Description
Book SynopsisFollowing on her history of the women's movement in America that took the story to 1876, Jean Matthews's new book chronicles the changing fortunes and transformations of the organized suffrage movement, from its dismal period of declining numbers and campaign failures to its final victory in the Nineteenth Amendment that brought women the vote. Ms. Matthews's engaging narrative recaptures the personalities and ideas that characterized the movement in these years. She draws deft portraits and analyzes the intellectual currents—in politics, the economy, sexuality, and social thought—that competed for women's commitment. And she shows how new leadership and new strategies at last brought success in the long struggle during which many feminist leaders had grown old. The Rise of the New Woman emphasizes the historical contexts, including progressivism, in which the women's movement operated; the disputes and tensions within the movement itself; and the perennial question of who was to be included and excluded in the quest for women's rights. It also considers the often baffling aftereffects of the 1920 constitutional victory, when women found themselves wondering what to do next. With 24 black-and-white illustrations. American Ways Series. "Lively and informative."—Kirkus Reviews "Although Matthews frequently paints her historical overview in broad strokes, she nonetheless excels at filling in a fascinating background, giving new insights on lesser-known but equally influential people, facts, and situations."—Booklist
Trade ReviewThis readable overview of women's history from 1875 to 1930 traces the development and eventual success of the women's suffrage movement, from its low tide in the 1872 through its triumph, picking up where Matthews's much-praised Women's Struggled for Equality: The First Phase 1828–1876 left off. * Library Journal *
Lively and informative. * Kirkus *
...Matthews...excels at filling in a fascinating background, giving new insights on lesser-known but equally influential people, facts, and situations. * Booklist *
…Cleverly conceived, unpretentious in tone, and engaging in style…. Her book's success rests on its concision, cogency, verve, and pace. * American Historical Review *
…Engagingly written…. Appealing and informative for general audiences, useful and accessible for students, and...enjoyable...for scholars in the field. * H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online *
…An excellent synthesis of the past two decades of scholarship in the social and cultural histories of American women. -- Lois Palken Rudnick, University of Massachusetts, Boston * American Studies *
Thoroughly grounded. -- Virginia R. Boynton * The Historian *
[An] incisive look at a critical time in American history. -- Donna Seaman * Booklist *
It is cleverly conceived, unpretentious in tone, and engaging in style. * Book Review Digest *
[W]ill be useful to students seeking an overview or introduction to these issues [women's equality].... Recommended. -- C. A. Kanes, Maine College of Art * CHOICE *
Matthews describes the changes within the suffrage movement and how new leaders make the 19th Amendment a reality. The author talks about America’s “New Woman” personified by the Gibson Girl, a young lady wearing a white shirt and dark skirt who represents physical and growing financial freedom. -- Kathleen Grant Geib * Tri-Valley Herald *
Matthews chronicles the fragmentations within the women's suffrage movement[.] * New York Sun *
'The Rise of the New Woman: The Woman's Movement in America, 1875-1930' by Jean V. Matthews is a book about the changing world of women's rights, opportunities and expectations in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It tells of the winning of the vote and the aftermath of that landmark. The triumphs and tribulations of this 55-year period show the entrance and exit of many feminists and personalities who graced the struggle to attain the 19th amendment and its promise of equality.
Table of ContentsPart 1 Acknowledgements ix Part 2 THE WOMAN'S ERA 3 Chapter 3 The "restlessness" of women. "Visible" women and the city. Women on campus. Organized womanhood. Varieties of religious experience. Purifying society—the Women's Christian Temperance Union. The suffrage movement at end of century. Women and Columbian Expo Part 4 THE NEW WOMAN AND THE NEW POLITICS 36 Chapter 5 The "New Woman" as a cultural type. Education and "race suicide." The marginality of the professional woman. White-collar working girls and "bachelor women." Women as the advance guard of the welfare state. Motherhood triumphant and dependent. Part 6 THINKING ABUOT THE WOMAN QUESTION 67 Chapter 7 The problem of the universal dominance of men. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Matilda Joslyn Gage challenge the churches and the Bible. Darwinism and the evolutionary paradigm. The "reproductive sacrifice" and eugenics. Charlotte Perkins Gilman and the dysfun Part 8 FEMINISM AND THE PROBLEM OF SEX 96 Chapter 9 Marriage and careers. The emergence of "feminism." Sexuality, intimacy, and remodeling relations between the sexes. New patterns of heterosexual socialbility and companionship. Elsie Clew Parsons and breaking down conventions. Margaret Sanger and the birt Part 10 WAR AND VICTORY 126 Chapter 11 The suffrage movement gains momentum. Harriot Stanton Blatch and the Equality League. The impact of English militancy and new tactics. Successful campaigns in California and New York. The "antis." Alice Paul and the "Anthony Amendment." Carrie Chapman Cat Part 12 AFTER THE VOTE 158 Chapter 13 What next? Initial successes. Backlash and stalling of the social agenda. Alice Paul and the ERA. The meaning of equality. Postmortems on feminism. Disillusions. The post-vote gender settlement. Part 14 THE FATE OF THE ERA 184 Part 15 A Note on Sources 187 Part 16 Index 205
