Women in the Gilded Age Evidence

Question 1

Evidence for social progress for women in the Gilded Age. 4 main points

Answer 1

• WCTU founded in 1874, became the largest women’s organisation in the 19th century with 150,000 members by 1890, providing women with organisational experience and public platforms.
• Women’s clubs proliferated, with the General Federation of Women’s Clubs forming in 1890 and reaching over 160,000 members by 1900.
• Women’s higher education expanded dramatically, with female college enrollment increasing from 11,000 in 1870 to 85,000 by 1900.
• The first women received PhDs (1877) and women’s colleges like Bryn Mawr (1885) were established.

Question 2

Evidence for political progress by women in the Gilded Age. 4 main points

Answer 2

• Wyoming territory granted women full suffrage in 1869 and maintained it upun statehood in 1890.
• By 1900, 4 states granted women suffrage (Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, Utah)
• NAWSA (National American Woman Suffrage Association formed in 1890, unifying the movement.
• Women gained school suffrage in 19 states by 1900.

Question 3

Evidence for economic progress for women in the Gilded Age. 4 main points.

Answer 3

• Female workforce participation increased from 15% in 1870 to 20.6% in 1900.
• Women entered new professions: the number of female doctors rose from 544 in 1870 to over 7,000 by
  1900.
• The percentage of teachers who were women increased from 66% in 1870 to 75% by 1900
• New employment opportunities emerged in department stores, as telephone operators, and in clerical
  work

Question 4

Evidence AGAINST social progress for women in the Gilded Age. 4 main points

Answer 4

• The “Cult of True Womanhood”; ideology confined women to domestic spheres.
• Progressive era reformer Jane Addams noted that even educated women were expected to abandon career ambitions for domesticity
• Women were excluded from most men’s clubs and professional organizations
• The Comstock Law (1873) restricted women’s access to information about contraception

Question 5

Evidence AGAINST political progress for women in the Gilded Age. 4 points

Answer 5

• Women remained disenfranchised in 44 states by 1900
• The Supreme Court ruled in Minor v. Happersett (1875) that the 14th Amendment did not grant women suffrage
• Women’s political activism was often dismissed as inappropriate or unwomanly
• Suffrage campaigns were repeatedly defeated in state referendums

Question 6

Evidence AGAINST economic progress for women in the Gilded Age. 5 main points

Answer 6

• Women earned approximately 50-60% of men’s wages for the same work
• Married women were banned from many professions
• Female industrial workers faced dangerous conditions with fewer protections
• By 1900, only 5% of married women were employed outside the home
• Women were excluded from labour unions in many industries

Question 7

Statistical evidence of women in the Gilded Age (5 points)

Answer 7

• In 1870, women comprised 15% of the workforce; by 1900, this had risen to 20.6%
• Female literacy rates increased from 80% in 1870 to 93% by 1900
• The wage gap remained significant, with women earning 50-60% of men’s wages
• Only 19% of women working outside the home were married in 1900
• By 1900, women comprised 98% of nurses, 70% of teachers, but only 6% of doctors and 1% of lawyers