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Changes for women. Throughout the 1800’s there had been slow progress in women’s rights. By 1860 i New York law permitted married women to buy and sell property and spend the wages they earned.
After the Civil War women hoped that they would be given equal rights with men. But they were disappointed. The Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution gave the vote to black men but not to women. In 1868 Elizabeth Stanton and Susan Anthony started a movement to get a suffrage (right to vote) for women. The women who joined this movement were called suffragists.
The suffragists worked hard for many years to bring attention to their cause. They held meetings md marches. They protested in front of the White House. Their protests brought national attention to the cause of women’s suffrage.
World War I changed people’s thinking about women’s suffrage. Many men saw the contributions made by women during the war. Others realized that in a war fought for democracy, democracy should begin at home. President Wilson finally supported the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution which gave women the right to vote. In 1920 women all over the country voted for the first time in a presidential election.
Changes for blacks. Black soldiers returned from Europe with high hopes. They had fought bravely in the war and won many honours. They hoped that they would have equal rights with the white population.
Instead, when they returned home, they found that conditions had not improved. Many blacks who had moved to northern cities found that they were treated no better than they had been in the south. Almost everywhere they went, blacks faced discrimination.
In the summer of 1919 riots broke out in many American cities. White crowds attacked blacks, and blacks fought back. After a riot in Chicago more than 30 people were dead and hundreds wounded. There were riots in Washington, too.
The situation was made worse by the Ku Klux Klan. The former Ku Klux Klan had died out after Reconstruction. A new Klan was organized in 1915. It attracted people who did not like black Americans, Catholics, Jews and foreigners. In the mid- 1920’s the Klan had between 4 and 5 million members.
A return to normalcy. In 1920 Warren G. Harding was the Republican candidate for President. Harding said that he would help the nation “to return to normalcy”. By normalcy Harding meant that Americans would live as they had lived before the war. Many Americans did not want to take part in the affairs of other nations. They wanted to forget about problems and responsibilities. Many people liked Harding’s promise of a return to normalcy. Warren G. Harding was elected president of the United States in 1920.
