens to keep the boom going by borrowing money and buying homes and cars. Meanwhile, the celibate settlement house worker was replaced as a female prototype by the jazz-crazed flapper dancing the Charleston in a speakeasy. Everything that had anything to do with consumption was in style. That included drinking, smoking, and sex - for women as well as men. ” -- 'America's Women, 400 years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates and Heroines' by Gail Collins (Role Of Women In The 1920's – source 5) (America's Women, Collins – source 1) KS

OPPORTUNITIES OF WOMEN IN THE 1920 S KS

The Working Woman in the 1920 s • • In 1920 women composed 23. 6% of the labor force During WWI • • • Worked as conductors of trams or buses Worked on farms In engineering In highly dangerous munitions Industries There was a high demand of women to do heavy lifting such as unloading coal, stocking furnaces and building ships. After WWI, more jobs came open for women. These jobs included: – Teacher, secretaries, typists, nurses, seamstresses – Even when men came back from war, women continued to stay in the workforce Google Images – Working Women in the 1920 s KS

The Working Woman in the 1920 s • The American Federation of Labor did not support the working woman. It did not want women competing for men's jobs. – The main jobs that were thought of as "feminine" were nursing and teaching. This all changed in the 1920's. More women were involved in clerical work, sales work, and some worked in the factories. • • While the first generation of college-educated women entered professions in the 1920 s, they found opportunities only in nurturing "women's professions, " such as nursing, teaching, social work, and, within medicine, pediatrics. Many women (in New York especially) went to work in the Garment District – By the late 1920 s, the Garment District was home to half of the city’s garment plants. • Many manufacturers, now wealthy, became real estate developers and helped change the face of the Google Image s – Working Women in the 1920 s district KS

Newfound Social Freedoms • Women’s Christian Temperance Union was pivotal in bringing about national Prohibition in the United States of America, believing it would protect families, women and children from the effects of abuse of alcohol. – Women’s Organization for National Prohibition Reform (WONPR) was founded in 1929 to rescue America’s families and communities from the ten years of alcohol prohibition. • These women had been important in bringing about alcohol prohibition, yet once they saw the damage this was having on their homes, families and communities, they united to bring an end to this failed and unconstitutional legislation. • Smoking was more acceptable than now, although it was a sign of sophistication. – Young women who smoked were regarded as sinful by the religious types. Google Images – Women’s Christian Temperance Union Google Images – Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform KS

Quote: “Women took up smoking in the twenties with the same suddenness they cut their hair and raised their skirts. They smoked in restaurants, in speakeasies, in the country clubs where they went to play golf and bridge, and in private homes during that new invention, the cocktail hour. For the younger generation, smoking was another example of "freedom" and women's right to enjoy the same pleasures as men. But they got a prod from the mass media. Magazine ads urged weight-conscious flappers to "reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet". Cigarettes, which had frequently been marketed as a health aid that would cure nervousness or aid indigestion, became a weapon in the war against fat. ” - 'America's Women, 400 years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates and Heroines' by Gail Collins Woman using a cigarette holder – 1920 Google Images – Women Smoking in the 1920 s KS

Newfound Social Freedoms • The image of flappers were young women who went by night to jazz clubs where they danced provocatively, smoked cigarettes through long holders, and dated freely, perhaps indiscriminately. • They rode bicycles, drove cars, and openly drank alcohol, a defiant act in the American period of Prohibition. • The cocktail hour’s rise to popularity • Women also played sports; women’s baseball became popular in the 1920 s Google Images – Drinking in the 1920 s – Such baseball teams were New York-based Google Images – Women’s Baseball 1920 s KS

Political Freedoms • The Nineteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution • Suffragists transformed the National American Woman Suffrage Association into the League of Women Voters (LWV) in 1920. – Carrie Chapman Catt and other leaders of the LWV saw enfranchised women as individuals with their own relationship to the state, and they set out to train these women in good citizenship. Google Images – 19 th Amendment KS

EXPRESSION OF WOMEN IN THE 1920 S AA

The Flapper vs. The Gibson Girl The Flapper • • • Gibson Girl Short dark bobbed hair Short skirts just below the knee, and no corsets. Bell-shaped hats Waistline dropped to hipline. Silk stocking that were visible Wore makeup (eyeliner, mascara, lipstick, blush. ) all dark and visible. Dancing was a popular activity. Casually dated Smoked and drank in public • • Long loose hair Long straight skirts with corsets. Large hats Shirts with high collars Google images (gibson girl) Wore absolutely no make up Activities included, tennis, bicycling, golf. Sports where they could not get hurt. Not allowed to date, they were set up with their husband by their parents. Drinking and smoking were not allowed at all. It was not womanly. Google images (flapper girl) AA

ACHIEVEMENTS, SELF IMAGE & FEMALE ROLE MODELS OF THE 1920 S JH

Role Models - Amelia Earhart “Please know I am quite aware of the hazards. . . I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail their failure must be but a challenge to others” JH