Not only did these women engage in consumerism, they formed certain social practices based on the items they purchased and connected it all together with their workplace culture. Working women wove this popular culture into their developing sense of themselves as ladies, workers, and Americans. Many factors of working-class consumption helped to shape their life experiences. The first way in which they did this was the act of purchasing items that were marketed directly to young women of the labor class. “Working-class women, as much as their more wealthy counterparts, wound these commodities into their own culture based in display, self-statement, and glamour.” (Enstad, 18) Working women purchased cheap fiction known as dime novels.
This was primarily due to the builders' concept of "the smaller, better-equipped kitchen, planned for the domestic 'scientist' who had no need of a servant. "[2] Women were more able to experiment in the kitchen, and new appliances allowed for quicker preparation. These new appliances also gave housewives more time, which in turn made it easier for them to get out in the working world. Some typical jobs that women had in this era were things like receptionists, clerical workers, and typewriters. [3] At this point, it is clear that women are becoming more active in mainstream society, which worried many conservatives.
By the 1990s Sharpe went back to the same school and interviewed girls again and they had changed their priorities to careers and being able to support themselves by being more dependent rather than relying on a husband. Sue Sharpe has contributed to giving us an understanding of the way girls ambitions have changed, without this people would still assume women would want to grow up and be a housewife; looking after their children and doing domestic labour. A similar research was carried about by Becky Francis who asked girls about their career ambitions in 2001, most girls had
He warns women against vocations of preaching or politics, explaining that they can influence public opinion in their homes and communities.” They were strictly housewives and were destined to raise children. As the Industrial Revolution began, the women became more active in the labor force. The Industrial Revolution seemed to be a turning point for many women. Due to the Civil War and the start of the Industrial Revolution, women became involved in more labor-intensive jobs. Although the Industrial Revolution started before the war, with men leaving to fight for the Confederacy or the Union, women needed to start taking the places of men.
We Can Do It Statistics show that during World War II the number of working American women jumped from nearly 9 million to 20 million merely because of a simple poster encouraging women (Wiki). This poster of a now well know woman, Rosie the Riveter, refer to a period in American history that can be considered the beginning of a major shift in the role of women. During World War II, when millions of men were conscripted or voluntarily joined the armed forces, defense plants in the United States had to continue producing needed artillery, weapons, and other goods for the war effort. At the time, reasonably few women worked outside the home, and even fewer would have worked in factories like those producing airplanes and other military goods. Enlisted to see to it that production did not decrease in this time of emergency, the female
In 1905, one year before her death, she met president Roosevelt to lobby for an amendment for women’s voting rights. It wasn’t until after 14 years of her death, that the U.S. Constitution gave women the right to vote. Anthony made a impact on the women’s right movement, even if she never saw the results of her work during her life. Anthony’s social change on the country comes from all the associations and book printings that she and Stanton created in hopes of the women’s right to vote. Their efforts along with the efforts of their organizations started the voting movement and put the idea into the minds of a country that otherwise would not have entertained the idea.
They wanted equality for women in the workplace, in society generally and at home. “After discovering that they could work in high-paying factory jobs, the majority of women did not want to give these jobs up after World War II.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Womenroles_in_the_WorldWarsUnitedStatesofAmerica
Their desire for self-improvement was evident in their quest to be educated. Most were self-educated and they also sought economic autonomy. This was a significant difference between the black and white women of the antebellum era. The white women continued to be taken care of their husbands and family and continued with their comfortable lives; however the black women, survivors of slavery, out of the need for survival, drew strength from the horrific treatment they endured as slaves. The desire to become educated motivated the black women to learn to read, develop an understanding of the white woman’s culture, and work to support themselves as they developed skills that would prove to be invaluable.
Women, however, usually stayed at home to take care of the children, prepare the food, make clothing and other material products, and the women usually directed indentured servants in the absence of the male dominant. The rise of food supply and wealth enabled the wealthier women to have more children, increasing the population. There was not much involvement with women and trade, and bearing a child would be one of the main reasons. Economic involvement was difficult for women who had to take care of children. The rise of the economy brought colonial America to a more democratic style, which led to changes in the political and religious systems as well.
At this time people wanted to spend their money instead of save it for hard times. Society’s hourly pay rate nearly double and tripled during this era. War factories transitioned from making war materials to making civilian supplies, which lead to the boost in our economy at the time. Today, effects of the Baby Boom have many factors that come into play that affect our economy. According to National Academy of Social Insurance “social security faces a financial challenge from the impending retirement of the largest generation in American history, the 76 million persons born in the “baby boom” years, from 1946 through 1964.