Voices of Reform: Women's Role in the Abolitionist Movement
Violating conventional mores, women in the North take the abolitionists' cause to their neighborhoods, asking people to join them in signing anti-slavery petitions. Because of slavery's impact on family life and personal dignity, a few women begin s...
Worlds Apart: Experience of the Poor. The
The contrast between the lives of the wealthy and their servants underscores the widening gap between rich and poor. The life of the exploited--the hours they work, the jobs they are asked to do, the conditions they live in--are not what any person ...
Working Women in Colonial America
American history professor Alice Kessler-Harris says that, during the period of "proto industrialization," things changed in the North when women became more engaged in what she calls "entrepreneurial activities." In the South, those women who didn'...
Women at Work
American history professor Alice Kessler-Harris explains that, in the early twentieth century, two-thirds of native-born White women worked exclusively in the home, while African-American women tended to work outside the home in greater numbers.
Women and the Industrial Revolution
American history professor Alice Kessler-Harris explains that the Industrial Revolution brought advantages and disadvantages for women. Professor Kessler-Harris says that with the advent of textile factories, "...industrialization occurs on the back...
Women and Property in Colonial America
American history professor Alice Kessler-Harris says that, as regards property ownership, women during colonial times were in a very vulnerable position when a husband died and, sometimes, even when a father died. "For the most part, in the early co...
Family History: Family in Colonial America
In some ways, the family unit in colonial times played much the same role that it does today, but there are some notable differences. For example, the colonial era family took on many roles generally played today by public agencies. There was als...
1920s...Beyond the Glitter, The: Women and Minorities in the Workplace
Half a million African-American workers who migrated from the rural South struggle to retain their positions in the decade of the 1920s. Unions do not attempt to enroll black workers. Although there are black teachers, nurses, and entrepreneurs, bla...