Women In America essays

Women In America essays The role of women in American society has changed dramatically over the last one hundred years. Women were originally seen as daughters, wives and mothers but are now viewed in a totally different light. Womens views are now respected and sort after and this is why they will play an important role in the upcoming election. To understand how women will be involved in the election you first have to look at the history of women in American society and the roles that they play. American women had been campaigning for equality even before the turn of the Twentieth Century but it wasnt until Nineteen Twenty that they were able to vote for the first time after the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Many believed that this would create a huge change in politics and this made many politicians at the time (all male) nervous. The expected huge change never really materialised until much later though due to economic constraints (the depression and then the Second World War). During the depression the emphasis was taken away from equality as twenty five percent of America was unemployed. The greatest change to womens roles though was not political at all. It was the transition from a primarily agricultural economy to a corporate, commercial, industrial economy. This meant that whereas before women were seen as business partners to their farming husbands, helping to saw the land whilst simultaneously rearing the children. But in the new urban environment the middle class ideal relied on a single wage earner meaning that the women were now expected to stay at home while the husband/father would work away from the home. Only women from poor families would go out and work because it was thought, at the time, that if it was economically feasible then once a women was married she should become a housewife and stay home and raise the family and look after her h...