American Women's Movement, 1945-2000: A Brief History with Documents
The American women’s movement was one of the most influential social movements of the twentieth century. Beginning with small numbers, the women’s movement eventually involved tens of thousands of women and men. Longstanding ideas and habits came under scrutiny as activists questioned and changed the nation’s basic institutions, including all branches of government, the workplace, and the family. Nancy MacLean’s introduction and collection of primary sources engage students with the most...
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The American women’s movement was one of the most influential social movements of the twentieth century. Beginning with small numbers, the women’s movement eventually involved tens of thousands of women and men. Longstanding ideas and habits came under scrutiny as activists questioned and changed the nation’s basic institutions, including all branches of government, the workplace, and the family. Nancy MacLean’s introduction and collection of primary sources engage students with the most up-to-date scholarship in U.S. women’s history. The introduction traces the deep roots of the women’s movement and demonstrates the continuity from women’s activism in the labor movement and New Deal networks, the black civil rights movement, and the peace movement to the height of Second Wave feminism and into the Third Wave. The primary sources reflect the social breadth and depth of the movement. Dispelling the misconception that the American women’s movement was solely a white, middle-class cause, the documents include the voices of women of all ages, classes, and ethnicities. Topics addressed range from wage discrimination, peace activism, housework and childcare, sexuality, and reproductive rights to welfare, education, socialism, violence against women, and more. Document headnotes, a chronology of the women’s movement, questions for consideration, a selected bibliography, and index support student learning, classroom discussion, and further research.
Foreword Preface PART ONE INTRODUCTION: A MOVEMENT THAT CHANGED A NATION The Impact of Activism The Long Women’s Movement The Chilling Effects of the Red Scare Civil Rights Organizing Offers a Way Forward The New Feminism of the "Second Wave" Changing Culture and Policy The Conservative Backlash Carrying on in a Polarized Era American Feminists on a Global Stage PART TWO THE DOCUMENTS1. Congress of American Women, "The Position of the American Woman Today," 19462. Edith M. Stern, "Women are Household Slaves," 19493. United Auto Workers, "A Union Protects Its Women Members," 19554. Daughters of Bilitis, "Purpose of the Daughters of Bilitis," 1955 5. Ella Baker, "Developing Leadership among Other People," in Civil Rights 19606. Ethol Barol Taylor, "‘There was such a feeling of sisterhood’ in Working for Peace," 19627. President’s Commission on the Status of Women, "Invitation to Action," 1963 8. Pauli Murray, "Women’s Rights Are a Part of Human Rights," 19649. National Organization of Women, "Statement of Purpose," 196610. Kathie Sarachild, "A Program for Feminist ‘Consciousness Raising’," 1968 11. Margaret Cerullo, "Hidden History: An Illegal Abortion," 196812. National Organization for Women, "Why Feminists Want Child Care," 196913. Alice de Rivera, "On De-Segregating Stuyvesant High School," 196914. The Feminists, "Women: Do You Know the Facts about Marriage?," 1969 15. Gainesville Women’s Liberation, "What Men Can Do for Women’s Liberation," 197016. Young Lords Party, "Position Paper on Women," 1970 17. Pat Mainardi, "The Politics of Housework," 1970 18. A Women’s Health Collective, "The Male-Feasance of Health," 197019. Susan Griffin, "Rape Is a Form of Mass Terrorism," 197020. Radicalesbians, "The Woman-Identified Woman," 197021. First National Chicana Conference, "Workshop Resolutions," 197122. Johnnie Tillmon, "Welfare is a Women’s Issue," 197223. Chicago Women’s Liberation Union, "Socialist Feminism: A Strategy for the Women’s Movement," 197224. Phyllis Schlafly, "What’s Wrong with ‘Equal Rights’ for Women?," 197225. Susan Jacoby, "Feminism in the $12,000-a-Year Family," 1973 26. Margaret Sloan, "Black Feminism: A New Mandate," 197427. Letha Scanzoni, "For the Christian, The Idea of Human Freedom Shouldn’t be Threatening," 1976 28. Anonymous, "Letter from a Battered Wife," ca. 197629. Deirdre Silverman, "Sexual Harassment Begins with Hiring Procedures," 197630. Combahee River Collective, "A Black Feminist Statement," 1977 31. Men Allied Nationally for the Equal Rights Amendment, "Ways Men Can Benefit," 197832. Mitsuye Yamada, "Asian Pacific American Women and Feminism," 197933. Jerry Falwell, "Rise up against the Tide of Permissiveness and Moral Decay," 198034. Bernice Johnson Reagon, "Coalition Politics: Turning the Century," 198135. Yoichi Shimatsu and Patricia Lee, "Dust and Dishes: Organizing Workers," 198936. Jyotsna Vaid, "Seeking a Voice: South Asian Women’s Groups in North America," 198937. Laurie Ouellette, "Building the Third Wave: Reflections of a Young Feminist," 199238. "PFLAG Supports Gay and Lesbian Children," 1994 39. Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, "Women’s Rights Are Human Rights," 199540. Jennifer Baumgartner and Amy Richards, "A Day without Feminism," 2000 Appendixes A Chronology of the American Women’s Movement, 1945-2000 Questions for Consideration Selected Bibliography Index
