Women in Politics in the 1920's

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Throughout time women have been oppressed by their male counterparts. Many suffragists in the late 1800’s and beyond fought valiantly for the rights women have today. Women including Susan B. Anthony, Alice Paul, Lucy Burns and countless others protested and were jailed for their heroic actions. Women in the 20’s were apprehensive to join politics due to the extensive discrimination, but when the 19th amendment was passed these ‘new women’ became very influential in the American Political sphere. In the beginning of the 1900’s women could not do much of anything in the male dominated political world. Woman could not vote, serve on juries, or hold any type of political office (Evans par 1). It was a common belief that women and men’s roles should not overlap; (Benner par 2) however, during World War One many women worked out of the home for the first time (Davidson 681). They filled the vacant jobs men left when they were shipped out to fight overseas (Davidson 681). Many women activists rallied for the 19th amendment to be passed in the early 1900’s, but the U.S. president at the time, Woodrow Wilson, had many other issues he felt were more prominent. World War One was in its final stage in the western theater and Congress pushed for a focus on domestic situations consisting of a fuel shortage, a near breakdown of transportation, and the influenza virus (Eleanor 307). The Red scare became another obstacle for women’s activists as it became a tool anti-feminists used to try and deport members of the Women’s Joint Congressional Committee and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. They claimed these organizations were spreading Bolshevism and demanded they be deported (Dumenil par 18). Decades before the 19th amendment... ... middle of paper ... ...tury” History Now. Web. 20 Feb. 2014. . Flexner, Eleanor. Century of Struggle. Cambridge, Ma: Belknap Press Harvard, Print. Hartmann, Susan M. “Paul, Alice.” American National Biography Online 2000 Web. 25 Feb. 2014. . Judson, Sarah Mercer. “Analyzing The History of Women’s Politics in the Shadow of the Millennium.” Labour/Le Travail. 1999: 195-202. Web. 24 Feb. 2014 . “Suffrage.” Britannica School. 2014. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 20 Feb. 2014. . “Woman’s Suffrage.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Britannica. 2014. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. .

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