WOMEN IN HISTORY
We have come a long way, but still only make 72 cents for each dollar earned by a man. Contrary to popular opinions, things are far from equal. In 1900, women made 53 cents for every dollar earned by a man, so really we've only made 19 cents worth of progress in 99 years.
But within those years we have made monumental leaps forward in other areas thanks to the hard work of many women. What follows is a brief over-all look at what has been going on for the past 99 years in regards to the advancement of women. Also included are some interesting & notable facts.
You can click on the dates below to go to a specific time period.
(For Pre-1900, click here.)
Pre-1900
1776
Abigail Adams urges her husband to 'remember the ladies' in the new code of laws.
1777
Women lose the right to vote in NY (1780 in Mass., 1784 in NH)
1787
US Constitutional Convention put voting qualifications in the hands of the states. Women in all states except NJ lose the right to vote. (NJ revoked the right in 1807)
1792
Mary Wollstonecraft's
Vindication of the Rights of Women argues for equality of the sexes.
1821
Troy Female Seminary is founded by Emma Willard. It was the first school to offer classical & scientific collegiate courses to women.
1828
Frances Wright becomes the first woman to address an American audience composed of both men and women.
1837
Mary Lyon founds Mt. Holyoke in South Hadley, MA. It was the first college for women.
1845
Woman in the Nineteenth Century is published by Margaret Fuller & has a tremendous impact on the development of American feminist theory.
1848
July--First woman's rights convention held in Seneca Falls, NY. (Organized by Stanton & Anthony)
August--2nd woman's rights convention held in Rochester, NY. Amelia Bush, chair, becomes the first woman to preside over a meeting attended by both men & women.
1849
First medical degree awarded to a woman was given to Elizabeth Blackwell upon her graduation from Geneva College in NY.
1851
Sojourner Truth delivers her "And Ain't I a Woman" Speech at the Akron, OH Woman's Rights Convention.
1863
Stanton & Anthony organize the Woman's Loyal National League and gather 300,000 signatures on a petition demanding that the Senate abolish slavery by constitutional amendment.
1866
Americal Equal Rights Association is founded. (Lucretia Mott elected president) The Association worked toward equal rights for all regardless of race, color, or sex.
Stanton runs for Congress to test women's constitutional right to hold public office. (She received 24 of 12,000 votes)
1868
The Working Women's Association, organized by Anthony, urges women to form unions to obtain shorter hours & higher wages.
14th Amendment to the Constitution is adopted. Suffrage is granted to former
male African-American slaves.
1869
National Women Suffrage Association is founded. (E.C. Stanton is president)
American Woman Suffrage Association is founded. (Henry Ward Beecher as president)
Wyoming grants suffrage to women.
1870
Utah grants suffrage to women.
1872
Anthony registers & votes in Rochester, NY & is arrested several days later. At the trial, Anthony is not allowed to testify on her own behalf, the judge dismisses the jury, rules her guilty and fines her $100. She refuses to pay.
1874
Supreme Court rules that women's political rights are under the jurisdiction of each state.
1879
Belva Lockwood becomes the first woman lawyer admitted to practice before the Supreme Court.
1884
Belva Lockwood runs for president.
1887
The first 3 volumes of
The History of Women Suffrage is published.
1890
The NAWSA & AWSA merge to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association. (Stanton, Anthony & Stone are officers)
1892
Anthony becomes president of NAWSA.
1895
The Woman's Bible is published by Stanton. It is a critical examination of the Bible's teaching about women.
1896
Idaho grants woman suffrage.
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1900-19051902--Elizabeth Cady Stanton dies (Oct. 26)
20% of all women work outside the home
3/4 of schoolteachers & typists are women
30% of college students are women
The average life expectancy for women is about 52 years
In 1903, Marie Curie is the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize (Physics)
Helen Keller graduates magna cum laude from Radcliffe College in 1904, even though she is deaf and blind
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1906-19101906--Susan B. Anthony dies (March 13)
Establishment of The Navy Nurse Corps
In NY, approximately 20,000 garment workers (women) went on strike for better pay and working conditions
Almost 40% of all college undergraduates are female
Three fourths of American medical colleges were found to be inadequate by the Flexnor Report which led to the closing every women's medical college except one
1908--March 8--First time that International Women's Day is celebrated
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1911-1915In 1911, Marie Curie receives her second Nobel Prize (Chemistry)
146 women were killed when the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory in NY caught fire--they were unable to escape because the fire escapes were locked
In Washington, DC, five thousand women marched down Pennsylvania Avenue demanding women's right to vote, despite being assaulted during along the way
To escape federal prosecution for mailing birth control pamphlets, Margaret Sanger flees to England--she is also the one that coined the term
birth controlThe American Medical Women's Association is formed in 1915 in a response to the continued exclusion of women from the American Medical Association, while at that point in time, there were approximately 9,000 women doctors in the nation
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1916-1920Jeanette Rankin becomes the first woman in Congress
The first US Birth Control Clinic is opened by Margaret Sanger---it is only open for 10 days & Margaret is imprisoned
Sanger is released and begins publication of
The Birth Control Review and also founds the New York Birth Control League
US Navy recruits women for clerical and noncombat jobs--at the end of the war, there were over 12,000 women enlisted
The second leading cause of death among women was maternity
In 1919, the Woman Suffrage (19th) Amendment is passed allowing women the right to vote
Following President Wilson's stroke (Oct. 1919), Edith Wilson (First Lady) made decisions regarding national and international policy through the end of her husbands term and many people began calling her the first woman president
The 19th Amendment is ratified (1920)
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1921-1925Margaret Sanger and M. Dennett found the American Birth Control League--later called Planned Parenthood
The Supreme Court rules unanimously that the 19th Amendment is
not unconstitutional(1922)
Alice Paul, founder of the National Woman's Party, drafts the first Equal Rights Amendment to be introduced in Congress (1923)--It proposed that men and women should have equal rights throughout the US and all places under its jurisdiction.
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1926-1930Bertha Knight Landes becomes the first woman elected Mayor of a large city (Seattle, 1926)
Women are still barred from jury duty and public office in many states
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1931-193544% of all college students are women
Pulitzer prize is awarded to Pearl Buck for
The Good EarthIn 1932, Amelia Earhart makes her solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean
Francis Perkins, appointed Secretary of Labor, becomes the first woman in a presidential cabinet
National Recovery Act is passed--it stated that no more than one family member can hold a government job. 75% of those forced from their jobs were women
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1936-1940
Eleanor Roosevelt's column,
"My Day", is syndicated in 60 newspapers
Birth control is recognized as an important part of medical practice and education and is ruled
legal by federal court in 1936
Amelia Earhart disappears (1937)
Hattie McDaniel wins an Academy Award for her role as Mammy in
Gone With the Wind, making her the first African-American woman to do so
Republican Party begins to support the Equal Rights Amendment (1940)
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1941-1945The House of Representatives voted 388 to 1 to approve war against Japan--Jeanette Rankin was the only dissenting vote
During the war, women are encouraged to fill jobs and Rosie the Riveter becomes a national symbol
In 1942, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps is established to place women in non-combat jobs
The All American Girls Baseball League is formed (1943)
By 1945, 350,000 women had served in the military during WWII
The Equal Rights Amendment is endorsed by the Democratic Party
The UN is created with Eleanor Roosevelt as a delegate
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1946-1950Women are given regular military status with the Women's Armed Services Integration Act but top rank and the number of top female officers is limited
Harvard Law School begins to admit women
Women make up 25% of the workforce (1949)
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1951-1955 Democratic & Republican parties eliminate women's divisions (1952)
Disposable diapers are invented by Marion Donovan, but she had to manufacture them herself due to lack of interest by companies--she later sold her business for $1 million
In 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white man
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1956-1960
Birth control pills are approved by the FDA (1960)
Women make an average of 60 cents for every dollar earned by a man
35% of all women work outside the home
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1961-1965Eleanor Roosevelt chairs the newly formed President's Commission on the Status of Women (created by JFK)
Betty Freidan's
The Feminine Mystique publicizes the dissatisfaction about limits on women
Sex and the Single Girl, by Helen Gurley Brown is published
In 1963, a report is issued by the President's Commission on the Status of Women stating that discrimination against women is evident in every area of American life
As an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Equal Pay Act prohibited wage discrimination based on sex
The Civil Rights Act is passed prohibiting discrimination based on race, creed, national origin or sex
Laws prohibiting the use of birth control are ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court (1965)
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1966-1970In 1966, Betty Friedan founds the National Organization for Women (NOW) which functions as a civil rights organization for women
Shirley Temple Black is appointed as a US Representative at the United Nations
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1971-1975
Equal Rights Amendment is passed (1972) Civil Rights Act prohibits sex discrimination in employment & education
In
Roe V. Wade, the Supreme Court affirms women's rights to first trimester abortions
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1976-1980
STILL TO COME
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1981-1985
Sandra Day O'Conner becomes first woman appointed to US Supreme Court Justice (1981)
Geraldine Ferraro is first woman nominated as VP from a major political party (1984)
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1986-1990
Congress dedicates March as Women's History Month (1987)
RU-486 is authorized for use in France & China (1988)
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1991-1995
More women run for and are elected to public office than any other year in US history (1992)
Approximately 37,000 US Military Women serve in the Persian Gulf War Combat area (1991)
Janet Reno is the first female US Attorney General (1993)
Dr. Jocelyn Elders becomes first woman (and first black) to serve as US Surgeon General
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1996-1999
Madeleine Albright is appointed Secretary of State (1996)
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Still Under Construction!
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