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Women at Work
WORKING WOMEN AND INDUSTRILIAZATION
Prior to industrialization, most women were working as domestic servants in homes of wealthy people. Even when industrialization helped few women gain better jobs at sales and clerical positions, most black women were severely restricted to domestic service alone because of racial discrimination. White women mostly moved to jobs with better wages when opportunities arose, leaving the black women behind to bear the brunt of domestic service. The wages were disappointingly low and most women were paid anything from $4 to $8 per month. The conditions under which they worked were wretched and they were made to work from dawn to dusk with little time given to spend with their families. Apart from all this, domestic servants were also considered 'thieves' and their vices were regularly highlighted. Conditions were not so positive for women working in factories as they regularly had to compete fiercely in order to keep their jobs as there were many others waiting to occupy the same. Because of the absence of Labor Unions, women were forced to endure horribly bad treatment, low wages and massive amount of work. From the complaints received by Jewish Daily Forward, it is clear that workingwomen were no better in these factories than they were in domestic service.
With industrialization, it was believed that things would improve and they did for some but only after Labor Unions came into being. Industrialization resulted in new openings for women who were hitherto restricted to domestic service. They began working in factories and sweatshops only to realize later that in the absence of a regulatory body, they would be suffering endless since wages were far low for the amount of work they did. Agnes Nestor for example writes of horrible experiences endured by women at factories since they were always at the mercy of the foreman who could fire them at whim. This urged the workers to form Labor Organizations that worked for the rights of poor workers in factory settings. Labor Unions sought uniform wages and better working conditions for workers.
Women and the Union: Struggle for Change Women's rights have enjoyed an increasingly prominent position in society and the workplace since the suffragettes managed to gain the vote for women. Acknowledging the intelligence and power of women as sufficient to allow them voting rights has led to other allowances as well. Throughout the 20th century, this struggle has not been an easy one, but it has been one that has gained
Woman's Suffrage Women in the United States made the fight for suffrage their most fundamental demand because they saw it as the defining feature of full citizenship. The philosophy underlying women's suffrage was the belief in "natural rights" to govern themselves and choose their own representatives. Woman's suffrage asserted that women should enjoy individual rights of self-government, rather than relying on indirect civic participation as the mothers, sisters, or daughters of
Susan Anthony is a key figure in women's rights movement of this time. She called for increased women's admission in the teaching profession. She also campaigned for equal pay for male and female slaves as well as better protection for female laborers trough trade unions that she became a part of (Susan B. Anthony House, n.d.). These radical changes in the sphere of womanhood are reflected in the artistic accomplishments
Industrialization After the Civil War Industrialization was, in all aspects, a game changer in the U.S. because it brought about a complete transformation in people's ways of life. It changed how businesses were run, transformed how people earned money, made transportation easier, and caused a social and economic revolution. Within four decades (1865-1920), the U.S. had "transformed from a predominantly rural agrarian society to an industrial economy centered in large metropolitan cities"
Many Americans insisted on moralizing poverty and housing conditions. One of the responses to the revelations was to build company towns, like Pullman, Illinois which provided decent housing and amenities to workers in the Pullman train car factory. This project appears to have been successful initially, but a debilitating strike caused by high rent and low wages destroyed the town and other companies were no longer willing to follow this
Industrialization in the 19th Century In the late 1800s and early 1900's, America entered an industrial revolution, meaning that people moved from living and working on farms to working in factories and living in cities. This movement had both positive and negative effects on people. On the positive side, more, better, and inexpensive goods, transportation, and communication were possible. However, industrialization also brought pollution, child labor issues, and crowded cities. Social Changes and