Women in the Progressive Era

In the 1890s, American women emerged as a major force for social reform. Millions joined civic organizations and extended their roles from domestic duties to concerns about their communities and environments. In the years between 1890 and 1920, a time of social changes, that became known as the Progressive Era. In this time era, millions of Americans organized associations to come up with solutions to the many problems that almost everyone was facing, and many of these problems were staring American women right in the face.

Once where women were to be seen and not heard soon became a thing of the past. Women began to speak out against the laws that were deliberately set against them. Throughout this time period, all women were denied the right to vote in all federal and most state held elections. Women struggled to achieve equality; equality as citizens, equality in the work place, and equality at home. During this time, Americans worked to fight corruption in government, reduce the power of big business, and improve society as a whole.

For instance, just as the Irish wanted good work and the farmers wanted a good banking system, women wanted equality. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, women and women\'s organizations worked for various rights for different groups of people. They not only worked to gain the right to vote, they also worked for political equality and for social reforms.  

But how did this all start to happen? It didn’t happen overnight, and it wasn’t a one-person battle. Women wanted the same rights as men already had. But they didn’t just stop there, women played a major role in the rise of the child labor laws, stood up for minorities, and they wanted prostitution to end. Most people who opposed woman suffrage believed that women were less intelligent and less able to make political decisions than men were. Opponents argued that men could represent their wives better than the wives could represent themselves. Also, it...