Hello, tammy3956-ga!
You can find information on the Women's Rights movement during the
1920's in the following references. Many of the selected sources
contain important dates before and after the 1920's as well, please
take a look at the links so you can form a frame of reference. I have
excerpted the information pertinent to the 1920's!
==
History of the Women's Rights Movement - "Living the Legacy: The
Women's Rights Movement 1848 - 1998."
http://www.legacy98.org/move-hist.html
After the Vote was Won
"After the vote was finally won in 1920, the organized Women's Rights
Movement continued on in several directions. While the majority of
women who had marched, petitioned and lobbied for woman suffrage
looked no further, a minority - like Alice Paul - understood that the
quest for women's rights would be an ongoing struggle that was only
advanced, not satisfied, by the vote."
"In 1919, as the suffrage victory drew near, the National American
Woman Suffrage Association reconfigured itself into the League of
Women Voters to ensure that women would take their hard-won vote
seriously and use it wisely."
"In 1920, the Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor was
established to gather information about the situation of women at
work, and to advocate for changes it found were needed. Many
suffragists became actively involved with lobbying for legislation to
protect women workers from abuse and unsafe conditions."
"In 1923, Alice Paul, the leader of the National Woman's Party, took
the next obvious step. She drafted an Equal Rights Amendment for the
United States Constitution. Such a federal law, it was argued, would
ensure that "Men and women have equal rights throughout the United
States." A constitutional amendment would apply uniformly, regardless
of where a person lived."
"The second wing of the post-suffrage movement was one that had not
been explicitly anticipated in the Seneca Falls "Declaration of
Sentiments." It was the birth control movement, initiated by a public
health nurse, Margaret Sanger, just as the suffrage drive was nearing
its victory. The idea of woman's right to control her own body, and
especially to control her own reproduction and sexuality, added a
visionary new dimension to the ideas of women's emancipation. This
movement not only endorsed educating women about existing birth
control methods. It also spread the conviction that meaningful freedom
for modern women meant they must be able to decide for themselves
whether they would become mothers, and when. For decades, Margaret
Sanger and her supporters faced down at every turn the zealously
enforced laws denying women this right. In 1936, a Supreme Court
decision declassified birth control information as obscene. Still, it
was not until 1965 that married couples in all states could obtain
contraceptives legally."
==
Timeline of Key Events in the American Women's Rights Movement
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline1.html
1919 - "The federal woman suffrage amendment, originally written by
Susan B. Anthony and introduced in Congress in 1878, is passed by the
House of Representatives and the Senate. It is then sent to the states
for ratification."
1920 - "The Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor is formed to
collect information about women in the workforce and safeguard good
working conditions for women."
Aug. 26 - "The 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the
right to vote, is signed into law by Secretary of State Bainbridge
Colby."
1921 - "Margaret Sanger founds the American Birth Control League,
which evolves into the Planned Parenthood Federation of America in
1942."
==
From "One Hundred Years toward Suffrage: An Overview." Compiled by E. Susan Barber
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/naw/nawstime.html
1918 to 1920 - "The Great War (World War I) intervenes to slow down
the suffrage campaign as some--but not all--suffragists decide to
shelve their suffrage activism in favor of "war work." In the long
run, however, this decision proves to be a prudent one as it adds yet
another reason to why women deserve the vote."
August 26, 1920 - "The Nineteenth Amendment is ratified. Its victory
accomplished, NAWSA ceases to exist, but its organization becomes the
nucleus of the League of Women Voters."
1923 - "The National Woman's Party first proposes the Equal Rights
Amendment to eliminate discrimination on the basis of gender. It has
never been ratified."
==
See "US Suffrage Movement Timeline - 1792 to 1920
http://www.rochester.edu/SBA/timeline1.html
1920 - "Henry Burn casts the deciding vote that makes Tennessee the
thirty-sixth, and final state, to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment."
August 26 - "The Nineteenth Amendment is adopted and the women of the
United States are finally enfranchised."
==
From "WOMAN'S SUFFRAGE AND ABOLITION MOVEMENT TIMELINE 1920-1979."
http://www.coax.net/people/lwf/1920_79.htm
August 1920 - "Drama switches to Tennessee - the 36th and final state
needed for ratification (19th Amendment).
10 August 1920 - "Tennessee Senate passes amendment handily: 25 to 4.
Vote in Tennessee House is too close to call."
18 August 1920 - "Vote is taken in the House -- tie is finally broken
by 24-year old Harry Burn (youngest member) who votes "Aye" because he
received a letter the previous night from his mother, a staunch
suffragist who wrote "Don't forget to be a good boy and help Mrs. Catt
put the "Rat" in ratification. One other "anti" member unexpectedly
switches his vote and the Tennessee House passes amendment 49 to 47."
26 August 1920 - "Secretary of State signs into law the 19th Amendment
thus ensuring to all women the right to vote."
2 November 1920 - "New York Times headline reads: "The greatest voting
day in the city's history"; women vote in presidential election for
the first time; Republican Warren G. Harding, supporter of woman's
suffrage, is elected president. Worst fears of opponents of women's
suffrage do not materialize; no army of women reformers go to the
polls; instead women voters show same tendency to divide along
orthodox party lines as do male voters; women voters are never able to
reform urban political machines."
1923 - "Equal Rights Amendment drafted by Alice Paul is introduced in
Congress for the first time."
==
You might want to look at the list of women in "Firsts in Women's
Achievement" from the History Channel.
http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/woman/firsts.html
Florence E. Allen-First woman judge - 1920
Hallie Ferguson - First woman governor of U. S. state (Texas) - 1924
Katherine Bement Davis-First person to conduct national survey of
sexual attitudes -1 929
==
Also read about Eugene Debs and his committment to Women's Rights:
"Debs and Women?s Rights--A Lifetime Commitment."
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:Y9WuDPCXgBUJ:www.eugenevdebs.com/pages/women.htm+1920%27s+AND+%22women%27s+rights%22&hl=en
"In 1920 Eugene V. Debs ran for the office of President of the United
States. For the fifth time Debs placed himself, his ideas, and his
ideals before the voters of America.
"This election included for the first time a whole new class of voters--women."
"The 1920 "To the Woman Voter" campaign leaflet seeks to establish
Debs?s long time commitment to women?s rights. In this it is on solid
historical ground. Throughout his life and in his varied political
careers, Debs always spoke and acted in support of bringing full
equality into the lives of women. His support of votes for women,
equal pay in the workplace, a stance against the criminalization of
prostitution, all demonstrate again Debs?s vision and, it should be
added, a willingness to suffer for his advanced views."
Read the Leaflet - "To The Woman Voter."
http://www.eugenevdebs.com/pages/vote.htm
==
Also read "August 26, 1920 - The Day the Suffrage Battle Was Won."
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/suffrage1900/a/august_26_wed.htm
==
From "Battle for Suffrage, 1848-1920." PBS
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eleanor/peopleevents/pande09.html
"The 1920s saw the demobilization of the country after World War I and
the rise of a consumer and leisure-oriented society. These two factors
contributed to foster a less hospitable decade for political reform.
The number of women in the workplace continued to rise, but very
slowly. Much more, the nature of this work was white collar, such as
typing, sales, and stenography, and reserved largely for white women
only. Although women continued to be politically active, it was not
with the single-minded fervor which the campaign for the vote had
given them."
"While suffrage did not produce the immediate results hoped for by its
supporters nor did it include minority women in the successes it did
effect, it did lay the groundwork for future women to seek out a life
of independence and public activity. Women would gradually come to
realize the power of their citizenship and their vote. The Nineteenth
Amendment, in the legacy of the Fourteenth Amendment and its granting
of citizenship to blacks, and as a predecessor of the Civil Rights Law
of the 1960s, was another stepping stone in the fight for America's
promise of equal rights for all. Women such as Eleanor Roosevelt were
awakened to a new level of political consciousness by their right to
vote. Suffrage greatly facilitated their efforts to lead public lives
and to inspire others following in their footsteps."
==
The following excerpt is from "Modern American Women: A Documentary
History," by Susan Ware. 1989 pp. 131 - 133
http://www.colby.edu/nmr/11f95.html
"But probably the main reason that women finally won the vote in 1920
was that it was now a far less radical demand than it had been in
1848. Try to imagine how nineteenth century political history would
have been revolutionized if women had actually received the vote
around the time of the Civil War. Compare that to the small ripple
that occurred when women were finally granted the vote in 1920.
Women's roles had changed dramatically since the mid-nineteenth
century, with women actively participating in work, education, and
voluntary organizations outside the home. The meaning of politics had
also changed, so that the vote was less a potent symbol of political
participation for men by 1920 than it had been at the height of
separate male political culture of the previous century."
"Although granting the vote can be seen as a conservative measure that
had little impact on women's equality, we must not underestimate what
the vote meant to the millions of women who campaigned so hard for its
attainment. To the Ònew womanÓ of the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries, it was an affront, a slap in the face, that they
were not allowed this basic democratic right. Going to the polls would
be confirmation of women's new roles as full citizens, the public
equals of men. Of course, such sentiments were more likely held by
white middle-class women, who shared most of the privileges of their
class with men except the vote. But black women and working-class
women also campaigned for the vote, seeing it as a tool that could be
useful in broader political and economic struggles. What made the
suffrage movement so powerful was that it brought together a diverse
range of individuals and organizations in a broad coalition dedicated
to a common goal. To attain that goal, women's groups pioneered in
innovative political tactics and legislative strategies that showed
that women could work together effectively on common causes. While me
may look back at the vote and see it as a fairly minor reform, women
at the time had a far different perspective."
==
Books of interest (though not restricted to the 1920's)
http://www.chipublib.org/002branches/sulzer/sulsuffrage.html
Also see the core list of books in the selections from "FEMINIST
MOVEMENTS IN THE UNITED STATES," by Sherri Barnes.
http://www.library.wisc.edu/libraries/WomensStudies/core/crfemmov.htm
==
I hope you find these references helpful!
Sincerely,
umiat
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