Textbook: Chapter 7
1. While the white women were fighting for reforms they set aside class in order to form better unions, but still did not accept African Americans. Many black women instead formed their own help groups and reformed for a change in their own communities. Jim Crow laws were in effect during this time period and these laws prohibited people of color from using certain public outlets, such as stores, hospitals, libraries, etc. To off set the discrimination of these laws the black communities started their own stores, hospitals, and libraries, in turn creating their own black communities where Jim Crow laws could not harm them. Black women opened and operated their own day care programs and schools for young children so that mothers could work. African Americans also began their own political groups where they could speak their mind without being discriminated.
2. The suffrage movement were primarily based on the equality of women's public and political life. This movement advocated for voting rights and equality. The feminist movement focused on a women's natural rights and privileges. It advocated for a womens rights in the home, sexual rights, and their independence. The feminist movement was based of the idea of feminism where a woman could be whomever she believed she wanted to be, regardless of a man. This idea was still very new and not all agreed with its principles. The suffrage movement was a universal goal and was received by the public.
Source Interpretation
Textbook document
3.The definitions given from the convention varied greatly. Many speakers, both men and women, spoke about feminism as being a right to do certain things. A right to have fun, to experiment, to think what she wants, and to be different. George Middletown said that feminism is a “spiritual attitude” and also called it an “educational idea”. He argued that “men and women are made up of the same soul stuff,” (461) a thought that was progressive of the eras before. Rose Young thought that feminism is a woman's need to develop her own self. Edwin Bjorkman put it nicely stating that feminism “meant that a 'woman should have the right to be a full-fledged personality and not merely a social unit.” (461)
4. What I gathered from the text is this: a women's place is now the workplace, not the home. Inez Milholland's essay says that to send a woman “back to the home” would mean to follow her to her place of work. Therefore, a women's economic independence is a base thought in feminist theory. Her economic independence makes her a feminist. In the article before many speakers stated that feminism was a women being independent. Working for her own money would cause her to be independent, therefore a feminist. Not to say that all working women are feminists, but in some sense one would believe there would be at least a hint of feminism in the female working class.
5. I believe that feminism is when a women depends on no one but herself. She thinks for herself, works for herself, believes in herself, and she does not need anyone, especially a man, to back her up on those. A women is a feminist when she fights for the rights and privileges of her own kind. My favorite definition that came from the feminism convention is Edwin Bjorkman's response, “a women should have the right to be a full-fledged personality and not merely a social unit.” (461) For the longest time women were perceived to be social homemakers, with no life outside the home or occasional book club meeting. Women were perceived to have certain capabilities and none other. If a woman had showed that she did, she was rejected by society. Women finally struck out of that mold when feminism was introduced, and it gained many rights for women then and in the future. Feminism is the action of breaking out of that mold.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
Blog # 9
Textbook: Chapter 6
1. The United States was regarding as new and rich world to those who did not live there. That is why immigrants migrated to the US. Women from all over Europe and Asia traveled to the US for better opportunities, higher wages, independence, and hopefully a chance at true love. Upon entering the Uniter States though, life was different than what the expected. Women worked in factories or as servants and still received low wages for their hard work, similar to men. Men as well traveled from all of the world to find better wages and opportunities only to be kept down under the hand of the whites. What men did not have to suffer from was the likelihood of being forced into prostitution were often forced into a life of prostitution just to make enough to survive. Men also usually came to the Uniter States to work temporarily and then return home. Wages were higher than in the countries they called home so they would make the trip to the US and work just for the money to take back home to their families. Men and women immigrants alike suffered from the low wages and difficult, harsh labor, but it was the women that suffered more from prostitution.
2. Women involved in these three movements all had one common goal but different reasons to join. They all wanted equality, but they joined the group that would help in the fight for what they most believed in. The industrial protest called for higher wages, better working conditions and a better equality in the factories. This protest included both men and women and was for the bettering of all factories nationwide. The populist movement consisted of farmers of the South that were in debt. This included white non-elite women and black women. Finally, the settlement house movement was the idea to help immigrants learn the values and culture of United States. This movement also helped immigrant women in their daily lives. All three were designed to better women and men in the whole nation and called for reforms of women's lives.
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Source Interpretation
Textbook document
3. Addams wrote about the two different spectrums which the saw: The rich and the poor. She viewed the rich as living in particular parts of town, such as the Hull House, because there were other rich people living there as well. She viewed the poor as lazy and that is why they were poor. The poor view the wealthy as the landlords and those who are charitable. They believe that the landlords unkindly ways are to just make money. The charitable wealthy people are looking down on the poor and handing out money because they feel sorry for they. Because the poor feel these ways towards the rich they are often disrespectful and cold toward them. In the act of trying to become more like the rich by wearing cheaper versions of the fancy clothes they wear, the poor lose their identities and their ethical standards. The rich are confused after they donate to the poor because the poor still view them rudely, and are not very thankful.
4. Addams realized that people were different from one another and always would be. The social structure made them different. As a settlement house volunteer she realized the ways of the social structure and that the poor was poor not because that they were lazy but because they had no choice. It was society's fault for why the rich were rich and the poor were poor. The wealthy had control of the money and they were the ones that employed the poor and kept their wages low. Addams understood better this system with help of their Hebrew religion
Monday, April 7, 2008
Blog # 8
Textbook: Chapter 5
1. The significance in women's wage labor was that women were starting to be allowed into labor unions. Many women such as Leonora Barry and Mary Kenney were even appointed by unions to form women branches. Women fought for eight hour work days so that they would be able to go home and take care of families. Hypocritically, men did not want women to work at all, yet factory owners and owners of other companies men worked for would not allow for their salaries to be enough to cover at home expenses. One man said that women workers were unnecessary and an economic disadvantage (290).Working men and women aided the economic growth after the Civil War, increasing the wealth of the the upper-class business and factory owners. In turn, this new wealth allowed for more leisures and expenses for the upper- and middle-class women.
Textbook: Chapter 6
2. As white American settlers moved into the West, Native Americans were pushed out. The book describes how awful the whites treated Native Americans, often murdering and masacaring whole tribes of women, children, infants and men. The Native American women had to experience the suppression of the white man first hand. The first thing you notice about the three girls in the pictures is that they are not smiling. But what do they have to smile about? They have been taken away from their parents and tribe and have been forced to learn the ways of the white Americans' values, morals, language, and education. The Native American girls have physically learned the new values and dress, but they are still attached to their old ways.
Source Interpretation
Textbook document
1. Bessie Van Vorst meets many different girls in the factory that are there for varias reasons. Some work for their own pleasure, some work because they need to support their families. Many women were working to try to gain independences in hopes of gaining more rights and freedoms. They worked for spending money because their parents were fine with their money and could support their family comfortably. Many women though were working to support their large families and unworkable parents. Three girls were working to support their mother and to pay for the thirteen dollar a month rent, groceries and coal to keep them warm. Women's responses varied because no woman's family history, economic status, and needs were the same.
2. Von Vorst concludes “ There will be no strikes among them so long as the question of wages is not equally vital to them all...” (315). This means that since all the women are working for different reasons they as a group do not want the same things. Some women work for the littlest pay just so they can have extra spending money. Then there are the women who work themselves to death for as much as pay as their employer will allow them. Collectively they are unwilling to fight for themselves because no two women in the factory want the same thing. This idea of Von Vorst's is definitely a major factor to why working women are passive.
1. The significance in women's wage labor was that women were starting to be allowed into labor unions. Many women such as Leonora Barry and Mary Kenney were even appointed by unions to form women branches. Women fought for eight hour work days so that they would be able to go home and take care of families. Hypocritically, men did not want women to work at all, yet factory owners and owners of other companies men worked for would not allow for their salaries to be enough to cover at home expenses. One man said that women workers were unnecessary and an economic disadvantage (290).Working men and women aided the economic growth after the Civil War, increasing the wealth of the the upper-class business and factory owners. In turn, this new wealth allowed for more leisures and expenses for the upper- and middle-class women.
Textbook: Chapter 6
2. As white American settlers moved into the West, Native Americans were pushed out. The book describes how awful the whites treated Native Americans, often murdering and masacaring whole tribes of women, children, infants and men. The Native American women had to experience the suppression of the white man first hand. The first thing you notice about the three girls in the pictures is that they are not smiling. But what do they have to smile about? They have been taken away from their parents and tribe and have been forced to learn the ways of the white Americans' values, morals, language, and education. The Native American girls have physically learned the new values and dress, but they are still attached to their old ways.
Source Interpretation
Textbook document
1. Bessie Van Vorst meets many different girls in the factory that are there for varias reasons. Some work for their own pleasure, some work because they need to support their families. Many women were working to try to gain independences in hopes of gaining more rights and freedoms. They worked for spending money because their parents were fine with their money and could support their family comfortably. Many women though were working to support their large families and unworkable parents. Three girls were working to support their mother and to pay for the thirteen dollar a month rent, groceries and coal to keep them warm. Women's responses varied because no woman's family history, economic status, and needs were the same.
2. Von Vorst concludes “ There will be no strikes among them so long as the question of wages is not equally vital to them all...” (315). This means that since all the women are working for different reasons they as a group do not want the same things. Some women work for the littlest pay just so they can have extra spending money. Then there are the women who work themselves to death for as much as pay as their employer will allow them. Collectively they are unwilling to fight for themselves because no two women in the factory want the same thing. This idea of Von Vorst's is definitely a major factor to why working women are passive.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Blog # 7
Textbook: Chapter 5
1. The women of the North wanted freedom for the black women and men of the South whereas white women in the South wanted to keep their slaves. This is what divided them most. Southern women were not seen the same way as Yankee women were. This made for lots of hostility between the two. Black women in the North were free while black women in the South, of course, were not. Just like the men, the women fought against themselves. Where the lived determined who they stood for during the war. Women were fighting against women during the Civil War because they were standing behind their men and doing what was right for each.
2. For blacks the “New South” was their beginning of a new life. They were now considered free, but where were they to go now? Many families stayed on the white plantations because they had no where else to go. When they didn't stay they had tough times ahead, establishing a residence and a family. Many men and women tried to search for family and loved ones that had been sold years earlier only to find out their children had no recollection of them and their loved ones had moved one. Blacks did have success in pursuing an education though. Northern white and black women teachers moved down to educated men and women alike. Colleges started to form as well. Since black men under the 14th and 15th Amendment were granted their rights to vote, they expressed these by electing blacks into local government positions. These angered white women who had been fighting for their right to vote for decades and saw it as an insult. Since their black slaves were freed white women now had to do most of their household work on their own. Especially the elite, women now were forced to either pay for black workers or learn to do it themselves. They had a hard to coping with their new work. Middle class women on the other hand were already use to doing everything for themselves and had little problems adjusting to the emancipation of blacks.
Source Interpretation
Textbook document
1. Thomas Moss and his two associates were lynched for their ability to make money. They angered the white store owner because now that they were not the white men's money makers, they were their own. The white store owner thought it was insulting that he had competition with a black man. What Wells discovered after that day the three entrepreneurs lost their lives was that white men lynched blacks because of their freedom and success and covered it up with rapes and assaults of white men. Because blacks were frequently becoming successful, therefor a threat, white men had to find reasons to limit them.
2. The lynching of blacks was due to the rapes of white women and children and assaults on white men. Wells determined that this was just a cover up reason to limit black people among the South. She found that many of the blacks that were lynched were becoming wealthier and more powerful than expected and white men wanted to “keep the ni—er down” (308). (I do not like using that degrading n word, sorry) She also thought that many of the rapes were not rapes at all, but that they were wanted relationships, not forced. Since women were not allowed to speak out against a white man they were unable to help save a black man from dieing. Wells thought that many white women and black men's relationships were romantic but to save the reputation of the women, white men were forced to lynch those responsible.
Wells states “ I also found that what the white men of the South practiced as all right for himself, he assumed to be unthinkable in white women.” (1308-9) What Wells means is that during the antebellum South white men found themselves in relationships with black women and either sold off their children as slaves or put them in the North to be freed. With that, men were able to have sexual relations with black women, but it was “unthinkable” for a white woman to have a sexual relationship with a black man. White men were not lynched for raping black women, but on the very assumption that a black man was raping a white women, he was lynched, no questions asked or trial set forth.
1. The women of the North wanted freedom for the black women and men of the South whereas white women in the South wanted to keep their slaves. This is what divided them most. Southern women were not seen the same way as Yankee women were. This made for lots of hostility between the two. Black women in the North were free while black women in the South, of course, were not. Just like the men, the women fought against themselves. Where the lived determined who they stood for during the war. Women were fighting against women during the Civil War because they were standing behind their men and doing what was right for each.
2. For blacks the “New South” was their beginning of a new life. They were now considered free, but where were they to go now? Many families stayed on the white plantations because they had no where else to go. When they didn't stay they had tough times ahead, establishing a residence and a family. Many men and women tried to search for family and loved ones that had been sold years earlier only to find out their children had no recollection of them and their loved ones had moved one. Blacks did have success in pursuing an education though. Northern white and black women teachers moved down to educated men and women alike. Colleges started to form as well. Since black men under the 14th and 15th Amendment were granted their rights to vote, they expressed these by electing blacks into local government positions. These angered white women who had been fighting for their right to vote for decades and saw it as an insult. Since their black slaves were freed white women now had to do most of their household work on their own. Especially the elite, women now were forced to either pay for black workers or learn to do it themselves. They had a hard to coping with their new work. Middle class women on the other hand were already use to doing everything for themselves and had little problems adjusting to the emancipation of blacks.
Source Interpretation
Textbook document
1. Thomas Moss and his two associates were lynched for their ability to make money. They angered the white store owner because now that they were not the white men's money makers, they were their own. The white store owner thought it was insulting that he had competition with a black man. What Wells discovered after that day the three entrepreneurs lost their lives was that white men lynched blacks because of their freedom and success and covered it up with rapes and assaults of white men. Because blacks were frequently becoming successful, therefor a threat, white men had to find reasons to limit them.
2. The lynching of blacks was due to the rapes of white women and children and assaults on white men. Wells determined that this was just a cover up reason to limit black people among the South. She found that many of the blacks that were lynched were becoming wealthier and more powerful than expected and white men wanted to “keep the ni—er down” (308). (I do not like using that degrading n word, sorry) She also thought that many of the rapes were not rapes at all, but that they were wanted relationships, not forced. Since women were not allowed to speak out against a white man they were unable to help save a black man from dieing. Wells thought that many white women and black men's relationships were romantic but to save the reputation of the women, white men were forced to lynch those responsible.
Wells states “ I also found that what the white men of the South practiced as all right for himself, he assumed to be unthinkable in white women.” (1308-9) What Wells means is that during the antebellum South white men found themselves in relationships with black women and either sold off their children as slaves or put them in the North to be freed. With that, men were able to have sexual relations with black women, but it was “unthinkable” for a white woman to have a sexual relationship with a black man. White men were not lynched for raping black women, but on the very assumption that a black man was raping a white women, he was lynched, no questions asked or trial set forth.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Blog # 6
Textbook: Chapter 4
1. During the expansion of the United States women of all ethnicities were burdened with new experiences. Most were not good. Native Americans feared the traveling white settlers for assignations among their fellow tribes were common. Women white and Indian were afraid of the opposite race during the nights. This is something that white women living on the east coast rarely had to fear. When native tribes were attacked many young women were seized to become slaves and prostitutes. Women in the traveling wagons experienced a life like never before. Diseases killed off many of the pack, they still had to perform all, if not more, of the domestic responsibilities and even gave child birth during the six month or longer journey. Once in California though, women set off to make a name for themselves. Many women even traveled alone to start a new life. Women ran boarding houses and food or laundry services, earning fairly good pay. Still, some women became prostitutes, but American women shared this occupation with French, Spanish, Native American and Chinese women as well. Chinese women were captured from China and sold in America as indentured servants and prostitutes. Few out lived their term and were able to marry. Because of the diseases that men carried, prostitute women were very unfertile and didn't live very long.
2. Since women were becoming more independent economically, they also became more independent religiously. Women started becoming more religiously involved which allowed them to speak their mind more freely. They spoke out about reform activities that would help benefit their communities presently and in the future. Many men drank themselves into oblivion so many women and children suffered. Women wanted reforms on alcohol laws preventing their husbands from abusing them. They also wanted more rights concerning their health, including contraception, voting, and laws allowing them more economic independence.
Source Interpretation
Textbook document “Maria Angustias De La Guerra Ord”
1. Maria was both curious and fearful of the strangers because she was unsure if they would be able to figure out her secret. She was curious about the way the solider will respond to her answers. She does not give the solider any answers on the whereabouts of the fugitive she is harboring and she was wondering whether or not he will be able to see if she is lieing or not. She is most fearful that she will be caught and punished. She is harboring a fugitive within feet of the solider and being caught could have been easy. She is able to conceal this fear and curiosity by simple asking a questions. If this man is caught he is sure to go to jail or worst and since she knows how awful that experience is because of her own two brothers then concealing her secret and emotions is no problem for her.
2. The absence of men is the strength that Maria draws on. Her husband is away from home so she was the authority of the dwelling. In the same way that white women became “deputy husband” when the men were not home, she becomes the main source of strength and authority. She draws strength from her husband being away. He is not there to say no, therefore she was no one to report her actions to. She draws courage from the fact that she is helping saving a mans life as well. Her two brothers are both in prison for no reason. She is upset about this and if being able to save one man's life from the suffering her brothers have to face then the chance of being caught is worth it.
1. During the expansion of the United States women of all ethnicities were burdened with new experiences. Most were not good. Native Americans feared the traveling white settlers for assignations among their fellow tribes were common. Women white and Indian were afraid of the opposite race during the nights. This is something that white women living on the east coast rarely had to fear. When native tribes were attacked many young women were seized to become slaves and prostitutes. Women in the traveling wagons experienced a life like never before. Diseases killed off many of the pack, they still had to perform all, if not more, of the domestic responsibilities and even gave child birth during the six month or longer journey. Once in California though, women set off to make a name for themselves. Many women even traveled alone to start a new life. Women ran boarding houses and food or laundry services, earning fairly good pay. Still, some women became prostitutes, but American women shared this occupation with French, Spanish, Native American and Chinese women as well. Chinese women were captured from China and sold in America as indentured servants and prostitutes. Few out lived their term and were able to marry. Because of the diseases that men carried, prostitute women were very unfertile and didn't live very long.
2. Since women were becoming more independent economically, they also became more independent religiously. Women started becoming more religiously involved which allowed them to speak their mind more freely. They spoke out about reform activities that would help benefit their communities presently and in the future. Many men drank themselves into oblivion so many women and children suffered. Women wanted reforms on alcohol laws preventing their husbands from abusing them. They also wanted more rights concerning their health, including contraception, voting, and laws allowing them more economic independence.
Source Interpretation
Textbook document “Maria Angustias De La Guerra Ord”
1. Maria was both curious and fearful of the strangers because she was unsure if they would be able to figure out her secret. She was curious about the way the solider will respond to her answers. She does not give the solider any answers on the whereabouts of the fugitive she is harboring and she was wondering whether or not he will be able to see if she is lieing or not. She is most fearful that she will be caught and punished. She is harboring a fugitive within feet of the solider and being caught could have been easy. She is able to conceal this fear and curiosity by simple asking a questions. If this man is caught he is sure to go to jail or worst and since she knows how awful that experience is because of her own two brothers then concealing her secret and emotions is no problem for her.
2. The absence of men is the strength that Maria draws on. Her husband is away from home so she was the authority of the dwelling. In the same way that white women became “deputy husband” when the men were not home, she becomes the main source of strength and authority. She draws strength from her husband being away. He is not there to say no, therefore she was no one to report her actions to. She draws courage from the fact that she is helping saving a mans life as well. Her two brothers are both in prison for no reason. She is upset about this and if being able to save one man's life from the suffering her brothers have to face then the chance of being caught is worth it.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Blog #5
Textbook: Chapter 3
1. White women and black women in the south led completely different lives. Elite women in the south prided themselves in their lack of responsibilities and excessive time for leisure. They were seen as dainty women who need not to participate in labor in or outside the home. Even child rearing was their slaves' responsibilities. Non-elite white women worked along side their families in the plantations due to the lack of funds for slaves and did not have leisure time as did the elite women. They also raised their own children. Black women as slaves were not even considered women. There was no divider between men and women's work in the field. Some black women did housework and raised the white women's children Black women were more likely to raise a white women's child than their own. They were often separated from black men and even if they did have children it was very likely that they would be separated in selling. White men often sexually abused their females slaves and if the women and child survived the child took on its mother's status. The opposite case very rarely occurred.
2.Often white families and their slaves developed a personal relationship. In the case of Phyllis Wheatley her poems showed excellence and because of her close ties to her masters, she was able to publish her work and was also freed. Since this often happened, slaves came to look up to and rely on their masters for protection and stability. Harriet Jacobs is a case where none of the above was granted to her. Her master abused her to a breaking point at a very young age. Since she was seen as “the other woman” to her master's wife Harriet was regarded with disdain. The wife was jealous and angry over her husband's affair, but since she was the wife to a plantation farmer she had no ability to do anything about it. Harriet Jacobs story was not unique. Her words depict a dark picture of a women slave's experiences is this era.
Textbook document
1 .Some assumptions about black people may be that they are not very smart or have feelings. Both these stories proved that assumption wrong. In the first story, William and Ellen were very smart and were able to trick the system. Ellen dressed as a white man, spoke and interacted with white men and still outsmarted the men, as a woman. They used their master's adultery as their way out. Because their master had an affair with a slave, Ellen's skin was very pale and was easily mistaken as a white person. They used this mishap to their advantage. The other story showed us how a tear in a bond can change one's attitude. The slave in the second story was devastated when he found out he had been sold because he had been seeing a slave woman on another plantation and had a child with her. These two stories depict slaves with emotions and intelligence which, contrary to popular belief at the time, slaves had neither.
2. Memory and placement plays a great role in any story told. Since the Craft's story is their own the accounts illustrated in the story will be much more authentic. They have much more memory of what they themselves did and said. Polly Shine on the other hand is retelling a story about another slave. These facts may be distorted due to several reasons. She may have or may not have witnessed first hand what happened with the slave in her story, contrary to the Craft's experiences. Shine's interview took place seven decades after the fact, while Crafts' was only one. The amount of time passed and the placement in a story will affect the credibility of a retold story.
1. White women and black women in the south led completely different lives. Elite women in the south prided themselves in their lack of responsibilities and excessive time for leisure. They were seen as dainty women who need not to participate in labor in or outside the home. Even child rearing was their slaves' responsibilities. Non-elite white women worked along side their families in the plantations due to the lack of funds for slaves and did not have leisure time as did the elite women. They also raised their own children. Black women as slaves were not even considered women. There was no divider between men and women's work in the field. Some black women did housework and raised the white women's children Black women were more likely to raise a white women's child than their own. They were often separated from black men and even if they did have children it was very likely that they would be separated in selling. White men often sexually abused their females slaves and if the women and child survived the child took on its mother's status. The opposite case very rarely occurred.
2.Often white families and their slaves developed a personal relationship. In the case of Phyllis Wheatley her poems showed excellence and because of her close ties to her masters, she was able to publish her work and was also freed. Since this often happened, slaves came to look up to and rely on their masters for protection and stability. Harriet Jacobs is a case where none of the above was granted to her. Her master abused her to a breaking point at a very young age. Since she was seen as “the other woman” to her master's wife Harriet was regarded with disdain. The wife was jealous and angry over her husband's affair, but since she was the wife to a plantation farmer she had no ability to do anything about it. Harriet Jacobs story was not unique. Her words depict a dark picture of a women slave's experiences is this era.
Textbook document
1 .Some assumptions about black people may be that they are not very smart or have feelings. Both these stories proved that assumption wrong. In the first story, William and Ellen were very smart and were able to trick the system. Ellen dressed as a white man, spoke and interacted with white men and still outsmarted the men, as a woman. They used their master's adultery as their way out. Because their master had an affair with a slave, Ellen's skin was very pale and was easily mistaken as a white person. They used this mishap to their advantage. The other story showed us how a tear in a bond can change one's attitude. The slave in the second story was devastated when he found out he had been sold because he had been seeing a slave woman on another plantation and had a child with her. These two stories depict slaves with emotions and intelligence which, contrary to popular belief at the time, slaves had neither.
2. Memory and placement plays a great role in any story told. Since the Craft's story is their own the accounts illustrated in the story will be much more authentic. They have much more memory of what they themselves did and said. Polly Shine on the other hand is retelling a story about another slave. These facts may be distorted due to several reasons. She may have or may not have witnessed first hand what happened with the slave in her story, contrary to the Craft's experiences. Shine's interview took place seven decades after the fact, while Crafts' was only one. The amount of time passed and the placement in a story will affect the credibility of a retold story.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Blog 4
Blog # 4
Textbook: Chapter 3
1. “True womanhood” was the ideology that men and women were complete opposites. Women were unable to run businesses, politics and physical labor, but were capable of running the family inside the home. Men on the hand, ran businesses, were political and tended to the physical hard labor. Women were the teachers of the home. “True womanhood” was a Protestant idea and therefore middle class women had a great hand in spreading this idea. Since more middle class women were able to work more at the home they were also able to preach the value of “true womanhood” to lower class women. The absence of the true woman values was what middle class thought made the poor poor ( 143).
2. The Lowell mill girls were a start of a progressive movement for women. Women working for wages was unthinkable at the time. The rise of factories that specialized in women's work made it almost destined for women. This also enabled women to provide for their families, unmarried women to provide for themselves, (just like Murray would have wanted), and for women all around to contribute to the economy. Working also gave women independence. Many young girls were able to move out and start their own lives apart from the conformity they had to face on the farms. Eventually women demanded high wages, leading to a greater opinion in the economy and an actual presence in the colonial system.
Source Interpretation
Textbook document
1. Sanger did not believe that women lacked morals, but had no other ways of support. He saw them with values and morals but those were not enough to keep them from the good money prostitution pays for. Sanger insisted that the high numbers of prostitution “reflected not the inherent lack of virtue” of the women but “rather the relentless financial pressure on poor urban women” (169). These women were succumbed to a lackluster life before entering prostitution with no love, no support and no money. They may have had virtue and morality, but reality got the best of them.
2. Sanger's thought about how women became prostitutes were that there was some force that drove them into prostitution, that women rarely did it for choice. Many women, 513 to be exact, choose to by inclination. That is only one fourth of the women surveyed, though. Most women led lives of harsh realities. Many were alcoholics and needed an outlet for their abuse problem, some were seduced and abandoned by men and couldn't support themselves. Families were also a cause of prostitution. One women's story tells of her father who accused her of being a whore while she was innocent and wouldn't give her proper treatment, and her mother was a raging alcoholic (173). She in turn fled her unloving home to find a better life. Women were not given proper wages that could possibly support them alone; they were abused and abandoned by the ones they were suppose to love and trust. Consequently, these women, trying to support themselves and their families, were publicly ridiculed and degraded. People of the day , mostly middle- and upper-class, could not possibly understand why a woman would choose a life of prostitution. And instead of trying to understand these women and help them, other women mocked and looked down upon these unfortunate souls. If wages were higher for women's work many of the women wouldn't have to prostitute themselves.
3. Sanger's conclusions mirrored the opposite values of his day. He shed light to prostitution and makes the women to be the victims and not the perpetrators. People of his day were unaware of the hardships that prostitutes were succumbed to before hand. Many saw these women as valueless and had a lack of spiritual awareness. Middle- and upper-class women saw them as lacking the “true womanhood” values. In actuality many did, but had no means of support. Sanger saw past the prostitute label and saw what was really the problem and tried to educate others on the problem. He saw not that it was a free willed choice, but a forced and involuntary one.
Textbook: Chapter 3
1. “True womanhood” was the ideology that men and women were complete opposites. Women were unable to run businesses, politics and physical labor, but were capable of running the family inside the home. Men on the hand, ran businesses, were political and tended to the physical hard labor. Women were the teachers of the home. “True womanhood” was a Protestant idea and therefore middle class women had a great hand in spreading this idea. Since more middle class women were able to work more at the home they were also able to preach the value of “true womanhood” to lower class women. The absence of the true woman values was what middle class thought made the poor poor ( 143).
2. The Lowell mill girls were a start of a progressive movement for women. Women working for wages was unthinkable at the time. The rise of factories that specialized in women's work made it almost destined for women. This also enabled women to provide for their families, unmarried women to provide for themselves, (just like Murray would have wanted), and for women all around to contribute to the economy. Working also gave women independence. Many young girls were able to move out and start their own lives apart from the conformity they had to face on the farms. Eventually women demanded high wages, leading to a greater opinion in the economy and an actual presence in the colonial system.
Source Interpretation
Textbook document
1. Sanger did not believe that women lacked morals, but had no other ways of support. He saw them with values and morals but those were not enough to keep them from the good money prostitution pays for. Sanger insisted that the high numbers of prostitution “reflected not the inherent lack of virtue” of the women but “rather the relentless financial pressure on poor urban women” (169). These women were succumbed to a lackluster life before entering prostitution with no love, no support and no money. They may have had virtue and morality, but reality got the best of them.
2. Sanger's thought about how women became prostitutes were that there was some force that drove them into prostitution, that women rarely did it for choice. Many women, 513 to be exact, choose to by inclination. That is only one fourth of the women surveyed, though. Most women led lives of harsh realities. Many were alcoholics and needed an outlet for their abuse problem, some were seduced and abandoned by men and couldn't support themselves. Families were also a cause of prostitution. One women's story tells of her father who accused her of being a whore while she was innocent and wouldn't give her proper treatment, and her mother was a raging alcoholic (173). She in turn fled her unloving home to find a better life. Women were not given proper wages that could possibly support them alone; they were abused and abandoned by the ones they were suppose to love and trust. Consequently, these women, trying to support themselves and their families, were publicly ridiculed and degraded. People of the day , mostly middle- and upper-class, could not possibly understand why a woman would choose a life of prostitution. And instead of trying to understand these women and help them, other women mocked and looked down upon these unfortunate souls. If wages were higher for women's work many of the women wouldn't have to prostitute themselves.
3. Sanger's conclusions mirrored the opposite values of his day. He shed light to prostitution and makes the women to be the victims and not the perpetrators. People of his day were unaware of the hardships that prostitutes were succumbed to before hand. Many saw these women as valueless and had a lack of spiritual awareness. Middle- and upper-class women saw them as lacking the “true womanhood” values. In actuality many did, but had no means of support. Sanger saw past the prostitute label and saw what was really the problem and tried to educate others on the problem. He saw not that it was a free willed choice, but a forced and involuntary one.
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