Week 7 Discussion Assignment – 30 points total

I. Original Message (15 pts) Post a brief (approx. 250 word) message to the week’s Discussion Forum addressing one of the following questions. Be sure to use information and examples from the textbook:

[Note: there is some overlap between these two questions. #2 is in a way a more specific version of #1, but not exactly the same.]

1. Feminism before feminism. The women’s rights movements of the 1960’s are often treated as an unprecedented development that came out of nowhere, but these movements were built on foundations established earlier in different contexts. Briefly describe the state of women’s political activism in the U.S. in the generation before the 1960’s — the 1920’s through 1950’s. What were some of the key events and/or key issues that MacLean identifies as significant for understanding women’s movements before the 1960’s?

Or

2. War and women. How did World War II and the early Cold War (including the “Red Scare” at home) affect the lives of women in the United States in profound ways? What were some of the connections between these international conflicts and the American women’s movements of the post-1945 era? You may need to look at the 1960’s and 1970’s to see some of the long-term effects of these wars (this is different from question 1).

II. Response on other question (15 pts) In addition, post a short (4-6 sentence) response to someone else’s message about the OTHER question, the one you did not answer.

Answer

The feminist movement predates the 1960s, and its roots, like those of many other activist movements, can be found in other movements. Sarah Grimké, an American abolitionist from the South who discovered a new vocation via the abolition movement, is an example of such beginnings. She became aware of the ways in which women’s authority and influence were purposely curtailed, even in a movement dedicated to equality. In 1837, Grimké published the first full-length feminist treatise in the United States. The organizers of the inaugural women’s rights conference were motivated by her writing. Abolitionist vocabulary was employed by those involved in the movement. This is likely to demonstrate that the causes aren’t all that dissimilar…. Click below to purchase the full answer at $5