University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Women and the city, 1870-1920

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Women and the city, 1870-1920

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Content WOMEN AND THE CITY, 1870-1920
by
Margaret Gibbons Wilson
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(History)
August 1977
Copyright by Margaret Gibbons Wilson, 1977
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY PARK
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90007
This dissertation) written by
Margaret Gibbons Wilson
under the direction of lz.e:r.. .. Dissertation Com
mittee) and appro1.,ed by all £ts members, has
been presented to (lfld accepted by The Graduate
School) in partial fulfillment of require1,ients of
the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
~ ~
----·--------------···············---------·--------------···--------------···
Dean
75l
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many people have provided assistance as this
dissertation passed through its various forms and stages.
My advisor, R. David Weber, and members of my disserta
tion committee, Franklin D. Mitchell and Barbara
MacEachern, offered pertinent criticism and helpful sug
gestions. A special thanks goes to the staff of the
Otto G. Richter Library of the University of Miami for the
extensive help given me, including much-appreciated cups
of coffee and kind words at what seemed like the ends of
very long days. I would also like to thank Judy Rabkin
for helping me proofread the manuscript. Most of all, I
would like to thank my husband, David, who gave me valuable
technical and editorial advice, and much needed and appre
ciated encouragement.
. .
11
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
LIST OF TABLES
INTRODUCTION
Chapter
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
I. NINETEENTH CENTURY CHANGES IN
FAMILY DYNAMICS ...... .
• • • • • • •
II. THE CITY IN THE INDUSTRIAL AGE
• • • • •
. .
III. MARRIAGE AND FERTILITY: 1890-1920
• • • • •
iv
V
1
22
38
60 /J
IV.
v.
THE HOME.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
. 126
EMPLOYMENT.
• • • • • • • • • • •
. . .
• •
VI. WOMEN'S ORGANIZATIONS
• • • • • • • • •
. . 22
VII.
VIII.
APPENDIX
REGIONAL VARIATION, URBAN/RURAL
DIFFERENCES, AND URBANIZATION
• • • • • • •
CONCLUSIONS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ .
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
BIBLIOGRAPHY
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
. 29 5
. 315
...
l.l.l.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
1. Urban/Rural Difference in Percent of
Single Women vs. Percent Urbanized ....... 271
2. Rural/Urban Difference in Percent of
Married Women vs. Percent Urbanized ...... 273
3. Urban/Rural Difference in Percent of
Employed Women vs. Percent Urbanized ...... 275
4. Rural/Urban Difference in Child/Woman
Ratio vs. Percent Urbanized .......... 277
.
iv
1.
LIST OF TABLES
Percentage of Women Married, Fourteen
and Older and Fifteen to Twenty-four,
and Child/Woman Ratio, Aggregate
Population, 1890-1920 ....... .
• • • • •
2. Increase in Miles of Track, 1890-1902 .
• • • • •
3. Percentage of Females Fifteen or Older
Who Were Married and Child/Woman Ratio,
1890 and 1920, and Percent Change,
3
41
1890-1920, Aggregate Population ........ 61
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Percentage of Women Married in Each Age
Group and Percentage Increase, 1890-
1920, by Age Groups, for the Aggregate
Population and Native Whites of Native
Born Parents ........... .
• • • • •
Percentage of Females Fifteen or Older
Who Were Married, Aggregate Population
and Native Whites of Native Born
Parents, 1890-1920 ......... .
Percentage of Women Married in Each Age
Group and the Percentage Change in
the Proportion Married for the Aggre
gate Population and Native Whites of
Native Born Parents in Urban and Rural
Areas, 1910-1920 .......... .
Percentage Rural/Urban Difference in
Women Married, Aggregate Population
and Native Whites of Native Born
• • • •
• • • •
Parents, 1910 and 1920 ..... .
• • • • • •
Child/Woman Ratio for Urban and Rural
Areas and Percentage Change by
Decades, Aggregate and Native Wb..ite
Populations, 1890-1920 ..... .
• • • • •
63
64
66
67
68
V
9. Percentage Favorable toward Birth
Control As Reflected in Magazines
of the Era ........... .
• • • • • •
10. Mean Age at Marriage for Women
Married between 1900 and 1905
• • • • • • • •
11.
12.
Average Age at Marriage According to
Number of Years Married, College
Educated and Non-College Educated
Women , 19 0 0 . . . . • . . . . . .
• • • • • •
92
96
98
The Percentage of Married Women by
Size of City, 1890-1920 ....
• •
. . . . . 10 0
13. Native White and Aggregate Child/Woman
Ratios by Size of City, and Corre
lation Coefficients for Native Whites,
1890-1920 .... , ............. 101
14. Percentage Differences between
Communities of Different Sizes, 1920 ..... 103
15. Correlation between the Percentage of
Catholic Females or the Percentage
of Foreign Born Females and the
Aggregate Child/Woman Ratio, 1900
• •
. . . . 105
16. Correlation between Percent of Catholic
Women and (1) Fertility, (2) Economic
Function, and (3) Female Employment ..... 106
17. Correlation between Economic Function,
Marital Status, and Fertility for the
Aggregate Population, Native Whites,
and Native Whites of Native Born
Parents, 1890-1920 _ •............ 108
18. Correlation between Sex Ratio and
Marital Status, Aggregate Population
and Native Whites of Native Born
Parents, 1890-1920 .•............ 111
19. Number of Persons Employed As Domestics
and Servants per 1,000 Population,
1870-1920 .................. 130
20. Number and Percent of Employed Females,
Ten Years or Older, Who Worked in
Occupations Classified As "Domestic
or Personal" or As Servants ....
• • • • •
132
.
Vl.
21. Percentage of Families Living ~n Single
Family Dwellings in Selected Cities
of 100,000 or Larger, 1890 and 1920 ..•.. 135
22. Increase in Selected Food and Clothing
Industries, 1850-1910 ...... .
• • • •
. 137
. 138 23.
24.
Retail Sales by Type of Outlet, 1869-1919
Percentage of Employed Women Sixteen
Years or Older, 1870-1920 ....
• •
25. Percentage of Women, Ten Years or Older,
Working in Urban and Rural Areas,
Aggregate Population and Native Whites
• •
. . . . 150
of Native Born Parents, 1870-1920 ...... 151
26. Percentage of Employed Women, Ten Years
or Older, by Nativity Group, 1890 and 1900 .. 153
27. Percentage of Employed Women , Sixteen or
Older, by Nativity Group in Cities of
100,000 or Larger and Smaller Sized
Areas, 1900 and 1920 ............ 154
28. The Percentage Increase in the Proportion
of Employed Women, Urban and Rural
Areas, 1870-1880 and 1890-1920, Aggre
gate Population and Native Whites of
Native Born Parents ............. 156
29. Number of Women Employed in Professional
Occupations, 1870-1920 ............ 164
30. Percentage of Total Women Employed in
White-Collar and Professional Occupa
tions Who Were in Teaching, Clerical
Work, or Sales, 1900-1920 .......... 165
31. Number and Percentage of Females Ten or
Older Engaged in Non-Agricultural
Pursuits, 1870-1920 ............. 167
32. Females Sixteen Years or Older, Total
and Employed, 1890-1920 ........... 169
33. Percent of Employed Women in Different
Age Groups, Aggregate Population and
Native Whites of Native Born Parents,
1900 and 1920 ................ 171
V11
34. Percentage That Each Age Group Is of
Total Employed in Selected Occupa
tional Categories, Aggregate
Population, 1890 and 1920 ....
• •
35. Percentage of Married Women, Sixteen or
Older, Who Were Employed, 1890 and
1920, Aggregate Population and Native
. . . . 17 3
Whites of Native Born Parents ........ 174
36. Percentage of Married Women Working, by
Age Group, 1890 and 1920, Aggregate
Population and Native Whites of
Native Born Parents, Total United
States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
37. Percentage of Women in Selected Occupa
tions Who Were Married, Aggregate
Population, 1890 and 1920 .......... 181
38. Percent Distribution, by Family Relation
ship, of Employed Women for Selected
Occupations, Aggregate Population and
Native Whites of Native Born Parents,
19 0 0 . . . . . . . . .
• • • • • • •
. . . . . 18 4
39. Percent Distribution, by Family Rela
tionship, of Employed Women for
Selected Occupations, Aggregate
Population, 1920 ........ . . .
• • •
. 185
40. Percentage of Employed Women by Size of
City, Aggregate Population and Native
Whites of Native Born Parents, 1870~
1920 . . . . . . . . . . .
• • • • •
41. Correlation between Economic Function
and Percentage of Women Employed,
Aggregate Population and Native
Whites of Native Born Parent=,
. . ~ . . 186
1870-1920 .................. 188
42. Certain Differences between Strong
Trade and Transportation Cities
and Strong Manufacturing and
Mechanical Cities 1870-1920 ..
• • •
43. Sex Ratio Found in Strong Manufacturing
and Mechanical Cities or Strong Trade
. . . . 191
and Transportation Cities 1870-1920 ..... 195
...
Vl.l.l.
,
44. Correlation between Sex Ratio and the
Percentage of Employed Women in Urban
AreaE, Aggregate Population and
Native Whites of Native Born Parents,
1870-1920 . . . . . . . . . . . • . • . . . . 197
45. Mean Sex Ratio and Mean Percentage of
Employed Women in Urban Areas, by
Region, Aggregate Population and
Native Whites of Native Born Parents,
1870-1920 .................. 198
46. Correlation between Conjugal Condition
and Percent of Women Employed in Urban
Areas, Aggregate Population and
Native Whites of Native Born Parents,
1890-1920 .................. 201
47~ Correlation between Percent of Employed
Women and Child/Woman Ratio, Aggregate
and Native White Populations, 1890-1920 ... 202
48. Divorces per 1,000 Females in Urban and
Rural Areas for Total United States and
by Region, and Percentage Increase by
Decade for Total United States, 1870-
18 90 e • e e e • e • • e e e e e e e e • • e G 209
49. Number of Divorced Women per 1,000 Women
Married or Divorced in Urban and Rural
Areas, Aggregate Population and Native
Whites of Native Born Parents, 1890-
1920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
50. Percentage Increase by Decade of Number
of Divorced Women per 1,000 Women
Married or Divorced, Urban and Rural
Areas, Aggregate Population and Native
Whites of Native Born Parents, 1890-
1920 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
51. Urban/Rural Difference with Respect to
Number of Divorced Women per 1,000
Married or Divorced Women, Aggregate
Population and Native Whites of Native
Born Parents, 1890-1920 ........... 215
52. Percentage of Women Asking for and
Receiving Alimony in Divorces Granted
to Wife, 1887-1906 ........•..... 216
.
lX
53. Percentage of Employed Women in each
Marital Class, Aggregate Population
and Native Whites of Native Born
Parents, 1890-1900 .............. 217
54. Number of Articles Indexed under the
Subject Heading, "Women's Civic
Work," 1909-1925 ............... 237
55. Percentage of Single Women, Fifteen
Years or Older, Urban and Rural
Areas, Total United States and by
Region, 1890-1920, Aggregate Popula tion and Native Whites of Native
Born Parents ...... . . . . . . . . . . . 260
56. Percentage of Married Women, Fifteen
Years or Older, Urban and Rural Areas,
Total United States and by Region,
Aggregate Population and Native Whites
of Native Born Parents, 1890-1920 ...... 262
57. Percentage of Employed Women, Urban
and Rural Areas, Total United States
and by Region, Aggregate Population
and Native Whites of Native Born
Parents, 1870-1920 w • • • • • ••••••• 264
58.
59.
Child/Woman Ratio, Urban and Rural
Areas, Total United States and by
Regions, Aggregate Population and
Native Whites, 1890-1920 ..... .
Degree of Urbanization and Percentage
Difference between the Urban and the
Rural Sectors, 1890-1920 ..... .
• •
• • • 26 6
• •
• • • 2 6 9
X
INTRODUCTION
The energetic, independent woman of culture is
frequently caricatured as the "New Woman." ...
The key-note of her character is self-reliance
and the power of initiation. She aims at being
in direct contact with
1
reality and forming her
own judgement upon it.
During the latter decades of the nineteenth
century and early years of the twentieth, gradually but
persistently the lives led by middle-class women and the
demarcation of what was considered to be their proper
sphere underwent significant alteration. Increasingly,
2
the active, more independent "New Woman" of the early
twentieth century challenged the ideal of the home
centered, submissive, pious, and dependent "True Woman"
f h
'd . h
3
o t e mi -nineteent.
Important as it is to avoid overstating the
strides women made toward equality during the early
4
decades of the twentieth century, it is equally vital
not to minimize the profound changes that occurred in
women's lives during that era. Although the economic,
political, and social gains made by women during the
period by no means heralded an age of full equality ·
between the sexes, an enlarged sphere of activity for
women eclipsed the narrow dimensions of woman's "proper
1
place" which had prevailed during the Victorian era.
For at least a portion of their lives, a growing
number of women left the insulating shelter of the home and
entered into some type of outside activity. Women's clubs,
ranging from literary to social action groups, had over a
million participants by 1914. The number of women in the
work force rose by 63.3 percent, from 14.7 percent of
women 16 or older in 1870 to 24 percent in 1920.
5
Educational opportunities for women expanded
rapidly during the era. In part, this was but one segment
of the more general growth in the nation's educational
system, but it also indicated a shift in attitude regard
ing the propriety of education for women. During the
decades following the Civil War, the secondary school
system grew rapidly. From at least as early as 1890,
females outnumbered males both in the overall student body
and as graduates of the nation's high schools. Between
1890 and 1920, females comprised approximately 55 percent
of all high school students and 60 percent of all high
6
school graduates. In 1880 women had comprised only 19.3
percent of those attending colleges, universities, and
technical schools, but by 1910, 30.4 percent of those
7
enrolled were women. Full suffrage, which in 1870 had
been limited to Wyoming and Utah, was extended to all
women by the Nineteenth Amendment, ratified in 1920.
8
2
Changes also were evident in patterns of marriage
and fertility. Despite a slightly greater proportion of
married women in 1920 than in 1890, and a general trend
toward mor youthful marriages, the child/woman ratio
declined (Table 1}. Divorces, though still involving a
tiny percentage of women, doubled between 1890 and 1920,
rising from .4 percent of all females 15 or older to .8
9
percent. Although a growing number of Americans appeared
to accept the existence of an erotic side of woman's
nature, a more visible sexuality epitomized by the flapper
seemed to have a greater impact upon American society
10
after World War I.
TABLE !.--Percentage of women married, fourteen and older
and fifteen to twenty-four, and child/woman ratio,
aggregate population, 1890 and 1920
Percent married, 14+
F2r~ent married, 15-24
Child/woman ratio
1890
59.4
27.5
685
1920
60.4
32.5
604
SOURCES: U.S., Department of Commerce, Bureau of the
Census, Statistical Abstract: Supplements, Historical
Statistics of the United States from Colonial Times to
1957 (1960); U.S., Department of Commerce, Bureau of the
Census, Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950,
vol. 2, Characteristics of the Population, pt. 1, U.S.
Summary, pp. 1-180.
NOTE: Child/woman ratio= the number of children 5
years of age or less per 1,000 women ages 20-44.
3
The transformations that were occurring in women's
lives during the late nineteenth and early twentieth cen
turies were reflected in the changing image of what were
believed to be commendable characteristics for a woman to
possess, and appropriate activities for her to engage in.
While subscribing to the idea that a certain amount of
culture was good for women, an 1850 article in Putnam's,
entitled "The American Ideal Woman," stressed that "domes-
11
ticity is [her] honor and glory." By 1880, writers of
the day described "The Transitional American Woman." This
"transitional woman" was not content to have her life focus
upon the home, but instead sought out a variety of activi-
ties and causes and ways to improve herself. "Formerly to
be a good housekeeper, an anxious mother, an obedient wife,
was the ne plus ultra of female endeavor-to be all this
for others' sake. Now it is to be more than one is for
12
one's own sake."
By the early 1890s, the first articles explicitly
speaking of the "New Woman" began to appear. In 1894,
North American Review and Cornhill Magazine discussed "The
New Woman." In 1895, Arena contained an article about
"The New Woman of the South," Outlook discussed "The New
Woman," and Review of Reviews offered "Advice to the New
Woman." By 18 97 Westminster Review described "'rhe 'New
Woman' in Her Relation to the 'New Man,'" while in 1902
Arena contained an article about "The New Woman.
1113
4
The New Woman was alternately praised or damned by
commentators of the era. To her supporters she was, in
contrast to women of the past, "more independent, better
educated, a companion to husband and children.
1114
She was
"not ashamed to know something of the administration of
city, state, or Nation.
• • •
She sees herself as part of
a group working to make the world more beautiful for
all. "
15
But to hE~ r er· tics she was younger than she
looked, dark ("for fairness usually goes with an interest
in children, and other gentle weaknesses") , very intelli
gent, not pretty, with "an aggressive air of independence. "
Moreover, she was unhappy. She failed in her attempt "to
prove that woman's mission is something higher than the
bearing of children and bringing them up.
1116
The growing acceptance of a woman more independent
and active than her mid- century predecessor was perhaps
best epitomized by the arrival of the Gibson Girl as the
feminine ideal of the 1890s. Though her skirts were long
and blouses prim, the Gibson Girl displayed a healthy
vitality whether she golfed, played tennis, swam, or just
walked along the seashore.
Her free stride, her direct glance, the arrogant
swing of her wide shoulders and the haughty tilt
of her head .... Hers was the first generation
of American women who had experienced co-education
... who had dared to think of "going to work"
. . "b h 1 . 1 "
... or ... remaining ace or gir s ...
who had used slang, played basketball, ridden a
bicycle-built-for-two.17
5
By the early 1900s, Boyd Winchester, an American
lawyer, congressman from Kentucky and United States
Consul to Switzerland, spoke quite positively about the
"recognition of the right of woman to her own develop
ment-the right of individuals to know, to learn, to per
fect themselves to the utmost of their ability, irrespec
tive of sex." He contended that "the improved mental and
physical development of the girl
• • •
[led] . . . to a
different ideal for the woman." Independence did not
exclude marriage, which Winchester viewed as "the crown
of womanhood." But the modern wife was to be "an intelli
gent companion, a moral helpmate, and equal .•• not a
plaything or a slave."
18
By 1910, Margaret Deland, New
England-born novelist and frequent contributor to Atlantic
and Harper's, spoke confidently about "The Change in the
Feminine Ideal." She described how , during her mother's
generation, a woman's life had revolved around the home,
while involvement in reform movements, except giving money
for "the heathens," was considered improper. Her own
generation and har daughter's placed much more emphasis
upon individualism and "social responsibility.
1119
Some of the changes in life style first began to
appear among younger. women. Single, middle-class women,
in increasing numbers , found their way into the array of
jobs that opened up to women during the late nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries. Young, middle-class women
6
did not generally view work as oppressive drudgery, but
rather as an avenue toward independence and increased
social contact.
20
Moreover, even for those who were not
working, the idea of a career loomed as an exciting,
d
. bl t 't
21
h h '
esira e oppor uni y. T us, young women, w o in
earlier, more sheltered generations would have almost
without question accepted the confines of marriage, were
coming of age during an era when the idea of a career was
increasingly desirable. However, since it was still
generally unacceptable for women to combine marriage with
a career, most women had to decide between the two.
Although the ultimate choice of most women might be a
home and family, many expressed a feeling of discontent
with the limitations that that decision impliea.
22
The books and articles on the "woman question"
that poured forth during the 1890s and early 1900s were
an indication of the discontent felt and expressed by
women. In response to the unrest, many people made a
concerted effort to glorify woman's role in the home and
make it appear as desirable and exciting as any other
career. Prominent educators such as Charles W. Eliot
of Harvard assured women that no task was more important
than the cultivation of fine children.
23
Numerous books
and articles extolled the wonders and satisfactions of a
woman's life in the home. Women were urged to accept the
fact that their personality and intellect had made them
7
especially suited for work in the home. Each sex had
a natural role to fulfill, and for women that role was
to bear and rear children.
24
Clergymen warned women to
perform their wondrous duty and not encroach upon the
domain of men lest they lose the reverence that men now
accorded them.
25
Despite the importuning and the attempt
to glorify the home, the number of women who were involved
with some form of activity outside of the home grew
throughout the era.
What was happening in late nineteenth and early
twentieth century America to account for the enlarging of
the accepted sphere of activity for women and the gradual
change in the image of feminine propriety? A key factor
appeared to be the phenomenal upsurge in urbanization and
industrialization that occurred between 1870 and 1920.
During that era, a nation which had been predominantly
rural became more than 50 percent urban. Some historians
have emphasized the role played by the city and indus
trialization with respect to an enlarged sphere of
activity for women. They have pointed to expanded employ
ment opportunities, the growing ease of running the urban
household, the cloak of anonymity provided by the concen
tration of people as important forces in freeing women
from their more constricted mid-nineteenth century roles.
26
Although many assertions have been made, sys
tematic study of the ways urban living affected women's
8
lives has been lacking.
In general, care has not been
taken to ascertain whether the developments were confined
to urban areas or were in fact part of larger trends
which were also present in the rural sector. The failure
to distinguish patterns of behavior which were specific
to urban areas from those which were more generally
present raises serious questions about assertions regard
ing the role played by "the city" vis a vis an expanded
h f
. . f 27
sp ere o activity or women.
This study investigates those factors which most
clearly delineated how women spent their lives for the
fifty years between 1870 and 1920. For all of the vari
ables, an attempt has been made to determine what dif
ferences, if any, existed between the life patterns
exhibited in urban and rural areas.
28
Since an extended
period of time rather than a few years or even a single
decade has been studied, it was possible to trace trends
that were present during the era. Using the information
from the study of urban and rural trends over time, it was
also possible to test some of the existing hypotheses
regarding the relationship between degree of urbanization
and the extent of difference between the urban and the
rural sectors.
29
Since, traditionally, women\s lives have centered
upon the home and family, any changes in that orientation
9
would have significant impact. Were more or fewer women
ultimately marrying? At what age did they marry? How
many children did they have? What was involved in run
ning a home? Answers to these questions provide key
indicators of how women spent their time. In addition to
studying changes that occurred to women within their
traditional sphere of the home, variables which would
indicate an enlargement beyond the confines of tradition
were examined. What types of activities involved women literary societies, reform movements, or other social and
activist groups? How widespread was employment?
The literature concerning the lives of urban
h
. 30
women as grown in recent years. But for the most part,
each study has focused upon a single city. The advantage
of the single city study is obvious: it allows for. a
penetrating investigation which a broader study does not
permit. However, the single city study has a serious
drawback insofar as the general applicability of its
findings are concerned. By approaching questions concern
ing women's lives in an urban setting from a wider per
spective, it is possible to determine whether urban life,
in general, appeared to encourage particular patterns of
behavior among the female residents.
In addition to looking at differences between the
urban and rural sectors, intercity differences were
10
investigated in an attempt to ascertain what factors
within an urban environment were influential with respect
to women's lives.
Economic activity and size of population have
generally been recognized as key delineators of inter
urban differences. Numerous studies have been made to
see how these two variables have affected particular
aspects of women's lives, especially the number of chil-
dren they have.
31
However, almost all of the studies are
for 1920 or later, and many focus upon a single census
year. Thus many of the assumptions regarding the func
tioning of certain demographic variables within cities
relied upon by historians and sociologists have come from
relatively modern studies which may or may not reflect
the pattern of earlier years.
32
By extending this study
to a consideration of how size of city and economic func
tion affect marital status, child/woman ratio, and employ
ment back to the late nineteenth century, one can ascer
tain what patterns existed between 1870 and 1920 and
determine whether those patterns correspond to ones found
in studies of more recent years.
Census sources provided valuable information
regarding the marriage, fertility, and employment patterns
of women. However, prior to 1910, information distinguish-
ing between urban and rural areas was not given. In addi-
tion, for a number of the years, information for some of
11
the variables was not presented in ready-to-use form by
33
the census. Thus much of the tabular material regard-
ing differences between the urban and rural sectors as
well as intercity differences is presented for the first
time in this study.
For the most part, this investigation has been
limited to middle-class white women. Although different
classes of women undoubtedly shared certain experiences,
they also differed in many significant ways. Working
class women, by dint of economic necessity, had never
been able to experience the protected lives that had
typified the mid-nineteenth century, middle-class woman.
The two groups likely had different perceptions of the
significance of employment. Their access to labor saving
devices, the employment of domestic help , and participa
tion in associations, literary or reform , also probably
differed. In short , to attempt to write about women, in
gene~al, without taking into account the potential sig
nificance of class differences would likely obscure
important developments and trends.
Social class is determined by a number of factors
including occupation, income, family background,and level
of education.
34
Since much of the data for this study
has been drawn from census sources , the attempt to dis
tinguish middle-class women has been shaped by categories
used in the census. One of the most important factors
12
delineating social class is occupation, and the relation
ship between occupation and nativity, an important census
classification, can be determined from census data.
Between 1870 and 1920, the middle class in the
United States underwent significant change and expansion.
To the "old middle class" of independent businessmen and
professionals was added a rapidly growing number of new
entries: salaried upper-level businessmen and profes
sionals, public service employees, clerical workers, and
1 1
35
sa espeop e. In 1870, 20 percent of the nation's labor
force was estimated to be middle class. Members of the
"old middle class" dominated, holding approximately two
thirds of all middle-class occupations. By 1920, the
middle class had grown, comprising 30 percent of the
nation's labor force. In contrast to 1870, more than 70
percent of all middle-class persons in 1920 worked in the
"new middle class" occupations.
36
In both 1890 and 1920, a higher proportion of
native whites of native born parents than members of other
nativity groups belonged to those occupational cate
gories which tended to indicate middle clast ~tatus:
professional, clerical,and much of trade. In 1890, 42.1
percent of all employed persons (excluding those in agri
culture and mining) were native whites of native born
parents. However, native whites of native born parents
were present in greater proportion in the ·middle-class
13
occupational categories, making up 68 percent of all pro
fessionals, 55 percent of all clerical workers and 52.9
percent of those in trade. In addition, 30.9 percent of
all employed native whites of native born parents (exclud
ing those in agriculture and mining) were in middle-class
occupations as compared to only 23.2 percent of native
whites of foreign born parents and 14.0 percent of foreign
born whites. The situation was similar in 1920. Forty
six percent of all employed persons (excluding those in
agriculture and mining) were native whites of native born
parents, while 62.5 percent of all professionals, 55.7
percent of all in clerical work, and 51.8 percent of those
in trade were native whites of native born parents.
By 1920, 39 percent of all employed native whites of
native born parents (excluding those in agriculture or
mining) were in middle-class occupations. For native
whites of foreign born parents and foreign born whites
the corresponding percentages were 37.9 and 21.0.
37
In cities and towns where the majority of the
inhabitants were native whites of native born parents,
the need to distinguish between the aggregate population
and native whites of native born parents obviously was not
of crucial importance. However, many of the cities of
the Northeast and Midwest had large immigrant populations,
14
and in such cities distinguishing native whites of
native born parents from the aggregate population pro
vided significant information regarding middle-class
behavior patterns. For example, in Boston in 1890, 44.5
percent of all employed persons were foreign born whites,
and only 13.4 percent of them were employed in middle
class occupations. Since foreign born whites comprised
such a large proportion of the labor force, the aggre
gate population had a total of only 24.1 percent employed
in middle-class occupations as compared with 42 percent
among native whites of native born parents. Similarly in
Chicago, foreign born whites comprised 54 percent of all
employed. There the aggregate population had only 22.5
percent in middle-class occupations, while for native
whites of native born parents the percentage was 40.7.
In 1920 the proportion of foreign born whites in both
cities had declined, but the difference between the aggre
gate population and native whites of native born parents
with respect to r~presentation in middle-class occupations
was still significant. In Chicago, 39.7 percent of the
aggregate population and 55.6 percent of native whites of
native born parents were in middle-class occupations,
while in Boston the corresponding percentages were 31.6
38
and 49.0.
In this study the category native whites of native
born parents has been used as a rough indicator of the
15
middle class. Although obviously not all native whites
of native born parents were middle class, at least in
many of the urban areas they were more likely than any
other nativity group to indicate the behavior patterns of
the middle class and for that reason have been distin
guished from the aggregate population.
What occurred in the middle class had ramifica
tions beyond class boundaries. Many of the books, maga
zines, and newspapers of the era reflected the tastes and
values of the middle class. Many government officials,
especially on the local level, had risen from the ranks
of the middle class. Much of the business community was
middle class in origin. In terms of extent of influence
if not yet in actual numbers, the middle class was coming
to dominate the American scene.
39
Therefore a study of
middle-class behavior patterns and values yields infor
mation which extends beyond class confines and presumably
reflects the dominant mores of the nation.
16
NOTES
1
Boyd Winchester, "The New Woman," Arena, April
1902, p. 367.
2
The phrase "New Woman" began to appear in the
mid-1890s in both Poole's Index to Periodical Literature
and the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature.
3
See Barbara Welter, "The Cult of True Womanhood:
1820-1860," American Quarterly 28 (Summer 1966):151-174.
4
Estelle Davis, in "The New Woman: Changing Views
of Women in the 1920s," Journal of American History 61
(September 1974) :372-393, has correctly criticized the
tendency of historians to view the 1920s as an age of full
equality for women. See also Ruth Schwartz Cowan, "Two
Washes in the Morning and a Bridge Party at Night: The
American Housewife between the vvars," Women's Studies 3
(1976) :147-172, who traces the development of the "feminine
mystique" to the years between World War I and World War
II.
5
U.S., Department of Commerce,
Census, Women in Gainful Occupations:
Joseph A. Hill, Census Monograph No. 9
Government Printing Office, 1929).
Bureau of the
1870-1920, by
(Washington, D.C.:
6
Thomas Woody, History of Women's Education in the
United States, 2 vols. (New York: Science Press, 1929;
reprint ed., New York: Octagon Books, 1966), 1:546.
Willystine Goodsell, The Education of Women:· Its s-o·cial
Background and Its Prbblems (New York: Macmillan Co.,
1924), p. 23, observed that "for forty years or more the
enrollment of girls in American High Schools has out
numbered that of boys. In 1915-1916, 54.6 percent of the
total was comprised of girls, and in 1917-1918 the per
centage of girls was more than 57." Neither Goodsell nor
Woody offers an explanation for the higher proportion of
female students. Perhaps families may have been more prone
to allow daughters to stay in school longer than sons
because working sons, even without a high school education,
could make more money than daughters. In addition, there
may have been a tendency to not want young daughters to go
out into the "unprotected" working world.
17
7
Earl Barnes, Woman in Modern Society (New York:
B. S. Huebsch, 1912), p. 91.
8
suffrage for women in Utah was temporarily lost
in 1887 and not regained until 1896.
9
U.S., Department of Commerce, Bureau of the
Census, Fourtee·nth Census of the United· Sta·te·s, 1·920:
Abstract, p. 217.
lO d' · . ld tt·
For 1scuss1ons concerning pre-War War I a 1-
tudes toward female sexuality see: James McGovern, "The
American Woman's Pre-World War I Freedom in Manners and
Morals," Journal of American History 55 (Spring 1968):
315-333; Daniel Scott Smith, nFamily Limitation, Sexual
Control and Domestic Feminism in Victorian America,
Feminist Studies 1 (Winter-Spring 1973) :40-57; Carl Degler ,
"what Ought to Be and What Was: Woman's Sexuality in the
Nineteenth Century," American Historical Review 79 (Decem
ber 1974) :1467-1490.
11
"The American Ideal Woman," Putnam's, November
1853, p. 531.
12
Kate Gannett Wells, "The Transitional American
Woman," Atlantic, December 1880, p. 824.
13
see: Ouida, "The New Woman," North American
Review, May 1894, pp. 610-619; Josephine K. Henry, "The New
Woman of the South," Arena, February 1895, pp. 353-362;
"The New Woman," Cornhill Magazine, October 1894, pp. 365-
368; "Advice to the New Woman," Review of Reviews, June
1895, pp. 84-85; Lillian Betts, "The New Woman," Outlook,
October 12, 1895, p. 587; Emma C. Hewitt, "The 'New Woman'
in Her Relation to the 'New Man,'" Westminster Review,
March 1897, pp. 335-337; Winchester, "The New Woman,"
p. 367. Cornhill Magazine and Westminster Review were
British.
14
Hewitt, "The New Woman," pp. 335-337.
15
Betts, "The New Woman," p. 587.
1611
The New Woman," Cornhill Magazine, October 1894,
pp. 365-368.
17
Elsie Robinson, I Wanted Out (New York: Farrar &
Rinehart, 1934), p. 130. Coeducation had been introduced
at Oberlin in 1837. Between 1840 and the Civil War, a
small number of colleges and universities had followed
18
the example set by Oberlin. It was between 1870 and 1900
that the number of co-ed institutions exhibited a marked
increase. In 1870 women were admitted to 30.7 percent of
all colleges (excluding technical schools and schools
strictly for women). By 1880 the percentage of colleges
admitting women stood at 51.3, in 1890 it was 65.5 percent,
and in 1900, 71.6 percent. See Woody, History of Women's
Education, 2:231-252.
18
winchester, "The New Woman," pp. 367, 371-372.
19
Margaret Deland, "The Change in the Feminine
Ideal," Atlantic Monthly, March 1910, pp. 291-302.
20
Ruth Davidson, interview, April 14, 1970, Pasa
dena, California. Mrs. Davidson was born circa 1898 in
Bradford, Pennsylvania, and worked as a telephone operator
before her marriage. Mary Humphreys, "Women Bachelors in
New York," Scribner's, November 1896, pp. 626-635; Mara
Millar, Hail to Yesterday (New York: Farrar & Rinehart,
1941); Bethenia Owens-Adair, Some of Her Life Experiences
(Portland, Ore.: Mann & Beach, 1906); Marie Ther~se (de
Solms) Blanc, The Condition of Women in the United States,
trans. Abby Langdon Alger (Boston: Roberts Bros., 1895;
reprint ed., New York: Arno Press, 1972); Grace H. Dodge
et al., What Women Can Earn: Occupations of Women and
Their Compensation (Boston: Frederick A. Stokes Co.,
1898). See sections about clerical and telephone work.
Martha L. Rayne, What Can a Woman Do: Or, Her Position
in the Business and Literary World (Petersburg, N.Y.:
Eagle Publis~ing Co., 1893); Helen M. Doyle, A Child Went
Forth (New York: Gotham House, 1934); Marion Harland,
"The Passing of the Horne Daughter," Independent, July 13,
1911, pp. 88-90; Suzanne Wilcox, "The Unrest of Modern
Woman," Independent, June 8, 1909, pp. 62-66.
21 . d .
Lorine Pruette, Women an Leisure: A Study of
Social Waste (New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1924); Wilcox,
"Unrest of Modern Woman," pp. 62-66.
22
wilcox, "Unrest of Modern Woman," pp. 62-66.
See also Carolyn Forrey, "The New Woman Revisited,"
Women's Studies 2 (1974) :37-56, for a discussion of the
conflicts experienced by "new women" as portrayed in
novels of the era.
23
charles w. Eliot, "The Normal American Woman,"
Ladies' Home Journal, January 1908, p. 15.
24
T. Cave-North, "Woman's Place and Power," West-
minster Review, September 1908, p. 265.
19
25
cardinal Gibbons, "Pure Womanhood,
11
· Cosmopolitan,
September 1905, pp. 559-561.
26
see: Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr, Rise of the
City, 1878-1898 (New York: Macmillan Co., 1933);
McGovern, "Revolution in Manners and Morals," pp. 315-333;
Howard Furer, "The City as a Catalyst for the Women's
Rights Movement," Wisconsin Magazine ·of History 52 (Summer
1969) :285-305; Andrew Sinclair, The Better Half: The
Emancipation of the American Woman (London: Jonathan Cape,
1966); Carl Degler, "Revolution without Ideology: The
Changing Place of Women in America," Daedalus 93 (Spring
1964) :653-670.
27
This criticism holds for the above mentioned
studies.
28
see the Appendix for a detailed description of
how data for the variables were collected and how urban/
rural differences were calculated.
29S
ee
(Princeton:
this point.
Jack P. Gibbs, ed., Urban Research Methods
Van Nostrand Co., 1967), pp. 461-561 regarding
30
see, for example, Susan Kleinberg, "Technology's
Stepdaughters" (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Pitts
burgh, 1973); Virginia Yans McLaughlin, "Patterns of Work
and Family Organization: Buffalo's Italians," in The
Family in History, eds. Theodore K. Rabb and Robert I.
Rotberg (New York: Harper & Row , 1973), pp. 111-126;
Barbara Klaczynska, "Why Women Work: A Comparison of
Various Groups - Philadelphia, 1910-1930," Journal of Labor
History 17 (Winter 1976) :74-87; Susan Kleinberg, "Tech
nology and Women's Work: The Lives of Working Class Women
in Pittsburgh, 1870-1900," Journal of Labo·r · History 17
(Winter 1976) :58-72.
31
See, for example, U.S., Department of Commerce,
Bureau of the Census, The ·Ratio of Children· to Women, by
Warren Thompson, Census Monograph No. 11 (Washington, D.C.:
Government Printing Office, 1931); Warren Thompson and
Pascal K. Whelpton,Population Trends in the United States
(New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1933i reprint ed., New
York: Kraus Reprint Co., 1969); James Tarver, "Gradients
of Urban Influences on the Educational, Employment, and
Fertility Patterns of Women," Rural Sociology 34 (September
1969) :356-367; Bernard Okun, Trends in Birth Rates
in the United States since 1870 {Baltimore: Johns Hopkins
Press, 1958); William Ogburn and Clark Tibbits, "The Family
20
and Its Functions," in Recent Social Trends in the United
States: Report of the Preside·nt' s Research Committee on
Social ·Trends, 2 vols. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co.,
1933), 1:661-708; Thomas Lynn Smith, Socio• logy of Rural
Life, 3rd ed. (New York: Harpei & Bros., 1953).
32
In part the limitation of earlier studies has
probably stemmed from working within the confines of data
which were already presented in reduced form within the
censuses.
33
see the Appendix for a detailed discussion of the
material available through census sources and the data
reduction techniques used.
34
see Seymour Lipset and Reinhard Bendix, Social
Mobility in Industrial Society (Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1963); ,Joseph A. Kahl, The American Class
Structure (New York: Rinehart & Co., 1957); William Lloyd
Warner, Marchia Meeker, Kenneth Eells, eds., Social Class
in America (Chicago: Science Research Associates, 1949).
35
d · . d. h . . d
For iscussions regar ing t e composition an
growth of the middle class in late nineteenth and early
twentieth century America see Richard Hofstadter, The Age
of Reform (New York: Vintage Books, 1955); Robert H. Wiebe,
The Search for Order, 1877-1920 (New York: Hill & Wang,
1967); Lewis Corey, "Problems of the Peace: IV.
The Middle Class," Antioch Review 5 (Spring 1945) :68-87.
36
Corey, "The Middle Class," pp. 69-70. Percentages
were calculated from the data presented in Corey's article.
37
u.s., Department of the Interior, Office of the
Census, Eleventh Census of the United States, 1890: Popu
lation, pt. 2, Ages and Occupations, p. cxviii; U.S.,
Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Fourteenth
Census, 1920, vol. 4, Population: Occupations, pp. 34,341.
38
u.s., Department of the Interior, Eleventh Census,
1890: Population, pt. 2, pp. 638, 650-651; U.S., Depart
ment of Commerce, Fourteenth Census, 1920, vol. 4, Popula
tion: Occupations, pp. 1062-1065, 1076-1080.
39
. b . 11
Wie e, especia y pp.
importance of the middle class
twentieth century America.
111-132, discusses the
in late nineteenth, early
21
CHAPTER I
NINETEENTH CENTURY CHANGES IN FAMILY DYNAMICS
By marriage the husband and wife are one person in
law ... the very being or legal existence of the
woman is suspended during marriage or at least
incorporated and consolidated into that of her
husband.l
In the rural areas of the United States, especially
prior to the Industrial Revolution , the family had typi
cally been a unit of production as well as consumption.
Within this unit, each member performed a particular
function which was necessary to the well-being and ulti
mate survival of the family. For the most part, the
father and grown sons worked in the fields, tended the
animals, and hunted while the mother, daughters, and
younger sons prepared food and clothing, fed the animals ,
hauled the water, and in general tended to the running of
the house. Each household was relatively self-sufficient.
Despite the fact that all members of the family
with the exception of the very youngest, contributed to
the economic maintenance of the family, the rural family
exhibited a rigid hierarchy. Within the hierarchy, each
person had a clearly defined place, with the fatherholding
22
the highest, most powerful position. Wife, sons,
daughters-all were subordinate to the father. Women
would almost always be subordinate to the male members of
the family. As daughters they were expected to submit to
the authority of their fathers, as wives they were under
the control of their husbands. Only as widows or as
adult, single women could they possibly escape from their
subordinate position. However, in a rural society it was
not easy for women or men to survive alone, so most women
remained within a family, as daughters or wives or sisters,
2
subordinate to fathers or husbands or brothers.
The functions of the rural, American family were
obviously not confined to the economic sphere. Education
of the young, the imparting of religious beliefs, protec
tion against hostile outsiders, and even recreation, all
tended to be centered in the home and around the family.
3
Both parents were involved with all aspects of family
life, especially with the socializing processes of educa
tion and religious training. But as the urbanization and
industrialization of the nineteenth century progressed,
many functions which formerly had belonged almost exclu
sively to the family began to move outside the hone.
Education, which in the rural family had been
centered in the home, began to move into schools. · Until
well into the nineteenth century, most elementary schools
were private. Although a few states in the Northeast and
23
Midwest began to lay the foundation for public education
systernsduringthe 1830s, generally individual cities
established free schools prior to the states as a whole.
By 1850 the 80,000 elementary schools in the nation,
mostly in the Northeast and Midwest, enrolled about 3.5
million pupils. At about that time Massachusetts intro
duced the first compulsory education law, but not until
1918 did all states finally follow the Massachusetts
example. At first only a few years of school were made
mandatory, but the number of years required expanded as
the century progressed.
Prior to the Civil War, high schools were rare and
most of them were private, but after the war a system of
public high schools began to grow. In 1870 public high
schools numbered about 500, in 1890 nearly 2,500, and by
1915 almost 12,000. Thus during the course of the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, education, which
had been solely within the domain of the family, was
increasingly transferred to outside agencies-the schools.
For some groups, in some areas recreation also began to
lose its family focus. The nineteenth century American
city offered an ever expanding array of entertainment
which drew people out of the home and away from family
centered activities. Theaters, lectures, concerts, mus urns,
restaurants, all served to make recreation a matter of
24
individual interest and involvement rather than familial
. . 5
interaction.
The transfer of activities which previously had
been centered in the home in effect narrowed considerably
the role played by the family, and significant changes
began to develop in the relationships among family members~
Perhaps the most important changes came about as a result
of the separation of a major facet of the production
function from the home.
In the thriving commercial cities of the late
eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries a growing number
of families began to lead increasingly segmented lives.
For some adult males, work became something divorced from
the home. Each day the home and its activities were left
behind as the men went out to work in a wjde variety of
occupations. Left at home, for the most part, were adult
females and children. Prior to the 1890s many of the same
duties that occupied rural women also filled the days of
urban women--cooking, child care, sewing, cleaning. In the
rural areas those tasks performed by women were valued
because they were intimately related to the survival of the
family unit. But in the city those same tasks were deemed
tangential to the major economic variable which influenced
the survival of the family-the success or failure of
those employed in the working world. Woman's status,
25
which even in the rural, colonial setting had not been as
high as man's, slipped a few notches in the early nine
teenth century commercial city.
6
The growing separation between work and home
directly affected the role played by the father within the
family. In the rural milieu he had been involved with the
daily activities of the household and closely associated
with education and training, especially of the sons. In
the urban setting he was increasingly absent. More and
more the home was becoming woman's domain, and the work
associated with it valued less highly than the money-making
work outside the home. As the economic interdependence of
the family unit shifted character, the economic basis of
the marriage began to diminish in importance while the
companionable aspects grew.
7
Especially among the rising
urban middle class, wives were no longer chosen mainly
because they were hard and adept workers: other con
siderations such as personality and attractiveness grew
in importance. However, economic considerations still
remained quite important in the selection of a husband
since the family's economic success largely depended upon
him.
The rising affluence and growth of the urban middle
class during the thirty years prior to the Civil War
brought important changes to the American middle-class
26
family and the role of women within it. Increased wealth
allowed a growing number of Americans to copy a life
style which previously had been reserved for the upper
class, where the "idle" wife loomed as the ultimate symbol
of her husband's success. Class divisions began to
sharpen between working-class and middle-class women, and
the fact that a woman did not have to be employed because
the husband, alone, could support the family became an
important status symbol.
8
The confinement of women to the home, however,
coming at the very time when work outside the home carried
the highest status, posed a serious dilemma for the
middle-class family. Would women be content to remain
in the home when it was from work outside the home that
one derived respect and status? If women did not remain
in the home, but instead decided to enter the working
world, a serious challenge to the male's status within the
family hierarchy could develop. Unlike working within the
context of the family unit in a rural area, working out
side the home for money gave a woman the potential to be
financially independent of her husband and thus could
diminish his authority over her.
9
This dilemma was not
necessarily conceived of at a conscious level, but the
changes brought about by the growing affluence of the
urban middle class made adjustments regarding male and
female family roles essential.
27
In urban, middle-class families not only did the
wife's economic value decrease relative to that of the
husband's, but so did the children's. Whereas in rural
areas the older children had participated in helping the
family economically, in the urban setting they were
increasingly considered to be an economic burden. The
concept of childhood as a distinct period in an individ
ual's development had begun to develop among the upper
class during the seventeenth century. By the nineteenth
century the idea of childhood had spread to other classes,
and took especially firm root in the urban middle class.
10
The years allotted to "childhood" grew and greater
emphasis was placed upon the need for parents to nurture
and protect their offspring over a longer period of time.
As sharing economic responsibility in the family
unit declined in importance, the child-rearing role gained.
Despite the fact that some of the educating and socializ
ing functions of the family were being taken over by the
school and the church, the duties of the mother increas
ingly revolved around child rearing. This development was
due in large part to stretching the number of years desig
nated as "childhood" and the fact that with the father's
increased absence from the home, child rearing, which
formerly both parents had shared, increasingly became the
exclusive task of the mother.
28
The idea , which developed during the early 1800s,
of woman as the protector and teacher of the young and as
the guardian of society's morals was exceedingly signifi-
cant. In the first place, the whole emphasis upon the
importance of child rearing meant that whoever was rearing
the children was performing a valuable function. Women,
whose value as partners in an economic unit had declined,
now had a different source for gaining a sense of worth
and purpose. It was therefore not surprising to find a
growing literature during the pre-Civil War era which
glorified woman's role in the home , especially as the
inculcator of proper values in children.
11
The idea of woman as the protector of society's
morals was used to support positions held both by those
who believed that woman should confine her activities to
the home, and also by those who believed that she should
enlarge her sphere of activity. The former insisted that
to raise one's own children was the most important task,
and the one for which women were especially suited. The
latter argued that wom~n•s higher morality made it essen
tial that she not restrict herself to the home, but rather
that she bring her moral superiority to bear upon finding
solutions for society's woes.
12
Between 1820 and 1860 a way developed to deal
with changes which had occurred within the middle-class
29
family as it adjusted to an urban setting. Although not as
pronounced as toward the close of the nineteenth century,
the pre-Civil War city still was a place of upheaval.
Possibly even the ante-bellum urban home became viewed as
a place to which a man could escape from the turmoil of
the world.
13
As a retreat it should in no way resemble
the competitive, rough and tumble ways of the working
world, and those who stayed in it-women and children
would remain pure and unsullied. Conversely, constant
contact with the outside world would ultimately corrupt.
Women, actually middle- and upper-class white women, were
idealized and idolized and elevated to a pedestal which
demanded from them "piety, purity, domesticity, and sub
missiveness," and made them almost totally dependent on
men for their survival. To be a lady was the ideal, but
to be a lady meant that one had to marry and be supported
by a man, and that opportunity simply was not available to
all women. Moreover, for some women total dependence and
immersion of oneself in the home was not desired.
The pre-Civil War decades were a time of ferment.
The election of Andrew Jackson to the presidency in 1828
seemed to many to herald the triumph of the common man over
a more sophisticated aristocracy. From about 1830 onward,
the Abolition movement gathered strength and constantly
prodded the conscience of the nation. From a variety of
30
directions came evidence of a growing political equality at least insofar as white males were concerned-and those
who were being left behind relative to the gains of others
pressed for their fair share. In such a climate the move
ment for women's suffrage officially came into being at
the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848.
During those years a small and sometimes vocal
group of women chafed against the confines set by the True
Womanhood model.
lG r h L t' M tt An 1'
flamen sue as ucre 1a o , ge ina
and Sarah Grimke, Lydia Child, Lucy Stone, Elizabeth Cady
Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony were involved in the Aboli
tion movement, and many of those women also expressed their
belief in equality by involvement in the women's suffrage
movement. In the few co-educational colleges of the West,
Oberlin, Antioch, and the State University of Iowa, a
small number of women pursued the goal of a higher educa
tion and in some cases a professional career. A small
proportion of middle-class women without higher education
also found employment. Some had worked in the factories
of Lowell, Lawrence, or other New England towns during the
beginning days of the 1830s.
17
Others taught school, took
in boarders, worked as milliners, or in the few other
occupations deemed initially genteel for those middle-class
women who had to or chose to work.
31
One woman who struggled to break out of the con
fines of a narrowly prescribed role was Lucy Stone. Born
in Massachusetts in 1818, Lucy Stone rebelled against the
position of inferiority assigned to her by a domineering
father. From an early age, she was aware of the numerous
burdens which weighed so heavily on her mother. At age
sixteen Lucy Stone began to teach at the district school.
The low wages, relative to men, received by women teachers,
reinforced her indignation toward the inequities visited
upon women. In 1843 Stone entered Oberlin. She wanted
to practice public speaking but found such activities
closed to women. Invited to write a commencement address
in 1847, Stone refused because she would not have been
allowed to present the speech. Following graduation, Stone
received an appointment as lecturer in William Lloyd
Garrison's American Anti-Slavery Society. She also began
in earnest her campaign for women's rights. Stone's
sensitivity to the oppression suffered by women had dis
posed her against marriage. In 1855, she finally capitu
lated to the adamant pursuit of reformer Henry Blackwell
who promised her "perfect equality" in marriage. Marriage
did not end Lucy Stone's activism and she remained a
prominent member of the feminist movement until her death
in 1893.
However, with little exception, the pre-Civil War,
middle-class woman led a relatively circumscribed life,
32
with few viable options outside of home and marriage.
Although it appears likely that few of these women
actually were idle-household activities were still much
too time-consuming to permit that-their lives did focus
around the home. Neither the pre-Civil War commercial
cities nor the nascent manufacturing centers provided a
milieu conducive to drawing significant numbers of women
out of the home and into a variety of activities.
Not until the Civil War did larger numbers of
women begin, at least temporarily, to emerge from the con
fines of the home. The upheaval engendered by the War, the
removal of hundreds of thousands of men from their
civilian jobs, the death of fathers and husbands forced
many women, who in normal times would have relied upon men
for economic support, to fend for themselves.
18
For many
women, this entrance into the working world was temporary.
For others, employment remained a necessity of life. Espe
cially in the South, the war shredded the social fabric of
the old order, and in both North and South the circum
scribed, ante-bellum role defined as "proper" for middle
and upper-class women was modified by the realities of the
times.
The Civil War served an important function as a
disruptor of the existing order, but it alone did not bring
about lasting changes to the lives of American women. In
33
order to explain the massive and enduring changes that
were taking place in women's lives during the late nine
teenth and early twentieth century, the role played by the
post-Civil War city must be examined.
34
NOTES
1
Justice Blackstone, quoted in Willystine Goodsell,
A History of Marriage and the 'Family (New York: Macmillan
Co., 1939), pp. 360-361. The quote ·dates from the late
eighteenth century.
2
For a discussion of the structure and function of
the rural family see: Charles P. Loomis and J. Allan
Beegle, Rural Social systems (New York: Prentice-Hall,
1950); Muzaffer Sherif and Carolyn Sherif, An Outline of
Social Psychology (New York: Harper & Row, 1948); Noel P.
Gist and Sylvia F. Fava, Urban Society, 5th ed. (New York:
Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1964); Edmunds. Morgan, The Puritan
Family (New York: Harper & Row, 1944); Paul Pierce,
Social Surve of Three Rural Townships in Iowa, University
of Iowa Monograph Series, vol. 5, no. 2 Iowa City: The
University of Iowa Press, 1917); William Forrest Sprague,
Women and the West (Boston: Christopher Publishing House,
1940).
3
Adolph S. Tomars, "Ethical Frontiers," quoted in
Thomas Earl Sullenger, Socio• 1o·gy of Urbanization: A Study
in Rurban Society (Ann Arbor: Braun-Brumfield . , 1956),
pp. 24-26.
4
Henry Bamford Parkes, The United States of
America (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1968), pp. 269-270,
4 79; Harry S. Good and James D. Teller, · A · 'History of
American Education (New York: Macmillan Co., 1973), pp.
127-130.
5
Ephraim Gordon Ericksen, Urb·an · Behavior (New York:
Macmillan Co., 1973), pp. 328-329; Tomars, "Ethical
Frontiers," in Sullenger, Sociology of Urbaniz• ation,
pp. 24-26, points out that religion is removed from the
family as specialized organizations developed to take over
this function.
6
Gideon Sjoberg, "Familial Organization in the Pre
Industrial City," Marriage and Family Living 18 (February
1956) :30-36. Sjoberg contends that family structure in
the pre-industrial and industrial city are very different.
35
.,
In the former, women are clearly subordinate to men and do
not work outside the home. With the industrialized city
there is more possibility of independence for women. See
also Gideon Sjoberg, "The Rural-Urban Dimension in Pre
Industrial, Transitional and Industrialized Societies," in
Handbook of Modern Sociology, ed., Robert E. Faris
(Chicago: Rand McNally Co., 1964); Gerda Lerner, "Woman's
Rights and American Feminism," American Scholar 40 ('Spring
1971) :235-248; Ethel Peal, "The Atrophied Rib: Urban
Middle-Class Women in Jacksonian America" (Ph.D. disserta
tion, University of Pittsburgh, 1970); Barbara Berg, "The
Remembered Gate: Origins of American Feminism. The Woman
and the City, 1800-1860" (Ph.D. dissertation, City Univer
sity of New York, 1976). Peal and Berg both specifically
discuss the decline in women's status in American cities
between about 1800 and 1840.
7
william Ogburn and M. F. Nimkoff, Technol·ogy and
the Changing Family (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1955),
pp. 46-47, 53-54; Loomis and Beegle, Rural Social Systems,
p. 67.
8
Gerda Lerner, "The Lady and the Mill Girl:
Changes in the Status of Women in the Age of Jackson,"
American Studies 10 (Spring 1969) :5-15; Welter, "True
Womanhood(~' pp. 151-17 4; Berg, "The Remembered Gate."
9
sherif and Sherif, Social Psychology, pp. 704-705;
Gist and Fava, Urban Society, p. 365; David M. Heer,
"Dominance and the Working Wife," Social Forces 36 (May
1958) :341-347. Work outside the home did not always
threaten the family hierarchy as McLaughlin points out in
"Buffalo's Italians," pp. 111-136.
lOPhillipe Aries, Centuries of Chi·ldho·od (.New York:
Alfred A Knopf, 1962); Christopher Lasch, "Divorce
American Style, " New· · York Review of Books, February 1 7,
19 6 6 , pp . 3- 4 .
11
Welter, "True Womanhood," pp. 151-174; William
Bridges, "Family Patterns and Social Values in America,
1827-1875," American Quartexly 27 (September 1965) :3-11.
12
Glenda Gates Riley, "From Chattel to Challenger:
The Changing Image of the American Woman, 1828--1848" (Ph.D.
dissertation, Ohio State University, 1967); Welter, "True
Womanhood," especially pages 163, 172-174; Ann D. Gordon,
Mari Jo Buhle, and Nancy Schrom, "Woman in American
Society," Radical America 5 (July-August 1971) ·3-66.
36
13
Richard Sennett, Families Against the City
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1970). Sennett
describes such a development for the 1870s in Chicago.
14
Welter, "True Womanhood," p. 152.
15
The phrase has recently been popularized in the
article by Welter, "The Cult of True Womanhood: 1820-
1860," pp. 151-174.
16
Lerner, "Women's Rights," pp. 235-248; Berg,
"The Remembered Gate," offers a different interpretation.
Berg sees the rise of American feminism as emanating from
the shared sense of oppression felt by middle- and upper
class urban women during the early 1800s.
17
Hannah G. Josephson, The Golden Threads (New
York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1949). At first native
white, single women flocked to the new factory towns which
attempted to attract them by offering a protected environ
ment and a variety of cultural activities. However, by
1850 conditions had deteriorated considerably and the
"golden days" had passed. The factories soon were filled
with newly arrived immigrants and the short era of factory
work being considered respectable was over.
18
Anne Firor Scott, The Southern Lady: From
Pedestal to Politics, 1830-1930 (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press 1970), especially pages 80-133; Blanc,
Condition of Women, P~ 25; David McRae, America Revisited
(Glasgow: John Smith & Son, 1908), p. 25; Elizabeth
F. Baker, Technology and Women's Work (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1964), pp. 63-65.
37
CHAPTER II
THE CITY IN THE INDUSTRIAL AGE
Woman is not only drifting to the cities but setting
them in order and making a new environment therein
for herself and her arriving sisters.
1
In the late nineteenth century city a variety of
factors coalesced, ultimately forming an environment con
ducive to the growth of a less restricted lifestyle for
middle-class women. The development of cities after the
Civil War was closely intertwined with the Industrial
Revolution. Not all late nineteenth century cities were
predominantly industrial, but the technological develop
ments which occurred as a result of the Industrial Revo
lution had a profound influence upon urban life in the
United States.
Prior to the Civil War, the vast majority of cities
in the United States were commercial in origin and orienta
tion and most were comparatively small. In 1850 only
eight cities had populations of more than 100,000, while
by 1920 sixty-eight cities fell into this category.
Between 1800 and 1870, the urban population of the United
States, though increasing almost thirtyfold, grew by only
38
9.5 million people to a total of almost 10 million. From
1870 to 1920, while the increase was only eightfold, a
whopping 44 million people were added to the urban
roster.
2
Between 1870 and 1920 a nation which had been
predominantly rural had become more than 50 percent urban.
The post-Civil War city was a place of almost
frenetic activity and seemingly endless and sometimes
wondrous change. During the thirty-year period from 1870
to 1900, the American city was transformed. From what had
been a city whose boundaries were within walking distance
of its inhabitants , a city largely darkened and silenced
by nightfall, offering a small number of diversions such
as theater, lectures, and concerts, emerged the city of the
industrial age. The new city was an astounding fairyland
of lights , offering a wide assortment of amusements and
covered with a web of public transportation which allowed
the city to prosper and expand. At the center of this
activity were machines-machines to move people, machines
to light the streets, machines to make clothes, steel and
food, machines to send messages , machines to print words.
Change was the order of the day, or so it must have seemed
as invention followed invention.
In 1870, public transportation relied almost
exclusively on horsedrawn vehicles, but by 1900 cable cars,
electric trolleys and elevated and subway trains whisked
39
city inhabitants from place to place. Horsedrawn transit
cars had begun to appear in the 1850s and remained the
most efficient and widespread form of public transporta
tion for more than thirty years. By 1880 over 3,000 miles
of track were in operation and most cities of more than
50,000 inhabitants had a horsedrawn rail system. But from
the 1860s on, the search was underway for improved forms
of urban transportation. In the 1870s a steam powered,
elevated rail system was constructed in New York City.
Similar systems were built in Brooklyn and Chicago during
the 1880s and 1890s. That, however, was a dirty, noisy,
and expensive form of transportation whose popularity
wanned by the 1890s. Another form of public transit, the
cable car, appeared during that period, and by the mid-
1890s more than six hundred miles of track were in service,
mainly in the larger cities of the nation. The cable car
system, however, had the disadvantage of being expensive
to install and did not permit flexibility with respect
to the speed at which the cars ran.
In the 1870s, the development of the dynamo, a
steam powered machine which transformed the mechanical
energy used to operate it into electrical energy, revolu
tionized urban transportation. For the first time a clean,
rapid, flexible transit system was possible. In the late
1880s, Frank Julian Sprague built the first electric
40
railroad in Richmond, Virginia, and by 1895 more than 850
electric railway systems operated 10,000 miles of track.
During the 1890s and early 1900s the technology used in
the electric street railway was applied to both elevated
3
and subway systems. In the space of thirty years, urban
transit had grown so rapidly that more than 23,000 miles
of track, ranging from 10,000 in the North Atlantic states
to 1,300 in the South Central, assisted travel in American
cities (Table 2).
TABLE 2.--Increase in miles of track, 1890-1902
1890
1902
Percent increase
United States 8,123 22,589 178.1
North Atlantic 2,952 10,175 244.7
South Atlantic 612 1,670 172.9
North Central 2,754 7,818 183.9
South Central 969 1,322 36.5
West 837 1,604 91.7
SOURCE: U.S., Department of Commerce and Labor,
Bureau of the Census, Special Reports, Str·eet and Electric
Railways (1903), p. 34.
The development of the dynamo, so important to the
modernization of urban transportation, was also critical to
other sectors of city life. In 1870 the streets of most
cities were dimly lit by gas lights. The 1876 invention of
41
the arc lamp was followed in 1879 by the introduction into
Cleveland of a small arc lamp system. Eighteen hundred
seventy-nine was also the year that Thomas Edison per
fected his incandescent lamp. The dynamo permitted the
rapid spread of electric light systems. Also important
was the transmission of electricity by alternating rather
than direct current: alternating current removed the
distance limitations inherent in a direct current system.
George Westinghouse, the major proponent of alternating
current,saw the principle triumph in 1894-1895 when an
alternating current system was installed at Niagara Falls.
4
There were thirty-eight central power stations in 1882,
5
600 in 1888, and over 3,000 by 1898. Electric lights
peppered the urban landscape, seemingly turning night into
day. The significance of adequate street lighting to
women was commented upon by one author. She noted that
the lights gave women much greater freedom to do things
at night, be it going to a theater or restaurant, or
working.
When Mr. Edison was experimenting with the sub
division of the electric light , it seemed to have
no special bearings on the evolution of the woman
bachelor. The brilliance of the streets at night
has been so conspicious a factor that the latest
goddess, Electra, may well be adopted as the
patron and guardian of the sex. The duties of
legions of women take them out at night ....
Accompanied by the chivalrous umbrella, many a
women has braved the powers of night and not
infrequently done battle .... The increase in
the number of women abroad at night, with no other
42
protector than the benign beams of the electric
light, affords a new and interesting manifesta
tion of the streets. They are found in the
streetcars at hours that once would have been
called unseemlyl they are substantial patrons
of the theater.
The field of communication also changed radically
during the latter years of the nineteenth century. The
telephone, invented by Alexander Graham Bell in the early
1870s, was first put into commercial use in 1878 when a
switchboard was installed in New Haven. In 1879 an
intercity line between Boston and Lowell was established.
By 1880, telephones serviced eighty-five towns, with a
total of about 50,000 subscribers, or about 1.1 telephones
for every 1,000 inhabitants. By 1900 there were approxi
mately 17.6 telephones per 1,000 people, in 1910, 82.0, and
in 1920, 123.0.
7
More than the physical face of the city underwent
massive changes during the late nineteenth century.
Radical alterations also occurred in the social composition
of the city. Between 1870 and 1920, millions of immigrants
crowded into American cities, especially those of the
North. Italians, Slavs, Russians , Greeks, each bringing a
distinct cultural background, settled in the older sections
of the cities. Soon a patchwork of ethnic neighborhoods
emerged, each with its own set of churches, stores, res
taurants, and clubs. To the native white residents, the
arrival of a seemingly never-ending stream of immigrants
43
presented a series of problems. Many of the immigrants
were poor peasants unaccustomed to urban living. Over
crowding, problems of waste disposal, spread of disease,
lack of jobs and money, inability to speak English, all
were difficulties which plagued the immigrant and
frightened the more affluent urban residents. Jacob Riis
in How the Other Half Lives vividly captured the flavor
and the strangeness of the immigrant community as seen by
an outsider.
Between the tabernacles of Jewry and the
shrines of the Bend ... [is Chinatown] .
. . . Stealth and secretiveness are as much
part of the Chinaman in New York as the cat
like tread of his felt shoes .... The very
doorways of his offices and shops are fenced
off by queer forbidding partitions .... The
tenements grow taller as we cross the Bowery,
and ... invade the Hebrew quarter ....
No need of asking here where we are. The jargon
of the street, the signs of the sidewalk, the
manner and dress of the people ... betray
their race .... It is said that nowhere in
the world are so many people crowded together
on a square mile as here.B
One can almost picture the fear mixed with some
compassion that native whites felt as they listened to
the hodge-podge of languages, saw the multitude of
children, the poverty, the disease, the rough looking
gangs of the immigrant communities. Here, in their midst,
in their city were these hordes of aliens-and what could
be done?
The response of the native whites varied as to
what they viewed as solutions to the problems created by
44
the massive influx of immigrants. For some the answer
seemed to lie in stopping the flow of newcomers, and
throughout the period the demand for restrictions on
immigration grew stronger until in 1924 Congress passed
the restrictive Immigration Act. To others, the major
menace was the very high birth rate of the foreign born
which came at a time when the birth rate of native whites
was declining. The eugenics movement of the late nine
teenth century was in part a reaction to such concerns.
The response of the native whites to the immi
grants was not entirely negative. Aside from the many
industrialists who welcomed the supply of cheap labor,
were those among the more affluent who accepted the
presence of the immigrants and attempted, in various ways,
to alleviate the hardships that faced the impoverished
newcomers and other poor inhabitants of the city. Jane
Addams in Twenty Years at Hull House captured the ideals
and feelings of those who became involved in the social
reform movements of the era.
These young men and women , longing to socialize
their democracy, are animated by certain hopes
which may be thus loosely formulated; that if
in a democratic country nothing can be perma
nently achieved save through the masses of the
people, it will be impossible to establish a
higher political life than the people them
selves crave ... that the blessings which we
associate with a life of refinement and cultiva
tion can be made universal and must be made
universal if they are to be permanent; that the
good we secure for ourselves is precarious and
45
uncertain, is flo~ting in mid-air, until it is
secured for ~11 of us and incorporated into our
common life.
As will be seen in Chapter VI, the city and its problems
played a significant role in drawing hundreds of thousands
of women out of the home and plunging them into the tur
moil of urban life.
Even longtime residents were finding that major
aspects of their lives were altered by changes occurring
in the cities. Whereas in a rural setting it had been
difficult and unusual for men or women to remain single,
such was not the case in an urban environment. There had
long been a place in the American city for the single
individual- boardinghouses had provided an easy answer to
the problem of where to live and take meals. But in the
late nineteenth and early twentieth century city, the
options open to single individuals multiplied, reflecting
the need to accommodate those people who either did not
want to or were unable to marry. J. Bixby, writing for
the Nation in 1868, noted that large cities were most
likely to have a number of single individuals. He con
tended that the city of 1868 was more conducive to single
life than the city of 1818 had been because it offered
10
so much more for single people to do.
Many of the Northern cities contained considerably
more women than men, while in the West the converse was
46
often the case. In 1890, the sex ratio (the number of
men per one hundred women) in Albany was 89.9, in Lowell
78.3, in Lawrence 82.3, in Utica 83.1, but in San Fran
cisco it was 139.5 , in Los Angeles 112.9, and in Denver
145.3.
11
Obviously not all of the individuals in these
and other cities would or could marry and alternatives
to marriage were essential. For men, the idea of an
"alternative to marriage" was not especially critical,
since men generally worked and supported themselves.
However, where the ideal for a woman dictated that she
be supported by a father or a husband- that her only pro
fession was marriage- the growing acceptance of the idea
that options other than marriage were needed was a
radical development .
With an increasing number of women living apart
from their families for at least a certain period of their
lives- , alternatives to the family home were indispensable.
Single women lived not only in boardinghouses, but
increasingly in individual apartments and sometimes took
. b 'ld'
12
over entire apartment ui ings. According to one
author, 'In 1886 a determined effort was made to secure
an apartment-house for women, modestly copying the numerous
apartment-houses for men." The author saw the rise in
apartment living for women in New York as a reaction
against the dismal "Hall Bedroom , " a narrow , cramped room
47
with little more than a bed and a dresser.
13
For the
single woman, the shared apartments provided a feeling of
home and an "air of confidence that once was the enviable
property of only married women."
14
Also available were
"homes" for working women: they were inexpensive, pro-
d b f
. . . d 15
tecte, ut o tentimes quite regimente.
During the era certain types of living quarters
became more common, not only to meet the needs of single
individuals, but also to satisfy those who were married
and did not want to establish a traditional home. Board
inghouses numbered among their inhabitants married couples
with children as well as single men and women. Apartment
hotels gained in popularity around the turn-of-the-century,
and appeared to appeal to young married couples who wished
to live in ease and comfort with a minimum of housekeeping
chores. Oftentimes children were not permitted in those
hotels, whose average suite consisted of two rooms and a
bath.
16
For those who either could not or did not wish to
bother with meal preparation, an assortment of options was
available. Boardinghouses, "Hall Bedrooms" and working
women's homes generally provided food as well as lodging.
Hotels had their own dining rooms which made meal-taking
especially convenient for their own residents. In addi-
tion, the growing number of restaurants ranged from the
48
simplest of lunchrooms to the most sumptuous and elegant
of places to dine. There were restaurants to suit almost
any budget, and people from all walks of life frequented
them. In Condition of Women in America, Mme de Blanc,
a French novelist and journalist, commented upon the ease
with which single women frequented restaurants: "I saw
the girls known as bachelor girls call for the bill of
fare as naturally as if they were bachelors indeed.
1117
And for those who desired a more exclusive atmosphere ,
there was always the private club-even for women! Mme
de Blanc described a club to which. a Philadelphia woman
took her , a club where the woman frequently had break
fast when her husband was out of town. The club also
ff d 1 d
. 18
o ere temporary o ging.
Even those who lived in more traditional homes
found that life was changing. Preparation of food and
clothing, which had consumed a large portion of women's
time, was increasingly removed from the home as "ready
mades" both in food and clothing began to proliferate.
Advertisements for ready-made clothing appeared in a
variety of different newspapers , with the number and size
19
of the ads increasing as the years progressed. Now a
woman could go to grocery stores and bakeries for pre
pared food , and department stores or smaller specialty
stores for clothing. A variety of appliances , all designed
49
to ease the burden of house care , began to appear from
the 1880s onward, while more and more middle-class city
homes had indoor plumbing, eliminating the traditional
20
female task of hauling water.
In addition to changes which were occurring in
the day-to-day running of the household, an increasing
number of activities offered in the city tended to draw
people out of the home away from family-centered activi-
ties. In cities large and small, theaters , concerts,
operas, vaudeville, lending libraries , and museums of all
sorts proliferated. After the turn-of-the-century, movie
houses attracted a steady clientele. From the 1880s
onward, a wide assortment of recreational sports grew in
popularity with girls and women: roller and ice skating,
bicycling, tennis lf
. . f. h. 21
go , swimming , is ing. And for
the more adventuresome, there was always a chance to peek
at the bawdier side of the city. One author described an
"escorted slum tour" where she was taken to "Jack's" where
"college boys and prostitutes met" and also to places
where "girlish young men danced and sang for us and asked
us to slip money into their stockings."
22
The urban working world itself was revolutionized
during the latter decades of the nineteenth century, and
a growing array of jobs opened up. In particular, work
opportunities for women expanded. Factory work, especially
50
in textiles, had been available since the 1830s, while
after the late 1870s, food processing plants demanded a
growing number of workers. The expanding assortment of
personal services available in the city offered another
set of work possibilities-restaurants, department stores,
grocery stores, bakeries, laundries, beauty shops- all
multiplied during that period. Yet another important
source of employment appeared in the rapidly expanding
field of office work. With the introduction of the type
writer in 1873, office work, which had previously been
dominated by men, was flooded with women. The majority of
typists, or "typewriters" as they were known for a brief
23
while, and stenographers were women. From the mid-
1870s on, another steady supply of jobs was provided by
the telephone company. Professional careers for women
were also on the rise. The number of teaching positions
climbed steadily, and the domination of this field by
24
women was pronounced. The post-Civil War years also
saw the development of two new, important professions for
. d l'b . h'
25
women, nursing an 1 rar1ans 1p.
The spread of the white-collar (office and tele
phone work) and professional occupations was of particular
significance to women of the middle class. Factory work,
except for a very brief period at its inception, was not
considered appropriate work for a lady. But people
51
generally deemed respectable the white-collar and pro
fessional occupations that proliferated in the late nine
teenth and early twentieth centuries. Thus at the same
time that an increasing number of conveniences were making
work in the urban home potentially less demanding, a whole
new set of jobs considered "respectable" was being
created.
attested to the significance of the city with respect to
employment opportunities for women. "How many girls, the
land over," the magazine queried, "come to the city to
find work or begin a career .... Everyone knows the
mb
. d l . . 11 26
nu er is great an year y increasing. Harper's
Bazaar invited its readers to share their personal experi
ences in an ongoing column, "The Girl Who Came to the
City."
One woman, a native of the South, launched a suc
cessful career as a stenographer in New York. She attached
great importance to both the training facilities and
employment opportunities available in New York.
27
Another
woman took up a career as a teacher in Baltimore. In addi
tion to her job, she took courses at Johns Hopkins, joined
a literary club went to the theater, and to concerts.
28
The experiences of the women who wrote varied, but the
general tenor of their letters emphasized the opportunities
that living in a city had brought to them.
52
The theme of the city as a place of opportunity
for women was reiterated in a 1911 ·Ladi· e·s·' · Horne ·Journal
article, "Her Sister in the Country Who Wants to Come to
the City to Make Her Way." The author of the article
described the ample career options open to women in
cities. The varied possibilities offered by a city stood
in sharp contrast to life in "Centerville, where there
seems to be nothing ... to do . .-
29
For those city women who chose not to be employed
and yet still wanted to do more with their lives than a
home-centered existence permitted, the growth of a wide
variety of available activities, ranging from esoteric
literary clubs to working for the abolition of child labor,
offered a ready outlet. In 1868, the first of the post
Civil War women's clubs was organized in New York and
Boston. By 1889 the number of women's clubs warranted
the organization of a General Federation of Women's Clubs.
By 1898 the Federation membership stood at 160,000 and by
1910 more than 1 million.
30
Numerous other organizations
such as settlement houses and YWCA's also offered women
an opportunity for involvement.
Numerous technological and social changes altered
the late nineteenth century city. In addition, urban
characteristics, not unique to the late nineteenth
century city, combined with other developments occurring
53
at the time to play a significant role in bringing changes
to women's lives. In contrast to rural areas or villages,
cities,and towns contained sufficient population to pro
vide a certain degree of anonymity to the inhabitants.
The larger the city , at least up to a certain point, the
greater the anonymity.
31
The anonymity meant that people
could more easily deviate from a prescribed standard of
conduct and escape detection. Numbers alone precluded the
possibility of close scrutiny of everyone's actions.
Moreover, the city tended to contain such a con
glomeration of people with widely diverse backgrounds,
that a single standard of conduct was difficult to main
tain. Each ethnic group brought with it a particular way
of behaving. The various social classes tended to have
somewhat different expectations regarding conduct. Within
a particular group there indeed were often very specific
rules governing behavior. However , the fact that a number
of different groups were present meant that one group's
code of conduct could not completely dominate. Rural
areas and smaller towns and villages lacked that kind of
diversity and made individual divergence from the norm more
difficult.
The rapid communication of information was another
significant aspect of urban life. Newspapers and maga
zines abounded, serving as a forum for a variety of topics.
54
Perhaps as important was the proximity of the inhabitants
and the ease with which ideas could be shared. Both of
those factors meant that information could be quickly
passed along to a relatively large number of people. As
women began to emerge from the isolation of the home into
various activities, they were more easily able to share
ideas about a wide variety of topics. This ease of com
munication was probably quite important to women in the
dissemination of information, for example, about methods
of birth contro1.
32
The city of late nineteenth and early twentieth
century America was a dynamic place. It offered a grow
ing selection of opportunities which drew women out of
the home. Not all cities offered the same number or
types of options. But despite the differences, the cities
and towns of this period exhibited a great similarity
with respect to how they affected women's lives.
55
NOTES
1
Jarnes Collins, "She Drifted to the City," Saturday
Evening Post, January 1, 1921, p. 11.
2
U.S., Department of Commerce, Bureau of the
Census, Statistical Abstract: Supplements Historical
Statistics of the United States from Colo• nial Times to
1957 (1960). Urban is defined as 2 , 500 or larger.
3
For discussions of the development of urban public
transportation see Schlesinger , Rise of the City,
pp. 87-93; Charles N. Glaab and A. Theodore Brown, A
History of Urban Arne·rica (New York: Macmillan Co. , - 19 6 7) ,
pp. 147-153.
4
Edward C. Kirkland, A History of Economic· Life
(New York: F. s. Crofts & Co., 1947), p. 426.
5
schlesinger, Rise of the City, p. 101; Glaab and
Brown, Urban America, pp. 163-164.
6
Humphreys , "Women Bachelors," p. 635.
7
schlesinger, Rise of the City, p. 96; U.S.,
Department of Commerce , liistor·ical Statistics, p. 480.
8
Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives: Studies
Among the Tenements of New York (New York: Charles
Scribner's Sons, 1890; reprint ed., New York: Hill & Wang,
19 5 7 ) , pp . 6 7 - 7 0 , 7 6 - 7 8 •
9
Jane Addams, Twenty Years at Hull
Phillips Publishing Co. , 1910 ; reprint ed.
Macmillan Co., 1960), p. 92.
House (n. p. :
New York:
10
J. Bixby , "Why is Single Life Becoming More
General," Nation, March 5 , 1868 pp. 190-191.
11
U.S. , Department of the Interior, · Ele·venth
Census, · 1890· Population. See also Katherine G. Busbey,
Horne Life in America (New York: MacMillan Co. , 1910) ,
pp. 85-86.
56
12
Brenda Ueland, Me (New York: G. P. Putnam's
Sons, 1939), p. 101; Humphreys, "Women Bachelors,"
p. 634; Busbey, Home Life in Ame• rica, pp. 85-86.
13
Humphreys, "Women Bachelors," p. 630-634.
14
Ibid., p. 634.
15
Dorothy Richardson, "The Long Day," in Women
at Work, ed. William O'Neill (New York: Quadrangle,
1972), pp. 157-173.
16
Pownall Papers, letters, July 15, 1877, and
December 16, 1877, Huntington Library, San Marino,
California; Schlesinger, Rise of the City, pp. 97-103;
John Modell and Tamara K. Hareven, "Urbanization and the
Malleable Household: An Examination of Boarding and
Lodging in American Families," Jo·urn1.l of Marriage and
the Family 35 (August 1973) :467-479; Arthur Calhoun, A
Social History of the American Family from Colonial TTmes
to the Present, 3 vols. in one (Cleveland: A.H. Clark,
1917-1919; reprint ed., New York: Arno P~ess, 1973),
pp. 182-184.
17
Blanc, Condition of Women, p. 266.
18
Ibid.
19
See, for example: Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma
City), May 5, 1894, and July 11, 1914; Chicago Daily
Journal, November 2, 1905; Ka·ns·as City (Missouri) Star,
January 9, 1901, and May 24, 1919; Morning Oregonian
(Portland), May 1, 1900; Detroit Fre· e· ·press, NovemEer 22,
1885; Los Angeles Times, February 2, 1913.
20
see the following for information regarding
labor-saving devices: Valerie Kincade Oppenheimer, "The
Female Labor Force in the United States: Factors
Governing Its Growth and Changing Composition" (Ph.D.
dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, 1966);
Schlesinger, Rise of the City, pp. 140-141. The Daily
Oklahoman, November 2, 1914, contained an ad for a "new
invention," a self-heating iron, indicating that at least
in Oklahoma City the use of electric irons was not that
widespread. The rural areas lagged behind the .city with
respect to indoor plumbing. Pierce, ·Thr· e· e· Rur·al Town
ships in Iowa, found that few had indoor plumbing.
57
21
For an idea of the types of amusem nts available,
see the following: Humphreys, "Woman Bachelors, n · p. 6 35;
Marian Bowlan, City Types {Chicago: T. s. Denison & Co.,
1916); McRae, America Revisited, p. 23; Miller, Hail to
Yesterday, pp. 121, 142-143· Eugenie Langerman Spearman,
Memories {Los Angeles: Private Printing by Modern
Printers, 1942), pp. 13~21· Robert E. Riegel, American
Women: A Story of Social Change {Rutherford, N.J.:
Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1970), pp. 53-54;
Pownall Papers, diary of Lucy Pownall Senger, 1876-1877;
Daily Oklahoman, May 12, 1894; Boston Weekly Transcript,
April 4, 1890, April 25, 1902, and March 6, 1903; Chicago
Times, August 7, 1893; Morning Oregonian, February 20,
1872; Detroit Free Press, October 12, 1884.
22
Millar, Hail to Yesterday, pp. 113-115.
23
The following studies discuss the typewriter as
an emancipator of women: Bruce Bliven, Jr., The Wonderful
Writing Machine {New York: Random House, 1954); Richard N.
Current, The Typewriter and the Men Who Made It {Champaign:
University of Illinois Press, 1951); Herkimer County
Historical Society, The Story of the Typewriter, 1873-1923
{Herkimer, N.Y.: Herkimer County Historical Society,
1923). For another perspective, see Margery Davies,
"Woman's Place is at the Typewriter: The Feminization of
the Clerical Labor Force, '
1
Radical America 8 {July-August
1974) :1-28. Women's entrance into clerical occupations is
discussed more fully in Chapter V.
24
Baker, Technology and Women's Work, p. 60. In
1870, two-thirds of all teachers were women and by 1900
the percentage had risen to 76 percent.
25
d h . . d. d
Women an t eir occupations are iscusse more
fully in Chapter V. See Baker, Technology and Women's
Work for an excellent summary of occupations open to women.
26
"The Girl Who Comes to the City," Harper's
Bazaar, January 1908, pp. 54-55. The symposium ran from
January 1908 to January 1909.
27
"The Girl Who Comes to the City," Harper's
Bazaar, January 1909, pp. 54-55.
2811
The Girl Who Comes to the City," Harper's
Bazaar, November 1908, p. 1142.
58
29
c1ara E. Laughlin( '•Her Sister in the Country
Who Wants to Come to the City and Make Her Way," Ladies'
Home Journal, August 1911, p. 16.
30
The 1898 estimate came from Sophonisba P.
Breckenridge, Women in the Tw'e·ntie• th ce·ntu·ry (New York:
McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1933), p. 21. The 1910 estimate
came from Mary I. Wood, "The Woman's Club Movement,"
Chautauquan, June 1910, pp. 36-39.
31
samuel P. Hays, "The Changing Political Structure
of the City in Industrial America" Journal of Urban
History 1 (November 1974) :6-38. Hays contrasts the pre
industrial city which had been small, compact, where one
lived under the scrutiny of others with the larger, indus
trial city.
32
see Chapter III for a detailed discussion of
fertility trends in late nineteenth century America. Also,
Los Angeles Times, February 2, 1913, contained an illus
trated ad for a douche; Daily Oklahoman, October 14, 1904,
had an ad for a vaginal syringe.
59
CHAPTER III
MARRIAGE AND FERTILITY: 1890-1920
Acquaintance, "So you have determined to marry?"
Girl of the Period (sadly), "Yes, I see nothing
else before me.
111
The decisions of women as to whether or not to
marry, the age at which they married, the number of
children they had, the amount of time necessary to devote
to child rearing and household tasks were all crucial
factors in determining how women spent their lives. If a
woman married at a young age, had a large number of chil
dren, oversaw the running of an entire household without
assistance from servants or labor-saving devices, she
would have had little time or energy to spend on other
pursuits. Conversely, if she married later or even if she
married early and was able to limit the number of children
she bore, and had the burden of maintaining a household
lightened either by servants or labor-saving aids, she
would have had the time and energy for other forms of
activity. The conditions of the era as well as the mores
of the particular society would be involved in determining
what form the activities took.
60
For the majority of urban women, the trend between
1890 and 1920 was for more to marry, for marriages to take
place at an earlier age, but for fewer children to be born.
Prior to 1890, data distinguishing between the number of
married women in cities and rural areas were not available.
Between 1890 and 1920, in rural and urban areas, it is
possible to determine that proportionately more women were
marrying and the number of children they were having was
decreasing (Table 3). During that time period, the per
centage increase of women who married in urban areas was
almost double that in rural areas, and at the same time,
the decrease in the child/woman ratio was slightly higher
in the cities (Table 3). Although the general urban trend
was toward earlier marriages, an important minority of
women tended to postpone marriage or not to marry at all.
TABLE 3.--Percentage of females fifteen or older who were
married and child/woman ratio, 1890 and 1920, and percent
change, 1890-1920, aggregate population
Percent married Child/woman ratio
Urban Rural Urban Rural
1890 52.0 59.3 489 753
1920 57.0 63.2 429 674
Percent change
1890-1920 11.4 6.6 -12.2 -10.5
SOURCES: U.S., Censuses, 1890-1920.
61
In America of the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries, most women had married by the time
they reached their mid-twenties. That was true in the
cities as well as in the rural areas, although the pro
portion of married women always tended to be greater in
the countryside. The biggest increase in the percentage
of married women came between age 19-24, with the next
largest addition occurring among those 24-29 (Table 4).
After that point, the percentage of those married con
tinued to rise until women reached their mid-forties, but
at a slower rate. After the age of 45, the proportion of
married women declined as the number of widows grew.
Despite a gradual increase in the overall percentage of
married women between 1890 and 1920, the greatest growth
really occurred in the 15-24 year old age group. The pro
portion of those married in the older age categories
changed very little during the period (Table 4).
The proportion of urban, married women was lower
than that of the rural areas for both the aggregate popula
tion and native whites of native born parents (Table 5).
However, the difference between the urban and rural areas
diminished over time (Table 5).
Although. the overall proportion of married women
was increasing, the rate of increase was greater in urban
areas than in rural. For tha aggregate population, a 5
62
°'
w
TABLE 4.--Percentage of women married in each age group and percentage increase, 1890-1920,
by age groups, for the aggregate population and native whites of native born parents
Aggregate population Native whites of native born parents
Percent Percent
Age increase increase
group 1890 1900 1910 1920 1890-1920 1890 1900 1910 1920 1890-1920
15-19 9.5 10.9 11.3 12.5 31.6 10.8 12.2 12.5 13.3 23.2
20-24 46.7 46.5 49.6 52.3 12.0 50.3 49.8 51.8 53.4 6.2
25-29 71.4 68.9 71.8 73.4 2.8 74.0 71.8
} 77.1
74.0 (b)
30-34 79.8 78.0 79.0 80.1 (b) 80.8 79.7 80.7 (b}
35-44 80.6 79.5 80.1 80.3 (b) 81.5 80.8 81.9 81.6 (b)
45-54 73.9 73.9 74.8 74.0 (b) 75.0 75.6
71.7a
76.1 (b)
SOURCES: U.S., DepartmeHt of the Interior, Eleventh Census, 1890~ Population, pt. 1,
Total Population, Sex, Nativity, Dwellings, and Marital Status, and pt. 2; U.S., Department of
the Interior, Office of the Census, Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900, vol. 2, Popula
tion: Ages, Marital Status, Occupations; U.S., Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of
the Census, Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910, vol. 1, Population; u.s . , Department
of Commerce, Fourteenth Census, 1920, vols. 2 and 3. -
a45-64.
b
Less than 1% change.
TABLE 5.--Percentage of females fifteen or older who were married,
aggregate population and native whites of native born parents,
1890-1920
1890
1900
1910
1920
Urban
52.0
52.1
54.7
57.9
Aggregate
Rural
59.3
59.3
61.3
63.2
Percent
rural/urban
difference
14.0
13.8
12.1
9.2
SOURCES: U.S., Censuses, 1890-1920 .
Urban
( a)
(a)
53.6
56.5
Nwnp
Rural
(a)
( a)
61.0
62.1
Percent
rural/urban
difference
13.8
10.3
NOTE: The overall percent married in urban areas and rural
areas for each of the census years was calculated as follows.
For each state which had at least one city of 25,000+, informa
tion regarding the variable was obtained for the state as a whole
and for each of the 25,000+ cities. The overall, urban state
average was computed by taking the mean of the city values. The
state rural average was arrived at by subtracting the urban total
from the state total and then calculating the mean. All of the
state urban means and state rural means were added separately
and divided by the total number of states to obtain the national
averages. Agg = Aggregate population; Nwnp c Native whites of
native born parents.
aData regarding the marital status of native whites of native
born parents in urban and rural areas was incomplete prior to
1910.
64
percent increase in the percent of urban married women
occurred between 1900 and 1910, while in the rural areas
the increase was only 3.4 percent. Between 1910 and 1920,
the urban rate rose slightly to 5.9 percent while the rural
rate stood at 3.1 percent. The pattern for native white
women of native born parents was similar to that found for
the aggregate population: the 1910 to 1920 urban increase
was 5.4 percent while that in the rural areas was only 2.1
percent. In brief, the percentages of women who married
in urban and rural areas were converging, not because the
rural percentage was declining and thus approaching the
urban, but rather because the urban increase was consider
ably higher, thus allowing the urban rate to approach the
rural one.
The 1910-1920 increase in percent married in dif
ferent age groups (Table 6) revealed that the most marked
increase was occurring among the 15-24 year olds in the
urban sector. In contrast, the rural areas saw a decline
in that age group (Table 6).
Although a breakdown between the urban and rural
sectors for the 15-24 year old age group was not available
prior to 1910, data available for the entire United States
indicated that an increase in the total percentage married
had begun at least as early as the 1890-1900 decade
(Table 4). Furthermore, as indicated in Table 7, the
65
O'\
O'\
TABLE 6.--Percentage of women married in each age group and the percentage change in the
proportion married, for the aggregate population and native whites of native born parents
in urban and rural areas, 1910-1920
Aggregate population Native whites of native born parents
Percent Percent
increase increase
Age 1910 1920 1910 1920 1910 1920 1910 1920
Group Urb Rur Urb Rur Urb Rur Urb Rur Urb Rur Urb Rur
15-24 25.1 35.9 30.4 34.6 21.1 -3.6 25.6 36.5 30.5 34.5 19.1 -5.5
25-34 69.6 81.4 72.6 82.0 4.3 .7 69.9 82.3 71.4 82.6 2.1 .4
35-44 75.4 85.6 76.2 85.8 1.1 .2 75.4 86.4 76.0 86.5 .8 .1
SOURCES: U.S., Censuses, 1910 and 1920.
NOTE: Urb = urban; Rur = rural.
greatest decrease in the rural/urban difference in per
centage of women married occurred in the 15-24 year old age
group. Despite a higher percentage of young, married women
in the countryside, the city women were rapidly closing the
gap.
TABLE 7.--Percentage rural/urban difference in women
married, aggregate population and native whites of
native born parents, 1910 and 1920
Age
15-24
25-34
35-44
Agg
43.0
17.0
13.5
1910
Nwnp
42.6
17.7
14.6
Agg
13.8
13.0
12.6
1920
Nwnp
13.1
15.7
13.8
NOTE: The percentage difference was calculated
as follows:
percent married in rural areas
t d urban areas -
1
x lOO
percen marrie in
Agg = Aggregate population; Nwnp = Native whites of
native born parents.
Between 1890 and 1910, at a time when more women,
especially young ones, were marrying (Tables 4 and 5) the
child/woman ratio declined
3
(Table 8). The trend, espe
cially pronounced in urban areas, toward a higher percent
age of married women and younger marriages, coupled with a
decrease in fertility, appeared linked to the greater
4
avai ability and use of birth control measures. In this
study, the term birth control will be used to apply to all
67
TABLE 8.--Child/woman ratio for urban and rural areas and percentage change by decades,aggregate and native
white population, 1890-1920
Urban
1890 489
1900 452
1910 429
1920 429
Percent change
-8.2
1890-1900
Percent change
-5.1
1900-1910
Percent change
0
1910-1920
Aggregate population
Rural
753
728
702
674
-3.4
-3.6
-4.2
Percent greater
urban is
than rural
54.0
61.1
63.6
57.1
--
--
--
SOURCES: U.S., Censuses, 1890-1920.
Urban
364
333
(a)
388
-9.3
(a)
16.5
Native white ~ulation
Rural
651
628
(a)
643
-3.7
(a)
2.4
Percent greater
urban is
than rural
78.8
88.6
65.7
NOTE: See Table 5 for method used to calculate urban and rural totals. Prior to 1920, the Tables of
Ages were used to calculate the urban and rural child/woman ratios. Child/woman ratio= the number of
children 5 years old or younger per 1,000 women 20-44 years of age .
a .
Data not available for 1910 .
°'
00
methods used to limit the birth of children including
abortion and abstinence as well as contraception.
Although not limited to urban areas, birth control
practices appeared to have initially been more widespread
in the urban sector. Between 1890 and 1910, the overall
increase of married women was greater in urban areas than
rural (Table 5). In addition; the percentage decline in
the child/woman ratio, especially in the 1890-1900 decade,
was considerably sharper in the urban sector (Table 8).
Within the urban areas themselves, the greater use of
birth control measures among middle- and upper-class women
is suggested by the consistently lower native white
5
child/
woman ratio (Table 8). As will be seen shortly, the mode
of birth control used appeared to divide along class lines.
Effective methods of contraception became increasingly
common among middle- and upper-class women between 1890
and 1920, while for poorer women, abortion probably
remained the major method of birth control.
Prior to the development and dissemination of
information about effective methods of contraception, a
limited number of options were open to those who wished to
marry and yet curtail the size of their families. One way,
of course, was to postpone the age of marriage. Francis
Place, early English population theorist, commented that
such practice was found among the middle class in England.
6
69
As long as premarital abstinence was practiced, the number
of offspring would be reduced. Another method was to
employ one of the not very effective modes of contracep
tion known at the time. Through the ages, different con
traceptive procedures had been tried. Some of them were
outright dangerous, such as douching with mecuric chloride
as suggested by an anonymous author in 1831,
7
and others
simply ridiculous such as one advised by a tenth century
physician.
The woman should rise up when coitus is finished
and then take seven jumps backward, sneezing at
the same time and endeavouring to jump higher
each time. Great care must be taken in remember
ing to jump backwards, to dislodge the sperm, for
jumping forward will cause the sperm to remain
where it is.8
The development and spread of contraceptive devices during
the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries will be
explored in greater detail shortly, but first, other modes
of limiting family size used during the last century will
be examined.
In nineteenth century America an unwanted preg
nancy did not necessarily mean an unwanted child. From at
least as early as the 1820s, attempts to limit family size
became more common in the United States.
9
Numerous sources
indicate that abortions were common in the United States
from at least as early as the 1830s. Auguste earlier, a
Frenchman, traveled in the United States during the late
70
1850s. He was an astute observer of the mores of the era.
In his book, Marriage ·in the United States, earlier
referred to an 1839 speech made to a medical school class
which decried the rising abortion rate in towns and cities.
The speaker observed that many of the women who sought
abortions were married and did not want the trouble and
expense of having more children.
10
As for the late 1850s,
earlier found that abortions for married women persisted,
often at the instigation of the husband: "That such
practice should be deliberately brought into marriage,
with the consent and under the direction of the husband
[is deplorable]."
11
In 1870, physicians writing for the
Boston Medical and Surgical J · our·nal commented upon the use
of abortion by married couples who wished to limit the
number of children they had. At least in some cases, the
use of abortions to limit family size appeared linked to a
desire for a higher standard of living. "The families who
resort to this [abortion]
• • •
are not
• • •
the vile and
degraded, but far oftener prudent and thoughtful young
12
people.''
In the mid-1880s, abortion continued to be used by
married women, some of whom at least considered additional
children to be an interference with their personal pleas
ures. Dr. Alice Stockham, author of several marriage
manuals, described one case where the wife of a well-to-do
71
lawyer wanted an abortion because her pregnancy was inter
fering with a planned trip to Europe. Stockham reiterated
Carlier's observation that many abortions were instigated
13
by the husband. That abortion continued to be used in
the early twentieth century as a means of limiting family
size could be seen from the warning given by Edith Belle
Lowery in her 1911 medical advice book for women. Lowery
urged women not to submit to abortions since permanent
damage could result. She was especially concerned that
young women would decide to terminate their pregnancies
and then because of botched abortions be unable ever to
have children.
14
Throughout the nineteenth and into the beginning
of the twentieth century, information regarding the avail
ability of abortions- at least in urban areas- was readily
obtainable, if not always straightforward. All one had to
do was know the correct code. According to earlier,
"Advertisements [were] published in the newspapers .
• •
saying that one must be careful not to take certain medi
cines in the situation denoted, which signifies that they
are recommended in the special case.
1115
An 1862 advertise
ment for "Dr. Harvey's Chrome-Thermal Pills" was a case in
point.
Dr. Harvey's Chrome-Thermal Pills have never yet
failed when the directions have been strictly
followed, in removing difficulties arising from
72
an obstruction or stoppage of nature ..•
[they are safe but] they should never be taken
during the first three or four months of preg
nancy, though safe at any other time, as mis
carriage would be the result.16
Physicians who specialized in performing abortions often
took care to disguise their lucrative trade. For example,
earlier observed that certain New York doctors who per
formed abortions let the fact be known by a ''particular
mark" attached to their names.
17
At times the abortion
advertisements were more straightforward such as some
found in New York which promised:
A cure for ladies immediately. Madame
's female antidote ..• certain
_t_o_h_a_v_e_t~h~e-desired effect in twenty-four
hours, without any injurious results. [or]
Sure cure for ladies in Trouble~ No injurious
medicines or instruments used.
10
Some indication regarding the prevalence of abor
tions came from comments made by physicians in their
medical journals. Writing in 1870, one doctor observed
that he thought there were "one hundred times more abor
tions today than there were thirty years ago," while during
the same year another physician commented, "I venture the
assertion that there is not a gentlemen present who has
not, more or less frequently, been importuned to interfere
in cases of this kind." An 1881 study by the Michigan
Board of Health reported that one-third of all pregnancies
were voluntarily terminated by abortions. In 1885 another
physician stated that "according to recent estimates, the
73
proportion of abortions and miscarriages to deliveries at
term is not less than one to three." Since that number
included miscarriages it is impossible to determine what
portion was deliberately induced abortions. An 1887
article in the Journal of the American Medical Association
also suggested that abortions were probably quite preva
lent. In the article, one American physician questioned
the applicability of Parisian abortion statistics (one
abortion per every child carried to term) to the United
States, stating that he had seen only one-tenth the number
of abortions as full-term pregnancies. Writing in 1922,
Margaret Sanger asserted that certain American authors
estimated that between one and two million abortions
occurred annually. Sanger contended that, especially for
working-class women, abortion continued to be the primary
way to limit family size. Until the development and dis
semination of effective means of contraception, abortion
undoubtedly remained a major method of limiting family
. 19
s1.ze ..
Another method of limiting family size used in
nineteenth century America was child abandonment. Statis
ticians of the era were quite interested in the extent of
the "dependent" sectors of the population, and the 1880
and 1890 censuses contain information regarding the number
of "homeless" children in various sorts of benevolent
74
institutions. In both years, the numbers were small: 2.6
"homeless" children per 1,000 children sixteen or less in
1880, and 3.0 per 1,000 children under sixteen in 1890.
For infants under one year of age the rate in 1890 was 1.0
per 1,000. Of the 68,011 "homeless" children in institu
tions in 1890, 50.6 percent had one parent living and 17.9
percent had both parents living. The practice of child
abandonment may have been more common among certain groups
of women. Data from the 1890 census indicate that native
white children of foreign born parents were the most
likely to be found in the various benevolent institutions:
of all children sixteen or less, 4.0 per 1,000 native white
children of foreign born parents, 2.0 per 1,000 "colored"
children, and 1.0 per 1,000 native white children of native
born parents and foreign born white children were in such
institutions.
2
° Future research will have to determine the
accuracy and significance of such differences.
In addition to the above enumerated children were
most probably other children who remained uncounted and
untended as they wandered the city's streets. Still others
were placed with foster or adoptive parents. The New York
Children's Aid Society estimated that they found homes,
mainly in the Midwest, for 100,000 New York City waifs
between 1850 and 1899.
21
Although additional research is
needed to determine the extent of child abandonment, the
75
evidence suggests that the practice was probably not a
major method used to limit family size.
Although apparently not common, nineteenth· century
women sometimes resorted to more drastic means of elimi
nating unwanted children. Magazine and newspaper articles
documented instances of infanticide. Such cases seemed to
occur most frequently among unwed, poor, often very young
women. A typical case was that of twenty-year-old Lizzie
Miller, a domestic servant in a Quincy, Massachusetts,
home who, in 1875, was accused of drowning her newborn
child. In th~ same year, Elizabeth Arbuckle, a ''maid
servant of the Brooklyn Club House" was accused of murder
ing her newborn infant. Another case was that of a "poor,
unwed, young Irish girl" brought to trial and sentenced to
death in 1876. Yet another instance involved a thirty
year-old New Bedford domestic servant who was suspected of
k
·11· h f h ·11 . . h
0
ld
22
1 ing er ourt 1 eg1t1mate c 1 . That unwed women
were far more likely to resort to infanticide than their
married sisters was attested to by one author who claimed
that he had never been able to find a case in which a
married woman premeditated the murder of her infant.
23
How common was infanticide? Writing in 1877, one
author said that during the previous thirty years, only
sixty-four women had been convicted of murdering their
children.
24
An 1885 article by the coroner of Richmond
76
City, Virginia, claimed that in 13 years 139 women (44
white and 96 Black) had been brought to trial for infanti
cide and none had been convicted.
25
Yet lack of convic
tions or a small number of convictions did not necessarily
mean the absence of infanticide. One author claimed that
coroners' inquests were held every month over the bodies
of 5,000 children under twelve months of age, and that
there was no way to know how many were killed at birth. He
h
. . . . h d 26
suspected tat most cases of 1nfant1c1de went unpunis e.
Information from United States censuses strongly
suggests that infanticide was relatively rare and certainly
not a widespread method of limiting family size. In 1890
and 1900 a separate category for infanticide was included
under causes of cteath. Infanticides accounted for .03
deaths per 1,000 births in 1890 and .01 per 1,000 in 1900.
Between 1860 and 1900, additional information regarding the
possible occurrence of infanticide was obtained by com
paring the frequency of certain types of accidental deaths
for infants to the total number of births for a particular
year. Accidental deaths judged possibly suspicious were
"burns and scalds," "exposure and neglect," and "suffoca
tion." Of these, suffocation consistently comprised the
largest number. In the census years between 1860 and 1900
less than 2.0 such "suspicious" deaths occurred per 1,000
b
. h 27
1rt s. Of course, it must be remembered that many of
77
the deaths due to the above causes were likely to have
been true accidents.
Throughout the nineteenth century and into the
twentieth, abortion undoubtedly remained the most
important post-conception method of limiting family size.
However, during the nineteenth century, a serious and
ultimately profitable search for safe and effective con
traceptives began to gather momentum. The significance
of effective, safe contraceptives to women cannot be over
emphasized. Without such devices, women were caught in an
endless round of pregnancy and child rearing. Abortions
could be used to break the cycle, but they, as was true
. h . lf . d h. d
28
·
wit pregnancy itse , carrie t eir own angers. Nine-
teenth century medical literature is filled with references
to various sorts of uterine disorders-prolapses, retrover
sions, inflammations-which seemed to affect a large pro
portion of the adult, female population. A fair proportion
of such ailments was quite possibly due to venereal disease
or some of the barbaric treatments, such as the use of
caustic substances to treat uterine disorders, that gyne-
1
. t . fl. d h . ·
2 9
· t
co ogis sin icte upon t eir patients. However, i
seems quite likely that complications of pregnancy or a
series of abortions were probably also important causes of
such disorders.
30
Not until the advent of effective con
traceptives were women able to break out of the pregnancy,
78
child-rearing cycle with its concomitant drain on health
and time. The ability to limit conception safely brought
to women both increased control over their lives within
the traditional sphere of the home as well as the poten
tial for becoming more active participants in the "outside"
world.
31
Despite major disagreement in both the medical
profession and the articulate lay public regarding the
propriety of contraception in general, and certain forms
of contraception in particular, effective contraceptives,
knowledge about them and use of them grew dramatically in
America between 1860 and 1920.
32
Nineteenth century
reticence about sexual matters makes it difficult to deter
mine what contraceptive measures people employed, how
extensive the use was, and how contraceptive advice was
obtained. However, information from a series of popular
marriage manuals which appeared from the 1830s on, knowl
edge of particular technological developments in contra
ceptive devices, comments from physicians in their journals
and textbooks , observations from social commentators, and
the already discussed data regarding marriage and fertility
rates combine to outline the growth of contraceptive use
during the last century.
The marriage manuals, which began to appear in the
United States during the 1830s, offered some advice to
79
those seeking contraceptive information. Fruits of
Philosophy by Charles Knowlton, an American physician,
was one of the century's early and perhaps one of the
most influential books on the subject. Knowlton's book,
published in 1832, was reputed to be the first to emphasize
douching as a contraceptive method, stressing the desira
bility of placing birth control under the control of
women.
33
By 1839, 10,000 copies of Knowlton's book had
been sold in the United States. Between 1840 and 1870,
several popular books containing contraceptive information
appeared. The first was the Married Woman's Private
Medical Companion (1847) by A. M. Mauriceau, a popularizer
of medical information who totally lacked medical creden
tials. In 1856, Harry Knox Root, a physician who pop
ularized medical information, produced ·The People's Light
house of Medicine which recommended the condom and
powders for douching. Published during the same year was
the Science of Reproduction and Repr·oductive Control by
J. Soule, a mid-century physician. He advocated coitus
interruptus, the condom, douching, and safe periods.
Although other marriage manuals appeared during the time
period, the ones mentioned were representative of the
popular advice books available during the mid-nineteenth
34
century.
Between 1840 and 1870, two especially important
technological advances in contraception occurred. First,
80
the vulcanization of rubber in the 1840s allowed the con
dom, which had been in use since at least the 1750s, to
become more generally available.
35
Second, from the mid-
1860s on, cervical caps became available to American women.
In 1864 Edward Bliss Foote, newspaperman , physician,and
birth control advocate, claimed to have invented the
. l 36
cervica cap. Called the "womb-veil" by Foote, it was
described in his 1864 edition of Medical Common Sense.
[It is] an India-rubber contrivance which the
female easily adjusts in the vagina before
copulation, and which spreads a thin tissue of
the rubber before the mouth of the womb so as
to prevent the seminal aura from entering. Its
application is easy and accomplished in a moment,
without the aid of a light .... Since its
invention I have introduced it quite extensively,
and to all it appears to give the highest satis
faction.37
Foote himself estimated that over 250,000 copies of Medical
Common Sense were sold between 1858 and 1869.
38
By 1870 an assortment of contraceptive devices
ranging greatly in terms of their effectiveness were
potentially available to the interested public. In addi-
tion to condoms, cervical caps, and douches of varying
sorts were different types of tampons and possibly even
some intracervical and intrauterine devices. The gyne
cological literature of the mid- and late-1800s is filled
with descriptions of a multitude of solid pessaries, pur
portedly used for various uterine disorders. One 1865
81
article published in the Transactions of the· Am:er·i ·can
Medical Association had illustrations of 123 different
pessaries.
39
Some of the pessaries could have been used to
prevent conception. That such devices were sometimes used
as contraceptives was at least suggested by medical journal
articles such as that written by George Granville Bantock
in 1878 in which he discussed the "use and abuse of
pessaries." One abuse pointed to by Bantock was the "mis-
1 f
. . . t .,40
use of a proper y 1tt1ng 1nstrumen.
The proliferation and dissemination of contracep
tive information was attested to by the harsh reaction
against it. In 1873 Congress passed the Comstock law
ostensibly to halt the trafficking in pornographic mate
rial. However, the law specifically forbade the sending
by mail of:
Every article or thing designed, adapted, or
intended for preventing conception or producing
abortion, or for any indecent or immoral use;
and every article, instrument, substance, drug,
medicine, or thing which is advertised or
described in a manner calculated to lead another
to use or apply it for preventing conception or
producing abortion, or for any indecent or immoral
purpose; and every written or printed card, letter,
circular, book, pamphlet, advertisement, or notice
of any kind giving information ... where, or how,
or of whom, or by what means any of the hereinbefore
mentioned matters, articles or things may be obtained
or made, or where or by whom any act or operation of
any kind for the procuring or producing of abortion
will be done or performed or how or by what means
conception may be prevented or abortion may be
produced.
41
82
The federal law was followed by a series of state
statutes which, though similar to the original, specified
prohibitions against other ways of giving out contracep
tive information. Twenty-four states forbade the publish
ing, advertising or giving out of information, fourteen
made it illegal to tell anyone about birth control meas
ures, and Connecticut even made it illegal to use contra
ceptives. However, the state bans regarding contraceptive
information were not complete. Some states such as
Colorado, Indiana, and Pennsylvania exempted medical
colleges and medical books from the prohibition. Other
states such as Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, and
Illinois had laws which dealt more generally with obscen-
. b d'd 'f' 11 · ·
42
ity, ut i not speci ica y mention contraception.
Though the bans against the dissemination of contracep
tives and information about them was not complete, the
general impact of the federal and state Comstock laws was
to create a climate of repression which few were willing
or able to oppose. Despite the prohibitions and the
repressive climate, the search for more effective contra
ceptives and the debate as to which of the existing methods
were best continued.
Popular manuals containing contraceptive informa
tion continued to appear even after the passage of the
Comstock law. Dr. Alice B. Stockham published a trilogy
83
of books, Tokology, Karezza, and Parenthood during the
1880s and 1890s in which she popularized the contraceptive
idea of prolonged coitus without ejaculation proposed by
John Humphrey Noyes in his 1872 tract, Male Continence.
For those who could not practice continence, Stockham
recommended the rhythm method. Unfortunately, at that
time the fertile period was generally believed to occur
immediately after menstruation, with the "safe period"
43
corning about fifteen days later. It was not until the
1930s that the relationship between ovulation and men
struation was understood and ovulation recognized as
occurring approximately fifteen days after menstruation.
Women who followed Stockharn's advice regarding a safe time
for intercourse were likely to end up with a fair share of
unplanned pregnancies.
Stockharn's book, Tokology, contained information
about other contraceptive methods, most of which did not
meet with her approval. She condemned withdrawal as lead
ing to impotence in males, sterility in females, and
"nervous symptoms" in both sexes. Her objection to unmedi
cated douches was a practical one: if the sperm had
already passed into the uterus the water would not reach
it. As for medicated douches, "drugs," Stockham feared
that "they are usually injurious and cannot accomplish the
purpose beyond the vagina." In the 1886 edition of
84
Tokology, Stockham registered a mild complaint against
"mechanical interference." "If the material is pliable,
the only positive injury is from preventing a complete
. h f . ,.44
interc ange o magnetism.
Another set of important late nineteenth century
authors of marriage manuals were Edward Bliss Foote , al,ready
discussed as the American inventor of the cervical cap, and
his son Edward Bond Foote. In addition to Medical Common
Sense, Edward Bliss also published a small tract in the
1870s, Words in Pearl, for which he was jailed under the
Comstock law , and Plain Home Talk which first appeared in
1870. In the latter work, "mechanical devices" to prevent
conception were discussed. However, the 1876 edition was
forced to eliminate all reference to such devices in order
to comply with the Comstock law, a development greatly
lamented by Foote, who, in 1904, entered a "solemn protest,
as a physician, to this piece of meddlesome impertinence on
45
the part of the hasty law-makers." Foote contended that
he was besieged for information regarding birth control
devices but could not give out such information until the
46
Comstock law was repealed. Foote favored placing the
control of conception in the hands of woman, tempered by
advice from her physician. "With contraceptics [sic]
.
in
the hands of the mother of the race, the family physician
85
could intelligently and effectively advise woman when she
might safely parent a child•
147
Foote's outspoken advocacy of contraception and
his early run-in with the Comstock law probably made it
difficult for him to give out information regarding birth
control devices. But what of the attitudes and actions of
other members of the medical profession? Since it was to
physicians that many people probably turned for contra
ceptive information, the attitude of medical professionals
was of significance.
48
In the late nineteenth century, the
attitude of medical doctors toward contraception can at
best be described as mixed. There were undoubtedly many
such as William Goodell, author of an 1879 gynecology text,
who opposed virtually all contraceptive practices. Inter
estingly, one of his objections to withdrawal, a major
method of birth control at the time, was his belief that it
deprived the wife of orgasm, a deprivation which he
believed led to various uterine disorders. "By forfeit-
ing her conjugal rights, she does not reach that timely
conjuncture which loosens the tension of the ... muscles
of her erectile tissues ... thus arises engorgements,
erosions and displacements of the uterus.
1149
In contrast
to Goodell's anti-contraceptive stance, an article in the
Medical and Surgical Reporter commented on the \'diversity
of opinion among specialists" regarding contraception
86
and contested Goodell's conclusions that contraception
led to uterine disorders. The same article contained a
quote from a Dr. o. E. Herrick, characterized by the
journal as a "gynecologist of repute," who asserted that
"there are means of preventing conception that are abso
lutely harmless to the woman ..• all this mawkish
sentiment about its being wrong, or .•. doing damage
to the health is simply bosh.
1150
In 1882, an article
published in the Michigan Medical News advocated that
women decide how many children to have and recommended
d h
. . 51
ouc ing as a contraceptive measure.
In 1888, the Medical and Surgical Reporter pre-
sented what was possibly the first published symposium
regarding the propriety of contraception. An editorial
which appeared in the September issue called for readers
to write in and express their attitudes toward birth
control. During the next three months, twelve letters
appeared. Most of those who responded favored some form
of contraception. Dr. David E. Matteson, author of one
of the letters, indicated that at least a portion of the
medical community was favorably disposed toward contra
ception. Matteson claimed to have had a letter favoring
contraception published in a medical journal. In response
to his letter, Matteson asserted he received letters from
"Texas to Maine," mostly from physicians who supported his
52
stand.
87
Further indication of the acceptance of contracep
tion by at least a segment of the medical profession was
suggested by another letter in the Medical and Surgical
Reporter. The letter referred to remarks made by a Dr. J.
Ford Thompson to the 1888 meeting of the Gynecological
Society of Washington, D.C. At the meeting, Thompson
stated that much of the anti-contraceptive literature was
53
"nonsense." Thompson's remarks also contained an eval-
uation of various birth control methods and offered a
detailed description of contraceptive practices of the
era. Thompson contended that withdrawal, which he believed
was the most common form of birth control, had no ill
effects. Both condoms for males or "hoods" (cervical caps)
for women were harmless since neither "interfered with the
act of coition." While he thought that cold water douches
might be harmful, he contended that tepid water or "water
impregnated with carbolic acid or astringent" were probably
54
safe.
In another letter, David Matteson offered addi
tional information regarding birth control practices. He
contended that douching was the most prevalent form of
contraception. According to Matteson, withdrawal "has
grown in popularity of late," but although effective he
rejected it along with the condom as "aesthetically
unpleasing." He thought that the various "veils" (cervical
88
caps} required too much skill for most women and instead
recommended placing a moistened sponge in the vagina which
"at the needed time wil be carried onward, covering and
shielding the os uteri, while its meshes will catch and
hold the seminal fluid." He suggested attaching a string
to the sponge so that the device could be easily removed
following intercourse.
55
In 1890 another symposium
appeared, this time in Cincinnati's Medical News: eight
participants favored contraception, one abstinence, and
three opposed any form of birth controi.
56
An article in
The Maryland Medical Journal of 1895 advocated the
cervical cap and douching, but condemned the condom as
harmful.
57
While many physicians were willing to express
openly a pro-contraception stance, others presented one
viewpoint in public and another in communicating with their
medical colleagues. Dr. W.R. D. Blackwood criticized such
medical hypocrites and in doing so revealed one of the ways
fearful physicians transmitted birth control information to
one another and to their students.
I never saw a more ludricrous display of double
cunning than appeared in a medical journal, where
in a professor warned his class against the
wickedness and baneful effect of simple aqueous
or medicated vaginal douches when employed as a
preventive means after coition, when in the same
journal further on this man begged his pupils
not to forget his repeated injunction as to the
value of just such .injections in large quantity
89
under all conditions of uterine excitement,
engorgement, or inflammation. One talk was
for the religious public, the other a genuine
piece of advice to his students, and a good
one as we all know.SB
The medical profession was clearly deeply divided as to
the general propriety of contraception, its use in par
ticular instances, and which procedures or devices were
the most effective. Furthermore, few physicians appeared
willing to take a public stand favoring contraception.
However, at least some of them, in the privacy of their
offices, and probably especially with their middle- and
59
upper-class patients, shared what knowledge they had.
During the latter decades of the nineteenth century
and early years of the twentieth, the effectiveness and
availability of different methods of contraception con
tinued to increase. For many couples, coitus interruptus
and abstinence probably remained the most commonly used
forms of birth contro1.
60
Douching as a contraceptive
measure appeared to grow in popularity during the early
1900s and a wide variety of components ranging from the
dangerous mercuric chloride to quinine to simple cold
water were used.
61
Advertisements for douches appeared
in urban newspapers, though in keeping with the prohibi
tions of the era, the hygenic rather than contraceptive
value of douching was emphasized. One paper advertised a
"vaginal syringe ... with a marvelous whirling spray
90
... the best ... more convenient.
1162
There is some
evidence that various types of "mechanical devices,"
probably condoms and cervical caps, grew in popularity
following the turn-of-the-century. Writing in 1907, Henry
Lyman in his Practical Horne Doctor, asserted that "the
most popular and generally used means [of contraception]
• • •
are the various mechanical devices, 'barriers'
which are extensively advertised and even vended around
63
the street."
A survey by Hornell Hart of articles indexed in
Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature indicated a public
receptiveness toward easier access to birth control infor
mation. Looking at both the mass circulation and more
intellectual magazines of the era, Hart found that a
highly favorable attitude toward birth control prevailed
during the 1905-1914 period- more so than during most of
the 1920s (Table 9).
It is clear that effective contraceptive measures
grew in number in the United States during the late nine
teenth and early twentieth centuries and that knowledge of
them was eagerly if furtively sought after by much of the
American public. The possibility of limiting family size
by safe methods of contraception was becoming a reality.
That the process was a gradual one with women of the
upper and middle class reaping the first benefits was
91
TABLE 9.--Percentage favorable toward birth control as
reflected in magazines of the era
Time period
1905-1914
1915-1918
1919-1921
1922-1929
Percent favorable
86
50
87
64
SOURCE: Harnell Hart, "Changing Social Attitudes
and Interests," in Recent Social Trends in the United
States (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1933), p. 416.
indicated both by observations from commentators of the
era and by fertility statistics. Although not until
Margaret Sanger courageously and forcefully undertook her
birth control campaign did information about contraception
11 1 f
. 64 . . f.
begin to permeate a ayers o society, s1gn1 icant
numbers of the middle and upper class appeared to have
been practicing birth control for at le~st the few pre
ceding decades.
An 1887 article in Medical Age complained that
"the devices of the brothel [contraceptives] have been so
freely introduced into classes of society which stand
most in need of multiplication ... to have practically
nullified the divine decree to multiply.
1165
In 1888, Dr.
Thomas A. Pope stated that "very frequent conception is
now mostly confined to the poorer class. The rich , in
92
town and country, already limit their offspring." Pope
advocated making contraceptive information available to
poorer women, commenting that "I have no doubt that most
of the criminal abortions occasionally seen in the country
and so often occurring in the city are due to a mother
feeling she cannot adequately care for another child
rather than simply not wanting another.
1166
Knowledge and
use of contraceptives, though much more prevalent among
middle- and upper-class women was not limited to them.
According to Dr. James E. Free, "We know that many in all
classes are experimenting for the purpose of limiting the
number of offspring, and that many women who marry nowa
days either have a preventive ... or hope to find one.
1167
Writers in the early 1900s reiterated the comments
of earlier observers. Ethel Wadsworth Cartland was a
thirty-one-year-old, college-educated native white woman
of native born parents. She was married to a clergyman
and lived in New England. Cartland contended that, from
what she had observed, the norm among native whites of
native born parents was to have no more than two chil-
68
dren. According to a 1915 article in the New Republic,
"A large minority of husbands and wives already know how
not to have too many children and it is only a question of
a decade or two when the rest will know.
1169
93
Writing in 1916, Dr. Rachelle S. Yarros pointed
out that not only had "birth control ... been practiced
more and more for the past several decades by the intel
ligent, comfortable, and professional classes of this
country and abroad," but that such classes apparently had
"little difficulty in obtaining the information from com-
h
• • II 70
petent p ys1c1ans. The disparity in birth control
information available to rich and poor was also commented
upon by a Dr. Mary Hunt who criticized "Fifth Avenue
Doctors" for giving information and services to the rich
72
which were denied to the poor. Some of the strongest
statements regarding the class differences in terms of
knowledge of contraceptives and practices used to limit
family size were made by Margaret Sanger in 1922. She
asserted that "most of the women of the middle and upper
classes in all countries seem secure in their knowledge
of contraceptives as a means of birth control .... Con
traceptive measures among the upper class and the practice
of abortion among the lower class are the real means
employed to regulate the number of offspring.
1173
Between 1890 and 1920, the general trend was
toward more youthful marriages and fewer children. How
ever, by 1920, the higher percentage of younger married
women in the urban areas had combined with other factors
to halt the decline in the number of children born
94
(Table 8). First, none of the birth control devices was
one hundred percent effective. In addition, a much more
positive and open attitude toward women's sexuality
emerged during the early twentieth century.
73
Those more
liberal views first emerged in the city and had their
initial impact upon women of the upper and middle
1
7 4
h · ' . 11 . . b. th
c asses. Per aps an increase in i egitimate ir s
accompanied the new morality. In addition, despite the
development and proliferation of more effective contra
ceptives, the combination of a higher marriage rate plus
a greater acceptance of female sexuality within marriage
were probably influential in accounting for part of the
rise in the child/woman ratio. Another factor whose
effect would have been especially pronounced in the urban
areas would have been the inclusion in the native white
category of a large number of daughters of foreign born
parents who may have tended toward the higher reproduc
tion rates of the foreign born rather than the lower rates
of the earlier groups of native born whites.
75
Finally,
the generally higher child/woman ratio figures for 1920
possibly reflected a post-World War I baby boom.
Although the majority of urban women tended toward
earlier marriages with fewer children, a visible minority
of women moved toward a later marriage or no marriage at
all. That minority trend evoked a great deal of concern
95
among certain members of the more affluent and highly
educated portions of society, because it was precisely in
that group where the trend was most evident. A survey pub
lished in the 1931 American Journal of Sociology revealed
that for women who had gotten married between 1900 and
1905, the higher the social class (defined on the basis of
76
the husband's occupation), the later the marriage age
(Table 10).
TABLE 10.--Mean age at marriage for women married
between 1900 and 1905
Occupation of husband
Professional
Proprietor
Clerk
Skilled worker
Semi-skilled worker
UnskiJ.led worker
Mean age at
.
marriage
24.8
23.3
22.9
21.8
21.2
21.4
SOURCE: Frank Notestein, "Differential Age at Marriage
According to Social Class," American Journal of Sociology
37 (June 1931) :40.
A 1900 study made by Mary Roberts Smith supports
the contention that educated women of higher social classes
tended to marry relatively late. In her study, Smith
looked at college educated and non-college educated
96
women who came from the same social class and compared
the age at which they married. Compared with the findings
of the 1931 study, both groups of women married relatively
late. However, as can be seen in Table 11, college edu
cated women in the Smith study tended to marry later than
their non-college educated sisters. The disparity in
marriage age between the two groups was probably linked
to their different pre-marital employment experiences.
The college educated women tended to be more career
oriented than their non-college educated counterparts:
of the college educated women, three-fourths had some form
of occupation prior to marriage, while only one-third of
77
the non-college educated women had worked. For both
groups, the younger the women the higher the average
marriage age. The increase in the average marriage age
was probably linked to the increase in employment oppor
tunities which would have drawn more women in both groups
into the labor force. Since the turn-of-the-century,
middle- or upper-class women who wished to pursue a higher
education and/or a career were in most instances forced
by the dictates of society to postpone or forsake marriage,
a pattern of delayed marriage or no marriage at all began
to emerge.
As has been seen, a pattern of relatively early
marriage coupled with low fertility was present in American
97
TABLE 11.--Average age at marriage according to number of
years married, college educated and non-college
educated women, 1900
Married 10
years or less
Married
10-20 years
Married 21
years or more
Average
age at
.
marriage
A B
26.8 25.9
A B A B
26.1 24.2 24.2 21.6
SOURCE: Mary Roberts Smith, "Statistics of College
and Non-College Women," American Statistical Association
49 (March 1900):8.
NOTE: A= college educated; B = non-college educated.
The women in "B" had generally received their education in
the following: private schools, high schools, public
schools, seminaries, academies, partial college, art or
music study, or private teachers.
cities around the turn-of-the-century. What similarities
or differences were present among cities with respect to
female marriage and fertility patterns? Did cities tend
to be much alike in the way they affected women's pro
pensity to marry and bear children, or did factors such
as size of city, economic function, sex ratio and the
percentage of Catholic or foreign born women cause sig
nificant differences?
A major distinguishing feature among cities is
the size of the population. How did city size affect
the percentage of women who married and the child/woman
ratio? Was a gradual change evident as one moved from
98
the largest of urban units down to the rural areas or
was there a more abrupt jump from rural to urban with not
78
much variation within the urban category? Little con-
crete evidence has been presented regarding marriage and
fertility patterns in the late nineteenth and early
twentieth century city. Often the pattern of one census
year has been assumed to have existed in previous and
subsequent decades.
Between 1890 and 1920, size of city appeared to
bear almost no relationship to the percentage of married
women (Table 12). Only in 1910 was a slight inverse
relationship between the two variables evident and even
for that year the correlation was weak and not highly
. 'f' 79
s1gn1 icant.
Similarly, female fertility did not appear to be
strongly associated with city size during the 1890 to
1920 period.
80
A small negative relationship between the
two variables was present. The relationship, although
statistically significant for 1890 and 1920, was not strong
for any of the three census years (Table 13).
The data suggest that once a certain population
size was reached, a distinct urban pattern of marriage
and fertility emerged. In this study, a population of
25,000 was generally used as the cutoff point between
urban and rural. It is possible, however, that during
the 1870-1920 time period, towns between 2,500 and 25,000
99
TABLE 12.--The percentage of married women by size of city,
1890-1920
25,000-50,000 50,000-100,000 100,000-500,000 500,000+
1890 52. 8 ± 5 51.4 ± 5 51.3 ± 4 51.5 ±
Agg N=66 N=30 N=24 N=4
1900 53.6 ± 5 51.9 ± 5 52.0 ± 3 50.6 ±
Agg N=81 N=38 N=31 N=8
1910 52.7 ± 6 54.1 ± 5 51.1 ± 5 48.2
+
Nwnp N=l22 N=59 N=42 N=8
1920 56.2 ± 6 56.6 ± 5 54.8 ± 6 52.6 ±
Nwnp N=l44 N=74 N=55 N=l2
SOURCES: U.S., Censuses, 1890-1920.
NOTE: The mean percentage of married women was calculated from
census data (1890-1920) for all cities in the United States in each
given size category. + Standard deviations are shown. For 1890 and
1900, calculations were made using the aggregate population because
data were not available for all size categories for native whites of
native born parents. N = the number of observations. Agg = Aggre
gate population; Nwnp = Native whites of native born parents. The
correlation coefficients for years other than 1910 were as follows:
1890, r = -.07; 1900, r = .02; 1920, r = .04.
4
3
3
5
100
TABLE 13.--Native white and aggregate child/woman ratios by
size of city, and correlation coefficients for native
whites, 1890-1920
==================================
1890
Nw
1900
Nw
Agg
1910
Agg
1920
Nw
25,000-
50,000
357±82
342±75
481±94
446±107
403±73
Size of city
50,000-
100,000
359±99
311±78
455±77
457±84
387±70
100,000-
500,000
334±69
299±60
471±104
416±77
361±46
SOURCES: U.S., Censuses, 1890-192...9_.
500,000+
311±34
296±60
471±39
456±48
336±61
Correlation
coefficient
r =
-.16a
N
-
124
r = -.11
N - 158
r =
-.15b
N - 285
NOTE: The mean was calculated from census data for all
cities in the United States in each given size range +
Standard deviations are shown. N = the number of observations.
Agg = Aggregate population; Nw = Native white population, N =
the number of observation. r = the correlation coefficient.
The values of N are as follows for the different sized cities .
25,000-50,000: 1890; N = 66; 1900, N = 81; 1910, N = 122; 1920,
N - 144. 50,000 - 100,000: 1890, N = 30; 1900, N = 39; 1910,
N = 59; 1920, N = 74. 100,000-500,000: 1890, N = 24; 1900,
N = 31; 1910, N = 42; 1920, N = 55. 500,000+: 1890, N = 4;
1900-1910, N = 8; 1920, N = 12.
aSignificant at the .05 level.
b · 'f' h 1
S1gn1 icant at t e .01 leve.
101
exhibited marriage and fertility patterns that were more
urban than rural. In the 1920 census, certain data were
presented for urban areas between 2,500 and 25,000.
Towns of that size comprised 30.4 percent of the total
b 1
. 81 h f . d
ur an popu ation. Forte percentage o women marrie
or single and for the child/woman ratio, the differences
between the urban and the rural sectors were slightly
greater when the 2,500-25,000 group was included in the
urban category, suggesting that towns of that size exhib
ited a more urban than rural pattern of behavior (Table
14) •
Whether an abrupt shift between urban and rural
marriage and fertility patterns occurred at a population
of about 2,500 or whether a gradual transition took place
between rural areas and towns of 2,500 was not determined.
What was clear was that once a population of 25,000,
possibly as low as 2,500 was reached, little additional
variation was evident.
The lack of strong correlation between community
size and female marital status and fertility, at least
once a population of 25,000 or possibly 2,500 had been
reached, was probably due to a number of factors. Some
of the attitudes motivating urban women to have fewer
children would not likely have been related to community
size. Town and city dwellers tended to regard children as
102
t-'
0
w
TABLE 14.--Percentage differences between communities of different sizes, 1920
Native white
child/woman
ratio
Percent single
Agg
Nwnp
Percent
married
Agg
Nwnp
25,000+
388
28.1
30.6
57.9
56.5
Under
25,000
643
25.7
27.3
63.2
62.3
Percent
difference
65.7
9.3
12.1
9.2
10.3
2,500+
415
27.9
30.0
58.2
57.1
Under
2,500
699
24.8
26.4
64 . 5
63.7
SOURCE: U.S., Department of Commerce, Fourteenth Census, 1920
Percent
difference
68.4
12.5
13.6
10.8
11.6
NOTE: Agg = Aggregate population; Nwnp = Native whites of native born
parents.
not contributing to the economic well-being of the family.
Among urban middle-class families, perhaps the increased
emphasis upon the complexities of child rearing was related
to a decrease in the number of offspring. A growing desire
for a higher standard of living most likely also played a
role in reducing fertility. Such attitudes probably cut
across city--size boundaries. At the same time, more effec
tive means of contraception meant that urban women, with
their easier access to birth control information and
products, would tend to find it increasingly easy to marry
at an earlier age and still limit family size.
The impact of a higher percentage of Catholic
women or foreign born women upon the child/woman ratio of
a city was also investigated. In 1900, the year studied,
the higher the percentage of Catholic women or foreign
born women, the greater the aggregate child/woman ratio
(Table 15). Such a relationship was anticipated since
foreign born women were less likely than native whites to
have knowledge of or access to birth control devices, and
since many of the foreign born women came from rural areas
and would have followed the rural pattern of having more
children. Catholic women, even if aware of birth control
measures would probably not have used them because of
1
. . h'b' . 82
re 1g1ous pro 1 1t1ons.
104
TABLE 15.--Correlation between the percentage of Catholic
females or the percentage of foreign born females and the
aggregate child/woman ratio, 1900
Percentage of
Catholic females
vs. child/woman
ratio
Percentage of
foreign born
females vs.
child/woman
ratio
Correlation
coef.fic.ient
r -
.2la
r -
.39a
Number of
o.bs. e.r.va tio.ns
N - 146
N - 158
SOURCE: U.S. , Department of the Interior, · Twelfth
Census, 1900.
NOTE: Cities of 25,000+. Data regarding the number
of Catholic women was missing for some cities.
aSignificant at the .001 level.
In contrast to the aggregate population, the
relationship between the percentage of Catholic women and
the native white child/woman ratio was negative; as the
percentage of Catholic women in a city rose, the native
white child/woman ratio declined (Table 16). The nega
tive correlation between the two variables was probably
due to the tendency for Catholic women to be found in
cities with a high Manufacturing and Mechanical component
(Table 16). In 1900, such cities were positively asso
ciated with the percentage of employed native white women
105
TABLE 16.--Correlation between percent of Catholic women and
(1) fertility, (2) economic function, and (3) female
employment
Correlation
c.oefficient
Number of
observations
Percent of Catholic
women vs. native white
child/woman ratio
Percent of total labor
force in M&M occupations
vs. percent of Catholic
women
Percent of total labor
force in M&M occupations b
vs. percent Nwnp employed
Percent of total labor force
in M&M occupations vs .
native white child/woman
ratio
N - 146
r = N - 146
r =
N - 79
N - 158
SOURCE: U.S., Department of the Interior, Twelfth Census, 1900 .
NOTE: Cities of 25,000+. Data regarding the number of Catholic
wom8n was missing for some cities. Agg = Aggregate population;
Nwnp = Native whites of native born parents. M&M = Manufacturing
and Mechanical.
asignificant at the .001 level.
bin 1900, data regarding employment of native white women of
native born parents was available for females 16 or older in cities
of 50,000 or larger .
106
of native born parents and negatively correlated with the
native white child/woman ratio (Table 16). In short, the
percentage of Catholic women in a city did not itself
appear to influence the native white child/woman ratio.
· f .
83
d b 1 1
Economic unction seeme to e more c ose y
related to the marriage and fertility patterns of urban
women than did city size. In general, the greater the
proportion of all workers employed in Manufacturing and
Mechanical occupations in a city, the higher the per
centage of single women, the lower the percentage of
married women and the lower the child/woman ratio (Table
17). Conversely, as the proportion of the work force
engaged in Trade and Transportation occupations grew, the
percentage of married women rose and the percentage of
single women decreased (Table 17).
The temporal trends in women's marriage and
fertility patterns support the contention that 1890 to
1920 was a time of transition for the American urban
woman. For example, although the percentage of married
women of native white native born parents continued to be
positively associated with the proportion of the work
force in Trade and Transportation, the strength of the
correlation decreased between 1890 and 1920 (Table 17). A
positive relationship that had existed between Trade and
Transportation and native white child/woman ratio in
107
f--J
0
00
TABLE 17.--Correlation between economic function, marital status,and fertility for the
aggregate population, native whites, and native whites of native born parents,
1890-1920
Agg~~gate population
Native whites of native born parents
1890 1900 1920
1890a 1900b
1920
Manufacturing and
mechanical vs.
Percent single
r = .35g r = .33g
r < .1 r < .1 r = .40g
r = .18c,g
N = 124 N = 158 N = 285 N = 27 N = 30 N = 285
Percent married
r < .1 r < .1
r = 31g
r = -.17 r = -.28
r <
.le
N = 124 N = 158 N = 285 N = 27 N = 30 N = 285
Native white child/
r = ..... 42g r = -.. 28g
r = """.16c,g
-- -- --
woman ratio N = 58 N = 158 N = 285
d
Trade and transporta-
Trade Trans-
tion vs.
porta-
tiond
e e g e f
r = . 24g r = - .. 22g
Percent single
r = -.18 r = .-.14 r = -.34 r = -.39
r = ..... _44
N = 124
N ~ 158 N = 285 N = 27 N = 30 N = 285 N = 285
f
r < .1
f e
r = .22g
Percent married
r = .. 24 r < .1 r = .44 r = .39 r < .1
N = 124 N = 158 N = 285 N = 27 N = 30 N = 285 N = 285
Native white child/ r = .28
e
r < .1 r = --.29
g
r < .. 1
woman ratio
.--
--
--
N = 58 N = 158 N = 285 N = 285
j--1
0
'°
TABLE 17.--Continued
SOURCES: U.S., Censuses, 1890-1920.
NOTE: The percentage of the work force in each city engaged in occupations classified as
(1) Trade and Transportation, and (2) Manufacturing and Mechanical was calculated for each year.
For 1920, Trade and Transportation were also calculated separately. Then the strength of the
correlation between economic activity and marital status or child/woman ratio was tested.
Unless otherwise stated, calculations were based on cities of 25,000+. N = the number of obser
vations. r = the correlation coefficient. p = level of significance.
aFor 1890, information regarding the marital status of native whites of native born parents
was available only for cities of 100,000+ excluding Massachusetts. For the native white child/
woman ratio, information was given for cities of 50,000+.
bFor 1900, information regarding the marital status of native whites of native born parents
was available only for cities of 100,000+ excluding Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island.
cFor 1920, information regarding the marital status of native whites of native born parents
was available for all cities of 25,000+. In order to ascertain whether the inclusion of cities
of the 25,000-100,000 category had skewed the correlations, correlations were calculated using
only those cities looked at in 1890. For marital· status, cities of 100,000+ (in 1890) were
included. For the percentage of single women, r = .11, N = 25, .4 > p > .3. For the percentage
of married women, r = -.28, N = 25, .1 > p > .OS. For the native white child/woman ratio,
cities of so,ooo+ (in 1890) were looked at: r = .27, N = 58, p ~ .025.
dAs was done with Mechanical and Manufacturing, the correlations between Trade and Transpor
tation and the variables was tested for cities that had been looked at in 1890. For marital
status, cities of 100,000+ were examined. For the percentage of single women, r = -.32, N = 25,
p ~ .OS. For the percentage of married women, r = .20, N = 25, .2 > p > .1. For the native
white child/woman ratio, cities of 50,000+ were used: r = .09, N = 58 .
eSignificant at the .05 level.
f . 'f'
Signi icant at the . 01 level. gSignificant at the .001 level.
1890 had vanished by 1900 (Table 17). Similarly, the
slight negative correlation between Manufacturing and
Mechanical and the percentage of married native white
women of native born parents disappeared between 1900 and
1920. At the same time, the relationship between Manu
facturing and Mechanical and native white child/woman
ratio which had been negative in 1890 shifted to slightly
positive by 1920 (Table 17) .
84
Before positing an explanation regarding the rela
tionship between economic function of cities and marital
and fertility patterns, the relationship between sex
ratio
85
(the number of men per one hundred women) will
first be examined. Although not always considered an
important differentiator among urban areas, sex ratio was
quite significant insofar as the marriage patterns of
women were concerned. A strong positive association
existed between the sex ratio and the percentage of mar
ried women (Table 18). The association was considerably
stronger for the aggregate population than for native
whites of native born parents. Moreover, between 1890 and
1920, the strength of the correlation increased for the
aggregate population while it appeared to decrease for
native whites of native born parents (Table 18). By 1920,
among the aggregate population, sex ratio accounted for
almost half of the variation among cities with respect to
the percentage of married women (Table 18).
110
TABLE 18.--Correlation between sex ratio and marital status, aggregate
population and native whites of native born parents, 1890-1920
Native whites of native
Aggregate population born parents
Aggregate sex ratio Aggregate sex ratio
vs. vs.
Percent Percent Percent Percent
married single married single
1890a
r =
.57e
r -
-.3ld
r -
.67e
r -
-.47d
N - 58 N - 58 N -
27 N - 27
1900b
r = .56 r -
-.4le
r =
.37c
r - -.29
N - 158 N - 158 N
-
30 N - 30
1910
r -
.45e
r -
-.26e
N - 231 N -
231
r -
.73e
r =
-.sse
r =
.39e
r -
-.33e
1920
N - 285 N -
285 N - 285 N - 285
SOURCES: U.S., Censuses, 1890-192~.
NOTE: The aggregate sex ratio was calculated on the basis of
males and females 15+. The percentage of women 15+ who were married
was calculated for each city. Then the strength of the correlation
between sex ratio and marital status was tested. r = the correlation
coefficient; N = the number of observations.
aFor 1890, marital status for the aggregate population was calcu
lated for cities 50,000+, while for the native white women of native
born parents it was calculated for cities of 100,000+ excluding
Massachusetts.
b
For 1900, marital status of native whites of native born parents
was calculated for cities of 100,000+ excluding Massachusetts, Rhode
Island, and New Jersey.
cSignificant at the .OS level.
dSignificant at the . 01 level .
eSignificant at the .001 level.
111
It was not surprising to tind the availability of
men closely correlated with the percentage of married
women. But how was the divergence between the aggregate
population and native whites of native born parents with
respect to the impact of sex ratio upon marital patterns
to be explained? The data suggest that while for the
aggregate population, the availability of men was of
paramount importance in determining whether or not women
married, for native whites of native born parents other
factors tended to play a more pronounced role. In par
ticular, employment opportunities seemed to be important.
As will be discussed more fully in Chapter V, the per
centage of married women and the percentage of employed
women tended to be negatively correlated. The better
paying more desirable white-collar jobs were dominated
by native whites of native born parents. Among such
women employment was more likely to be a conscious,
positive choice and marriage less likely to be looked
upon as something entered into as an escape from the
drudgery of a job. Indeed one author, writing in 1905,
spoke of married women, mainly middle class, who looked
back with some longing on their pre-marriage days, "when
as self-supporting women they were comfortably assured
of a definite weekly or monthly salary, and there is in
h d f d
. . f . "86
t em an un ertone o issatis action. In contrast,
112
the oppressive nature of much tactory or sweatshop work
would have made it less likely for women in such occu
pations to want to stay with their jobs.
In order to understand changes in women's mari-
tal patterns, those of native whites of native born
parents in particular, the economic function of the city
must be considered. As will be explored more fully in
Chapter V, economic function also tended to be closely
correlated with the percentage of employed women. Cities
which leaned more heavily toward Manufacturing and Mechan
ical occupations appeared to draw women into the work
force at an earlier date than did those cities which had
a greater percentage of their total work force in Trade
and Transportation occupations. However, as white-collar
occupations burgeoned, the initial advantage with respect
to female employment held by manufacturing and mechanical
cities appeared to undergo a comparative decline. Since
marriage and employment tended to be negatively asso
ciated for women, the changing employment opportunities
offered by cities with different economic functions prob
ably were reflected in the marriage and fertility patterns.
Thus the positive association between Trade and Transpor
tation and the percentage of married native white women
of native born parents declined during the same time
period that white-collar occupations expanded. Not
113
surprisingly, as the po~itive correlation between Trade
and Transportation and the percentage of married women
declined, so did the positive correlation Trade and
Transportation and the native white child/woman ratio.
During the late nineteenth and early twentieth
century, significant changes were occurring in the mar
riage and fertility patterns of American, urban women.
In general, the trend was toward earlier marriages but
fewer children, a development made possible by the
increasing effectiveness and availability of birth con
trol measures. Although distinct urban and rural patterns
of female fertility and tendency to marry were evident,
variations also existed among cities. Important differ
entiators among urban areas included economic function
and sex ratio. In general both sex ratio and a high per
centage of the work force in Trade and Transportation
occupations tended to be positively correlated with the
percentage of married women and the child/woman ratio and
negatively correlated with the percentage of single women.
The opposite tended to be true for cities with a high
percentage of their work force in Manufacturing and
Mechanical occupations. In contrast to economic function,
city size, at least once a population of 25,000 or possibly
as low as 2,500 had been reached, appeared to bear little
relationship to the percentage of married women or the
114
child/woman ratio. Altho~gh intercity variations in
female fertility and marital patterns were evident, a
movement toward earlier marriages coupled with a decrease
in fertility appeared to be geneially associated with
urban areas during the late 1800s and early 1900s.
115
NOTES
1
Boston Weekly Tr· a· n'Scr• ipt, March 4, 1890.
2
oata regarding the conjugal status for native
white women of native born parents in 1900 were given
only for cities of 100,000 or larger rather than for
25,000 or larger as in 1910 and 1920. Therefore it was
impossible to separate accurately the percent married
in urban and rural areas.
3
The child/woman ratio is the number of children
under 5 per 1,000 women 20-44 years of age. In the
absence of more precise fertility statistics, the child/
woman ratio gives an estimation of a population's fer
tility. The child/woman ratio in the United States
began to decline in about 1810. Wilson H. Grabill,
Clyde V. Kiser, and Pascal K. Whelpton, "A Long View,"
in The American Family in Social-Historical Perspective,
ed. Michael Gordon (New York: St. Martin's Press,
1973), pp. 374-396, present statistics for the 1800-1840
period and 1910-1950. Between 1800 and 184.0 they point
out that there was a decrease of approximately the same
number of children per 1,000 women in both urban and
rural areas. However, the percentage decline was more
precipitous in the urban sector due to the already
smaller child/woman ratio. For the 1840-1890 period
little is known about general fertility patterns in the
urban and rural sectors of the United States.
4
The relationship between the trend toward
earlier marriages in urban areas and the use of contra
ceptives has been suggested, but not documented, by
other authors. See Thompson and Whelpton, Population
Trends in the United States, p. 226; Stix and Notestein,
Controlled Fertility; Ogburn and Nimkoff, Technology
and the Changing Family.
5
oata were not available regarding the fertility
rates for native whites of native born parents. There
fore the rates for native whites have been calculated.
116
6
Francis Place, Illustrations and Proof of the
Principles of Population (n.p.: Longman, Rees, Hurst &
Orme, 1820; reprint ed., Augustus, Me.: Kelley, 1967),
p. 162.
7
Bernard Ephraim Finch and Hugh Green, Contracep
tion through the Ages (Springfield, Ill.: Charles C.
Thomas, 1963), pp. 34, 36. The authors point out that
this method of douching was responsible for many deaths
and much damage to health.
8
Ibid., p. 62.
9
see Linda Gordon, Woman's Body, Woman's Right:
A Social History of Birth Control in America (New York:
Grossman Publishers, 1976); Norman Himes, Medical History
of Contraception (Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins
Co.; reprint ed., New York: Schocken, 1970); Daniel Scott
Smith, "Family Limitation, Sexual Control, and Domestic
Feminism in Victorian America," Feminist Studies 1 (Winter
Spring 1973) :40-57; R. Sauer, "Attitudes to Abortion in
America, 1800-1973," Population Studies 28 (March 1974):
53-67.
10
Auguste earlier, Marriage in the United States,
trans. by B. Joy Jeffries (Boston: De Vries, Ibarra & Co.,
1867; reprint ed., New York: Arno Press, 1972),
p. 15 8.
11
Ibid., p. 154. earlier was much more sympathetic
toward a parent's use of abortion to protect a daughter's
reputation.
1211
Reports of Medical Societies," Boston Medical
and Surgical Journal 6 (December 1, 1870) :359-360;
o. C. Turner, "Criminal Abortion," Boston Medical and
Surgical Journal 5 (April 21, 1870) ·299-300.
13
Alice Stockham, Tokology (Boston: George Smith
& Co.), pp. 247-249. Stockham (p. 250) was sympathetic
with unmarried women who wanted abortions but still felt
that it was morally wrong.
14
Edith Belle Lowry, Herself (Chicago: Forbes &
Co . , 19 11 ) , p . 9 5 .
15c 1· .
ar ier, Marriage in the United States, p. 153.
16
cincinnati Daily Gazette, March 18, 1862.
------------ - -
117
17
carlier, .Mar• riage in the United States, p. 153.
earlier did not specity what the mark was.
18
George Ellington, wo· men of New Yo·rk· Under
world of the Great City (New York: New York Book Co.,
1869), p. 396.
19
Turner, "Criminal Abortion," p. 300; "Report
of Medical Societies," p. 359; J. L. Sullivan, "Treat
ment of Abortion with Cases," Boston Medical and
Surgical Journal 123 (September 3 . , 1885) :223; Medico
Legal Society of Chicago, "Medico-Legal Aspects of
Criminal Abortion," Journal of the American Medical
Association 9 (December 10, 1887) :764; Margaret Sanger,
The New Motherhood (London: Jonathan Cape, 1922;
reprint ed., Elmsford, New York: Maxwell Reprint Co.,
1970), pp. 142-143; Walter Franklin Robie, Rational Sex
Ethics: Further Investigations (Boston: Gorham Press,
1919), p. 194. For discussions regarding changing
attitudes toward abortion in the United States see
Gordon, Woman's Body, Woman's Right and Sauer, ~'Atti
tudes to Abortion."
20
u.s., Department of the Interior, Office of
the Census, Tenth Census of the United States, 1880,
vol. 21, Report on the Defective, Dependent and Delin
quent Classes, p. 443; U.S., Department of the Interior,
Office of the Census, Eleventh Census of the United
States, 1890: Crime, Pauperism and Benevolence, pt. 2,
pp. 954, 1011-1020; Population, pt. 2, p. 2.
2111
Finding Homes for the Homeless," Review of
Reviews, August 1899, pp. 124-125.
22
New York Times, February 19, 1875, and August
25, 1875; C. A. Fyffee, "The Punishment of Infanticide,"
Nineteenth Century, June 1887, pp. 583-595; W. H. Taylor,
"A Case of Infanticide," Boston Medical and Surgical
Journal 123 (November 12, 1885) :459-460. See Gordon,
Woman's Bod¼ Woman's Right, p. 50, where infanticide is
described as primarily a crime of the very poor.
23
Fyffee, "Punishment of Infanticide," pp. 583-595.
24
Ibid.
2511
Infanticide," Journal of the American Medical
Association 5 (October 17, 1885) :440.
26
Fyffee, "Punishment of Infanticide," pp. 583-595.
118
27
U.S., Department of the Interior, Office of the
Census, Eighth Census of the United States, ·1860:
Mortality and Miscellaneous Statistics, pp. 44-45,
52-53; U.S., Department of the Interior, Office of the
Census, Ninth Census of the United States, 1870, vol. 2,
Vital Statistics, pp. 18-21; vol. 1, Population and
Social Statistics, p. 552; U.S., Department of the
Interior, Office of the Census, Tenth Census of the
United States, 1880, vol. 2, Mortality and Vital Statis
tics, pt. 1, pp. 44-53; vol. 1, Population, p. 548;
U.S., Department of the Interior, Office of the Census,
Eleventh Census, 1890: Vital and So"cial Statistics,
pt. 3, Statistics of Death, pp. 16-22; Population, pt. 2,
p. 2; U.S., Department of the Interior, Office of the
Census, Twelfth Census, 1900, vol. 4, Vital Statistics,
pt. 2, Statistics of Death, pp. 228-250. Births for a
given year were calculated on the basis of the total
under one year of age plus the total deaths for those
under one year of age.
28
Gordon, Woman's Body, Woman's Right, pp. 52-54
suggests that the mortality rate from abortions has
tended to be overestimated, and that abortions were
probably much safer than is generally believed. However,
she presents little evidence to support her contention
at least insofar as the nineteenth century was con
cerned. Even if the mortality from abortions during
that era has been overstated, the health problems
resulting from the abortion procedure itself or compli
cations which followed may have been quite debilitating.
29
see Stockham, Tokology, p. 270, who criticized
the use of nitrate of silver, sulphate of zinc, corro
sive sublimate, tannic acid and nitric acid in treating
uterine inflammation. According to Stockham, such
practice had been in vogue for the preceding twenty-five
years, but was beginning to be looked upon with disfavor
by physicians.
30
Ann Douglas Wood, "'The Fashionable Diseases':
Women's Complaints and their Treatment in Nineteenth
Century America," in Clio's Consciousness Raised: New
Perspectives on the History of Women, eds., Mary S.
Hartman and Lois Banner (New York: Harper & Row, 1974),
pp. 1-22, suggests that many of the uterine disorders
reported in the nineteenth century may have been in
large a result of male physicians' antagonism toward
women which resulted in an ''unscientific even obsessive
focus upon woman's womb" (p. 28). Wood's analysis may
119
have some validity. However, given the rather primi
tive state of medicine and the types of physical
problems which could result from too frequent concep
tion or complications of pregnancy , abortions or
venereal disease, a high incidence of uterine disorders
does not seem implausible. As for criticism of the
specific treatments, Regina Marantz , "The Lady and Her
Physician," in Clio's Consciousnes· s ·Rais·ed · New Per
spectives on the Histo·ry of Women , eds., Mary S . H a r tman
and Lois Banner (New York: Harper & Row , 1974),
pp. 38-53 , offers an excellent assessment of the general
backwardness of medicine during the nineteenth century
and cautions against condemnation of medical practices
of that era from a mid-twentieth century perspective.
31
d · · d. h . . f' f
For 1scuss1ons regar ing t e s1gn1 icance o
birth control to women see: Gordon, Woman's Body,
Woman's Right; Carroll Smith-Rosenberg and Charles
Rosenberg, "The Female Animal: Medical and Biological
Views of Woman and Her Role in Nineteenth Century
America , " Journal of American History 60 (September
1973) :332-356; Smith, "Family Limitation and Domestic
Feminism."
32
For discussions regarding the divergent atti
tudes toward contraception in nineteenth century America
see, Gordon, Woman's Body, Woman's· Right; David Kennedy,
Birth Control in America (New Haven: Yale University
Press, 1970).
33
Himes, History of Contraception, pp. 227, 229.
The value of douching as a contraceptive measure had
been recognized for centuries. Finch and Green, Con
traception through the Ages, p. 30, assert that douches
of wine and garlic were suggested in Egyptian papyrus
as early as 1850 B.C.
34
see Himes, History of Contraception, for an
excellent discussion of contraceptive literature in the
United States.
35
Gordon, Woman's Body, Woman's Right, p. 64,
contends that it took World War I and the United States
Army to really make the use of condoms widespread.
However, as with other birth control devices, it seems
quite possible that use of condoms was already common
among the middle and upper class prior to World War I.
36
A cervical cap probably had been invented in
1838 by Friedrich Adolphe Wilde, a German gynecologist.
120
Himes, History of Contraception, p. 321; Vincent J.
Cirillo, "Edward Foote's Medica· 1 Common Sense· An
Early American Comment on Birth Control '' Journal of
the History of Medicine 25 (July 1970) :341-345.
37
Edward Bliss Foote, quoted in Cirillo, "Edward
Foote's Medic• a1 Comn1on Sens· e," p. 344. The first edition
of Medical Common Sense appeared in 1858.
38
Edward Bliss Foote, New Plain Home Talk (New
York: Murray Hill Publishing Co., 19 4), p. iii.
39
Augustus K. Gardner, "On the Use of Pessaries,"
Transaction· s of the American Medical Association 15
(1865} :108-122. The article contains illustrations of
all 123 pessaries.
40
George Granville Bantock, "On the Use and Abuse
of Pessaries," Lancet 1 (February 2, 1878) :162. A
contemporary article by Norman Glazer, M.D., "A History
of Mechanical Contraception,~ Medical Times 93 (August
1965) :865-869, corroborates the view that some nineteenth
century pessaries indeed were used as intrauterine and
intracervical contraceptive devices. Gordon, Woman's
Body, Woman's Right, also discusses the use of such
devices as contraceptives.
41
Mary Ware Dennett, Birth Contr·o1 ·Laws (New
York: Frederick H. Hitchcock, 1926), p. 9.
42
Millard S. Everett, The Hygien· e of Marriage
(New York: Vanguard Press, 1932), pp. 182-186.
43
Stockham, Tokology, pp. 324-326.
44
Stockham, Tokology, p. 326. The reference to
mechanical devices is not present in the 1891 edition.
See Gordon, Woman's Body, Woman's Right, for a dis
cussion of theories of sexual energy, "magnetism," in
vogue during Stockham's time.
45
Foote, New Plain Home Talk, pp. 1136-1137.
46
rbid., p. 1138.
47
rbid., p. 1148.
48
See, for example, XYZ [pseud.], "The Prevention
of Conception, " M ·edical and Surgical Reporter 5 9
121
(November 10, 1888) ·600, and L. Huber, "The Prevention
of Conception," Medical and Surgical Reporter 59. (Novem
ber 10, 1888):580-581. Both authors refer to the fre
quent requests physicians received regarding information
about contraceptives.
49
william Goodell, Lessons in Gynecology (Phila
delphia: D. G. Brinton, 1879), p. 372. Writing in favor
of contraception in 1888, Dr. W. R. D. Blackwood, "The
Prevention of Conception," Medica· 1 and Surgic• a1 Reporter
59 (September 29, 1888) :394, contended that many physi
cians publicly opposed contraception. Blackwood asserted
that the physicians feared public opinion if they took a
pro-contraception stand.
50
"The Limitation of Births,•• Medical and Surgical
Reporter 44 (April 2, 1881) ;382-384.
Medical
51 . . f .
Himes, History o Contraception,
52
David E. Matteson, "Professional
and Surgical Reporter 59 (November
p. 287.
Cowardice,"
3, 1888) :568.
53
J. Ford Thompson, quoted in Thomas A. Pope,
"Prevention of Conception," Medical and Surgical Reporter
59 (October 27, 1888) :522-525.
54 b'd
I i • , p. 525.
55
David E. Matteson, "Prevention of Conception,"
Medical and Surgical Reporter 59 (December 15, 1888):
759-760.
56
Himes, History of Contraception, p. 300.
57
rbi'd., 301 302 pp. - .
58
Blackwood, "Prevention of Conception," p. 395.
59
see Rachelle S. Yarros, "Some Practical Aspects
of Birth Control," Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics 23
(August 1916):188-190, and "Trials of Birth Control
Advocates," Survey, February 10, 1917, p. 555, regarding
this point.
60
Himes, History of Contraception; Edward Shorter,
"Female Emancipation, Birth Control and Fertility in
European History," American Historical ·Review 78 (June
1973) :605-640; Thompson, quoted in Pope, "Prevention of
Conception," p. 525.
122
61
Finch and Green, Contraception through the Ages,
p. 33. They contend that douching did not reach its peak
as a contraceptive device until the 1930s. See also
Himes, History of Contraception, pp. 248-249; Matteson,
"Prevention of Conception," pp. 759-760.
62
naily Oklahoman, September 4, 1904. The Los
Angeles Times, February 2, 1913, also had illustrated
-------,--
ads for douches.
Doctor:
revised
p. 991.
63
Henry M. Lyman et al., The Practical Home
Twentieth Century Household Medical Guide,
ed. (Chicago: American Publishing Co., 1907),
Lyman opposed such devices.
64
For discussions of the role of Margaret Sanger
and the spread of birth control knowledge see, Kennedy,
Birth Control in America; Gordon, Woman's Body, Woman's
Right; Sanger, The New Motherhood; Margaret Sanger, My
Fight for Birth Control (New York: Farrar & Rinehart,
19 31) .
65
. 1 . d. 1 d .
Artie e in Me ica Age, quote in
Fecundation,' Medical and Surgical Reporter
1887) :48-49.
"Obstacles to
56 (January 1,
66
Pope, !I Prevention of Conception,
11
p. 52 3.
67
James E. Free, "Prevention of Conception a
Medical and Surgical Reporter 59 (December 8, 1888) ,. 726.
68
Ethel Wadsworth Cartland,
11
Childless Americans,"
Outlook, November 15, 1913, pp. 585 588. Cartland
deplored the low birth rate of native whites of native
born parents.
6911
The Age of Birth Control," New Republic,
September 25, 1915, p. 196.
70
Yarros, HPractical Aspects of Birth Control,"
pp. 188-190.
71
"Trials of Birth Control Advocates,' p. 555.
72
Sanger, The New Motherhood, pp. 144, 146.
73
McGovern, '~Freedom in Manners and Morals,''
pp. 315-333; Smith, '
1
American Sexual Revolution,
11
pp. 321-334; Degler, "Woman's Sexuality in the Nineteenth
Century," pp. 1467-1490.
123
74
McGovern, "Freedol'f\ in Manners and Mo:r;-als,'
pp. 315-33 3.
75
Himes, Hi• story of Contraception, p. 372, sug
gests this possibility. See also Tamara Hareven and Maris
A. Vinovskis "Marital fertility , Ethnicity, and Occupa
tion in Urban Females: An Analysis of South Boston and
the South End in 1880," Journal of Social· • History 8
(Spring 1975) :69-93. Hareven and Vinovskis conclude that
the fertility rates of native whites of foreign oorn
parents resembled those of foreign born whites rather than
those of native whites of native born parents.
76
Frank Notestein, "Differential Age at Marriage
According to Social Class," American Journal of Sociology
37 (June 1931):22-48. Notestein sampled almost 60,000
women from thirty-three cities plus 243,000 from rural
areas. For a sample of arguments presented by eugenicists
of the era see: Charles Davenport, Heredity in Relation
to Eugenics (New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1911); William J.
Robinson, Eugenics, Marriage and Birth Control (New York:
The Critic & Guide Co., 1917).
77
b · h " . . f C 11 d
Mary Ro erts Smit, Statistics o o ege an
Non-College Women," American Statistical Association
8 (March 1900) :1-26.
78
In particular, Thompson and Whelpton, Population
Trends in the United States, found an inverse relationship
between size of community and the percent of women who
were married for 1910, and between size of community and
the native white child/woman ratio for 1920. In contrast,
Ogburn and Tibbits, "The Family and Its Functions,"
pp. 661-708, pointed to communities of over 2,500 as
acting as a deterrent to marriage. For other discussions
regarding the impact of community size, see the following:
Smith, The Sociology of Rural Life; Tarver, "Gradients of
Urban Influence," pp. 356-367; Okun, Trends in the Birth
Rate.
79
In 1910, :r = -.15, p < .01. "r," the correlation
coefficient gives one an estimate of the strength of a
linear relationship between two sets of observations. The
closer to 1 or -1 that "r" is, the more highly correlated
either positively or negatively, the two sets of observa
tions are. "p" expresses the significance of the correla
tion. The closer to 1, the weaker the significance and the
more likely the correlation is due to chance. For example,
124
p = .01 means that there is only one chance in one
hundred that the results have occurred due to chance.
Thompson and Whelpton, Population Trends in the United
States, pointed to an inverse relationship between size
of city and the number of married women for 1910.
80
see Okun, Trends in the Birth Rate, and Thompson
and Whelpton, Population Trends in the United States.
Their emphasis on an inverse relationship between fertil
ity and city size was based in large upon data from the
1920 census.
81
U.S., Department of Commerce, Fourteenth Census,
1920, vol. 1, Population: Number and Distribution, p. 56.
82
A 1955 study by Clyde V. Kiser found that a high
percentage of Catholic wives were opposed to the use of
contraceptives, and Catholic wives were less likely than
any other group to use contraceptives. It seems likely
that similar, if not stronger attitudes, prevailed earlier
in the century. See Clyde V. Kiser, ed., Research in
Family Planning (Princeton: Princeton University Press,
19 6 2 ) , pp. 178-179 .
83
see the Appendix for a detailed description of
how economic function was determined.
84
Trade and transportation were differentiated in
the 1920 census. U.S., Department of Commerce, The Ratio
of Children to Women, pp. 49-56, pointed to a lower child/
woman ratio when trade was dominant and a higher one when
manufacturing was dominant.
85
For 1890 through 1920, sex ratio was measured
for the population fifteen years or older rather than for
the entire population. See Appendix for an explanation.
86
Margaret E. Sangster, "Shall Wives Earn Money?"
Woman's Home Companion, April 1905, p. 32.
125
CHAPTER IV
THE HOME
[With] AMERICAN Radiators and IDEAL Boilers .
. . . There is not daily struggle with flying
embers, ghostly ashdust, soot and coal gases,
as in the use of old-time heating devices.
IDEAL heating halves woman's household clean
ing work.
1
That the late nineteenth and early twentieth
century city was influential in shaping the marriage and
fertility patterns of middle-class women has been seen in
the preceding chapter. Within the city of that era,
important changes also were occurring in what remained the
major focus of most women's lives, the day-to-day running
of the household. During the latter decades of the nine
teenth century and continuing to the present day, a
bountiful array of time-saving inventions have appeared to
ease the burden of caring for the American home. This has
brought to women an incalculable saving of time and energy
which had the potential to be redirected in other channels.
Prior to the late nineteenth century, a full com
plement of household chores including baking, washing,
sewing, shopping, preparing meals, making soap and candles,
cleaning the house, and sometimes light gardening filled
126
the days of most adult women. Writing in 1875, Mrs. A. M.
Diaz, a suffragist, asserted that only a small group of
women had the time to do what they wished, while the vast
majority had either to do their own housework or oversee
that others did it well. "In the present state of things
it is impossible for women ... to enjoy the delights
of culture.
112
Even in those homes where servants or
household helpers were present, the women of the family
still spent their days doing much of he family's sewing
and generally overseeing the running of the house. One
middle-class Chicago housewife in the mid-1860s had a cook
and a washerwoman. Still the mother rose at 5:30 A.M. to
oversee the cook's making of the breakfast. In addition,
as was typical of many families, because of the father's
time consuming job, the running of the house was left up
to the mother.
3
In a small Minnesota town during the
1880s, a hired girl helped in the house because the mother
was ill. Despite her illness, the mother still cooked,
made clothes,and kni: stockings.
4
The appearance of labor-saving devices for the home
was gradual, and at first largely confined to urban areas.
The creative ingenuity of inventors may indeed have been
directed toward the development of such devices in response
to an increased demand. A growing number of urban families
were entering the middle class and had amassed the money
127
t,o allow for a higher consumption level of goods and
services. Writing in 1876, Albert Rhodes criticized the
ostentatious homes which had proliferated following the
C
. · 1 5
lVl War. Rhodes, an American-born author who lived
abroad, wrote numerous articles about European social
customs. The middle class attempted to mimic, at least
as much as they could afford, the elegant lifestyle for merly reserved for a small minority of wealthy families.
But the more elegant and elaborate the house, the more
necessary it became to have some form of assistance for
the woman of the family in the day-to-day running of the
household. Moreover, in attempting to copy the lifestyle
of the wealthy, it was considered desirable for the wife
to be a "lady" who did not have to be involved with the
physical labor of household tasks. For some of thewealth
ier middle-class families, the answer lay in securing
servants. Many families, however, could not afford
servants or could not find them at any price.
From at least as early as the 1830s, foreign
visitors noted the shortage and unreliability o~ servants
in American cities. In Society in America, published in
1837, Harriet Martineau commented upon the "difficulty of
obtaining domestic service." Auguste earlier, a visiting
Frenchman, made similar observations about the 1850s, while
during the 1880s, the Detroit Free Press noted that
128
6
domestics were becoming scarcer. One author writing in
1909 commented upon the sharp decline in the number of
families having domestic servants. He contended that
thirty or forty years earlier, one out of every eight or
nine families had had servants. By 1909 the number had
dropped to one out of every fifteen or sixteen families.
7
The number of those employed in a variety of domestic
occupations (servant, waiter, housekeeper, and steward)
declined more than 49 percent between 1870 and 1920, while
overall population grew from 40 million to over 106 million,
an increase of 165 percent. Between 1900 and 1920, a scant
twenty-year period, the number of those employed as servants
dropped 46.7 percent (Table 19).
Why was the number of domestic workers decreasing
so dramatically? Traditionally, most domestic workers
were women and for many years that occupational category
had provided the bulk of jobs to women who worked. With
the advent of the Industrial Revolution, women who might
have earlier become servants opted for the greater inde
pendence and oftentimes better pay of factory work. In
1884 the Detroit Free Press commented upon the relationship
between the decline in the number of domestic servants and
the increase in the number of factory positions.
8
It was
difficult to determine precisely what wages the "average"
domestic worker earned since the earlier censuses did not
129
TABLE 19.--Number of persons employed as domestics and
servants per 1,000 population, 1870-1920
1870
1880
1890
1900
1910
1920
Number of servants, waiters,
housekeepers, and stewards
of both sexes and all ages
per 1,000 population
25.9
23.0
24.7
22.6
22.4
17.3
Number of servants
of both sexes per
1,000 population
(a)
(a)
(a)
19.1
18.3
13.0
SOURCE: U.S., Department of Commerce, Women in Gain
ful Occupations, 187·0-1920, p. 39.
a .
Data not given.
report the earnings of domestics as they did with factory
workers. Helen Campbell, author of Women Wage Earners,
contended that domestic work was more highly paid than work
in the needle trades, but information from other sources
indicated that factory work generally paid higher wages
than domestic work. According to the 1890 census, the
annual average earnings for female factory workers ranged
from $255 for piece workers, $276 for skilled or unskilled
operatives, and $462 for ''officers, firm members and
clerks." In contrast, nine years later, historian Lucy
Salmon,in her classic survey of wages for domestic workers,
130
found that wages ranged from $153 a year for general
9
servants to $198 a year for cooks. However, it must be
remembered that most domestics lived with their employers,
who provided shelter, food, and sometimes clothing, cer
tainly an additional financial benefit.
There was little doubt that to most women domestic
service was exceedingly distasteful employment. Not only
did it mean a loss of independence and a lack of personal
privacy, it meant submitting, often on a twenty-four-hour
basis, to employer demand. As one woman summed it up, "To
go into houseservice ... is to lose caste in our
18
world." Lucy Salmon reiterated that point, asserting
that entering into domestic service meant a blow to one's
pride and a feeling of a loss of dignity.
11
With other
employment options opening up to them; women turned away
from domestic work. The percentage of women employed in
"domestic and personal" work, and more specifically as
servants, dropped precipitously between 1890 and 1920;
moreover,between 1900 and 1920 the actual number of women
employed as servants declined (Table 20).
With a diminishing number of servants available,
other solutions to the running of the middle-class house
hold were essential. For some urban families, one alter
native was to move into a boardinghouse, a hotel, or an
apartment, rather than into a larger, more time consuming
131
TABLE 20.--Number and percent of employed females, ten
years or older, who worked in occupations classified as
"domestic or personal" or as servants
"Domestic and personal"
a
Servants
Percent of Percent of
total 10+ total 10+
Number employed Number employed
1890 1,667,698 42.6 1,216,639 31.2
1900 2,099,165
39.4 1,242,192 23.3
1920 2,186,924 25.6 1,012,133 11.8
SOURCES: U.S., Department of Commerce, Women in
Gainful Occupations, 1870-1920; U.S., Department of Com
merce and Labor, Bureau of the Census, Statistics of
Women at Work·: Based on Unpublished Information Derived
from the Schedules of the Twelfth Census: 1900 (1907).
aThe t h d t'
ca egory c ange over 1me.
single-family dwelling. From as early as the 1830s,
observers commented upon and often criticized the trend,
first toward boardinghouse and later toward apartment and
hotel living, because of the effect they believed it had
upon family life.
Writing in the 1830s, Harriet Martineau claimed
that:
The uncertainty about domestic service is so great,
and the economy of boarding house life so tempting
... that it is not to be wondered that many young
married people use the accommodation .... But no
sensible husband, who could beforehand become
acquainted with the liabilities incurred, would
willingly expose his domestic peace to the fearful
risk.
12
132
According to Martineau, boardinqhouse life offered too
many temptations to the "young married ladies," provided
a bad milieu in which to raise children, and afforded no
13
peace to the tired husband after a day's work.
During the late 1850s, Auguste earlier noted the
tendency of families in some Northern cities to move into
boardinghouses and hotels because of the shortage of
servants. He criticized that trend because of its "ill
effects" upon women:
Relieved of all domestic occupation, she forgets
the domestic life, constructs bad habits and
thoughtlessness, sometimes dangerous liaisons
and the husband and children ... withdraw
themselves ... till there is nothing left of
the domestic circle but the name.14
By 1870 a British observer even felt compelled to assure
his readers that "It is not at all true that people prefer
hotels and boardinghouses." He contended that young
couples did stay in them but only as a "purgatory through
which they pass to the traditional delights of 'love in
15
the cottage.'"
The trend toward simplified apartment or hotel
living continued, and in 1899 one critic asserted that "the
proportion of married people who, in cities and towns, live
in hotels, is continuing to be one of the most curious and
h f d
. · 1 · . "16 0 h
grave p enomena o our mo ern civi ization. ne sue
married person was economist, feminist,and reformer,
133
Charlotte Perkins Gilman. In 1900, Gilman, her husband
and daughter lived in an apartment on 76th Street in New
York and took their meals at a nearby boardinghouse.
Their rent was $40 a month and their meals another $20.
Gilman seemed pleased with the convenience and cost of
such an arrangement.
We liked it. We had a "home without a kitchen,"
all the privacy and comfort, none of the work and
care- except for beds and a little cleaning. We
all went out together to breakfast, then Houghton
[her husband] went to his office and Katherine to
her school, while I had the morning for my work.
I met Katherine for lunch there [the boarding
house], and at night we met Houghton at the train
and dined together in peace. We had a table to
ourselves, but found much entertainment in the
talk of the other boarders.17
By 1910, one American author, commenting upon the
tendency of American women to consider housekeeping such 1
chore, estimated that more than 15,000 married people ~Ad
moved into apartment hotels in New York, with equal pro
portions in Chicago and Boston.
18
Between 1890 and 1920, most larger cities exhibited
a decline, in some cases a precipitous one, in the per
centage of families who lived in single-family dwellings
(Table 21). In some cities the tendency of families to
live in multiple dwelling units obviously had originated
prior to 1890 and the pattern of tenancy clearly differed
from city to city (Table 21). The movement out of the
larger, single-family home was but one important trend
134
TABLE 21.--Percentage of families living in single-family
dwellings in selected cities of 100,000 or
larger, 1890 and 1920
1890 1920
Chicago 35.0
24.9
Philadelphia 84.6 79.5
St. Louis 44.5 42.1
Boston 34.6 24.6
Baltimore 69.5 72.7
Cincinnati 32.0 41.2
San Francisco 82.7 59.0
Cleveland 69.3 45.5
New Orleans 80.9 83.2
Pittsburgh 69.1 58.5
Newark 35.2 21.4
Minneapolis 58 . 6 61.9
Omaha 82.0 82 .. 0
Kansas City, Mo .
76.7 62.0
Providence
29.9 32 . 2
Denver
84.7 74 .. 3
Indianapolis
86.2 83.7
SOURCES: U~S., Censuses, 1890 and 1920 ~
135
affecting the life of the American woman which had its
origin in the nineteenth century city.
Independent of size of home, single or multiple in
type, a rapidly growing assortment of appliances and com
modities, with the potential to reduce significantly the
burden of household chores, appeared during the late nine
teenth and early twentieth centuries. Between 1869 and
1909, the prepared food industry exhibited a truly phe
nomenal growth (Table 22). The number of establishments
and persons involved with the preparation of food stuffs
ranging from canned fruits and vegetables, dairy products,
and meat increased markedly during the era. Rapid growth
also prevailed in the men's and women's ready-made cloth
ing industry between 1860 and 1910 (Table 22).
The revolution in the economy of tne middle-class
household further appeared in the huge growth in retail
sales during the 1869 to 1919 period. Those retail out
lets whose products could either lighten the burden of
household chores, or whose services could provide an escape
from food preparation, multiplied their sales manyfold
during the latter years of the nineteenth and early ones
of the twentieth (Table 23).
In addition, the manufacturing of appliances for
use in the home began to grow, especially after 1900. Gas
stoves were first introduced in the 1880s. By 1904 more
136
TABLE 22.--Increase in selected food and clothing industries, 1850-1910
Industry
Canning & pre
serving fruits
& vegetables
Establishments
Employees
Slaughtering &
meatpacking
Establishments
Employees
Bakery & bakery
products
Establishments
Employees
Butter, cheese,
condensed milka
Establishments
Employees
Men's clothing
Establishments
Employees
Women's clothing
Establishments
Employees
Number of establishments and
number of employees
1869 1909
127
6,024
768
8,366
3,550
14,126
3,369
50,000
1,641
89,728
23,926
100,216
8,479
18,431
96,551
191,000
4,558
153,743
Percent increase
2552.8
730.0
113.7
972.5
574.0
609.4
115.6
133.2
2156.9
3320.5
2324.5
2579 . 9
SOURCE: U.S., Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of the
Census, Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910, vol . 10, Manu
factures: Reports for Principal Industries.
aAt the time of the 1849 census there were eight cheese establish
ments with 55 employees; in 1859 there were two with seven workers plus
one condensed milk establishment . In 1869 there were 1,313 with 4,607
workers . In 1879 the two categories were combined.
bFigures are for 1879.
Cpigures are for 1849.
dFigures are for 1859.
137
TABLE 23.--Retail sales by type of outletf 1869-1919
(millions of dollars)
Type of retail
outlet
Grocery,
independent
Grocery, chain
Department
store
Household
appliances
Meat markets
Restaurants
1869
985
44
128
83
Year
1879 1889 1899 1909
1238 1668 2027 2934
183 751
161 676
46 83 113 246
175 246 374 654
135 200 361 680
1919
7602
2588
2501
720
1616
2189
SOURCE: Harold Barger, Distribution's Place in the
American Economy since 1869 (Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 1955).
138
than 33,000 people were employed in the production of gas
and oil stoves, and by 1919 the number had risen to more
than 43,000. Washing machines, hand cranked at first,
began to replace the washboard around 1900 and by 1919
almost 6,000 people were involved in their production.
Iceboxes also increased in popularity: in 1899 over 3,000
people worked to produce them, while by 1919 the number had
risen to almost 6,000. By that time the refrigerator had
made its appearance. Figures for its production were not
available prior to 1927 when more than 17,000 were employed
in producing refrigerators.
19
Other appliances which
gained in popularity from 1900 on included the portable
vacuum cleaner and the electric iron. At first those
appliances tended to be concentrated among the upper and
middle classes in urban areas, and only gradually did they
spread to other sectors of society.
During the 1870s and 1880s, and even into the
1890s, the household responsibilities of the middle-class,
urban woman were somewhat less demanding than those of the
farm woman, but few modern conveniences lightened either
woman's burden. In the urban areas, though some packaged
and processed foods such as bread and dairy products were
becoming available, much food preparation, especially can
ning and baking, was still carried on in the home. A great
deal of time was devoted to sewing, since much clothing
139
was still made in the home, though ready-made clothing was
available at least in some of the larger cities. The
laundry often was done by someone else, generally by a
woman hired either to work in her employer's house or to
take the laundry to her own home. General housecleaning
tasks rounded out the chores of the urban, middle-class
woman.
The rural woman of the same era confronted a
larger array of chores. Food preparation included not
only canning and baking, but butter making. The rarity of
ready-made food, at least in some rural areas, was illus
trated by the story of a North Carolina farm woman who
related how all of the neighbors came to see a loaf of
20
"store-made" bread brought home by her father. In rural
areas, not only were clothing, quilts, and the like sewn at
home, but often the fabric itself was made on the farm.
Laundry, usually an all-day chore, was done by farm women
in their own homes. In addition to those house chores,
there was generally gardening, tending to the animals, and
sometimes even work in the fields.
Between 1900 and 1920, the time that urban women,
especially the more affluent ones, had to devote to house~
hold chores was diminished by numerous appliances and the
proliferation of ready-made commodities. Gas stoves were
replacing the cumbersome wood-burning models. Ready-made
140
clothing and food were becoming increasingly available in
the stores of towns and cities. Though the number of
women engaged in laundry work decreased, the growth in the
number of steam laundries plus the introduction of the
electric washer helped make laundering a somewhat less
odious chore for many urban women. In 1900, only 21,945
persons worked in steam laundries. By 1910 the number had
risen to more than 124,000 and about 83 percent of those
were in cities of 10,000 or larger. In 1920, a census
report noted the decrease in the number of women working
as "laundresses" and attributed the decline to an increase
. 1 d . d 1 . h. h ·
21
in steam aun ries an e ectric was ing mac ines.
In 1907 only 8 percent of all dwellings had elec
tricity. By 1920 the percentage had risen to 34.7 percent.
The contrast between urban and rural areas in 1920, with
respect to electrification, was sharp: only 1.6 percent
of all farms had electricity, but over 47 percent of the
urban and rural non-farm dwellings were electrified.
22
An increasing number of urban, middle-class households had
iceboxes, hot and cold running water, and indocr baths and
toilets. Electrical appliances such as the "self-heating"
iron, vacuum cleaner, and refrigerator began to find their
way into urban homes. All of those developments simplified
the maintenance of the urban, middle-class home, greatly
enlarging the free time available to women. Writing in
141
1916, one author asserted that:
Today the woman who would attend to society,
club, or suffragist duties, but who cannot
support a maid, find[s] all sorts of labor
saving devices to help her .... Any woman at least any woman who lives within reach of
gas and electricity-can banish most of the
ordinary cares of housework.
2
3
In contrast, the rural household of the early
twentieth century still demanded a tremendous amount of
women's time. Few farms had iceboxes, gas or oil stoves,
indoor baths or toilets. The lack of electricity meant
no vacuum cleaners, power washers, or self-heating irons.
Most farm women still did their own laundry, using either
a tub and washboard or a hand-cranked washer. Many still
churned their own butter, canned fruits and vegetables,
baked bread, tended the animals, and worked in the garden.
The biggest change took place in the area of ready-made
clothing which had become more available to farm families
after the turn-of- the-century. However, the myriad of
chores, generally unrelieved by modern conveniences, left
the farm woman with little spare time or energy.
24
A reduction in the time actually needed to complete
the day-to-day tasks of the urban home did not necessarily
mean that women would in fact spend less time on such
25
work. For many women the early twentieth century brought
a revitalized emphasis upon the value and virtue of home
and motherhood and a glorification of the many wonderful
142
and important tasks which could fill the day of the "home"
woman. Perhaps the very reduction of woman's household
burdens consciously or unconsciously threatened women and
men of the era. For many women, a reduction in the time
needed for housework and child rearing could mean many
empty hours coupled with a sense of worthlessness. For
men, free time for women meant the potential for women to
leave the home and enter the outside, "working" world.
For many men, such a development would loom as a serious
threat to their position in the family's hierarchy.
Theories which emphasized the complexities of the home
role and demanded all of women's time and energy had
potential appeal for both men and women. Thus during the
very time period when woman's household role could have
been contracting, for many women it expanded.
Women's magazines vividly illustrated the divergent
trends which pulled women of the early twentieth century
in two conflicting directions. Some of the magazines
emphasized the home aspect of women's lives and presented
a picture of dutiful, beautiful wives and mothers, raising
better and healthier children, making elaborate and better
meals, and cleaning their homes better than ever before.
The February 1906 edition of Good Housekeeping was typical.
It included articles describing how to make an inexpensive
music room, offering advice to brides as to how to safely
143
use a stove, how to buy beef, numerous recipes, how to do
laundry, and a drawing of a beautiful young mother tucking
in her child for the night.
26
Other women's magazines
very clearly illustrated the ambivalent feelings of their
readers. For example, the December 1903 issue of House
Beautiful contained articles about "how to furnish a
house," and "Scientific Training as Applied to the House
hold," but also "The Woman's Forum," a new section of the
magazine "which will present the larger interests of the
civic life, especially on the lines of woman's work."
27
Similarly, in Harper's Bazaar, February 1909, articles
ranged from "The Housemother's Problems," "Yesterday's
Dishes Made Over," and "Menus for the Month," to a sym
posium about "The Best Thing Our Club Ever Did," and
I'
h h ff
. . '' 2 8
Watte Su ragists Are Doing.
The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
clearly were a time of great flux for women, especially
those of the urban middle class. Significant changes had
occurred in the day-to-day functioning of the urbanmiddle
class home. Although many women continued to confine their
activities to the home, the combination of fewer children,
an extended period of time during which children were in
school, a proliferation of labor-saving commodities and
services, and easier-to-maintain homes coalesced to create
an environment conducive to the development of an expanded
sphere of activity for women.
144
NOTES
1
Ladies' Home Journal, March 1913, advertisement,
p. 29.
2
Mrs. A. M. Diaz, A Domestic Problem (Boston:
James Osgood & Co., 1875), p. 16.
3
Addie Gregory, A Greatgrandmother Remembers
(Chicago: A. Krach & Sons, 19 4 0) , pp. 4 , 41.
4
Anna Clary, Reminiscences (Los Angeles: Printed
by B. Mccallister at the Adcraft Press, 1937), pp. 21,
50-51.
5
Albert Rhodes, "Women's Occupations,'' Galaxy,
January 1876, pp. 45-55.
6
Harriet Martineau, Society in America, 3 vols.
(London: Saunders & Otley, 1837), 3:131; earlier, Mar
riage in the United States, p. 68; Kansas City (Missouri)
Star, October 12, 1884.
7
r. M. Rubinow, "Discussion: Women and Economic
Dependence," American Journal of Sociology 14 (March
1909) :614-619.
8
Detroit Free Press, October 12, 1884.
9
Helen Campbell, Women Wage Earners (Boston:
Roberts Bros., 1893), p. 237; Lucy Salmon, Domestic
Service (New York: Macmillan Co., 1901), p. 88.
10
Campbell, Women Wage Earners, p. 244.
11 1 . . 140
Sa mon, Domestic Service, p. .
12
Martineau, Society in America, 3:131-136.
13
rbid.
14
carlier, Marriage in the United States, p. 68.
145
15 1 . . ( d
George Towe, American Society Lon on:
Chapman & Hall, 1870), pp. 259-260.
16
Calhoun, Social History of the American Family,
3:180.
17
charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Living of
Charlotte Perkins Gilman: An Autobiography (New York:
D. Appleton-Century Co., 1935), p. 283.
18
Busbey, Home Life in America, pp. 369-372.
19
U.S., Department of Commerce, Bureau of the
Census, Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930,
vol. 5, General Report on Occupations.
20
Belinda Jelliffe, For Dear Life (New York:
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936), p. 19. The incident
described probably occurred during the 1880s.
21
U.S., Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau
of the Census, Statistics of Women at Work: Based on
Unpublished Information Derived from the Schedules of the
Twelfth Census: 1900 (1907), p. 56; U.S., Department of
Commerce, Women in Gainful Occupations, 1870-1920, p. 35;
U.S., Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of the
Census, Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910,
vol. 10, Manufactures: Reports for Principal Industries,
p. 887.
22
oppenheimer, "Female Labor Force," pp. 40-41.
23
E. M. Pelton, ''New Aids to Housework,
11
Illus
trated World, April 1916, pp. 215-219.
24
For descriptions of household tasks, available
appliances, etc., in urban areas see the following: Daily
Oklahoman, May 8, 1894, January 14, 1904, September 4,
1904, November 12, 1914, and July 11, 1914; Chicago Times,
July 19, 1885; Morning Oregonian, May 1, 1900; Detroit
Free Press, November 2, 1905; Kansas City Star, January 9,
1901, and May 24, 1914; New Orleans Times Picayune,
October 9, 1880; Rubinow-;-"Women and Economic Dependence,"
pp. 614-619; Harold Barger, Distribution's Place in the
American Economy since 1869 (Princeton: Princeton Univer
sity Press, 1955); Clary, Reminiscences; Blanc, Condition
of Women; Amelia Neville, The Fantastic City (Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Co., 1932), p. 94; Gregory, A Greatgrand
mother Remembers, pp. 57-58; Busbey, Home Life in America;
146
Estelline Bennett, Old Deadwood Days (New York: J. H.
Sears & Co., 1928); Robinson, I Wanted Out; Isabella
Alden, Memories of Yesterday (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippin
cott Co., 1933), pp. 256-260; George Woodward, Diary of a
"Peculiar" Girl (Buffalo: Peter Paul Book Co., 1896),
p. 90; Harbert Collection, Diary, 1880s, Huntington
Library, San Marino, California. For rural areas see
the following: Pierce, Three Rural Townships in Iowa;
Doyle, A Child Went Forth; Jelliffe, For Dear Life,
pp. 5-20; Mary C. Brooke, Memories of Eighty Years (New
York: Knickerbocker Press, 1916), pp. 16-22; David M.
Cohn, The Good Old Days (New York: Simon & Schuster,
1940); Busbey, Home Life in America; Martha F. Crowe, The
American Country Girl (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co.,
1915) .
25
william Goode, World Revolution and Family Pat
terns (New York: Free Press of Glencoe, 1963), p. 15, and
Ruth Schwartz Cowan, "The 'Industrial Revolution' in the
Home: Household Technology and Social Change in the 20th
Century," Technology and Culture 17 (January 1976) :1-23,
both question whether "l,abor-saving" devices actually
eased the house-cleaning burden or if along with the
appearance of such devices came a rise in the level of
expected cleanliness with the net result that women did
not save any time. Although the general level of cleanli
ness probably did increase, there still seems little doubt
that the time-consuming drudgery of earlier days had
diminished. Of course women could continue to extend the
time allotted to household tasks, but time and energy
which had the potential to be redirected into other chan
nels was becoming increasingly available.
Cowan bases much of her provocative article on
information culled from women's magazines, especially the
advertising which increasingly depicts women as worrying
about properly cleaning their homes, taking care of their
children, 3.nd using the "right" product to do the task.
However, as Cowan herself points out, she had not taken
into account A. Michael McMahon's seminal article, "An
American Courtship: Psychologists and Advertising Theory
in the Progressive Era," American Studies 13 (Fall 1972):
5-18, which deals with the growth of the psychological
"sell" technique in American advertising between 1910 and
1920. The technique emphasized selling on an emotional
level, where purchase of a particular product assured the
buyer that he/she was buying "the good life," while failure
to buy the product was tantamount to depriving oneself or
one's family of the same "good life." Any attempt to
assess women's lives as depicted in advertising must take
147
into account the psychological "soft sell" and Cowan has
failed to do this. In addition, in her discussion of the
decline in the number of household servants, Cowan has
failed to take two important factors into account. First,
since the middle class was expanding at the time that the
number of servants was declining, many households had been
or would have been unable to find servants. Thus the sup
posed disappearance of servants from the home was a "loss"
that many families probably never noticed. In addition,
although the number of live-in servants declined, there is
some indication that women who wanted "help" in the home
increasingly hired someone to come in once or twice a week
to assist with household chores. See Robert S. Lynd and
Helen M. Lynd, Middletown: A Study in Contemporary
American Culture (New York: Harcourt Brace, 1929), p. 170,
regarding this point.
26
c. V. Rawson, "An Inexpensive Music Room," Good
Housekeeping, February 1906, p. 175; Emma Paddock Telford,
"First Aid to Brides: The Cook Stove," Good Housekeeping,
February 1906, pp. 196-200; Maria Treadwell, "The Anatomy
of the Beef Creature," Good Housekeeping, February 1906,
pp. 215-217; Miriam Bitting-Kennedy, "Modern Methods in
Laundry," Good Housekeeping, February 1906, pp. 235-236.
27 . . . , . h "
Anne Higginson Spicer, How to Furnis a House,
House Beautiful, December 1903, pp. 28-31; Grace Van
Everen Stoughton, "Scientific Training as Applied to the
Household," House Beautiful, December 1903, pp. 61-63;
Ellen M. Henrotin, "The Woman's Forum," House Beautiful,
December 1903, pp. 44-45.
28
"The Housemother's Problems," Harper's Bazaar,
February 1909, pp. 44-48; Josephine Grenier, "Yesterday's
Dishes Made Over," Harper's Bazaar, February 1909, pp. 93-
95; "Menus for the Month ,
0
Harper's Bazaar, February 1909,
pp. 228-232; Ida Husted Harper, "What the Suffragists Are
Doing," Harper's Bazaar, February 1909, pp. 201-203; "The
Best Thing Our Club Ever Did," Harper's Bazaar, February
1909, pp. 156-157.
148
CHAPTER V
EMPLOYMENT
One has only to stand during the early morning
hours in the waiting room of a station in a large
city and observe the thousands of young working
women who arrive on every incoming train, to be
impressed with the fact that much of the work of
that great city is in the hands of these competent
looking young girls.l
Between 1870 and 1920, a growing number of
women ventured forth beyond the boundary of their tradi
tional sphere of the home. For some women, especially
the young and single, an increasing selection and
quantity of occupations provided employment outside the
home, while for married women, various types of clubs
and associations became important focuses of activity.
The expansion beyond the confines of the home was a
significant development, one which had marked influence
upon women's feelings of self-worth and their relation
ship with other members of their families.
The female labor force, as a whole, grew between
1870 and 1920 (Table 24). However, significant differ
ences existed between the urban and rural sectors of the
nation. For both the aggregate population and native
149
TABLE 24.--Percentage of employed women sixteen years
or older, 1870-1920
Year
1870
1880
1890
Percent
employed
14.7
16.0
19.0
Year
1900
1910a
1920
Percent
employed
20.6
25.5
24.0
SOURCE: U.S., Department of Commerce, Women in
Gainful Occupations, 1870-1920, p. 19.
a
See Table 25 for a discussion of reliability and
comparability of 1910 data.
whites of native born parents , the percentage of wage
earning women was considerably higher in urban areas
than in the countryside (Table 25). In addition, the
difference between the percentage of women working in
the two sectors, for both the aggregate population and
native whites of native born parents, appeared to
increase over time
2
(Table 25).
For females of all nativity and racial groups,
the percentage of employed women was higher in urban than
in rural areas. However , the overall percentage of
women employed and the time period of entrance into the
labor force varied considerably from group to group. In
1890, black women had the highest percentage with jobs,
followed by native white women with foreign born parents,
then foreign born whites (Table 26) . Native born whites
150
1--'
u,
1--'
TABLE 25.-~Percentage of women, ten years or older, working in urban and rural areas,
aggregate population and native whites of native born parents, 1870-1920
1870a 1880a
1890 1900 1910 1920
Aggregate
population
Urban 15.9 17.8 25.5 26.0 (b) 28.1
Rural 9.8 10.4 15.7 16.0 (b) 16.1
Percent urban
greater than 62.2 71.2 62.4 62.5 -- 74.5
rural
Native whites
of native born
parents
Urban (c) (c) 17.7
(d) (b) 25.3
Rural (c) (c) 10.7 (d) (b) 14.1
Percent urban
greater than -- -- 65.4 -- -- 79.4
rural
SOURCES: U.S., Censuses, 1870-1920.
NOTE: For 1870, 1880, 1900, and 1920, urban= cities of 25,000+. For 1890,
urban had to be calculated on the basis of cities of 50,000+.
1---'
0,
tv
TABLE 25.--Continued
aFor 1870 and 1880, employment data were available only for the total female
population.
bUrban/rural female employment figures for native whites of native born parents
are not available for 1910, and the data for the aggregate population are a source of
much dispute. The 1910 census was taken in April, which would tend to elevate the
number working in seasonal, agricultural work, rather than in January as was done in
1920. Moreover, the 1910 census was the only one from the period which specifically
instructed the census taker to make serious inquiry as to whether or not a woman was
employed. Thus as Robert Smuts argues, the 1910 census may indeed be a more accurate
count, but its comparability to other censuses is questionable. See Robert Smuts,
"The Female Labor Force: A Case Study in the Interpretation of Historical Statistics,"
Journal of the American Statistical Association 55 (March 1960) :77-79. For a full
discussion of the problems posed by the 1910 female labor force statistics, see the
Smuts article cited above and John Durand, The Labor Force in the United States,
1890-1960 (New York: Social Science Research Council, 1948); Oppenheimer, "Female
Labor Force in the United States," pp. 2-5. Although not included in this table,
the percentage of the aggregate, 10+ population working in 1910 in urban areas was
28.5 percent while that in rural areas was 20.2 percent. See also, U.S., Department
of Commerce, Women in Gainful Occupations, 1870-1920.
cData for native whites of native born parents were not available for 1870 or 1880.
dFor 1900 data for native whites of native born parents were only available for
females 16+ in cities of 50,000+. For that year, the percentage working in urban areas
was 19.2 percent while that in rural areas was 10.9 percent. Since these data are not
comparable to those for other years, they have not been included in the table.
TABLE 26.--Percentage of employed women, ten years or
older, by nativity group, 1890 and 1900
Nwnp
Nwfp
Fw
Blacks
1890
12.4
25.3
19.8
39.9
1900
14.5
25.4
19.4
43.2
Percent change
1890-1900
16.9
(a)
- 2.0
8.3
SOURCE: U.S., Department of Commerce and Labor,
Statistics of Women at Work: 1900, p. 20.
NOTE: Nwnp = Native whites of native born par
ents; Nwfp - Native whites of foreign born parents;
Fw = Foreign born whites.
a
Less than 1% change.
of native born parents had the lowest percentage. In 1900,
although the order of the groups in terms of percentage
working stayed the same, native whites of native born
parents showed the biggest increase (Table 26).
In 1900 and 1920, census data distinguished between
cities with a population of 100,000 or larger and all com
munities with a smaller population (including the rural
areas). Native whites of native born parents again showed
the greatest percentage increase of any group with the
increase in cities of 100,000 or greater outstripping the
gains in the smaller areas (Table 27). Although the
153
TABLE 27.--Percentage of employed women sixteen or older, by nativity
group, in cities of 100,000+ and smaller-sized areas, 1900 and 1920
1900
Agg 28.4
Nwnp 23.4
Nwfp 29.5
Fw 20.7
Black 50.2
100,000+
1920
33.1
32.2
33.8
21.1
51.4
·Percent
increase
1900-1920
16.5
37.6
14.5
1.9
2.4
1900
18.5
13.5
20.4
15.0
34.0
Smaller areas
1920
19.5
16.4
22.8
13.9
40.2
Percent
increase
1900-1920
5.4
21.5
11.8
- 7.3
18.2
SOURCE: U.S., Department of Commerce, Women in Gainful Occupa
tions, 1870-1920.
NOTE: Agg = Aggregate population; Nwnp = Native whites of native
born parents; Nwfp = Native whites of foreign born parents; Fw -
Foreign born whites.
154
percentage of employed black women remained higher than for
other groups throughout the time period, native whites of
native born parents in larger cities experienced the most
marked increases (Table 27).
Looking more closely at the difference between the
urban and rural rates of increase in the percentage of
women working for the aggregate population and native
whites of native born parents, it can be seen that the rate
of increase was higher in urban than in rural areas. For
both urban and rural areas, however, native whites of
native born parents exhibited a much sharper increase than
did the aggregate population (Table 28). Indeed,the sharp
increase between 1890 and 1920 in the percentage of native
whites of native born parents who worked considerably nar
rowed the divergence between the percent working in the
2ggregate population and that working among native whites
of native born parents. In 1890, the percentage of women
of the aggregate population who worked was greater than the
percentage of native whites of native born parents who
worked by 44.1 percent in urban areas and 46.7 percent in
rural areas. By 1920 this difference had dropped to 11.1
percent and 14.2 percent respectively.
What was drawing such record numbers of native
white women of native born parents into the labor force?
One important factor was the tremendous growth in
155
TABLE 28.--The percentage increase in the proportion of
employed women, urban and rural areas, 1870-1880 and
1890-1920, aggregate population and native whites of
native born parents
Agg
Nwnp
1870-1880
Urban
12.0
(a)
Rural
6.1
(a)
1890-1920
Urban
10.2
42.9
Rural
2.6
31.8
SOURCES: U.S., Censuses, 1870-1920.
NOTE: See Table 24 for percent of women working in
different years. For 1870, 1880, and 1920, urban=
cities of 25,000+. For 1890, urban= cities of 50,000+.
Agg = Aggregate population; Nwnp = Native whites of native
born parents.
aData not available.
white-collar positions and, to a lesser extent, professional
employment. Between 1870 and 1920, the number of women in
clerical positions rose dramatically.
3
One indicator of
the growth in the clerical field was its treatment in the
census. Prior to 1910, clerical occupations were included
under the general heading of Trade and Transportation.
From 1910 on, a separate clerical category was used. In
1870 slightly more than 10,000 women, fewer than 1 percent
of all women 10 years or older in non-agricultural jobs,
were employed in clerical occupations. In 1900 the number
had risen to almost 400,000, or 9.1 percent of the non
agricultural female labor force. By 1920, 2 million women
156
or more than 25 percent of all women, 10 years or older,
in non-agricultural jobs worked in clerical positions.
4
During the same time period, the number of women in
occupations designated as "professional" rose from a
little less than 92,000 in 1870 6.4 percent of the non
agricultural, female labor force, to 400 , 000 (10 percent)
in 1900, to almost 1 million or 13.3 percent by 1920.
5
The burgeoning fields of white-collar and pro
fessional work were dominated by native white women of
native born parents. In 1890, these women, while making
up only 34.7 percent of the total female work force, com
prised 51 percent of all female clerical workers and 68
percent of all female professionals.
6
In 1920, native
white women of native born parents comprised 44.5 percent
of the female work force, but more than 55 percent of
all female clerical workers and 64.5 percent of all female
professionals. While the growth in white-collar and pro
fessional fields provided a new set of occupational oppor
tunities for middle-class women, the availability of
employment opportunities had to be coupled with the desire
or need, and time to enter the working world.
Although most middle-class women married, and at
an increasingly younger age they entered into marriage
with mixed feelings. On the one hand, society condoned
marriage as the proper goal for women. Yet many women
157
realized, and often verbalized, the limitations on inde
pendence that marriage would bring. In 1905 Margaret E.
Sangster devoted her column in Woman's Home Companion,
"Mrs. Sangster's Home Page," to the question "Shall Wives
Earn Money?" She discussed the "hundreds of married
women" who "look back with a tender regret at days before
marriage," when they were self-supporting working women.
One married woman described by Mrs. Sangster gave the
following reasons for deciding to return to the business
world. "I should greatly enjoy the work [and] I am weary
of the daily grind [of housework].•~
8
Employment, with the
making of money and contacts that it brought, loomed as a
desirable, if generally temporary option, to many women.
The same revolution in caring for the household
that had provided the urban, middle-class housewife with a
growing amount of free time, had also provided increased
free time to her daughters. Numerous sources indicated an
urban/rural dichotomy with respect to the time devoted by
daughters to household chores. In the cities, daughters
did not appear to help much with household work, and one
father expressed his concern that homemaking skills were
no longer being acquired by young women.
9
A number of
urban women commented upon how little they had learned
about cooking prior to marriage, and the New Orleans Times
Picayune of January 1897 even had an advertisement for a
158
cooking school for brides.
10
In contrast to city girls,
daughters in the rural areas seemed uniformly to help
around the home.
11
A growing number of girls were obtaining
lengthier and better educations and were thus more pre
pared to handle a wider range of jobs than had previously
been the case. By 1911 , one author , writing about the
"passing of the home daughter," spoke of a "restlessness"
which was spreading throughout the "mighty middle class
of American society," a restlessness characterized by
young women's unwillingness to stay at home and await
marriage but instead to go out and seek the independence
12
of a career. Although many of those young women prob-
ably planned ultimately to marry, the growing number of
white-collar and professional jobs provided a desirable
and respectable alternative to staying at home.
The question of what makes a particular occupa
tion respectable in the eyes of society, and another one
not, is difficult to answer. During the late nineteenth
century, many opponents of employment for women cited the
constant contact with men and the possibility of
"illicit liaisons." Saleswork, at least at its inception,
was considered suspect. In his classic study of New York
in the late 1860s, George Ellington described the tendency
of the "dollar stores" to hire attractive young women in
159
those stores frequented by men, with the suggestion that
many affairs started at such stores. Later authors,
although pointing to the attempt of department store
owners to provide better working conditions for their
employees, reaffirmed the problem facing saleswomen
regarding advances from men. One store even hired a
detective to protect its female employees from
13
"mashers."
Proponents of employment for women felt obliged
to address themselves to the question of the morality of
the working woman. Carroll Wright, the first United
States Commissioner of Labor , asserted in his 1884 study,
The Working Girls of 'Boston , that most working women were
respectable. Similarly , Helen Campbell in 1891 felt
obliged to assure her readers that most working women
t
. t t 14
were no prosti u es.
Office work in particular , and telephone work
to a lesser extent provided what could be considered an
ideal employment opportunity for apt , middle-class young
women. The pay for office work was relatively high,
ranging from $5 to $8 per week for starting typists up
to $25 to $30 for experienced stenographers. Pay for
telephone operators was considerably lower , with $8 being
about the top salary. Despite the lower wages for tele
phone operators, an effort was made to assure a comfortable
160
work setting: a dining room, reading room, and infirmary
were sometimes provided.
15
Reasonable working hours, good
pay, at least for office work, generally pleasant working
conditions, and nonstrenuous activity, made such work
acceptable to middle-class morality. Critics of sales
work, who viewed its low wages and loose supervision as a
very real threat to a woman's reputation, seemed to
express less concern that office employment might lead a
young woman into "sin," despite the obvious interaction
with males. One author in 1890 aptly illustrated the high
acceptability of clerical work when she asserted that young
ladies who wanted to earn their own living could find no
more "agreeable or profitable" employment than shorthand
or typewriting.
16
That sentiment was echoed by later
authors. Eleanor Martin and Margaret Post in their 1914
book, Vocations for the Trained Woman, contended that
secretarial work was "dignified and not so physically
. . h" 11 17
tiring as teac ing. In 1919 Helen C. Hoerle and
Florence B. Saltzberg assured their readers of The Girl and
the Job that "next to teaching, stenography may be said to
be the most generally acceptable occupation for girls .
. . . It is considered respectable and ladylike.
1118
Prior to the late nineteenth century men had
dominated office work. The question of why employers began
to hire women for clerical and telephone work will require
161
more detailed studies to provide a definitive answer.
Some employers, at least, seemed to believe that young
women made much more satisfactory workers than did young
men. One author pointed out how he had no trouble placing
young women he had trained; they "could readily supplant
inefficient office boys and young men who depended upon
their sex to hold their own as against women of whatever
l
'f' . ,,19
qua i ication. Most employers who hired women for
office work explained their preference with reasons such
. k 1 h d . . d · ·
2
0
as neatness, quic ness, c ear an writing an precision.
Telephone officials contended that young men had origi
nally been used but they were not always "civil or
accurate." Young women were "reluctantly" tried, and
their politeness and accuracy assured the female domina
tion of the field.
21
For both office and telephone work,
the fact that women workers received lower wages was most
probably a significant factor in their being hired. An
1895 study put forth by the Commissioner of Labor revealed
that male stenographers in a life insurance firm averaged
$27.65 a week. For women stenographers, the average weekly
salary was $13.46. The situation was similar for tele
phone work, where the men averaged $12 a week while the
women made only $6.22.
With each passing decade, the proportion of women
in the clerical field grew: 2.3 percent in 1870, 4.4
162
percent in 1880, 16.4 percent in 1890, 25.4 percent in
1900, and 45.7 percent in 1920.
23
The growing importance
and acceptability of clerical work for women was
reflected in the proliferation of technical schools and
courses geared to train office workers, especially stenog
raphers and typists. In the 1880s , classes in stenog
raphy , typing , and bookkeeping opened at the New York
City YWCA and Cooper Union, and by 1900 clerical courses
had attracted more than 19 , 000 girls in the public schools
and 24 , 000 in commercial and business schools.
24
While the most impressive increases in employment
opportunities for middle-class women during the era came
in the clerical field, significant growth also appeared
in other areas. Between 1870 and 1920, while the total
number of women working rose almost 400 percent, the
number of women in the major professions increased over
900 percent. Those employed as teachers increased sixfold,
the number eniployed as physicians, surgeons, etc. rose
thirtyfold, and the number working as lawyers, judges,
notaries and the like jumped over 600-fold (Table 29).
Other professional occupations which saw large gains
during the era were nursing, which grew elevenfold between
1900 and 1920, and the number of library workers, which
more than tripled during the same time period.
163
1--'
°'
.i:::.
TABLE 29.--Nurnber of women employed in professional occupations, 1870-1920
1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920
Total number of
women in the
91,963 175,351 307,774 433,862 724,176
principal
992,638
professions
Number of women in s elected professions:
Teachers, college
154,375a
professors, 84,047 246,066 327,614 484,115 652,500
etc.
Physicians,
527 2~432 4r557 7,387 13,687 16,784
surgeons, etc .
Trained nurses (b) (b) (b) 11,119 76,508 143,664
Librarians and
(b) (b) (b) 3,122 8,621 14,714
assistants
Lawyers 5 75 208 1,010 1,343 3,221
SOURCE: U.S . , Department of Commerce, Women ·in Gainful Occupations, 1870-1920,
pp . 42, 45
aScientific persons combined with teachers in 1880.
bData not available.
During the late nineteenth and early twentieth
century an important pattern of female employment became
firmly established. On the one hand, a growing number of
middle-class women were entering a wider variety of
occupations. On the other hand, the vast majority of
women employed in white-collar and professional occupa
tions were increasingly concentrated in clerical work.
In 1900, 23 percent of all such women were in clerical
occupations, but by 1920 the concentration had risen to
almost 50 percent (Table 30).
TABLE 30.--Percentage of total women employed in white
collar and professional occupations who were in
teaching, clerical work, or sales, 1900-1920
1900 1920
Teachers, college
professors, and 32.0 22.0
presidents
Clerical a
23.0 48.0
Saleswomen 14.0 12.0
SOURCES: U.S., Department of Commerce and Labor,
Statistics of Women at Work: 1900, p. 32; U.S., Depart
ment of Commerce, Women in Ga·inful Occupations, 1870-1920,
pp. 64-65.
NOTE: White-collar and professional occupations were
calculated as follows· 1900, "professional" plus "trade
and transportation" plus "nurses and midwives"; 1920,
"professional" plus "store and office."
aClerical = bookkeepers, accountants, clerks, copyists,
stenographers, and typists.
165
The growing concentration of women in clerical
work can be accounted for by a phenomenal expansion of
jobs in that occupational field. Between 1900 and 1920
the percentage of females 10 or older employed in non
agricultural pursuits increased by more than 3 million,
a rise of 72 percent (Table 31). During the same time
period, a little more than 1.5 million women entered
clerical occupations (Table 31). The growth in the
clerical component of the female labor force was the
equivalent of almost one out of every two women entering
the labor force between 1900 and 1920 going into a
clerical job. Although the number of women employed as
servants, waitresses or the like declined by 72,000 during
the same period of time, that small decline of about 5
percent could in no way explain the tremendous increase
in the clerical sector (Table 31). The growth of the
clerical field did not appear to come at the expense of
the servant sector, but came instead as a consequence of
a continued growth in the female labor force, in general,
and an especially pronounced increase in office work.
During the entire period under investigation, the
female labor force was composed primarily of young, single
women. However, significant shifts in both the age com
position and marital status of member of the female labor
force did occur. Between 1890 and 1920, althou9h the
166
I-'
0)
--.J
TABLE 31.--Number and percentage of females ten or older engaged in non-agricultural pursuits,
1870-1920
Total
females
10+ in
non-agri
cultural
work
Servants
waitresses, etc.
Clerks, sales
stenos, typists,
bookkeepers, etc. Mills & factories
Professionals
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number
1870 1,439,285 873,738 60.7 10,798 0.8 252,702 17.6
91,963 6.4
1880 2,052,582 970,273 47.3 38,088 1.9 429,132 20.9 175,351 8.5
1890 3,235,424 1,302,728 40.3 171,712 5.3 657,661 20.3 307,774 9.5
1900 4,341,599 1,430,692 33.0 394,747 9.1 966,167 22.3 433,862 10.0
1910 6,268,271 1,595,572 25.5 930,763 14.8 1,450,151 23.1 724,176 11.6
1920 7,465,383 1,358,665 18.2 1,910,695 25.6 1,777,022 23.8 992,638 13.3
SOURCE: U.S., Department of Commerce, Women in Gainful Occupations, _1870-1920, pp. 36, 40-51.
female work force remained a youthful one, the proportion
of those between 16-24 declined while those between 25-44
rose. In 1890, 49.9 percent of all female workers 15 or
older were between the ages of 15 and 24. By 1920 only
39.3 percent of those 16 or older were in the 16-24 year
old age bracket. During the same period, the proportion
of the female labor force between 25 and 44 years of age
25
rose from 33.7 percent to 41.7 percent of the total.
The decrease in the percentage that 16-24 year
olds were of the 16 or older female labor force may have
been due to a decline in the proportion of females in
that age group. Between 1900 and 1920 the percentage
distribution that females 16-24 were of all females 16 or
older decreased by 13.2 percent (Table 32). During the
same time period an 11.1 percent decline in the propor
tion that females 16-24 were of all 16 or older employed
females occurred. But the shifting agecomposition of the
female labor force was not solely a product of the chang
ing age structure of the female population. Between 1890
and 1920 the percentage distribution that females 25-44
were of all 16 or older females rose by only 5.2 percent.
The corresponding increase for employed females, 25-44 was
23.7 percent. An aging of the female labor force was
occurring: either women were staying on longer in their
jobs or more older women were entering the working world,
or both.
26
168
.....
0)
\.0
TABLE 32.--Females sixteen years or older, total and employed, 1890-1920
Percent distribution of all Percent distribution of employed
women 16+ by age group women 16+ by age group
Percent change Percent chan9:e
Age group 1890 1900 1920 1890-1920 1890 1900 1920 1890-1920
16-24 30.4 28.8 25.0
-13.2b 49.9a
44.2 39.3
-11.lb
25-44 42.3 43.4 44.5 5.2 33.7 38.2 41.7 23.7
45+ 26.9 27.5 30.3 12.6 15.9 17.2 18.8 18.2
Not
0.3 0.2 0.2 0.5 0.4 0.2 --
reported
SOURCES: U.S., Department of Commerce, Women in Gainful Occupations, 1870-1920,
pp. 23, 67, 257-258; U.S., Department of Commerce and Labor, Women at Work: 1900,
pp. 162, 168; U.S., Department of the Interior, Eleventh Census, 1890, vol. 1, Popula
tion, pt. 2, p. cxxi.
ain 1890 data were given for 15-24 age group.
b
For the 16-24 age group the percentage change was calculated for 1900-1920
because of lack of comparability of 1890 figures for the percentage employed.
Except for the 65 or older age group, the female
labor force of both the aggregate population and native
whites of native born parents showed continued growth
between 1900 and 1920 {Table 33). However, significant
differences existed between the patterns of growth
exhibited by the two groups. Although overall, the growth
shown by the female labor force of native whites of
native born parents was greater than that of the aggregate
population the largest increases for native whites of
native born parents were occurring in the 16-24 and 25-44
age groups, with comparatively little growth in the 45-64
age group. In contrast, the female labor force of the
aggregate population was increasing mor8 slowly, and all
age groups, ex~pt for those 65 or older, showed about the
same rate of growth (Table 33).
The factors that tended to draw women into the
labor force probably differed from group to group. The
degree of economic necessity, types of occupations avail
able and acceptable, existing attitudes within the group
regarding employment for women, all undoubtedly played a
part in determining employment patterns. Although more
detailed research is needed before a definitive analysis
of the participation of different groups of women in the
labor force can be offered, the data suggest a later
en.trance into the work force of native whites of native
170
TABLE 33.--Percent of employed women in different age groups,
aggregate population and native whites of native born parents,
1900 and 1920
Aggregate population
Native whites of
native born parents
Age Percent Percent
group 1900 1920 increase 1900 1920 increase
16-24 31.6 37.6 19.0 21.0 30- .. 8 46.7
25-44 18.1 22.4 23.8 12.9 18.5 43.4
45-64 14.1 17.1 21.3 11.3 14.4 27.4
65+ 9.1 8.0 -12.1 7.8 6.8 -12.8
SOURCE: U.S., Department of Commerce, Women in Gainful
OccuFations, 1870-1920, pp. 257-258.
171
born parents than of other groups in the female population.
According to Tables 26 and 27, in 1890 native whites of
native born parents had the lowest proportion of women
working, but by 1920 native whites of native born parents
had almost as high a proportion working as did native
whites of foreign born parents and a significantly greater
percentage working than did foreign born whites. As
women entered the working world, one would expect first
to see the younger women, the very group which would be
least bound by old traditions. Once having joined the
labor force, a certain percentage of women would remain.
Thus a gradual '' aging" of the female labor force would
27
occur.
As was the case for the female labor force in
general, the occupations of middle-class women were domi
nated by the young. Between 1890 and 1920, however, the
percentage that the 15-24 year old age group was of the
professional categories declined and the 25-64 age group
increased (Table 34).
Not only was the female labor ~orce predominantly
youthful, it was also predominantly single. In both 189G
and 1900, almost 70 percent of the total number of employed
females 10 or older were single. Although married women
always composed a smaller percentage of the female labor
force than did single women, the proportion of married
172
......
-..J
w
TABLE 34.--Percentage that each age group is of total employed in selected occupational
categories, aggregate population, 1890 and 1920
All occu.eations Professional Clerical
Percent Percent Percent
Age groups 1890 1920 change 1890 1920 change 1890 1920 change
10-14 5.2 2.4 -53.8 .1 (a)
--
2.6 .4 -84.6
15-24 47.3 39.4 -16.7 52.6 37.4 .-28.9 63.9 59.0 .- 7. 7
25-44 31.9 40.0 25.4 39.5 48.3 22.3 29.5 36.4 23.4
45-64 12.6 15.8 25.4 6.7 12.8 91.0 3.4 4.0 17.6
SOURCES: U.S., Department of the Interior, Eleventh Census, 1890, vol. 1, Population,
pt. 2, pp. 306, 308, 372, 374; U.S., Department of Commerce, Fourteenth Census, 1920,
vol. 4, OccuE_ation_§__, p. 376.
a
Less than .1.
women in the female work force did increase in the early
twentieth century. In 1890, 12.1 percent of all women 16
or older, and employed in non-agricultural work, were
married. In 1900, 13.3 percent were married. By 1910 the
percentage of married women had jumped to 19.7 percent
28
and in 1920 it rose to 21.2 percent. Moreover, between
1890 and 1920, the proportion of married women who worked
almost doubled for the aggregate population and more than
doubled for native whites of native born parents (T~ble 35).
TABLE 35.--Percentage of married women, sixteen or older,
who were employed, 1890 and 1920, aggregate population
and native whites of native born parents
1890 1920
Percent increase
1890-1920
Aggregate
4.6 9.0
95.7
population
Native whites
of native 2.7 6.3 133.3
born parents
SOURCES: U.S., Department of Commerce, Women
Gainful Occupations, 1870-~1920, pp. 76, 78; U.S.,
ment of the Interior, Eleventh Census, 1890, vol.
Population, pt. 2, p. cxxiv.
.
in
Depart-
2'
For all age groups in both the aggregate popula
tion and for native whites of native born parents, the
percentage of employed, married women increased. Among the
174
former, the percentage of employed, married women
increased at about the same rate for all age groups, while
for the latter, the increase was most pronounced among
those under 45 (Table 36).
A multitude of factors appeared to be involved
with increasing the proportion of married women in the
labor force during the early twentieth century. As with
the female labor force in general, employment of married
women followed different patterns in the various racial
and nativity groups. The employment patterns reflected
differences in economic need, different attitudes toward
the propriety of work for married women, and types of
available jobs.
29
For working class women, the economic survival of
the family often necessitated the wife's employment.
Such women generally had odious jobs and retirement from
the working world often came as soon as was economically
feasible. In addition, some women believed that jobs
should be left to those women who needed the money to sur
vive.30 Economic necessity had probably propelled lower
and working-class married women into the working world at
an earlier date than their middle-class counterparts
(Table 36). In 1890, domestic service and mill and
factory work comprised more than 60 percent of all the
non-agricultural jobs held by women.
31
Such jobs tended
175
TABLE 36.--Percentage of married women working, by age group, 1890
and 1920, aggregate population and native whites of native born
parents, total United States
15-24 25-34 35- 44 45+
Agg
1890
6.4 4.8 4.5
3.6
1920
11.7 9.7 9.5 6.6
Percent increase
1890--1920 82.8 102.1 111.1 83.3
Nwnp
1890 2.5 2.4 2.3 3.1
1920 7.7 6.6 6.6 5.0
Percent increase
1890-1920 208.0 175.0 187.0 61.3
SOURCES: U.S., Department of Commerce and Labor, Statistic~
of Women at Work: 1900, p. 16; U.S., Department of the Interior,
_____,
Eleventh Census, 1890, vol. 2, P9pulation , pt. 2, p. 750; U.S.,
Department of Commerce, Women in Gainful Occupations, 1870-1920,
p. 79.
NOTE· Agg = Aggregate population; Nwnp - Native whites of
native born parents.
176
not to appeal to middle-class women. By 1920 the tremen
dous increase in white-collar occupations, which had
helped to draw so many single, middle-class women into the
labor force was probably also influential in attracting a
growing number of married, middle-class women.
Among the middle class actual and aspiring,
economic factors were important in drawing married women
into the working world. A working wife meant that mar
riage need not be delayed until the husband's wages alone
ld f
·1
32
. 1 ht d t
cou support a ami y. In particu ar, w a seeme o
prompt employment for at least some middle-class, married
women was the desire for a higher standard of living.
Anna Steele Richardson writing in 1920 of "The Lure of
the Double Salary," described the warning given to a
young woman about to be married.
Her cousin [warned] "now Marjorie, hang on to
your job. You don't see me wearing silk stock
ings and filet collars these days. Of course
I wouldn't give up Junior for any salary on
earth, but if I had it to do over again, I'd
stay in the office at least two years and get
something ahead.
11
33
Another woman began working to put her husband through
medical school and decided to continue work after the
husband began his medical practice. Since his starting
income was low, her employment gave them "the opportunity
and means ... to enjoy the good things of life and a few
of its luxuries.
1134
177
The early twentieth century, urban trend toward
earlier marriages was quite possibly related to the
increased presence of married women in the labor force.
A wife's employment often made an earlier marriage
possible. In addition, the growing number of young, mar-
ried women might have encouraged employers to keep their
female workers on even after they married. One women
described how her boss urged her to continue working after
she had married. "It had taken several years to transform
her from a raw business-school graduate to an efficient
personal secretary. He preferred raising her salary to
t
. . . l
11
35
raining a new gir. For many married women, employ-
ment was maintained only until the arrival of the first
child. Employment, however, often meant a decision to
delay having children.
36
For middle-class, married women, a motivating
factor for maintaining or retaking a job often was the
desire for economic independence. One woman, returning
to work after several years of marriage and two children
asserted, "I mean to take up my business life again and
secure a measure of independence."
37
Non-economic factors also played a role in drawing
the middle-class, married woman into the working world.
In 1905, Margaret Sangster in her Woma·n' s · Home Companion
column queried:
178
If a woman can take a job without detriment to
or neglect of her family and her duty, should
she not take some share in the larger interests
outside the home, the interests that impart
flavor and zest to life and keep a woman young
and fresh, because they are so agreeable and
absorbing that they take her out of herself
and lift her from the danger of stagnation?18
The idea that a woman who limited herself to the domestic
sphere would grow narrow and uninteresting was reiterated
throughout the era. One author even addressed herself
to the problems which had developed because the domestic
duties of the wife had, in reality, diminished. Fewer
children and more household conveniences meant a greater
amount of free time for most middle-class women. She
urged her readers not to cut themselves off from contact
with the working world, warning of the development of "the
woman of capability, with her hands empty from the time
39
she is forty."
Related to the idea of the narrowness of a solely
domestic existence was the attitude that the working world
offered a variety of interesting and worthwhile experi
ences. One woman spoke of the "keen pleasure" her job
40
gave her. Another described her years spent in the
business world as "delightful.
1141
Thus between 1890 and 1920, a number of factors
combined to draw more married women into the working world.
Although the percentage of married women in the labor
179
force rose sharply between 1890 and 1920, single women
still predominated (Table 37). For women who wished to
pursue a career, one which they did not wish to give up,
the societal prohibitions against employment for married
women posed a difficult dilemma. In the mid-1890s
M3.rtha Rayne, author of What Can a Woman Do, surveyed the
marital status of female physicians. Four hundred seventy
questionnaires were sent out.
th d
. l 42
e respon ents were singe.
Seventy-five percent of
As Table 37 indicates,
although some women did manage to combine a professional
career with marriage, the majority of women who pursued
careers were single.
Young women in increasing numbers appeared to fill
the myriad of jobs that were opening in cities and towns
across the nation. Where did they come from? Were they
already urban residents or were they drawn from the
countryside by the prospects of a better, or at least a
less isolated, life in the city? Observers from the era
commented upon the migration from the countryside to the
city of young women who were seeking employment. The
United States Department of Census speculated that the
"excess of female workers, especially in the younger age
groups, may be due to the cityward migration of females
43
seeking work." Opportunities for outside employment in
the rural areas were generally limited to domestic work
180
TABLE 37.--Percentage of women in selected occupations who were
married, aggregate population, 1890 and 1920
Percentage
Occupation 1890 1920 increase
All occupations
11 . 6a 21 . 2b
82 . 8
Stenos and typists 2 . 4 6 .. 6 175 . 0
Bookkeepers,accountants 4.3 11.5 167.4
Lawyers 21 . 2 34 . 2 61 . 3
Teachers of music 11.9 24 . 6 106 ., 7
Physicians,surgeons 27.0 32 . 9 21 ., 0
Professors in colleges
10 .. 9 11.3 3 .. 7
and universities
Teachers 4 . 5 9 . 7 115.6
Trained nurses
Cc>
7.5
--
Librarians (c) 7.4
SOURCES: U.S., Department of the Interior, Eleventh Census, 1890,
vol. 1, Population, pt. 2, pp. 306-308, 372-374, 416-417; U. S . , Depart
ment of Commerce, Women in Gainful Occupations, 1870-1920, pp. 77, 83,
182-187.
NOTE: Data from 1890 based on females 15+; 1920 data based on
females 16+.
a
Women 15+ in non-agricultural work .
b
Women 16+ in non-agricultural work.
C .
Data not given.
181
or teaching. In contrast , the cities offered a wide
assortment of occupations with an expanding number of
positions. Thus it was not surprising to find young,
rural women drawn to the city because of greater job
possibilities. In addition, the city offered a host of
other desirable options: social contact, escape from the
isolation of the farm, and a variety of places for
recreation.
In 1900 and 1920, the United States censuses
reported upon the distribution, by family relationship,
of working women in selected, large cities.
44
The fact
that more than one-third of the employed white women of
native born parents were either boarding or living with
relatives other than parents at least suggested the
presence of newcomers to the cities. It must be remem
bered that some city women would have chosen to board
r~ther than to run their own homes, so that the percentage
of women boarding cannot be equated with the percentage of
rural migrants.
45
But the highest percentage of working
women, at least in the larger cities , seemed to have come
from the cities themselves.
In both 1900 and 1920 the vast majority of working
girls and women lived at home, many of them with their
fathers or mothers. In 1884 Carroll D. Wright conducted
a survey among the working girls o f Boston and found that
182
58 percent lived at home with their parents.
46
In fact
for 1900 and 1920, in the white-collar occupations and
the major professional occupation, teaching, slightly
more than half of the women lived at home with either
father or mother {Table 38 and Table 39).
Within the cities and towns of late nineteenth
and early twentieth century America, middle-class women
first began to emerge in significant numbers into the
working world. As with fertility and marriage patterns,
however, the question arises regarding possible explana
tions for differences among cities with respect to the
percentage of women who were employed. Size, one of the
major differentiators among cities , appeared to bear
little relationship to the percentage of employed women
(Table 40). Only for 1920 was there a slight positive
correlation between the variables.
47
What appeared to
exist was a large gap between urban and rural areas (see
Table 25) with little differentiation between cities of
d
'ff . 48
1 erent sizes. However, as was pointed out in the
discussion regarding female marriage and fertility rates,
a size-related gradation may have existed below a popula
tion of 25,000 while over 25,000 city size was not
important with respect to the percentage of women
employed.
In contrast to size, the economic function of a
city correlated strongly with the percentage of women
183
1---.J
co
~
TABLE 38.--Percent distribution, by family relationship, of employed women for selected
occupations, aggregate population and native whites of native born parents, 1900
Aggregate population Native whites of native born parents
Steno Clerk Steno Clerk
Family All and and All and and
relationship occupations typist Teachers copyist occupations typist Teachers copyist
Total living
64.8 79.3 72.3
at home
82.1 66.2 72.6 69.8 74.4
Heads of
11.9 2.3 6.6
homes
4.8 11.5 6.9 3.0 6.4
With father
38.5 64.8 51.6
or mother
63.8 40.6 50.5 53.5 54.0
Other
14.5 12.2 14.1
relatives
13.5 14.1 15.2 13.3 13.0
Boarding
a
35.2 20.7
27.7b
17.9 33.8 27.4
30.2b
25.6
SOURCE: U.S., Department of Commerce and Labor, Statistics of Women at Work: 1900,
pp. 25, 101, .108, 121.
aincludes living with employer.
bit appeared to be common practice, at least in small towns and rural areas, for teachers
to board around at the homes of students. See Marie Louise Barrett Chamberlin, Looking Back
from Eighty-Five (Chicago: Federal Printing Co., 1926); Ella M. Doggett Hostetler, Sketches
Along th_e _way from the Year 1856 (Lincoln, Neb.: Woodruff Printing Co., 1916), pp. 74--77.
~
00
U1
TABLE 39.--Percent distribution, by family relationship, of employed women for selected
occupations, aggregate population, 1920
All occupations Aggregate population
Native whites Stenos
Family Aggregate native born and Telephone
relationship population parents typists Teachers operators Clerks
Total living
78.6 76.7
84 . 6 69.6 83.5 85.8
at home
Heads of
15.2 12.1
3.4 9.5
3.6 5.5
homes
With father
or mother
37.7 42.9
66.5 43.0 64.0
62.7
Other
11.4 11.4
11.1 12 . 8 12.4 12.2
relative
Husband 14.3
10.3 3.5
4.3 3.5 5.4
Total boarding
a
21.5 23.3
15.4 30.4 16.5 14.2
SOURCE: U.S., Department of Commerce, Women in Gainful Occupations, 1870-1920,
pp. 124, 130.
alncludes living with employer.
TABLE 40.--Percentage of employed women by size of city, aggregate
population and native whites of nati~e born parents, 1870-1920
Size of city
25,000- 50,000- 100,000-
50,000 100,000 500,000 500,000+
1870
Agg 17.7±8.5 16.9±4.1 15.3±3.3a
1880
Agg 19.8±7.8 18.3±6.7 15.6±3.6 18.1±3.8
1890
Agg (b) 25.9±7.2 23.9±3.8 25.3±3.8
Nwnp (b) 18.5±4.0 18.1±1.9 18.3±2.9
1900
Agg 24.2±6.0 26.4±7.1 25.4±4.9 26.7±2.7
Nwnpc
(b) 20.3±5.2 20.2±2.6 21.7±2.2
1910d
Agg 26.7±6.3 27.7±6.7 29.1±5.2 29.2±3.4
1920
Nwnp 24.3±4.7 25.8±5.0 27.6±3.5 29.7±3.1
SOURCES: U.S., Censuses, 1870-1920.
NOTE: Mean and standard deviation (±) calculated on the basis
of the total number of cities in a particular size category. For
1870 and 1880, employment data were available only for the total
female population rather than females 10+. Agg = Aggregate popula
tion; Nwnp = Native whites of native born parents. N = Number of
observations. The values of N are as follows for the different
sized cities. 25,000-50,000: 1870, N = 25; 1880, N = 15; 1900,
N = 81; 1920, N = 122; 1920, N = 144. 50,000-100,000: 1870,
N = 10; 1880, N = 13; 1890, N = 30; 1900, N = 39; 1910, N = 59;
1920, N = 74. 100,000-500,000: 1870, N = 14; 1880, N = 16; 1890,
N = 24; 1900, N = 31; 1910, N = 42; 1920, N = 55. 500,000+: 1880-
1890, N = 4; 1900-1910, N = 8; 1920, N = 12.
a
100,000+.
bData not available.
186
TABLE 40.--Continued
cFor 1900, data for native whites of native born parents
available for females 16+
d
In 1910, employment data for native whites of native born
parents not given.
k
l 49
wor ing. As the percentage of the total labor force
engaged in Manufacturing and Mechanical occupations
increased, so did the percentage of women employed (Table
41). Cities which had a higher proportion of their labor
force engaged in Trade and Transportation occupations
showed the opposite correlation: as the percentage in
Trade and Transportation grew, the percentage of employed
women dropped. And as can be seen for 1920, both Trade
and Transportation were negatively correlated with the
percentage of women who worked (Table 41). For those
cities that inclined toward Manufacturing and Mechanical
occupations and for those more heavily Trade and Transpor
tation, the strength of their respective correlations with
the percentage of women employed appeared to diminish
between 1870 and 1920 (Table 41).
A definitive analysis of why a city's economic
function appeared to be related to the proportion of
employed women cannot be put forth at this time. However,
tentative explanations, which relate to the kind of employ
ment opportunities for women in the cities, and the change
187
I-'
co
co
TABLE 41.--Correlation between economic function and percentage of women employed, aggregate
population and native whites of native born parents, 1870-1920
Trade and transportation vs. percent Manufacturing and mechanical vs. percent
employed employed
Agg Nwnp
Agg Nwnp
f
e
1870b
r=-.54
r=.37
(a)
N=49
(a) N=49
f
e
1880b
r=-.49
r=.35
(a)
N=S0 (a) N=S0
e e
e
f
1890c
r=-.37 r=-.41
r=. 30
r=.60
N=58 N=58
N=58
N=58
e
r=-.28d,e
r=.04
r=.54d,f
r=-.21
1900
N=l58 N=79
N=l58
N=79
Trade Trans Trade Trans
e f f
f
r=.04 r=-.15 r=-.25 r=-.34
r=.04
r=.33
1920
N=285
N=285
N=285 N=285 N=285 N=285
SOURCES: U.S., Censuses, 1870-1920.
NOTE: Percentage of employed women and percentage of the total labor force in Manu
facturing and Mechanical occupations and Trade and Transportation ones were computed for
each city for each census year. The correlation between economic function (i.e., percent
of total labor force in Manufacturing and Mechanical or Trade and Transportation) was then
calculated. Unless otherwise indicated, calculations were made on the basis of all cities
25,000+. Agg = Aggregate population; Nwnp = Native whites of native born parents. Trans=
r-'
00
\.0
TABLE 41.--Continued
Transportation; r = the correlation coefficient; N = the number of observations.
a .
Data not given.
bin 1870 and 1880, the percentage of women employed was calculated on the basis of all
females. For all other years (except 1900), calculations were made on the basis of
females 10+. For 1880, data available for selected (by census) cities of 25,000+.
cin 1890, data given for cities of 50,000+.
din 1900, data for native whites of native born parents was given for females 16+ in
cities of 50,000+.
esignificant at the .01 level.
fSignificant at the .001 level.
in opportunities with time, can be posited. For the 1870
to 1920 time period, cities which inclined most heavily
toward either Trade and Transportation or Manufacturing
and Mechanical occupations were examined. The top 10
percent in each category were chosen from each census
year. Each city included in the sample for a census year
met the cutoff criteria for either strong Manufacturing
and Mechanical or strong Trade and Transportation for
that particular year (Table 42).
Cities with a larger proportion of their total
labor force in Manufacturing and Mechanical occupations
had a greater percentage of employed women than did
cities which inclined toward Trade and Transportation
occupations (Table 42). Between 1870 and 1920 the differ
ence in the percentage of working women between the two
types of cities declined (Table 42). Significant changes
occurring in the kinds of employment opportunities avail
able to women appeared to be related to the diminishing
difference between the two types of cities.
Between 1870 and 1920 important alterations
occurred in the occupational structure of the female
labor force (Table 31). In 1870 domestic work provided
more than 60 percent of the jobs to women employed in
non-agricultural occupations. By 1890 that proportion
had dropped to 40.3 percent. Between 1870 and 1890, mill
190
TABLE 42.--Certain differences between strong Trade and Transportation
cities and strong Manufacturing and Mechanical cities, 1870-1920
1870 1880 1890 1900 1920
Percent employed
Agg
Strong M&M 22.8 24.1 29.3 29.0 31.1
Strong T&T 12.1 15.0 22.8 22.7 25.3
Percent M&M greater
than T&T 88.4 60.7 28.5 27.8 22.9
Nwnp
Strong M&M
(a) (a) 21.7 24.2 29.7
Strong T&T (a) (a) 17.2 19.4 25.7
Percent M&M greater
than T&T 26.1 24.7 15.6
Percent women employed
as servants
Strong M&M (b) 18.8 20.9 16.4 6.1
Strong T&T (b) 41.8 38.2 26.1 13.8
Percent T&T greater
than M&M 122.3 82.8 59.1 126.2
Percent women employed
in manufacturing and
mechanical jobs
Strong M&M 52.8 67.7 58.1 55.7 54.8
Strong T&T 19.5 35.1 27.5 26.4 13.9
Percent M&M greater
than T&T 170.8 92.9 111.3 111.0 294.2
Percent women in white-
collar jobsc
Strong M&M (b) 9.6 17.4 23.5 31.1
Strong T&T (b) 16.9 26.2 36.2 52.8
Percent T&T greater
than M&M 76.0 50.6 54.0 69.8
SOURCES: U.S., Censuses, 1870-1920.
NOTE: Sample cities were selected according to the following cri
teria. The cutoff for those cities considered to be strong Trade and
Transportation was 25.7 percent in 1870 (N=8); 26.3 percent in 1880
191
TABLE 42.--Continued
(N=l0); 29.7 percent in 1890 (N=12); 32.3 percent in 1900 (N=34);
and 30.0 percent in 1920 (N=29). For strong Manufacturing and
Mechanical cities, the cutoffs were as follows: 1870, 55.2 per
cent (N=8); 1880, 50.3 percent (N=l0); 1890, 47 percent (N=l2);
1900, 51 percent (N=30); and 1920, 63.1 percent (N=33). Agg =
Aggregate population; Nwnp = Native whites of native born parents.
M&M = Manufacturing and Mechanical; T&T = Trade and Transportation.
aData not available.
b
Incomplete data.
cWhite collar occupations= professional, clerical, hotel
keepers, nurses, restaurant keepers, agents, bankers, merchants,
bank officials, saleswomen, telephone operators and miscellaneous
appropriate categories.
and factory work comprised the only other sizeable occu-
pational category for women workers: 17.6 percent in 1870
and 20.3 percent in 1890. In contrast, white-collar
occupations (clerical work plus the professions) con
tributed only 7.2 percent in 1870 and 13.5 percent in 1890.
By 1920 substantial restructuring had occurred. The pro
portion in domestic work had dropped to 18.2 percent. A
dramatic increase had come in the white-collar category
which had jumped to include 38.9 percent of all women
employed in non-agricultural occupations. The percentage
in factory and millwork remained virtually unchanged,
50
inching up slightly to 23.8 percent.
Prior to 1900, strong Manufacturing and Mechanical
cities appeared to have a distinct advantage over Trade
192
and Transportation cities in the types of occupational
options open to women. Jobs in mills and factories as
well as jobs in domestic service were available in Manu
facturing and Mechanical cities. Not surprisingly, such
cities had a much higher proportion of employed females
engaged in manufacturing occupations than was the case in
Trade and Transportation cities, where domestic service
provided jobs to the highest percentage of women (Table
4 2) •
Between 1900 and 1920 an explosive growth occurred
in the number of white-collar occupations. The increase
in white-collar positions appeared to be especially
important to Trade and Transportation cities where an
entire new set of jobs other than domestic work became
available to women. It was as if Trade and Transportation
cities had been "skipped by" at the time when the factory
jobs in the Manufacturing and Mechanical cities opened up
a new field of employment to women. With the corning of
large numbers of white-collar positions, the Trade and
Transportation cities began to catch up. As a greater
number of women in Trade and Transportation cities were
drawn into the labor force, the negative relationship
between percentage Trade and Transportation and the per
centage of women employed declined (Table 41). Conversel¼
as Manufacturing and Mechanical cities lost their initial
193
advantage with respect to female employment, the positive
association between' percentage Manufacturing and Mechanical
and the percentage of women employed also declined. As
was discussed in Chapter III, changes in employment oppor
tunities for women in cities with differing types of
economic activity tended to be reflected in marriage and
fertility patterns.
As was seen in Table 41 , the positive correlation
between Manufacturing and Mechanical and the percentage
of women employed was stronger for native whites of
native born parents than for the aggregate population.
The continued stronger correlation for native whites of
native born parents may have been related to an increase
in cities which tended toward heavy rather than light
industry.
In 1870 through 1900, the majority of those cities
with a high percentage of their total labor force in
Manufacturing and Mechanical occupations were light indus
try cities such as Woonsocket, Lowell, Lynn,and Pawtucket.
By 1920, although the light industry towns were still
well represented, more heavy industry cities had joined
the list of strong Manufacturing and Mechanical cities.
Included among the heavy industry cities were a number
of iron and steel producing cities such as Racine,
Scranton, Chester, Johnstown, and East Chicago. The
194
inclusion of heavy industry cities in the roster of
strong Manufacturing and Mechanical cities was probably
reflected in the higher proportion of men found in such
cities in 1920 (Table 43).
TABLE 43.--Sex ratio found in strong Manufacturing and
Mechanical cities or strong Trade and Transportation
cities, 1870-1920
Strong M&M
Strong T&T
1870
92.8
102.9
1880
90.5
106.9
1890
92.1
109.1
SOURCES: U.S., Censuses, 1870-1920.
1900
94.9
103.2
1920
109.1
101.9
NOTE: See Table 42 for a description of how strong
Manufacturing and Mechanical and strong Trade and Trans
portation cities were determined. M&M = Manufacturing
and Mechanical; T&T = Trade and Transportation.
A city which had heavy rather than light industry
probably had fewer Manufacturing jobs for women, and at
least post-1900, proportionally more white-collar occupa
tions. Compare Lowell, which in 1920 had 68 percent of
its female work force in Manufacturing occupations and
only 22.5 percent in white-collar jobs, with Johnstown,
where the corresponding percentages were 14 percent and
60.3 percent. In Lowell the major industry was textiles
while in Johnstown it was steel. For native white women
of native born parents, more of whom gravitated toward
195
white-collar occupations, the comparative decline in light
industry, strong Manufacturing and Mechanical cities was
probably not as significant as for the aggregate popula
tion. Thus the increase in white-collar occupations
appeared to be related both to a reduction in the negative
relationship between Trade and Transportation and the
percentage of employed women, and the more gradual decline
in the positive correlation between Manufacturing and
Mechanical and the percentage of employed native white
women of native born parents.
A strong and significant negative correlation pre
vailed throughout the era between sex ratio and the per
centage of employed women for both the aggregate popula
tion and native whites of native born parents (Table 44).
The data suggest that the tendency for women to seek
employment was strongly related to the availability of
men and therefore the possibility of marriage. The corre-.
lation, however, was not nearly as strong for native
whites of native born parents as it was for the aggregate
population.
Analysis of regional variation revealed that the
urban areas of those sections of the nation with fewer men
indeed tended to have more women working (Table 45). The
relationship between sex ratio and percentage employed was
especially strong for the aggregate population, while for
196
TABLE 44.--Correlation between sex ratio and the percentage
of employed women in urban areas, aggregate population
and native whites of native born parents,1870-1920
Native whites of
Aggregate population native born parents
1870 r =
d
-.54 I N
-
49 (a)
1880e
d
r = -.46, N
-
50 (a)
1890b
d
58 r =
-.47, 1~
-
r = -.20, N
-
58
1900
d
r = -.44, N
-
158 (c)
1910
d
r = -.54, N
-
231 (a)
1920
d d
r = -.42, N
-
~85 r
-
-.23, N
-
285
SOURCES: U.S., Censuses, 1870-1920.
NOTE: Percentage of women working and sex ratio was
calculated for each city for each census year. Correla
tions then were computed. Unless otherwise indicated
calculations were made on the basis of all cities, 25,000+.
In 1870 and 1880, the percentage of employed women was cal
culated on the basis of all females, and sex ratio was
calculated on the basis of all males and females. Forlater
years, calculations regarding employment were made on the
basis of females 10+, and sex ratio was calculated on the
basis of males and females 15+. r = the correlation coeffi
cient; N = the number of observations.
a
Data not given.
b
In 1890, data available for cities of 50,000+.
C
In 1900, data regarding employment of native white
women of native born parentswereavailable only for females
16+ in cities of 50,000+. No correlation was found between
sex ratio and percentage employed.
dSignificant at the .001 level.
e
For 1880, data were available for selected (by census)
cities of 25,000+.
197
TABLE 45.- Mean sex ratio and mean percentage of employed women in
urban areas, by region, aggregate population and native whites
of native born parents, 1870-1920
1870
Sex ratio
Percent employed
Agg
1880
Sex ratio
Percent employed
Agga
1890
Sex ratio
Percent employedb
Agg
Nwnp
1900c
Sex ratio
Percent employed
Agg
Nwnp
1920
Sex ratio
Percent employed
Agg
Nwnp
North
Atlantic
93.4
15.4
90.7
18.5
90.6
26.2
18.8
93.8
28.1
21.9
96.7
30.2
28.7
South
Atlantic
88.2
20.0
90.6
22.6
89.5
31.1
17.2
89.9
31.5
18.3
96.6
32.5
25.2
SOURCES: U.S., Censuses, 1870-1920 .
North
Central
104.2
12.0
107.6
14.3
111.7
21.7
17.9
107.4
21.6
20.0
104.9
25.0
25.6
south
Central
92.6
15.7
88.9
18.4
99.4
27.3
16.2
94.3
28.6
15.2
97.2
29.6
23.3
West
136.7
15.2
136.7
13.0
158 .. 8
20.9
17.8
134.2
20.5
19.0
108.0
23.2
23 . 4
NOTE: For 1870 and 1880, sex ratio was calculated on the basis
of all males and females. For 1890-1920 it was computed for males
and females 15+. Percent working in 1870 and 1880 was calculated
for all females, while for other years (except 1900) it was calcu
lated on the basis of females 10+. Urban= 25,000+ unless otherwise
stated. Agg = Aggregate population; Nwnp = Native whites of native
born parents. N = the number of observations. The values of N were
as follows for the different regions between 1870 and 1920. North
Atlantic: 1870, N=7; 1880-1920, N=8. South Atlantic: 1870, N=6;
198
TABLE 45.- Continued
1880-1890, N=7; 1900, N=8; 1920, N=9. North Central: 1870, N=6;
1880, N=8; 1890-1900, N=l0; 1920, N=ll. South Central: 1870-1880,
N=4; 1890-1900, N=6; 1920, N=7. West: 1870, N=l; 1880, N=2;
1890, N=5; 1900, N=6; 1920, N=7.
a
For 1880, data regarding employed womenwereavailable for
selected (by census) cities of 25,000+.
bData given for cities of 50,000+.
C
In 1900, data for native whites of native born parents given
for women 16+ in cities of 50,000+.
native white women of native born parents the lack of a
significant association between the two variables sug
gested that other factors were exerting a considerable
influence.
51
Indeed native whites of native born parents,
those women who had the greatest chance of finding them
selves in a relatively interesting and pleasant occupa
tion, would most likely consciously have decided to seek
employment for the job itself, rather than having had
financial necessity push them into an odious job because
. ·1 bl
52
marriage was not avai a e.
The sharp demarcation between woman's traditional
home role and her newly developing one in the working
world appeared graphically in the relationship between
marital status and childbearing and employment. Among
cities, the percentage of women married correlated nega
tively with the percentage of women employed at a highly
199
significant level (Table 46). Similarly, the correla
tion between the percentage single and the percentage of
women working was strongly positive and also highly sig
nificant53 (Table 46).
Given the strong , negative association between
marriage and employment, the relationship between employ
ment and fertility also was predictably negative. As
Table 47 shows, for all of the years under study and for
both the aggregate population and native whites of native
born parents, the negative correlation between working
women and number of children remained strong and highly
. 'f' 54
s1gn1 1cant.
Thus, for the most part, a separation existed
between employment for women and the pursuit of the more
traditional roles of wife and mother. Despite an increase
in the proportion of older women and married women who
worked, the female labor force of the late nineteenth and
early twentieth century remained predominantly single and
predominantly young.
As more and more women joined the working world,
opposition to such a development grew. Outside employment
differed in significant ways from the traditional work
that women had long performed within the context of the
family. It removed women from the protective pale of the
home where each member's work had had its value, yet where
200
TABLE 46.--Correlation between conjugal condition and percent of
women employed in urban areas,. aggregate population and native
whites of native born parents, 1890-1920
1900 1920
Married
r -
-.68c
r -
-.65c
r =
..... 64c
Agg
N 58 N 158 N 285 - - -
b r - -.26 r
-
-.10 r -
-- .. 66c
Nwnp
N 27 N 30 N 285
- - -
Single
r
-
.52c
r -
.42c
r -
.5lc
Agg
N 58 N 158 N 285 - - -
b r - .17 r - .18 r -
.62c
Nwnp
N 27 N 30 N 285 - - -
SOURCES: U.S., Censuses, 1890-1920.
NOTE: Percentage of women married or single and percentage of
women employed was calculated for each city for each census year.
Correlations then computed. Unless otherwise stated, calculations
made on the basis of all cities 25,000+. Marital status was cal
culated on the basis of females 15+, and employment on the basis
of females 10+. Agg = Aggregate population; Nwnp = Native whites
of native born parents. r = the correlation coefficient; N = the
number of observations.
a
For 1890, employment data available only for cities of
50,000+.
bin 1890 and 1900, marital status for native white women of
native born parents was only given for cities of 100,000+. Due
to reporting error in the census, in i890, 100,000+ cities in
Massachusetts had to be excluded from the calculation, while in
1900, 100,000+ cities in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode
Island had to be eliminated from consideration .
cSignificant at the .001 level.
201
TABLE 47.--Correlation between percent of employed women and
child/woman ratio, aggregate and native white populations,
1890-1920
1900
1910
1920
Percent of employed women,
aggregate population vs.
aggregate child/woman
ratio
C
r = -.49, N - 58
C
r = -.37, N - 158
C
r = -.28, N - 231
SOURCES: U.S., Censuses, 1890-1920.
Percent of employed native
white women of native born
parents vs. native white
child/woman ratio
C
r = -.36, N = 58
(b)
(d)
C
r = -.46, N - 285
NOTE: The percent of employed women 10+ in each city of
25,000+ (unless otherwise indicated) and the child/woman ratios for
the same cities were calculated and the strength of the correlation
between the two variables was then tested. The child/woman ratios
for native white women rather than for native white women of native
born parents were computed because data for the latter were not
given. r = the correlation coefficient; N = the number of observa
tions.
a
In 1890, data were given for cities of 50,000+.
b
In 1900, employment data for native white women of native born
parents were only available for females 16+ in cities of 50, 000+
The difference in the age group looked at is important, and the
results of the correlation analysis have not been included in the
table because of lack of comparability. The results were r = -.61,
N = 77, significant at the .001 level.
cSignificant at the .001 level.
d .
Data not given.
202
the structure of the family hierarchy had remained
unthreatened. The structure and functioning of the mid
nineteenth century, middle-class family was predicated
upon the dependence of women. Outside employment meant
that woman, too, could derive status and recognition from
her occupation and thus the husband's high position in the
family hierarchy could be challenged.
55
Thus, not sur
prisingly, the strongest opposition to employment for
women was leveled against employment for married women.
Work for single women, however, also encountered unfavor
able reactions.
Even during the mid-nineteenth century, at the
height of the "Cult of True Womanhood," a limited number
of women had been employed: it had been considered
acceptable, if unfortunate, for "gentlewomen in reduced
circumstances" to support themselves. However, if they
wished to stay within the bounds of respectability, the
options open to such women were rather carefully pre
scribed and generally limited to occupations such as
opening boarding houses, managing stores, especially
millinery, fancy goods, or candy shops, or becoming
teachers.
56
Working because it was an economic neces
sity had long been the lot of poorer women whose wages
were essential for the survival of their families. The
203
idea of women from middle-class homes working because
they wanted to rather than because they had to was a
new, and for many, unsettling development.
Not surprisingly, precisely during the time
period when large numbers of middle-class women began to
enter the labor force the loudest hue and cry against
employment for women appeared. Arguments of all sorts
emerged: working was unhealthy, it could deplete a
woman's strength and adversely affect her ability to
bear children, and it put her in situations where her
virtue could be compromised.
57
All of the arguments had
a grain of truth. Many women worked in dismal, unhealthy
surroundings. Long hours, poor ventilation, inadequate
heat in the winter but excessive in the summer, and low
wages undoubtedly led some working girls and women to turn
to prostitution. For the white-collar and professional
occupations that middle-class women were entering, oppres
sively long hours and unhealthy working conditions were
probably much less of a problem than was the case for blue
collar or unskilled female workers.
58
In addition, the
wages in the white-collar and professional occupations
generally were relatively high. An 1898 study revealed
that starting typists averaged $5 to $8 a week and skilled
stenographers received $25 to $30. Librarians averaged
$50 to $75 a month, teachers in New York $50 a month, and
204
trained nurses $100. The wages of factory workers varied
greatly but the highest monthly salary averaged around
$40 to $50 for the most skilled with the least skilled
making less than $25 a month.
59
The heart of the opposition to employment for
middle-class girls and women apparently rested on the
independence that it could bring; both advocates and
foes of work for women emphasized that point. One author
wrote of the tendency among middle-class, young women to
seek out the independence of careers. Another writer
described "a new thing under the sun, an awakening of the
desire for economic independence." Yet another worried that
work would make women too independent, too conscious of
themselves, and unwilling to give up the contacts and
excitement of urban employment for marriage.
60
A woman
capable of providing her own livelihood did not need to
view marriage as her only means for support. She could
marry if and when she pleased. Even if societal opposition
to combining marriage with employment were too strong to
combat,she did not need to stay trapped within a tormented
marriage as her only means of support. In short, the idea
of a woman who was capable of supporting herself was anti
thetical to the idea of a woman who was protected, depend
ent, and subservient.
205
Woman's emergence from the home did not come with
out a struggle. The myriad of articles debating her
nature, her sphere, the attempts to glorify her tradi
tional role within the home, all indicated the upheaval
that was occurring.
61
In earlier ages, very few women
had had the time or energy to think of undertaking more
than the traditional home functions. With few alterna
tives available, little question regarding fulfilling
one's "proper role" existed.
With the new options that were opening up for
women in the cities and towns of late nineteenth and early
twentieth century America came a dilemma:· a conflict
between the demands to fulfill, above all, the roles of
wife and mother, and the growing desire to play an active
part in the "outside" world. On the one hand, throughout
the nineteenth century, as woman's traditional functions
within the home had contracted, the emphasis upon her
importance vis a vis the nurturing and "shaping" of good
children had grown. Moreover, since a man'· s serving as
sole breadwinner in the family became a status symbol,
employment for a woman, especially a wife, posed a threat
to the status of all members of the family.
62
On the
other hand, many women chafed under the limitations and
dependence of a strictly home-centered life and longed for
the variety and independence that a career could bring.
206
In a book published in the early 1920s, Lorine
Pruette documented the "home vs. career" conflict. In a
series of interviews with more than three hundred girls,
most of them from New York City or Chattanooga, Pruette
found that although 61 percent of the girls listed white
collar or professional occupations as goals, if they were
forced to choose between home and career, the home
centered life won. Pruette found that the "home woman"
remained the ideal, but since the more immediate rewards
63
went to the career woman, a conflict developed.
The tension that women felt because of the con
tradictory role demands was clearly indicated by the
reassurances they offered regarding the positive relation
ship between outside involvement and family life. Those
who advocated careers for women justified their position
on the grounds that employment allowed the unmarried woman
the economic independence to choose a husband wisely,
while for the married woman a career permitted "growth,"
a sense of personal fulfillment and thus a greater satis-
f
. . h' h . 64
action wit int e marriage.
Increased employment opportunities for women in
urban areas appeared to be one factor in the rising tide
of divorce during the late nineteenth and early twentieth
century. Writing in 1909, sociologist Edward Alsworth
Ross concluded that "it is safe to say that the majority
207
of [divorces] would not be sought but for the access of
women to the industrial field .... More and more we live
in cities, and the city gives the woman her chance."
65
Between 1879 and 1890, although the frequency of
divorce was greater in urban than in rural areas, the rate
of increase in the two sectors was about the same for the
total United States and greater in the rural sectors of
some of the regions (Table 48). However, a substantially
greater number of divorced women resided in urban than in
rural areas, suggesting that cities probably offered a
more comfortable milieu for divorced women (Table 49).
Moreover, in sharp contrast to the divorce rate (Table 48),
the percentage of divorced women residing in urban areas
was, for the most part, growing more rapidly than the per
centage in the rural sector (Table 50). In fact, the
general trend was toward a growing divergence between
urban and rural areas with respect to the proportion of
divorced women who lived in each sector (Table 51).
Rural women possibly had a greater tendency to hide
the fact that they were divorced than did urban women.
Divorced women in rural areas also might have tended to
remarry more quickly than their urban counterparts.
Unless one or both of those possibilities grew in impor
tance between 1890 and 1920, it appears likely that for
divorced women the tendency was to gravitate toward the
208
TABLE 48.--Divorces per 1,000 females in urban and rural areas for
total United States and by region, and percentage increase by
decade for total United States, 1870-1890
Total United States
Urban
Rural
North Atlantic
Urban
Rural
South Atlantic
Urban
Rural
North Central
Urban
Rural
South Central
Urban
Rural
West
Urban
Rural
1870
.98
.64
.92
.77
.39
.16
1.52
. 89
.77
.26
2.24
1.64
1880
1.39
.97
1.07
.86
.51
.28
1.84
1.06
.93
.55
4.17
3.44
1890
2.04
1.40
1.08
1.03
. 70
.56
2.19
1.47
2.46
1.24
4.02
2.77
Percent change
1870-1880 1880-1890
42.2
52.5
16.3
11.7
30.8
75.0
21.0
19.0
20.8
111.5
86.2
109.8
47.2
44.1
(a)
19.8
37.3
100.0
19.0
38.7
165.6
125.5
- 3.6
·-19.5
SOURCES: U.S., Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of the
Census, Special Reports, Marriage and Divorce: 1867-1906, 2 vols.
(1909); and U.S., Censuses, 1870-1890.
NOTE: The following procedure was used to calculate the divorce
rate. The number of divorces occurring in a ten-year period (1867~
1876, 1877-1886, 1887-1896) was given for every county in every
state and a one-year "average" was calculated for 1870, 1880, and
1890. The number of females residing in each state and the urban
counties of that state was obtained from the 1870 1890 censuses.
Divorce rates were then calculated for each urban county in each
state. Then state urban divorce rates (the average of the rate of
209
TABLE 48.--Continued
all urban counties in the state) and state rural divorce rates were
computed. Then overall United States urban and rural divorce rates
were calculated on the basis of state averages. Regional urban and
rural rates were also calculated on the basis of state averag~s.
Urban= counties with cities of 25,000 or larger. Only states which
had both urban and rural sectors were used in the analysis.
a
Less than 1%.
city. Thus although urban life itself did not seem
exclusively to predispose its female inhabitants toward
a trip to the divorce court, the presence of cities,
cities which offered employment opportunities, simpler
housing, a degree of anonymity, in short an "out" from
an unwanted marriage, seemed to be an important factor.
Alimony statistics also seemed to support the idea
of a relationship between employment possibilities and the
increasing number of divorces. During the late nine-
teenth and early twentieth century, the majority of
divorces were granted to the wife, with the percentage
increasing only slightly during a sixty-year period.
Between 1867 and 1871, 64.5 percent of all divorces were
granted to the wife. In 1916 the percentage stood at
66
68.9 percent. Between 1887 and 1906 only a small per-
centage of wives asked for alimony and an even smaller
proportion received it
67
(Table 52). Although the percent
age of women receiving alimony varied from region to
210
tv
~
~
TABLE 49.--Number of divorced women per 1,000 women married or divorced in urban and rural
areas, aggregate population and native whites of native born parents, 1890-1920
1890 1900 1910 1920
Agg Nwnp
a
Agg Nwnp
a
Agg Nwnp Agg Nwnp
Total United
States
Urban 9.5 11.4 14.0 15.0 15.9 17.8 21.1 23.0
Rural 7.1 8.4 8.7 10.0 9.5 9.7 10.7 11.4
North
Atlantic
Urban 7.2 9.7 8.2 (b) 9.1 15.4 11.6 19.0
Rural 7.2 6.8 8.6 (b) 9.3 12.7 10.4 14.7
South
Atlantic
Urban 5.5 6.6 10.7 8.5 10.6 9.8 13.6 13.3
Rural 3.4 2.4 5.8 3.1 6.5 4.8 6.9 5.5
North
Central
Urban 10.3 12.7 13.1 17.5 17.7 21.9 21.8 23 .. 1
Rural 7.6 9.8 8.4 10.8 9.5 11.1 10.4 11.8
South
Central
Urban 13.6 8.3 20.4 11.4 22.2 16.1 29.2 23.5
Rural 6.7 5.2 9.2 6.5 10 .. 8 6.6 12 .. 0 7.9
f\..)
I--'
f\..)
TABLE 49.--Continued
West
Urban
Rural
Agg
13.2
10.5
1890
a
Nwnp
17.3
12.2
Agg
21.6
11.9
SOURCE: United States Censuses, 1890-1920.
1900
a
Nwnp
21.0
14.7
Agg
23.0
13.5
1910
Nwnp
28.0
13.5
Agg
32.4
16.2
1920
NOTE: Unless otherwise stated, urban= 25,000+; Agg. = Aggregate population; Nwnp -
Native whites of native born parentsQ
aData available only for cities of 100,000+ excluding Massachusetts.
Nwnp
36.1
16.7
bNative white native parents for the North Atlantic region omitted because Massachusetts,
New Jersey and Rhode Island had to be excluded from calculation due to errors in the data
published in the census.
N
1--'
w
TABLE 50.--Percentage increase by decade of number of divorced women per 1,000 women married
or divorced, urban and rural areas, aggregate population and native whites of native born
parents, 1890-1920
1890 to 1900a
1900 to 1910 1910 to 1920
Agg Nwnp Agg Agg Nwnp
Total
Urban 47.4 32.4 13.7 32.1 29.2
Rural 21.3 18.5 9.8 13.2 16.7
North Atlantic
Urban 13.5 (b) 10.7 27.6 23.4
Rural 20.7 (b) 7.6 12.7 15.7
South Atlantic
Urban 95.8 28.6 98.4 28.4 34.7
Rural 70.6 29.2 12.3 6.0 14.6
North Central
Urban 26.9 37.8 35.4 23.1 5.6
Rural 11.1 10.2 12.6 9.6 6.3
South Central
Urban 50.6 37.3 8.6 31.5 46.0
Rural 37.0 25.0 16.9 11.3 19.7
West
Urban 64.3 21.4 6.4 40.6 28.6
Rural 12.7 20.5 13.5 19.9 23.7
N
1---J
~
TABLE 50.--Continued
SOURCE: U.S., Censuses, 1890-1920.
NOTE: Unless otherwise stated, urban= 25,000+; Agg = aggregate population; Nwnp -
Native whites of native born parents.
aUrban = 100,000+ excluding Massachusetts for 1890 and Massachusetts, New Jersey and
Rhode Island for 1900.
bNative whites of native born parents for the North Atlantic Region omitted because
Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island had to be excluded for 1900 due to errors pub
lished in the census.
rv
1--'
u,
TABLE 51.--Urban/rural difference with respect to number of divorced women per 1,000 married
or divorced women, aggregate population and native whites of native born parents,
1890-1920
1890 1900 1910 1920
a a
Agg Nwnp Agg Nwnp Agg Nwnp Agg Nwnp
Total United
33.8 35.7 60.9 50.0 67.3 83.5 97.2
States
101.8
North Atlantic 0.0 42.6 - 4.7 (b) - 2.2 21.3 11.5 29.3
South Atlantic 61.7 175.0 84.5 174.2 63.1 104.2 97.1 141.8
North Central 35.5 29.6 56.0 62.0 86.3 97. 3 109.6 95.8
South Central 102.9 59 .. 6 121.7 75 .. 4 105.6 143 .. 9 143.3 197.5
West 25.7 41 . 8 81 .. 5 42.,9 70.4 107.4 100.0 116.2
SOURCE: U. S. , Censuses, 1890 .... - 1920
NOTE: Urban= 25,000+ unless otherwise stated.
Urban .
1
- 1 x 100 = urban rural difference.
Rura
aUrban = 100,000+ excluding Massachusetts for 1890 and Massachusetts, New Jersey and
Rhode Island for 1900.
bNative whites of native born parents for North Atlantic region omitted because Massa~
chusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island had to be excluded due to errors published in the
census
region, in no section of the nation did even one-fifth
of the divorced women receive alimony (Table 52).
TABLE 52.--Percentage of women asking for and receiving
alimony in divorces granted to wife, 1887-1906
Alimony
asked
Granted
Not
granted
Unknown
Alimony
not
asked
Unknown
us
18.4
12.7
5.6
0.1
80.2
1.4
NA SA NC SC w
14.6 11.4 24.3 8.1 19.0
9.3 5.1 17.2 6.1 12.3
SOURCE: U.S., Department of Commerce and Labor, Mar
riage and Divorce: 1867-1906, 1:33, 99.
NOTE: US= United States; NA= North Atlantic;
SA= South Atlantic; NC= North Central; SC= South
Central; W = West.
For divorced women, most of whom appeared not to
receive alimony, the possibility of employment became of
critical importance. In 1890, in all regions of the
nation, a substantial proportion of divorced women were
employed: 50 percent in the North Atlantic states, 60.2
percent in the South Atlantic, 42.7 percent in the North
Central, 59.6 percent in the South Central,and 45.9
216
68
percent in the Western states. Of all marital classes,
the highest percentage of employed women was found among
divorcees(Table 53).
TABLE 53.--Percentage of employed women in each marital
class, aggregate population and native whites of native
born parents , 1890-1900
1890 1900
Agg Nwnp Agg Nwnp
All 19.0 12.4 20.6 14.6
Single 40.5 27.5 45.9 33.8
Married 4.6 2.7 5.6 3.0
Widowed 29.3 23.7 31.5 26.1
Divorced 49.0 42.6 55.3 47.5
SOURCES: U.S., Department of Commerce and Labor,
Statistics of Women at Work: 1900, p. 16; U.S.,
Department of Commerce, Women in Gainful Occupations,
1870-1920, p. 19; U.S., Department of the Interior,
Eleventh Census, 1890, vol. 1, Population, pt. 2,
p. CXXlX.
NOTE: In 1890, percentages were calculated on the
basis of females 15+, and in 1900 on the basis of those
16+. Agg = Aggregate population; Nwnp = Native whites
of native born parents.
Other factors, such as more demanding expectations
of marriage and a brief period of more liberal divorce
laws, undoubtedly contributed to the increase in the
divorce rate during the late nineteenth and early twen
tieth centuries.
69
The city , however, with its greater
217
employment opportunities, numerous conveniences and anony
mity, certainly seemed linked to the rising number of
divorces during the era.
The closing decades of the nineteenth century and
opening years of the twentieth were a time of much fer
ment and high hopes for women. For the first time, sig
nificant numbers of urban, middle-class women were step
ping forth beyond their traditional sphere of the home
and becoming active participants in the "outside" world.
Along with impressive progress came the genesis of prob
lems. A growing number of women were entering the labor
force, but they were becoming increasingly concentrated
in a small number of occupations, most of which placed
women in positions of limited authority and leadership.
In addition, although the percentage of married women and
older women who were employed increased, the female labor
force of 1920, like that of 1890, was still composed pri
marily of young, single women. For most women, the inner
conflict plus societal pressure proved too strong a force
to withstand, and at least after marriage, most middle
class women did not pursue careers. But in spite of the
limitations, the day had passed when home and marriage
were the only viable options open to middle-class, urban
women.
218
NOTES
1
Mary A. Laselle and Katherine E. Wiley, Vocations
for Girls (Boston· Houghton Mifflin Co., 1913), p. 1.
2
For 1870 and 1880 urban and rural employment
figures were available only for the total female popula
tion, while for 1890-1920 data were given for the female
population, 10 or older. Therefore, for the aggregate
population, the 1870 and 1880 figures should be looked at
and compared as one set, and the 1890-1920 as another.
3
other authors have discussed the growth of
clerical occupations and the influx of women into the labor
force. See in particular Baker, Technology and Women's
Work; Davies, "Woman's Place is at the Typewriter,"
pp. 1-2 8.
4
U.S., Department of Commerce, Women in Gainful
Occupations, 1870-1920, p. 40. See also p. 45 where
"clerical" was defined so as to include saleswomen so that
comparisons with earlier censuses could be made. Between
1870 and 1920, the number of women employed in clerical
and sales positions rose from 10,798 to 1,910,695.
5
rbid., pp. 41-42. Of these, almost two-thirds
were teachers.
6
U.S., Department of the Interior, Eleventh Census,
1890, vol. 1, Population, pt. 2, Ages and Occupations,
. .
pp. cxix, cxv11.
7
U.S. , Department of Commerce, Fou·rteenth Census,
1920, vol. 4, Population: Occupations, p. 341.
8
sangster, "Shall Wives Earn Money?'' pp. 32, 42-43.
For other discussions regarding the limitations of marriage
and the desirability of employment see: Pruette, Women and
Leisure, pp. 118-187; Wilcox, "Unrest of Modern Woman,"
pp. 62-66; Harland, "Passing of the Home Daughter," pp. 88-
90; Davidson, interview; Humphreys, "Women Bachelors,"
pp. 626-635.
219
9
Pownall Papers letter, 1877.
10
See Alden, Memories of Yesterday, p. 135; Doyle,
A Child Went Forth, p. 92; Harland, "Passing of the Home
Daughter," pp. 88-90; Edgar Schmiedeler, ··The Industrial
Revolution and the Home (n.p.: By the Author, 1927),
pp. 19-20; New Orleans Times Picayune, January 1 , 1897.
However, Sennett, Families Against the City, p. 101,
did find that daughters in the Union Park area of Chicago
helped in the home prior to marriage.
11
crowe, American Country Girl; Schmiedeler, Indus
trial Revolution and the Home , p. 3; Doyle , A Child Went
- ----------------
Forth, pp. 30-33; Blanc, Condition of Women , pp. 205-206.
12
Harland, "Passing of the Home Daughter," pp. 88-89.
13
Ellington , Women of New York, p. 343; Busbey ,
Home Life in America, pp. 116, 165.
14
Massachusetts, Bureau of Statistics of Labor,
Fifteenth Annual Report ·of the· Massachusetts Bureau of
Statistics of Labor: The Working Girls of Boston, by
Carroll Wright (1884; reprint ed., New York: Arno Press,
1967) , p. 118; Helen Campbell , "Working Women of Today,"
Arena, August 1891, pp. 329-339.
15
Dodge, et al., What Wome· n Can Earn, pp. 145-169.
16
Rayne, What Can a Woman· Do , p. 12 3.
17
Eleanor Martin and Margaret Post, Vocations for
the Trained Woman (New York: Longmans Green & Co. , 1914),
p. 142.
18
Helen C. Hoerle and
Girl and The Job (New York:
p. 11.
Florence B. Saltzberg, The
Henry Holt & Co., 1919) ,
19
Dodge, et al. , What Women Can Earn, p. 142.
20
Ibid., pp. 142 , 159; Rayne, What ca· n a Woman Do,
p. 123. For a study of women's entry into clerical work
see Davies, "Woman's Place is at the Typewriter," pp. 1-28.
Davies suggests that educated women constituted a pool of
unused labor which fit the needs of the expanding busi
ness world of the late nineteenth century. Typing, since
it was a new development, was "sex-neutral" and therefore
open to domination by women.
220
21
Dodge, et al., What Women Can Earn, p. 164.
22
U.S., Department of Commerce and Labor, Work and
Wages of Men, Women and Children, Eleventh Annual Report
of the Commissioner of Labor (1897), p. 582. See also
Scott Nearing, Wages in the United States, 1908-1910 (New
York: Macmillan Co., 1914), p. 106, for additional
information regarding male/female wage differentials for
clerical work.
23
U.S., Department of Commerce, Bureau of the
Census, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940: Com
parative Occupational Statistics for the United States,
1870-1940, pp. 121, 129.
24
Baker, Technology and Women's Work, pp. 71-73;
Laselle and Wiley, Vocations for Girls, p. 15; Cohn, The
Good Old Days, p. 249; Booth Tarkington, Alice Adams
(New York: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1926), pp. 139-140,
191, 433-434.
25
U.S., Department of Commerce and Labor, Women at
Work: 1900, pp. 162, 168; U.S., Department of Commerce,
Women in Gainful Occupations, 1870-1920, p. 67.
26
U.S., Department of Commerce, Women in Gainful
Occupations, 1870-1920, p. 23, points to the aging of the
female population.
27
Durand, The Labor Force in the United
pp. 122-136, postulated a similar progression.
Ogburn and Nimkoff, Technology and the Changing
pp. 153-156.
States,
See also
Family ,
28
u.s., Department of Commerce, Women in Gainful
Occupations, 1870-1920, p. 77.
29 . 1 d' B b
For particu ar case stu ies see: ar ara
Klaczynska, "Why Women Work: A Comparison of Various
Groups- Philadelphia, 1910-1930," Journal of Labor His
tory 17 (Winter 1976) :74-87; McLaughlin, "Buffalo's
Italians," pp. 111-126.
30
Rebecca August, interview, April 14, 1970, Los
Angeles, California. Rebecca August was a blue-collar
worker and union organizer in the early 1900s. Sangster ,
"Shall Wives Earn Money?" p. 32.
31 f . . f 1
U.S., Department o Commerce, Women in Gain u
Occupations, 1870-1920, p. 45.
221
32
A. S. Richardson, "Lure of a Double Salary,"
Woman's Home Companion, May 1920, p. 12.
33
Ibid.
3411
Helping My Husband Earn a Living," Illustrated
World, April 1916, p. 251.
35
Richardson, "Lure of a Double Salary, '' p. 12.
36
John Martin, "The Married Woman in Industry,"
Survey, March 11, 1916, p. 697.
37
sangster, "Shall Wives Earn Money?" p. 32. See
also, Martin, "Married Woman in Industry," p. 695.
38
Sangster, "Shall Wive~ Earn Money?" p. 32.
39
Harriet Brunkhu:~st, "The Married Woman in Busi
ness," Collier's, February 26, 1910, p. 20.
4011
Helping my Husband Earn a Living," p. 251.
41
Sangster, "Shall Wives Earn Money?" p. 32.
42
Rayne, What Can a Woman Do, pp. 77-78. Although
Rayne's sample may have been somewhat skewed in favor of
single women-married women may have been too busy to
respond-it nonetheless appears that single women
dominated the field.
43
U.S., Department of Commerce and Labor, Women at
Work: 1900, p. 18. See also Schmiedeler, Industrial
Revolution and the Home, p. 4; Crowe, American Country
Girl, p. 182; Caroline Latimer, Girl and Woman (New York:
D. Appleton & Co., 1910), p. 155.
44
The twenty-seven sample cities looked at in 1900
were: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cin
cinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Fall River, Indianapolis,
Jersey City, Kansas City, Mo., Louisville, Lowell, Mil
waukee, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York, Newark,
Paterson, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, St. Louis,
St. Paul, Washington, D.C., and Rochester (U.S., Depart
ment of Commerce and Labor , · Statistics of Women at Work·
1900, p. 56). The eleven sample cities studied in 1920
were: Fall River, Providence, Rochester, Paterson, Louis
ville, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Paul Kansas City,
Mo., Atlanta, and New Orleans {U.S., Department of Com
merce, w · omen in Gainful Occupations, 1870-1920, p .. 124).
222
45
Blanc, Condition of Women, p. 248.
46
Massachusetts, Bureau of Statistics of Labor,
Working Girls of Boston, p. 20.
47
r = .2, p < .0005, N = 285.
48
otis Dudley Duncan and Albert J. Reiss, The
Social Characteristics of Urban and Rural Communities,
1950 (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1956), p. 92,
emphasized the inverse relationship between size of city
and the percentage of women working. However, what they
really found was that for cities of 25,000 or larger
there was little or no difference with respect to the per
centage employed, but once one dropped below 25,000 there
was a decrease in the percentage of employed women until
one reached a low of 16 percent in the rural-farm cate
gory. U.S., Department of Commerce, Women in Gainful
Occupations, 1870-1920, pp. 8-11, also noted that the
greatest difference with respect to the percentage of
women who were employed was between urban and rural areas,
with not much difference existing among cities of more
than 25,000
49
one would think that this point would have been
explored by other researchers. However, no other studies
were found.
5
°Figures for the percentage of employed women
came from U.S., Department of Commerce, Women in Gainful
Occupations, 1870-1920, p. 45.
51
For the aggregate population, the correlation
coefficient between sex ratio and percentage of women
working was r = .38, N = 25, .05 > p > .025, while for
native white women of native born parents, it was only
r = .15, N = 15, . 3 > p > • 2.
52
. f. f d d. k.
Spec1 1c re erence was ma e regar 1ng wor ing-
class girls and women who looked upon marriage as a
release from the drudgery of a job. See Miriam Finn
Scott, "Factory Girl's Danger," Outlook, April 15, 1911,
pp. 817-821 ; The Bachelor Maid [pseud.], ''Work for Women,"
Independent, June 25, 1912, pt. 1, pp. 182-186.
223
53
In rural areas a similar relationship between
marital status and employment was found. In 1890 the
correlation between percent single and percent employed
was r = .33, N = 34, .05 > p > .025, for the aggregate
population, and in 1920 it was r = .42, N = 41, p < .0005
for the aggregate population and r = .28, N = 41,
.05 > p > .025 for native whites of native born parents.
In 1890 the correlation between percent married and per
cent employed was r = -.57, N = 34, p < .0005 for the
aggregate population, and in 1920 it was r = -.60, N = 41,
p < .0005 for the aggregate population and r = -.62,
N = 41, p < .0005 for native whites of native born
parents.
54
other authors have pointed to this negative
relationship between employment and fertility. See the
following: Antonella Pinnelli, "Female Labour and
Fertility in Relationship to Contrasting Social and
Economic Conditions," Human Relations 24 (December 1971):
603-610; Andrew Collver, "Woman's Work Participation and
Fertility in Metropolitan Areas," Demography 5, no. 1
(1968) :55-60; Sultan H. Hashmi, "Factors in Urban Fer
tility Differences in the United States," in Contributions
to Urban Sociology, eds. Ernest Burgess and Donald J.
Bogue (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1964),
pp. 48, 56; William Bowen and T. Aldrich Finegan, Eco
nomics of Labor Force Participation (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1969), pp. 205-206. Sheldon Haber,
"Trends in Work Rates of White Females, 1890-1920," Indus
trial Labor Relations Review 26 (July 1973), pp. 1122-
1134, contends that, when looked at over time, the strength
of the relationship declines sharply. He concludes that
changing fertility patterns have not exerted a strong
influence upon female labor force participation. See also
Durand, Labor Force in the United States, pp. 81-82,
regarding this point. As in the urban areas, the rural
areas exhibited a negative relationship between female
employment and fertility. In 1890 r = -.74, N = 34,
p < .0005, and in 1920 r = -.60, N = 41, p < .0005.
55
sennett, Families Against the City, pp. 122-123,
147, found that only a small percentage of wives worked,
since their employment might upset the balance of authority
in the home. He found that husbands in white-collar occu
pations were more likely than those in blue collar posi
tions to have working wives because the wife's income
would not form as large a proportion of her husband's
wages nor would she be as likely to end up in a higher
224
status job than her husband. See also, McLaughlin,
"Buffalo's Italians," pp. 111-126, in which she points out
that employment for wives did not, in all cases, threaten
the male dominance in the family hierarchy.
56
caroline H. Woods[Belle Otis], The Diary of a
Milliner (New York: Hurd & Houghton, 1867), p. 3; Elling
ton, Women of New York, pp. 584, 592; Rhodes, "Women's
Occupations," p. 48; Neville, The Fantastic City, p. 148;
Annie Dumond, The Life of a Book Agent (Cincinnati: By
the Author, 1868), pp. 162, 167.
57
For the effects of employment upon health see:
Dr. Lyman Abbott,"Effect of Modern Industry upon Women,"
Outlook, May 22, 1909, pp. 137-138; "Women in Industry: A
Racial Evil," Literary Digest, April 12, 1913, p. 826.
For discussions regarding the tendency of working women
to turn to prostitution see: Campbell, "Working Women of
Today," pp. 329-339; Four Years in the Underbrush: Adven
tures as a Working Woman in New York (Charles Scribner's
Sons, 1921), p. 28.
58
Richardson, "The Long Day," offers vivid descrip
tions of employment in different types of blue-collar
occupations at the turn-of-the-century.
59
Dodge et al., What Women Can Earn, pp. 3, 142,
144, 149, 159, 169, 203, 277, 336.
60
crowe, American Country Girl, p. 182; Schmeideler,
Industrial Revolution and the Home, pp. 29-30; Harland,
"Passing of the Horne Daughter," p. 88.
61
see the following: Cave-North, "Woman's Place
and Power," pp. 264-267; Lucas Malet, "Threatened Re
Subjection of Women," Living Age, June 17, 1905, pp. 705-
715; Gibbons, "Pure Womanhood," pp. 559-561; Eliot,
"Normal American Woman," p. 15; Bachelor Maid, "Work for
Women," pp. 182-186; Henry , "New Woman of the South,"
pp. 353-362; Ouida, "New Woman," pp. 610-619; Betts, "New
Woman," p. 587; Wilcox, "Unrest of Modern Woman,"
pp. 62-67.
62
Four Years in the Underbrush, p. 307; Thorstein
Veblen, The Theory of the Leisure Class (New York: Mac
millan Co., 1899; reprint ed., New York: Mentor Books,
1953), pp. 229-232; Annie M. MacLean, Women Workers and
Society (Chicago: A. C. Mcclurg & Co., 1916), pp. 5, 39.
225
63
Pruette, Women and Leisure, see especially
pp. 123-124, 150-151. The more immediate rewards dis
cussed by Pruette included greater activity, recognition
for a job well done, and more fame.
64
Arnold Bennett, Our Women: Chapters on the Sex
Discord (New York: Cassell & Co., 1920), see especially
pp. 41-46. Florence G. Tuttle, The Awakening of Women:
Suggestions from the Psychic Side of Feminism (New York:
Abingdon Press, 1915), pp. 14 8-159; Bachelor Maid, "Work
for Women," pp. 182-186.
65
Edward Alsworth Ross, "The Significance of the
Increasing Divorce Rate," Century Magazine, May 1909,
p. 150.
66
U.S., Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau
of the Census, Special Reports, Marriage and Divorce,
1867-1906 (1909), 2 vols., 1:21; U.S., Department of Com
merce, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1923,
p. 7 3.
67
The authors of U.S., Department of Commerce and
Labor, Marriage and Divorce, 1867-1906, pointed out that
they took into account only those cases where alimony
had been secured as part of a divorce bill. It was
possible for alimony to be secured in a separate action
following the granting of the divorce (p. 33). However,
it seems unlikely that separate actions would have radi
cally altered the alimony picture. See Joel P. Bishop,
Marriage and Divorce, 2 vols. (Boston: Little, Brown &
Co., 1881), 2:325, where he writes that it was common
practice for divorce and alimony to be asked for in one
bill. Ross, "Increasing Divorce Rate," p. 150, also con
tended that only a small percentage of divorcees received
alimony.
68
u.s., Department of the Interior, Eleventh
Census, 1890, vol. 1, Population, pt. 2, p. cxxviii.
69
The following books offer detailed information
regarding the growth of divorce and divorce laws in the
United States. Nelson Blake, The Road to Reno (New York:
Macmillan Co., 1962); James Barnett, Divorce and the
American Novel, 1858-1937 (New York: Russell & Russell,
1939); Calhoun, Social History of the American Family;
George Elliot Howard, A History of Matrimonial Institu
tions (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1904);
226
James P. Lichtenberger, Divorce: A Study in Social
Causation (New York: Columbia University Press, 1909);
James P. Lichtenberger, Divorce: A Social Interpreta
tion (New York: Whittlesey House, 1931); Alfred Cahen,
Statistical Analysis of American Divorce (New York:
Columbia University Press, 1932); William O'Neill,
Divorce in the Progressive Era (New Haven: Yale Univer
sity Press, 1967). For a discussion of the incidence
of divorce rising as expectations of marriage were
heightened, see Christopher Lasch, "Divorce American
Style," New York Review of Books, February 17, 1966,
pp. 3-4.
227
CHAPTER VI
WOMEN'S ORGANIZATIONS
Women's clubs are the natural product of a progres
sive sex living in a progressive age. They stand
for the home, for the school , for art and literature
and music; for domestic science and for the
intellectual advancement of the American woman .
. . . They are practical; they act, they do things
for the good of society; for the good of the com
munity and of the country.l
In cities and towns of late nineteenth and early
twentieth century America, a tremendous growth occurred in
the number and variety of women's organizations. Clubs,
self-improvement and social outreach, temperance societies,
suffrage organizations, civic groups, and a myriad of
other associations flourished during the era. Those
organizations became the outside-the-home focus for the
energy and talents of an increasing number of middle- and
upper-class women.
Women's participation in voluntary organizations
was not a development unique to the late nineteenth
century. From at least the early 1800s, some middle- and
upper-class urban women had been active participants in
church and charitable groups.
2
Many of the early
228
nineteenth century women's organizations were closely tied
to various churches and focused mainly upon religious con
cerns. Other groups became more involved with attempting
to alleviate the problems facing poor women in an urban
environment.
3
Although the inspirational thread for
women's organizations can be traced back at least to the
early 1800s, the massive number of participants, the
variety of organizations, and wide range of projects found
during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century was
unlike anything seen during earlier years.
Women's organizations proliferated during the
decades following the Civil War. Until their merger in
1890 as the National American Woman Suffrage Association
(NAWSA), the struggle for women's suffrage continued under
the auspices of the two major suffrage associations, the
National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA), led by Susan B.
Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and the American Woman
Suffrage Association (AWSA), led by Lucy Stone.
Many women who never would have dreamed of working
for anything so "radical" as women's suffrage felt per
fectly comfortable joining one of the many Woman's Chris
tian Temperance Union (WCTU) chapters or one of the
thousands of women's clubs that mushroomed up in cities
and towns in the decades following the Civil War. In "The
Attitude of the Typical Southern Woman to Clubs , " Hannah
229
Robinson Watson explained that many Southern women had at
first been antagonistic toward clubs which they had
equated with pro-suffrage sentiment.
4
With the organizing in 1874 of the WCTU under the
leadership of Frances E. Willard, the temperance movement
took on revived strength. Temperance work had a greater
respectability in the eyes of most women than did suffrage,
for unlike suffrage, the temperance movement in its
narrowest focus neither questioned nor threatened the
political subjugation of women. Oftentimes temperance
societies did not confine themselves strictly to working
toward the elimination of "demon rum," but instead
involved themselves in a wide range of reform issues of
5
the day.
One of the most remarkable developments in post
Civil War women's association history was the growth of a
massive network of women's clubs. The two organizations
which vied for the distinction of being first appeared
almost simultaneously in New York and Boston in 1868.
Sorosis of New York was organized by Jenny Croly, a New
York journalist, as a response to her exclusion from a
New York Press Club dinner for Charles Dickens. Sorosis
had a more literary flavor to it than did Boston's New
England Woman's Club, but both organizations were, almost
from their inception, involved with matters of social
230
concern. In 1869, Sorosis set up a committee to investi-
gate infant mortality in homes for foundlings, while
during the same year, the New England Woman's Club
pushed for the state of Massachusetts to establish a
horticulture school for women.
6
Both Sorosis and the New England Woman's Club were
formed with the idea that women should organize in order
to assist one another and to be of use to the world. The
majority of clubs that came into existence during the late
1860s and early 1870s, however, tended to focus almost
exclusively upon programs of "self-improvement" for their
own mernbers.
7
In towns and cities scattered across the
nation, women began to organize clubs which served as
forums for the exchange of information regarding various
aspects of literature, art, history, etc. For women of
that era, a club formed by women for the purpose of their
own intellectual improvement was a significant departure
from the chores of the home or the purely social pastimes
of balls and parties.
Women of the era were quite conscious of the
relationship between the reduction in the amount of time
needed for household tasks and the growth of the club
movement. Alma A. Rogers, author of "The Woman's Club
Movement: Its Origins, Significance and Present Results,"
summed it up as follows: "Verily, the march of mechanical
231
invention has been the emancipation of women. The freeing
of their hands has led to the freeing of their minds."
8
Rogers pointed out that it would have been impossible for
her grandmother to think of having time for clubs, but
ready-made clothing, prepared food, the gas stove, and
telephones had given more free time to warner..
Not surprisingly, the woman's club movement of the
late nineteenth and early twentieth century was almost
exclusively an urban movement, for only in the cities and
towns was leisure time becoming a reality for a growing
number of middle- and upper-class women. In 1889 Sorosis
had issued an invitation for individual clubs to unite
into a single federation. An 1893-1894 list of clubs
belonging to the General Federation of Woman's Clubs
revealed that virtually all were located in towns and
cities, with the larger cities such as Chicago, Boston, or
New York having a dozen or more clubs.
9
Although the women's club movement ultimately
penetrated the rural areas, it never became as widespread
as in the urban sector. In 1909, an author of an article
appearing in Harper's Bazaar urged country women to follow
the example of the city and start the ''civilizing influ
ence" of clubs.
10
As late as 1915, Caroline Burrell, in
The Complete Club Book for Women, described letters she
received from rural women regarding the possibility of
232
starting clubs, clearly indicating the slower growth of
'd · · · f · th t ·d
11
outsi e activities or women in e coun rysi e.
Not only the club movement had its roots planted
in urban areas; other organizations exhibited a similar
pattern. The National H usehold Economic Association,
organized in 1890 for the "purpose of arousing public
interest in regard to matters of sanitation, dietetics,
sound art and architecture, in short, wholesome and
sensible living," drew its direction from urban women.
The 1895-1897 list of officials of the organization
revealed that most came from urban areas, including cities
such as Chicago, Milwaukee, New Orleans, and Philadelphia
and towns like Oskaloosa, Iowa and Manhattan, Kansas.
12
Elizabeth Boynton Harbert and other reform-minded women
founded the Illinois Social Science Association, dedi
cated to the "practical application of social science,"
in Chicago in 1877. According to the annual report of
the Secretary of the American Social Science Association
read at Cincinnati, May 20, 1878, Illinois was the first
state to organize an association of women for the promo
tion of social science, and within half a year the organ
ization had over two hundred members.
13
Its leadership
was drawn mainly from the Chicago area and scattered small
towns, and a listing of women elected to membership in the
association in 1878 followed the same pattern.
14
233
Even the WCTU, at least in its early years, drew
upon the urban sector, especially small towns, for much of
its leadership. According to the 1884 list of national
and state officials, fifty-seven came from towns of less
than 10,000, twelve from towns of 10,000-25,000, seven
teen from cities of 25,000-100,000, and twenty-two from
cities of over 100,000.
15
Much of the strength of the
16
women's suffrage movement also came from urban areas.
Address books belonging to Elizabeth Boynton Harbert, a
Midwestern leader in the suffrage movement, revealed the
urban residence of many of the supporters. A large number
of women lived in Chicago, others came from places such
as Rockford, Moline, Belvidere, Minneapolis, Racine,
Indianapolis, Kewanee (Illinois), Waukegan, Manitee
(Michigan), Prairie City (Iowa), Bloomington, Salt Lake
C
. k . d 17
ity, New Yor City, an Boston.
If the women's club movement gained its momentum
from the increased free time of urban women, it also
gained its focus from the types of problems that were
part of the urban scene of the period. Although the
strictly "self-improvement" type of club remained, it
became increasingly common for women's clubs to turn their
attention outward and grapple with some of the social
problems confronting the communities to which they
belonged. Typical of this progression was the Fortnightly
2 34
Club of Winchester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1881, it
originally focused upon self-improvement and offered
classes in history and literature for its members. From
1886 on, the club became involved in "outreach" projects,
working for adult education, industrial training, and
bl
. k' d 18
pu ic in ergartens.
Numerous clubs appeared to have been established
originally to deal with a specific problem, but once
organized they turned their energy toward a variety of
issues. In 1884, in New York City, eleven women organized
the Womenrs Health Protective Association to combat "foul
odors emanating from a huge pile of manure." With that
problem resolved, they turned their attention toward the
elimination of other "noxious" industrial odors, seeing
to it that city streets were kept clean, and that stores
and street vending places operated under "hygienicn condi
tions.19 In Indianapolis, an 1893 outbreak of cholera
prompted women to organize the Indianapolis Sanitary Asso
ciation. The women soon became involved with other areas
of concern: hospitals, schools, parks, food preparation.
20
The involvement of women in a variety of civic
improvement projects was widespread, especially from the
1890s on. A 1912 comment from the General Federation's
Chairman of Civil Service Reform that she had not heard
235
of a town that was undergoing "civic awakening" without
also having an active woman's club illustrated the
21
ubiquitous nature of the women's club movement.
The outreach orientation of the club movement was
illustrated by the development and function of specific
committees in the General Federation. In "The Woman's
Club Movement," Mary I. Wood described the function of
the eleven Federation committees. There was an Art Com
mittee which provided traveling art galleries and estab
lished municipal art commissions, a Literature and
Library Extension Committee which encouraged the study
of "good literature," and an Education Committee which
worked to arouse the interest of the public in education.
A Legislative Committee offered information about a
variety of issues, a Civics Committee undertook a wide
range of projects to benefit the community such as pro
viding noonday restrooms for working women and city
beautification, while yet another co1nmi ttee focused upon
civil service reform. In addition, there was the Forestry
Committee which attempted to see that natural resources
were preserved, and a Health Committee whose major concern
was with T.B. Other committees included Food and Sanita
tion which worked for the passage of the 1906 Pure Food
Bill, Household Economics which attempted to get domestic
science taught in the schools and encouraged the study of
236
household care , and Industrial and Child Labor Conditions
which investigated working conditions and attempted to
better them.
22
A further indication of the civic activism of
women appeared in the journal, The American City. Between
1909, when the first issue was published, and 1925, more
than one hundred arti cles detailed the "civic work" of
women. As can be seen in Table 54, the majority of
articles appeared between 1909 and 1917, prior to the
United States' entry into World War I.
TABLE 54.--Number of articles indexed under the subject
heading, "Women's Civic Work," 1909-1925
Time period
September 1909-December 1911
January 1913-December 1914
January 1915-December 1917
January 1918-June 1920
July 1920-December 1922
January 1923-June 1925
Volume
numbers
1-5
8-12
13-17
18-22
23-27
28-32
Number of
articles
18
51
45
0
4
0
SOURCE: The American City, 1909-1925, vols. 1-5,
8-32.
Speculations as to why articles devoted to women's
civic work dropped so precipitously following 1917 are all
that can be offered at this time. Post-1917 issues of
237
The American City appeared to focus more heavily upon the
activities of urban professionals. The shift in orienta
tion may have simply reflected an editorial decision made
by the publishers of the magazine and not a real decrease
in the civic activism of women's groups. World War I
itself may have deflected activism away from local con
cerns to international ones. After the war, women may not
have returned to their former involvements. Alternatively,
women's voluntary organizations dealing with urban problems
may have undergone a real decline.
The kinds of problems that had sparked the forma
tion of many of the women's civic groups were increasingly
being handled by professionals hired by expanding govern
ment bureaucracies. For example, the number of cities
having public health departments grew rapidly during the
late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Following the
1901 example of New York's Tenement Law , other cities
moved to tighten up their building codes. Cities increas
ingly took over services such as playgrounds and kinder
gartens. Some women would have become professionals.
Most would probably either have shifted the focus of their
activism or become less active. In either case, a real
decline in active women's civic groups would have been the
net result, and such a decline might have been reflected
in a journal dealing with the American city.
238
Women's clubs involved themselves with a phenomenal
range of projects. Some of the projects focused upon edu-
cational concerns and attempted to set up trade schools
for girls, libraries, university extension courses, college
fellowships, schools for handicapped children, vacation
schools for school-age children, to improve the physical
environment of the public schools, to acquaint the public
with "household economics," and to get women on school
boards. Other projects attempted to help the "working
woman" in various ways: establishment of working women's
clubs and "Les Creches" where working mothers could leave
their babies, improvement in working conditions for women,
the elimination of sweatshops, and getting women factory
inspectors. A variety of "sanitary reforms" including
installation of drinking fountains, public baths, "hygienic
conditions in stores," clean streets,and improved water
and sewage reforms made up another set of projects. A
related group of projects included tenement house reform,
establishment of playgrounds, and park beautification.
Still other projects focused upon redressing inequities in
the criminal justice system and worked to reform the
prison system and the law's treatment of juveniles, to
provide equal parental guardianship of minors, and to get
1
. d . ·1 20
fema e matrons assigne to Jal s.
239
In contrast to a few decades earlier, when acti
vism for many middle-class women had rarely extended
beyond the sanctity of the church, the growth of such
involvement becomes all the more impressive. The women
themselves were quite aware of a very dramatic difference
between the type of involvement associated with church
work and that which grew with the club movement. As one
author pointed out, clubs taught women to be of service
through "self-development" rather than through "self-
'f' . .,24
sacri ice or repression.
How widespread was involvement in the multitude of
organizations that proliferated during this era? The par
ticipation of many women in more than one club rendered
total membership figures unreliable~ne Boston woman was
25
reported to have belonged to twenty-two clubs - but the
General Federation of Women's Clubs provided a rough esti-
mate. In 1898 total Federation membership was somewhere
around 160,000. By 1902 the number had risen to 220,000,
in 1905 it stood at 500,000, while by 1910 it rose to more
than 1 million.
26
The Federation , however, during any
given year, contained only a small portion of the total
number of women's clubs. For example in Wichita Kansas
in 1891, only two out of the forty-two clubs in the city
b 1 d h d
. 27
e onge tote Fe eration. Similarly, an 1893 survey
made by the Massachusetts State Federation of Women's
240
Clubs found a total of 726 women's organizations present
in the state, but only thirty-seven of those belonged to
h 1 d
. 28
t e Genera Fe eration.
Another indication of the extent of women•s
involvement in organizations came from an estimate of the
membership of the National Council of Women, a union of
national women's organizations. The National Council,
organized in 1888, was the brainchild of May Wright Sewall,
educator, suffragist, and active clubwoman, who envisioned
an jnternational association of women's groups united
under the auspices of suffragists, but not limited tothose
29
who supported suffrage. The Council's 1902 membership
was reported to be over 1 million-all exclusive of the
General Federation of Women's Clubs1
30
One woman in 1898
commented upon the proliferation of women's clubs, summing
up the situation as follows: •• In Puri tan days the test of
right living was church membership, now the test seems to
be club membership."
31
Married women, women in the midst of taking care
of homes and raising families, dominated the club move
ment. Of 615 women listed as either presidents or record
ing secretaries for the member clubs of the General
Federation, 1893-1894, 479, or 78 percent, were married.
32
Commentators from the era seemed generally to agree that
the vast majority of women involved with club work were
241
married. Mme de Blanc noted that most club women were
•'good wives and mothers." Mary Boyce, herself a club
woman, confirmed de Blanc's assertion, while May Wright
Sewall described the women who attended the 1892 conven
tion of the General Federation of Women's Clubs in Chicago
as "home staying, churchgoing women with no career and no
[desire]
33
for one."
The preponderance of married women also appeared
among the 1878 leadership of the Illinois Social Science
Association where, out of twenty women, eighteen were
married, while among the twenty-seven women elected to
membership in January 1878, twenty-one were married.
34
Similarly, in the National Household Economic Association,
of the leadership during the mid-1890s only two women were
. d 35
unmarrie. In the WCTU, the 1884 listing of national
and state officials revealed eighty-two married and six-
t
. l 36
een singe women. In the suffrage movement, too,
married women seemed to comprise a considerable portion of
the membership and leadership, at least in the Midwest.
According to two address books listing suffrage workers,
one from the late 1870s or early 1880s and the other from
the early 1890s, the greatest percentage of workers were
. d 37
marrie.
In a certain respect, the involvement in either
self-improvement clubs or social outreach organizations
242
was a compromise between the pressure to remain in the
home and the attractions offered by a career. Volunteer
work was more flexible in terms of time demand and, for
most women, could more easily be combined with family life
than could a career. More importantly, although the clubs
and associations did bring many women out of the home and
undoubtedly enhanced their feelings of self-assurance and
self-worth, they did not, in general, affect the family
structure in the same way as a career could since, finan
cially, the family still relied upon the earnings of the
husbanJ..
Nonetheless, even with this non-paying activity,
women still felt a tension and the need to reassure them
selves and their critics that involvement had not come at
the expense of their families. Mrs. A.O. Granger, a
Georgia clubwoman, insisted that although Southern club
women had broadened their scope of interest and become a
"recognized force," it was done "without neglecting their
homes," while May Alden Ward, editor of the official pub
lication of the General Federation of Woman's Clubs,
stressed the positive influence that clubs had had upon
h 1
. f h h th d 1 f d · ·
3 8
ome 1 et roug e eve opment o omestic science.
Even the justification of the types of projects
that the clubs and other women's associations undertook
revolved around their relationship to the home. The
women pointed out that it was "natural" for them to be
243
concerned with all aspects of the development of chil
dren- home environment, education, play, etc. - just as
it was "natural" for them to become involved with making
their towns and cities clean and safe, since all of those
were but extensions of women's traditional concerns within
the home. After all, what was civic improvement but the
"larger housekeeping," and what were women but "the city's
39
housekeepers." Similarly, journalist and feminist
Rheta Childe Dorr argued that "woman's place is in the
home" but "Home is the Community" and "The City full of
people is the Family," and "The Public School is the real
40
Nursery." In the same vein, Josephine Shaw Lowell
studiously pointed out the propriety of the Woman's
Municipal League of New York City, formed in 1894 to work
against Tammany Hall. Lowell contended that since the
"questions were moral and not political [they were] essen
tially [as much] the concern of women as of men.
1141
Although, to a certain extent, such justifications and
reassurances were a response to critics who railed
against any outside activity for women, they also
reflected the tension created by contradictory role
demands.
In addition to the abundance of often multi-pur
pose organizations to which married women flocked, an
array of associations appealed to working women.
244
Between 1890 and 1920 , women in a number of professions
formed associations along occupational lines. For nurses,
two organizations emerged during the 1890s, one becoming
the National League of Nursing Education and the other
the American Nurses Association. Between 1900 and 1920,
a half dozen other associations for professional women
came into existence: the Woman's Homeopathic Fraternity
(1904), the International Association of Policewomen
(1915), the Medical Women's National Association (1915),
the National Association of Deans of Women (1916), and
the National Federation of Business and Professional
Woman's Clubs (1919), the last a union of 105 existing
clubs.
42
A number of other organizations, many of them
middle class in origin, sought to provide material and
moral support for working girls and women. The middle
or upper-class genesis of many of the societies was
illustrated by the comment of a New York woman regarding
how unusual a group of working women's clubs in New York
was because they were run by the working women rather
43
than by "wealthy women." In 1866 the first American
Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) was formed in
Boston to aid the "temporal, moral, and religious welfare
44
of young women who had to support themselves." The YWCA
had originated in England. Emma Roberts organized the
245
first YWCA in London in 1855 to serve as the woman's
counterpart to the Young Men's Christian Association which
had been organized in 1844 under the guidance of George
Williams, a London draper's assistant. Both YMCA and YWCA
combined a deep religiosity with a desire to be of service
to the community. In addition to the ubiquitous prayer
meetings, the American YWCAs tended to offer lodging,
recreation, employment services, and job training to young
45
women. By 1871 thirteen cities contained YWCAs, and by
1891 the number had risen to 225.
46
During the late 1870s,
the Women's Educational and Industrial Union was organized
in Boston. It provided a place for noon lunches and an
outlet where unemployed women could make and sell items.
Copies of the Boston Union soon appeared in a number of
other cities.
47
Meanwhile, in 1884, under the aegis of
Grace Dodge, Working Girls Societies were set up in New
York City, while in Philadelphia, the New Century Guild of
Working Girls appeared, offering manual arts training to
those who needed it.
48
Another association to emerge during this era, but
one which placed middle-class ''ladies" and working women on
a more equitable footing was the National Woman's Trade
Union League (WTUL). Founded at the 1903 American Federa
tion of Labor convention in Boston by Mary Kenny
O'Sullivan, herself a union organizer, the WTUL was to
246
assist those unions which already had women members and to
aid in the formation of new unions.
49
Further, middle-and
working-class alliance came through the National Consumer's
League organized by Mrs. Josephine Shaw Lowell in 1899
from a merger of four local leagues: New York, Philadel
phia, Boston, and Chicago. Middle-class women organized
consumer support for better working conditions for working
women and children and a boycott of those establishments
which failed to meet the specified standards. By the early
1900s there were sixty-four branches of the League.
50
Although never exclusively a women's undertaking,
the settlement house movement provided yet another link
between middle-class women and men and members of the
working class. Growing out of the same spirit of reform
and moral outreach that characterized many of the women's
club activities, from the 1890s on, "settlements" sprang
up in many of the major American cities, especially in the
Northeast and Middle West. Hull House, founded by Jane
Addams and Ellen Gates Starr in Chicago (1889), and
College Settlement, established by Vida Scudder in New York
(1889), served as models for similar establishments in
other cities. In 1891 only six "settlements" existed,
but by 1910 the number had jumped to more than four
51
hundred. The vast majority of women who worked in the
settlement houses came from a middle-class background and
247
52
had attended college. In contrast to the club movement
with its preponderance of married women, the settlement
houses, due to the intensity of involvement demanded, for
the most part attracted single women.
Many members of the women's groups realized the
significance of having organizations exclusively for
females. Those women readily recognized the tendency for
men to dominate groups which contained both men and women,
thereby depriving women of invaluable organizational and
administrative experience. In 1897 the president of the
General Federation of Woman's Clubs asserted that the
purpose of clubs was:
To make women a practical power in the great
movements that are directing the world and
for giving her the ability to serve the highly
developed and complex civilization that is
awaiting her influence.53
The visiting Mme de Blanc noted a similarity between the
salons of Paris and the clubs of the United States, except
in the salons the men were "allowed to shine,., while in
the United States the clubs closed their doors to men.
One club woman, commenting upon de Blanc's observation,
stated : "Oh as for that, we don't care ; we prefer to
54
shine on our own account." Similarly , some women
members of press clubs in Southern states disapproved of
having both women and men in the same club, observing that
248
"in such organizations, women are apt to becom auxilia
ries.1155 Another woman author emphasized that the value
of clubs came especially through the feeling of identity
with other women and a growing sense of self-worth and
1
. . h 56
equa ity wit men.
Members of women's clubs consciously recognized
their organized endeavors as a new development. A strong
feeling that women had come into their own as a potent
force in history pepp~red comments from the era. One
clubwoman, writing in the 1890s, characterized the nine
teenth century as the "Woman's Century," pointing out that
for the first time organizations of women espoused the
purpose of "bearing the burden, lessening the ills, and
doing the work of the world.
1157
In 1906 Sarah s. Platt
Decker, a clubwoman and civic reformer, expressed the hope
that the General Federation of Clubs,
May become a mighty factor in the civilization
of the century if wielded as a whole-an army of
builders ... not only potent in this generation,
but transmitting to the next a vigor and strength
which have never been given by any race of women
to their inheritors.SB
The strength of the club movement manifested
itself clearly when Harper's Bazaar in 1909 sponsored a
contest regarding noteworthy club ventures and noted, "In
every state, nowadays, the woman's clubs are a factor,
d
. . h k. f bl. . . '' S
9
an an important one int e ma ing o pu ic opinion.
249
For women of the era, especially for middle-class,
married ones whose lives until recently had, almost
without exception, revolved around the home, the club
movement of late nineteenth and early twentieth century
America offered a tremendous opportunity for involvement
in a whole range of new activities. Small wonder, then,
that in 1902 Winifred Harper Cooley hopefully predicted
that clubs would enlarge woman's sphere "until it is
co-existent with the globe.
• •
and we venture to
prophesy optimistically of the work of women in the twen
tieth century."
60
Between 1870 and 1920 women's associations, rang
ing from the most esoteric of literary clubs to civic
action groups multiplied rapidly. The projects under
taken by many of the groups were shaped by the urban
environment to which they belonged. The women's groups
drew their membership mainly from middle- and upper-class
urban women, many of whom were married. Increased free
time coupled with a desire to become more active partici
pants in the world outside the home had encouraged many
women to seek outside activities. However, inner con
flicts plus societal pressures tended to inhibit most
married, middle-class women from pursuing careers. For
many women of the era, the multitude of voluntary asso
ciations provided an important outlet for creative and
250
social talents which otherwise would have been limited
to the boundaries of the home.
251
NOTES
1
Mr. w. L. Bodine, Superintendent of Compulsory
Education in Chicago, quoted in May Alden Ward, "The
Influence of Women's Clubs in New England and in the
Middle-Eastern States," Annals of the American Academy
of Political and Social Science 28 (September 1906) :205.
2
Keith Melder, "Ladies Bountiful- Organized
Women's Benevolence in Early Nineteenth Century America,"
New York History 48 (July 1967) :237-254; Berg, "Origins
of American Feminism." Both Berg and Melder discuss the
organizational activity of women in the early 1800s.
Melder sees the impetus for female voluntary organiza
tions of that period as growing out of the religious
revivalism of the era, while Berg, in a provocative and
thoughtful study, views urban life of the era as providing
the stimulus for such organizations.
3
Berg, "Origins of American Feminism."
4
Hannah Robinson Watson, "The Attitude of the
Typical Southern Woman to Clubs," Arena, August 1892 ,
pp. 363-388.
5
rnez Haynes Irwin, · Angels and Amazons (New York:
Doubleday, Doran & Co., 1933). Irwin, p. 201, discussed
the types of issues that WCTU got involved with during the
1880s; the causes ranged from child welfare and kinder
garten legislation to working among the Indians. Willard
herself backed suffrage, but temperance always remained
the primary goal. The temperance movement was considerably
more successful than the suffrage organizations inattract
ing members. Sinclair, The Better Half, p. 222, estimated
that by 1900 the temperance movement had ten times as many
members as did suffrage societies, and he put the 1912
WCTU membership at 250,000.
6
Irwin, Angels and Amazons, pp. 215-220; Breckin
ridge, Women in the Twentieth Century, p. 18. The New
England Woman's Club was founded by Julia Ward Howe,
Caroline Severance and other women of Boston. See Eleanor
Flexner, Century of Struggle (Cambridge: Harvard Univer
sity Press, 1959; reprint ed., New York: Atheneum, 1971) ,
p. 180.
252
7
Mrs. A. o. Granger , "The Effect of Clubwork in
the South," Annals of the American Academy of Political
and Social Science 28 (September 1906) :248; Mrs. John
Dickinson Sherman, "The Club in the Midwest States,"
Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social
Science 28 (September 1906) :228; Martha E. D. White, "The
Work of the Woman's Club," Atlantic, May 1904, p. 614.
8
Alma A. Rogers, "The Woman's Club Movement: Its
Origins, Significance, and Present Results," Arena,
October 1905, p. 347. The recognition of the importance
of free time was also commented upon by Winifred Harper
Cooley, "The Eternal Feminine: The Future of the Woman's
Club," Arena, April 1902, p. 380.
9
Harbert Collection, "The New Cycle" (list of
federated clubs, 1893-1894).
10
Marcie Howe, "Self Help for the Country Woman,"
Harper's Bazaar, March 1909, pp. 269-272. Howe suggested
combining culture with outreach ~nd emphasized the need
to have many books available. See also, "The Best Thing
Our Club Ever Did," Harper's Bazaar, June 1909, pp. 614-
615, which discusses the setting up of a club in rural
North Carolina.
11
caroline Frances Burrell [Caroline French Benton],
The Complete Club Book for Women (Boston: Page Co.,
1915), pp. 119-125. Burrell suggested starting with the
reading of books for self-improvement and then moving
into outreach programs. The urban base of the club
movement is pointed to by both Sinclair, The Better Half,
pp. 319-320, and Scott, The Southern Lady, pp. 134-163.
12
Harbert Collection, "National Household Economic
Association" (two manuscript notebooks).
13
Harbert Collection, "American Social Science
Association Annual Report, May 20, 1878."
14
Harbert Collection, "Illinois Social Science
Journal, February 1878," pp. 10-11.
15
Harbert Collection, printed list of WCTU leader
ship. Size of city based upon population figures from
the 1880 census.
16
Furer, "Women's Rights Movement," pp. 285-305,
has documented the urban roots of the major leadership of
the movement.
253
17
Harbert Collection. The books appear to date
from the late 1870s or early 1880s.
18
Progress and Achievement, p. 218.
19
Mary E. Trautman, "Woman's Health Protective
Association," Municipal Affairs 2 (September 1898):
439-446.
20
Hester M. McCluny, "Women's Work in Indianap-
olis," Municipal Affairs 2 (September 1898) :523-526.
21
"Woman's Work for Better Cities," Literary
Digest, July 13, 1912, pp. 49-50.
22
Wood, "The Woman's Club Movement," pp. 36-39.
23
Alice Hyneman Thine, "The Work of Women's Clubs,"
Forum, December 1891, pp. 519-528; Julia Holmes Smith,
"The Woman's Club As an Agent of Philanthropy," Arena,
August 1892, pp. 382-384; Margaret Polson lv 1urray, "Women's
Clubs in America," Living Age, June 1900, p. 561; Trautman,
"Protective Association," pp. 439-446; Edith Wetherill,
"The Civic Club of Boston," Municipal Affairs 2 (September
1898):480; Jane Addams, "Woman's Work for Chicago,"
Municipal Affairs 2 (September 1898) :502-508; McCluny,
Women's Work in Indianapolis," pp. 523-526; Mary M.
Pierson, "What a Few Women in New London, Iowa, Have
Accomplished," American City 8 (May 1913) :512-513; Sarah S.
Platt Decker, "The Meaning of - ·the Woman's Club Movement,"
Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social
Science 28 (September 1906) :200; Mary Beard, Women's Work
in Municipalities (New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1915).
24
May Wright Sewall, "The General Federation of
Women's Clubs," Arena, August 1892, p. 367.
25
Daily Oklahoman, May 12, 1894.
26
The 1898 estimate comes from Breckinridge, Women
in the Twentieth Century, p. 21. Furer's estimate for
that year was 500,000 ("Women's Rights Movement," p. 297),
but that is out of line with later estimates from other
sources and is probably incorrect. The 1902 estimate is
from Cooley, "Future of the Woman's Club," p. 374, the
1905 from Decker , "Meaning of the Woman's Club Movement,"
p. 199, and the 1910 estimate from Wood, "The Woman's Club
Movement," pp. 36-39.
254
27
Rhine, "Work of Women's Clubs," p. 522. Cooley,
"Future of the Woman's Club," p. 374, also contended that
the Federation contained only a portion of the clubs in
existence. See also "Best Thing Our Club Ever Did,"
pp. 156-157, for further confirmation.
28
d h' 2 h 26 Progress an Ac ievement, p. 3. Oft e 7
mentioned, 333 were WCTU, 166 were women's clubs, 162
were Women's Relief Corps, twenty-eight were suffrage,
and the rest were assorted other organizations.
29
· 1 d Am 230 Irwin, Ange s an azons, p. .
30
Cooley, "Future of the Woman's Club," pp. 374-375.
31
Martha E. D. White, "The Case of the Woman's
Club," Outlook, June 25, 1898, p. 479.
32
Harbert Collection, "The New Cycle." Marital
status was determined by the designation on the list as
"Miss" or "Mrs."
33
Blahc, Condition of Women, p. 89; Mary Boyce,
"The Club as an Ally to Higher Education," Arena, August
1892, pp. 379-383; Sewall, "The General Federation of
Women's Clubs," p. 365.
34
Harbert Collection, "Illinois Social Science
Journal, February 1878," pp. 10-11.
35
Harbert Collection, manuscript notebooks contain
ing list of leaders of National Household Economic Asso
ciation.
36
Harbert Collection, list of WCTU leaders.
37
Harbert Collection. Book I (1870s or 1880s) ·
twenty-eight of the women were married and three were
single. Book II (possibly early 1890s): eighty-nine were
married, twenty-three were single, and the conjugal status
of twenty-four could not be determined. See also
Sinclair, The Better Half, p. 237, who contends that most
of the suffrage workers were married and mothers.
38
Granger, "Effect of Club Work in the South,"
p. 255; Ward, "The Influence of Women's Clubs," p. 206.
39
Burrell, Complete Club Book p. 119; Olivia H.
Danbar, "The City's Housekeepers," ·Harper •·s Bazaar
June 1909, pp. 594-596.
255
40
Rheta Childe Dorr, What • E'ight· • Mi11io• n · wotnen
wa·nt (Boston: Small, Maynard & Co., 1910), p. 327.
41
Josephine Shaw Lowell, "Woman's Municipal League
of New York City," Municipal Affairs 2 (September 1898):
465.
42
Breckinridge, Women in the Twentieth Cen·tury,
pp. 2 4- 2 5 , 3 4- 3 5 , 3 9 , 6 7 .
43
Hester M. Poole, "Club Life in New York," · Arena,
August 1892, p. 369.
44
k' 'd . h . h
Bree 1nr1 ge, Women int e Twentiet Century,
p. 76.
45
Grace H. Wilson, The Religious and Educational
Philosophy of the Young Women's Christian Association
(New York: Columbia University Press, 1933), pp. 4-8.
46
k' 'd . h . h C
Bree 1nr1 ge, Women int e Twentiet entury,
pp. 15-16; Rhine, "Work of Women's Clubs," p. 537.
47
Furer, "Women's Rights Movement," p. 293.
48
Blanc, Condition of Women, pp. 242-244, 253-254.
49
Gladys Boone, The Women's Trade Union League
(New York: Columbia University Press, 1942), p. 44.
5
O k · · d . h . th C
Bree inri ge, Women int e Twentie· entury,
p. 25; Frank Chapin Bray, "The National Consumer League,"
Chautauquan, June 1910, pp. 106-115.
51
Allen F. Davis, Spearheads ·for· Re·fo·rm (New York:
Oxford University Press, 1967), p. 12. Davis offers an
excellent study of the settlement house movement.
52
rbid., pp. 33-35. Davis estimates that over 90
percent of the men and women who volunteered to work in
the settlements had attended college.
53
Helen M. Wood, "The Unquiet Sex," Scribner's,
October 1897, p. 487.
54
Blanc, Condition of Women, pp. 43-45.
55
Watson, "Attitude of Typical Southern Woman to
C 1 ub s , " p . 3 7 8 .
256
5611
As to Woman's Clubs," Atlantic, January 1909,
pp. 135-136.
57
Boyce, "Club as an Ally to Higher Education,"
p. 378. The depiction of the nineteenth century as the
"woman's century" was found in other articles. See, for
example, Wood, "The Unquiet Sex," p. 490, and Murray,
0
Women's Clubs in America," p. 561.
58
Decker, "The Meaning of the Woman's Club Move-
ment," p. 204.
59
"The Best Thing Our Club Ever Did," p. 156.
60
Cooley, "Future of the Woman's Club," p. 377.
257
CHAPTER VII
REGIONAL VARIATION, URBAN/RURAL DIFFERENCES,
AND URBANIZATION
This chapter will briefly explore three questions:
first, that of the regional differences exhibited by some
of the variables; second, the temporal convergence or
divergence between rates for the rural and urban areas;
and third, the relationship of such temporal trends to
urbanization. The importance of regional differences has
long been recognized by historians, and any study gener
alizing about urban/rural differences for the entireUnited
States must take these regional variations into considera
tion.
The method of analysis used, looking at urban and
rural differences on a state-by-state basis, has guarded
against the pitfall of allowing the particular pattern
shown by a numerically dominant region to be mistaken for
a pattern applicable to the entire United States. For
example, if one were to calculate the percentage of women
working in urban areas in 1890 by simply dividing the total
number of employed women in all urban areas, cities such
258
as New York, Philadelphia, and Boston, and thus the North
Atlantic region, would be given inordinate weight. In
contrast, a state-by-state analysis, with each city in
each state given equal weight offers a much more accurate
picture. It is nonetheless important to determine whether
each of the regions followed the general United States
pattern or if in fact significant variation from the
general pattern tended to be present.
Urban/rural differences with respect to the per
centage of women who married or remained single, the
child/woman ratio, and the percentage of women employed
were evident for the United States as a whole. Were
similar differences present within each region? As can
be seen in the following tables, in all regions the per
centage of married women and the child/woman ratio were
higher in the rural sector (Tables 56 and 58), while the
percentage of single women and the percentage of employed
women were higher in the urban areas (Tables 55 and 57).
Although the degree of difference between urban and rural
sector varied from region to region, the direction of
the difference was the same in all. While it is beyond
the scope of this study to explain the variation among
regions, the importance of recognizing distinctive
regional patterns will be returned to in the discussion
concerning the diminishing or increasing differences
between the rates for the urban and rural sectors.
259
Table 55.--Percentage of single women, fifteen years or older, urban
and rural areas, total United States and by region, aggregate
population and native whites of native born parents,
1890-1920
United States
Urban
Rural
Percent urban/rural
difference
North Atlantic
Urban
Rural
Percent urban/rural
difference
South Atlantic
Urban
Rural
Percent urban/rural
difference
North Central
Urban
Rural
Percent urban/rural
difference
South Central
Urban
Rural
Percent urban/rural
difference
West
Urban
Rural
Percent urban/rural
difference
1890a
Agg
34.7
30.0
15.7
38.1
32.9
15.8
36.0
32.6
10.4
34.0
29.3
16.0
32.0
28.5
12.3
33.2
26.0
27.7
1900a
Agg
33.8
29.2
15.7
36.6
31.6
15.8
34.9
30.5
14.4
33.0
29.1
13.4
32.3
28.3
14.1
31.5
25.7
22.5
1910
Agg
31.5
27.5
14.5
35.7
29.9
19.4
31.7
28.3
12.0
31.4
28.2
11.3
28.7
25.3
13.4
29.8
24.9
19.7
Nwnp
33.7
28.7
17.4
35.9
29.4
22.1
34.2
28.9
18.3
34.3
30.4
12.8
31.7
25.7
23.3
31.4
27.3
15.0
1920
Agg
28.1
25.7
9.3
32.3
28 .. 3
14.1
28.5
26.4
8.0
27.7
26.6
4.1
26.1
24.4
7.0
25.2
22.3
13 . 0
Nwnp
30.6
27.3
12.1
34.9
28.0
24.6
30.5
26.8
13 . 8
31.0
29.6
4 . 7
28.6
24.8
15.3
27.3
24.7
10.5
260
Table 55.--Continued
SOURCES: U.S., Censuses, 1890-1920.
NOTE: Urban calculated on the basis of 25,000+. Agg = Aggre
gate population; Nwnp = Native whites of native born parents.
Urban/rural difference= urban - 1 x 100 . See Table 5 for method
rural
of calculation used for entire United States. Same method was
used to obtain regional totals using only those states found in
the particular region. N = the number of observations. The values
of N were as follows for the total United States and for the
different regions between 1890 and 1920. United States: 1890, N =
36; 1900, N = 38; 1910, N = 40; 1920, N = 42. North Atlantic:
1890-1920, N = 8; South Atlantic: 1890, N = 7; 1900, N = 8; 1910-
1920, N = 9. North Central: 1890-1910, N = 10; 1920, N = 11.
South Central: 1890-1900, N = 6, 1910-1920, N = 7. West: 1890,
N = 5; 1900-1910, N = 6; 1920, N = 7.
ain 1890 and 1900, data for native whites of native born
parentswereavailable only for cities of 100,000+.
This study has especially considered whether
certain factors, which can be generally characterized as
indicative of increased autonomy and an expanded sphere
of activity for women, originated in the cities of the
late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Indeed,
for most of the variables studied, significant differences
did exist between the urban and the rural sector. The
differences between the two sectors, however, did not
remain static, and the question arises as to whether
there was a relationship between the degree of urbaniza
tion and the changing extent of difference between the
two sectors.
261
TABLE 56.--Percentage of married women, fifteen years or older, urban
and rural areas, total United States and by region, aggregate
population and native whites of native born parents,
1890-1920
United States
Urban
Rural
Percent rural/
urban difference
North Atlantic
Urban
Rural
Percent rural/
urban difference
South Atlantic
Urban
Rural
Percent rural/
urban difference
North Central
Urban
Rural
Percent rural/
urban difference
South Central
Urban
Rural
Percent rural/
urban difference
West
Urban
Rural
Percent rural/
urban difference
1890a
Agg
52.9
59.3
14.0
49.6
54.7
10.3
48.2
56.3
16.8
55.6
61.6
10.8
49.8
59.1
18.7
56 1
65.2
16.2
1900a
Agg
52.1
59.3
13.8
51.0
55.7
9.2
48.3
57.5
19.0
55.5
61.6
11.0
48.4
58.7
21.3
56.6
64.1
13.3
Agg
54.7
61.3
12.1
52.7
57.5
9.1
52.7
60.7
15.2
56.9
62.0
9.0
54.2
62.1
14.6
57.5
64.9
12.9
1910
Nwnp
53.6
61.0
13.8
50.0
56.6
13.2
53.1
61.2
15.3
54.5
60.2
10.5
55.2
64.0
15.9
55.7
63.7
14.4
Agg
57.9
63.2
9.2
55.4
59.4
7.2
56.6
62.1
9.7
60.0
63.2
5.3
57.1
64.2
12.4
59. 9
67.4
12.5
1920
Nwnp
56.5
62.3
10.3
51.5
57.2
11.1
56.7
63.1
11.3
57.8
61.1
5.7
58.0
65.4
12.8
58.7
65.8
12.1
262
TABLE 56.--Continued
SOURCES: U.S, Censuses, 1890-1920.
NOTE: Urban calculated on the basis of 25,000+. Agg = Aggregate
population; Nwnp = Native whites of native born parents. Rural/urban
difference= rural - 1 x 100 . See Table 5 for method of calculation
urban
used for entire United States. Same method was used to obtain regional
totals using only those states found in the particular region. N =
the number of observations. The values of N were as follows for the
total United States and for the different regions between 1890 and
1920. United States: 1890, N = 36; 1900, N = 38; 1910, N = 40;
1920, N = 42. North Atlantic: 1890-1920, N = 8; South Atlantic:
1890, N = 7; 1900, N = 8; 1910-1920, N = 9; North Central: 1890-1910,
N - 10; 1920, N = 11. South Central: 1890-1900, N - 6; 1910-1920,
N = 7 . West: 1890, N = 5; 1900-1910, N = 6; 1920, N = 7.
a
In 1890 and 1900, data for native whites of native born parents
were available only for cities of 100,000+.
Researchers have pointed to the tendency for
differences between the urban and rural sectors of a
society to be lowest when the society is either predomi
nantly rural or predominantly urban.
1
When a society
first begins to urbanize, differences between the two
sectors grow, but the differences begin to diminish after
the degree of urbanization has reached a certain level.
Between 1890 and 1920, as the degree of urbanization
2
in
the United States increased from 35.4 percent to 51.4
percent, did the urban/rural difference for the variables
studied increase or decrease? Was there any indication
that the increasing degree of urbanization was reflected
in the tendency for behavior patterns in rural areas to
more closely approximate those of the urban sector?
263
TABLE 57.--Percentage of employed women, urban and rural areas, total United States and by region,
aggregate population and native whites of native born parents, 1870-1920
1870a 1880a
1890
1900b
1920
Agg Agg Agg Nwnp Agg Nwnp Agg Nwnp
United States
Urban 15.9 17.8 25.5 17.7
26.0 19.2 28.1 25.3
Rural 9 .. 8 10.3 15.7 10.7 16.0 10.9 16.6 14.1
Percent urban/rural
difference 62.2 72.8 62.4 65.4 62.5 76.1 69.3 79.4
North Atlantic
Urban 15.4 18.5 26.2 18.8 28.1 21.9 30.2 28.7
Rural 11.3 13.2 20.4 13.6 20.4 15.3 22.9 20.2
Percent urban/rural
difference 36.3 40.2 28.4 38.2 37.8 43.1 31.9 42.1
South Atlantic
Urban
20.0 22.6 31.1 17.2 31.5 18.3 32.5 25.2
Rural 14.0 14.1 19.8 10.6 20.l 9.9 19.0 13.6
Percent urban/rural
difference 42.9 60.0 57.1 62.3 56.7 84.8 71.0 85.3
North Central
Urban
12.0 14.3 21.7 17.9 21.6 20.0 25.0 25.6
Rural
4.1 6.1 10.6 9.9 11.5 10.5 12.7 12.7
Percent urban/rural
N
difference 200.0 134.4 104.7 80.8 87.8 90.5 96.9 101.6
O'\
~
N
O"I
u,
TABLE 57.--Continued
South Central
Urban
Rural
Percent urban/rural
difference
West
Urban
Rural
Percent urban/rural
difference
1870a
Agg
15.7
11.9
31.9
15.2
2.8
442.9
SOURCES: U.S., Censuses, 1870-1920.
1880a
Agg
18.4
11.3
62.8
13.0
5.9
120.3
1890
Agg Nwnp
27.3
16.6
64.5
20.9
12.5
67.2
16.2
7.6
113.2
17.8
10.8
64.8
1900b
Agg Nwnp
28.6
18.6
53.8
20.5
10.7
91.6
15.2
7.5
102.7
19.0
9.5
100.0
1920
Agg Nwnp
29.6
16.1
83.9
23.2
13.2
75.8
23.3
10.7
117.8
23.4
13.2
77.3
NOTE: For 1870, 1880, 1900 and 1920, urban= 25,000+. For 1890, urban had to be calculated
on the basis of 50,000+. Urban and rural means were calculated for each state with at least one
city of 25,000+. Regional averages were computed on the basis of state means. N = Number of
states. Agg = Aggregate population; Nwnp = Native whites of native born parents. Urban/rural
difference=~~~:~ - 1 x 100. N = the number of observations. The values of N were as follows
for the total United States and for the different regions between 1870 and 1920. United States:
1870, N = 24; 1880, N = 29; 1890, N = 36; 1900, N = 38; 1920, N = 42. North Atlantic: 1870,
N = 7; 1880-1920, N = 8. South Atlantic: 1870, N = 6; 1880-1890, N = 7; 1900, N = 8; 1920,
N = 9. North Central: 1870, N = 6; 1880, N = 8; 1890-1900, N = 10; 1920, N = 11. South Central:
1870-1880, N = 4; 1890-1900, N = 6; 1920, N = 7. West: 1870, N = l; 1880, N = 2; 1890, N = 5;
1900, N = 6; 1920, N = 7.
aFor 1870 and 1880, employment data were available only for the total female population.
bFor 1900, data were available only for native whites of native born parents, 16+ in cities
of 50,000+.
N
"'
"'
TABLE 58.--Child/woman ratio, urban and rural areas, total United States and by region,
aggregate population and native whites, 1890-1920
1890 1900
1910a
1920
Agg Nwnp Agg Nwnp Agg Agg Nwnp
United States
Urban 489 364 452 333 429 429 388
Rural 753 651 728 628 702 674 643
Percent rural/urban
difference 54.0 78.8 61.1 88.6 63.6 57.1 65.7
North Atlantic
Urban 442 287 477 279 472 493 360
Rural 502 403 522 391 540 578 469
Percent rural/urban
difference 13.6 40.4 9.4 40.1 14.4 17.2 30.3
South Atlantic
Urban 458 411 416 368 421 417 421
Rural 838 779 831 791 794 742 745
Percent rural/urban
difference 83.0 89.5 99.8 114.9 88.6 77.9 77.0
North Central
Urban
561 375 491 329 442 446 397
Rural 765 601 712 558 655 640 614
Percent rural/urban
difference 36.4 60.3 45.0 69.6 48.2 43.5 54.7
N
°' -..J
TABLE 58.--Continued
1890 1900
1910a
1920
Agg Nwnp Agg Nwnp Agg Agg Nwnp
South Central
Urban 488 425 423 407 385 372 388
Rural 948 937 910 919 870 751 778
Percent rural/urban
difference 94.3 120.5 115.1 125.8 126.0 101.9 100.5
West
Urban 464 323 435 289 406 394 362
Rural 792 657 729 580 678 681 636
Percent rural/urban
difference 70.7 103.4 67.6 100.7 67.0 72.8 75.7
SOURCES: U.S., Censuses, 1890-1920.
NOTE: N = Number of states. Agg = Aggregate population; Nwnp = Native whites of native
born parents. Rural/urban difference= rural - 1 x 100. See Table 5 for method of calcula-
urban
tion used for entire United States. The same method was used to obtain regional totals using
only those states found in the particular region. N = the number of observations. The values
of N were as follows for the total United States and fort.he different regions between 1890
and 1920. United States: 1890, N = 36; 1900, N = 38; 1910, N = 40; 1920, N = 42. North
Atlantic: 1890-1920, N = 8. South Atlantic: 1890, N = 7; 1900, N = 8; 1910-1920, N = 9.
North Central: 1890-1910, N = 10; 1920, N = 11. South Central: 1890-1900, N = 6i 1910-1920,
N = 7. West: 1890, N = 5, 1900-1910, N = 6; 1920, N = 7.
ain 1910, data were not given for native whites.
Both the tendency for a greater proportion of
rural women to marry and the propensity for them to have
more children than their urban counterparts were long-
3
standing patterns. Numerous authors have discussed
the rural/urban differential with respect to the child/
woman ratio.
4
These authors have suggested that children
in an urban setting were considered a burden since they
did not contribute to the family's economic production.
Rearing children cost more in the city: the more children
the lower the obtainable living standard. In addition,
the social milieu of the city itself presented problems
when it came to child rearing. In short, a number of
reasons had long existed in urban areas to account for the
having of fewer children.
A look at the relationship between degree of
urbanization and rural/urban difference in the child/
woman ratio for the native white population shows an
overall reduction as the United States became more
urbanized
5
(Table 59). Insofar as the tendency for
women to marry or remain single was concerned, the rural/
urban differences for the two variables were converging
(Table 59). However, that convergence resulted not from
the rural sector's following the behavior pattern of the
urban, but rather from more youthful marriages in cities
raising the traditionally lower urban marriage rate closer
268
TABLE 59.--Degree of urbanization and percentage difference between
the urban and rural sectors, 1890-1920
Percent of United States
urbanized
Percent difference between
urban and rural sectors
Single: percent urban/
rural difference
Agg
Nwnp
Married: percent rural/
urban difference
Agg
Nwnp
Native white child/
woman ratio: percent
rural/urban difference
Employed: percent urban/
rural difference
a
Agg
Nwnp
1890
35.4
15.7
(d)
14.0
(d)
78.8
62.4
65.4
SOURCES: U.S., Censuses, 1870-1920.
1900
40.0
15.7
(d)
13.8
(d)
88.6
62.5
76.1
1910
45.8
14.5
17.4
12.1
13.8
(b)
(c)
(b)
1920
51.4
9.3
12.1
9.2
10.3
65.7
69.3
79.4
NGrE: Percentage urbanized calculated on the basis of places
2,500+ . Rural urban difference= rural - 1 x 100. Urban/rural
urban
difference= urban - 1 x 100. Agg = Aggregate population; Nwnp -
rural
Native whites of native born parents.
ain 1870, 20.l percent of the United States was urban and the
urban/rural difference was 62.2 percent. In 1880, 24.4 percent was
urban and the urban rural difference was 72.8 percent. For both
1870 and 1880, the percentage of employed women was calculated on
the basis of the total number of females.
bData not available.
C
See Table 25 for discussion of problems with 1910 employment
data .
dData available only for cities of 100,000+ .
269
to that of the rural sector. Significantly, the trend
toward younger marriages, especially pronounced in urban
areas,was accompanied by a continued reduction in the
number of children and, as previously discussed, appears
to have been linked to the spread of more effective
methods of birth control.
Finally, for the percentage of employed native
white women of native born parents in urban and rural
areas, the rates in fact diverged (Table 59). The diver
gence most probably resulted from the recent expansion of
employment opportunities for women in urban areas.
However, some of the difference may have been due to
inaccuracies in census reporting. Census takers may have
more accurately recorded female employment in urban areas,
while some farm women who worked were not reported as
employed in the census. Of the four variables, only the
reduction in the urban/rural difference for the child/
woman ratio seemed possibly linked to increased urbaniza
tion.
A study investigating changing rates of employ
ment, marriage or fertility, at least during the late
nineteenth or early twentieth century, should take into
account the persistence and importance of regional differ
ences. The following figures (1, 2, 3 and 4) indicate
that although the individual regions, with some exception,
270
I
Figure 1. Urban/rural difference in percent of
single women vs. percent urbanized. Information is for
aggregate population in the total United States and by
region, 1890-1920. Time moves in the same direction as
percent urbanized. KEY: Total United States D ;
North Atlantic ■ ; South Atlantic 6. ; North Central
~ ; South Central Q ; West • .
271
Q)
u
C
(1)
~
Q)
~
~
30----
i5 20..__,
-
co
~
:J
~
..........
C
co
..c
~
::J .
~
C:
Q)
u 10-----
~
Q)
Cl.
10 25
50
percent urbanized
75
272
Figure 2. Rural/urban difference in percent of
married women vs. percent urbanized. Information is for
the aggregate population in the total United States and
by region, 1890-1920. Time moves in the same direction
as percent urbanized. KEY: United States D; North
Atlantic ■ ; South Atlantic 6, ; North Central T ;
South Central Q; West • .
273
.30
.....,
C
~1
,_
Q)
C.
25
50
percent urbanized
75
274
Figure 3. Urban/rural difference in percent of
employed women vs. percent urbanized. Information is for
native whites of native born parents in the total United
States and by region, 1890-1920. Time moves in the same
direction as percent urbanized. KEY: Total United
States D ; North Atlantic ■ ; South Atlantic fi ; North
Central ~ ; South Central Q i West . .
275
120
100
(1).
0
C
Cl)
L-8
Cl)
'+
'+-
.....,
C:
Cl)
2
Cl)
C.
40
10
25
50
percent urbanized
75
276
Figure 4. Rural/urban difference in child/woman
ratio vs. percent urbanized. Information is for native
whites in the total United States and by region, 1890-
1920. Time moves in the same direction as percent urban ized. KEY: Total United States D; North Atlantic■ ;
South Atlantic L ; North Central T ; South Central Q ;
West • .
277
200
160
Q)
(.)
C
a>120
~
Q)
"+
"+-
+-'
C
Q)
u
~
Q)
c. 40
10 25
50 75
percent urbaniz
1
e. d
278
tended to exhibit the same pattern with respect to con
vergence or divergence of urban and rural rates as did
the entire United States, the failure to recognize the
significance of regional differences could lead to a dis
torted picture of trends that were occurring.
As can be seen in Figu~e 1, the West, which in
1890 exhibited a notably higher urban/rural divergence
with respect to the percentage of single women, had come
considerably closer to the national norm by 1920. The
initial extreme disparity between the urban and rural
sectors was possibly linked to several facets of the
pioneer nature of life present in much of the region. The
harshness of life in many parts of the West and the iso
lation of many of the homesteads probably made urban life
loom as much more attractive than rural for the single
woman of the West in 1890 and 1900.
Figure 3, which deals with the percentage of
employed native white women of native born parents, illus
trates the consistently higher urban/rural difference
present in the South Central region and the consistently
lower urban/rural difference in the North Atlantic states.
Of all regions, the North Atlantic had the highest per
centage of women employed in the rural sector (Table 57).
In contrast, the South Central region consistently had the
lowest percentage of women employed in the rural sector
279
(Tabl~ 57). Perhaps job opportunities for women in the
less urbanized and industrialized South Central region
tended to be limited to larger urban units (25,000 or
larger), while in the North Atlantic states the longer
standing existence of industrialization and higher degree
of urbanization had allowed similar employment opportuni
ties to penetrate even the smaller towns.
In Figure 4 the urban/rural difference with respect
to the native white child/woman ratio can be seen to have
been uniformly lower in the North Atlantic region. The
relatively lower urban/rural divergence in the North
Atlantic states may have been linked to the greater per
centage of rural employed women in the North Atlantic
states. Employment and fertility tended to be negatively
correlated in both urban and rural areas, and the lower
North Atlantic urban/rural difference with respect to the
native white child/woman ratio possibly reflected the rela
tively high employment rate in the rural sector.
The importance of recognizing distinctive regional
patterns becomes even more evident when temporal trends
are considered. In Figure 1, the persistent distinctive
ness of the regional patterns with respect to the per
centage of single women would present an incorrect picture
280
of divergence if all the regional "points" were plotted
in a single analysis. Similarly, in Figure 3, a single
analysis using regional data points would result in a
false picture of convergence when in fact employment
rates between the urban and rural sectors were diverging.
Only with the percentage of married women and the child/
woman ratio (Figures 2 and 4) would a plot of all the
regional points yield the same trend as an analysis based
upon the entire United States in which a single point for
each census year was used.
Insofar as regional variation was concerned, the
following conclusions can be drawn. For the four vari
ables considered, different regional patterns were present.
However, despite distinct regional patterns, the differ
ence between the urban and rural sectors was always in
the same direction: e.g., if the urban rate was higher
than the rural in one region, the same was true in all of
the other regions. As for the degree of difference
between the urban and the rural sector and the relation
ship between the changing differences and the extent of
urbanization,the only indication of converging rates which
could possibly be linked to increased urbanization was
the diminishing difference for the native white child/
women ratio.
6
Neither the trend toward increased employ
ment opportunities for women nor that of more youthful
281
marriages coupled with reduced fertility manifested a
convergence of urban and rural rates which could be
specifically attributed to increased urbanization.
282
NOTES
1
See for example, "Part VI, Urban-Rural Differ-
ences," in Urban Research Methods, ed. Jack P. Gibbs
(Princeton: D. Van Nostrand Co., 1961), pp. 462-539, for
a selection of articles. See especially pages 462-471.
2
urbanizcd was calculated on the basis of communi
ties of 2,500 or greater.
3
That the higher proportion of married women
found in rural areas was not alone responsible for the
rural/urban fertility differential can readily be seen
from looking at child/woman ratios for only those women
who were married, widowed or divorced. In U.S., Depart
ment of Commerce, Ratio of Children to Women, p. 109, the
child/woman ratio for married, widowed or divorced native
white women was as follows: 512 in communities of 100,000
or larger; 554 in communities of 25,000-100,000 inhabit
ants; 608 in those with between 10,000 and 25,000; 646
in towns between 2,500 and 10,000; and 899 in rural areas.
Wilson L. Grabill, Clyde V. Kiser, and Pascal K9 Whelpton,
The Fertility of American Women (New York: John Wiley &
Sons, 1958), p. 89, found similar results in 1950. They
had three population categories: urban (2,500 or larger),
rural-nonfarm, and rural-farm. For "all women 15-44" the
child/woman ratio was 1,285 in urban areas, 1,689 in
rural-nonfarm, and 2,126 in rural farm. For women 15-44,
"ever married" the corresponding numbers were 1,713,
2,128, and 2,742.
4
see the following for discussions regarding the
rural/urban fertility differential. Warren Thompson and
Nelle E. Jackson, "Fertility in Rural Areas in Relation
to T .heir Distance from Ci ties, " Rural Sociology 5 ( June
1940) :143-162; Ogburn and Nimkoff, Technology and the
Changing Family; A. J. Jaffee, "Urbanization andFertility,"
American Journal of Sociology 48 (July 1942) :48-60; Pascal
Whelpton and Clyde V. Kiser, "Trends, Determinants, and
Control in Human Fertility," Annals of the American
Academy of Political and Social Science 237 (January 1945):
112-122; Okun, Trends in Birth Rates; Grabill, Kiser, and
Whelpton, Fertility of American Women; Regine Stix and
283
Frank w. Note stein, co·ntrolled Fertility: · An ·Evaluation
of Clinical Service (Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins,
19 4 0 ) , pp . 14 4 -15 8 .
5
The aggregate child/woman ratio is a much less
sensitive measure since it includes so many different
groups of women. Therefore, the discussion of this
section has been confined to the native white child/woman
ratio.
6
See Okun, Trends in the Birth Rate. Okun con-
tends that it was not the shift in population from rural
to urban areas but rather the spread of urban values and
ideas beyond urban boundaries which can explain the
decline in fertility. He found lower birth rates in the
most highly urbanized and industrialized states (see
pp. 97 and 101).
284
CHAPTER VIII
CONCLUSIONS
In America of the late nineteenth and early twen
tieth century, women's lives, in particular those of the
urban middle class, began to undergo a far-reaching
transformation. During that era, in cities and towns
across the nation, the uni-dimensional woman whose life
was expected to focus solely upon home and family was
being challenged by the appearance of a growing number of
recognizably modern women whose varied and active life
styles reflected the expanding array of options opening
up to them. Although most women continued to marry,
bear children, and tend to the running of the home, sig
nificant changes were occurring in these traditional areas
of activity. More importantly, a growing number of urban,
middle-class women moved outside of a strictly home
centered existence, some entering the labor force for at
least a period of time, others becoming members of the
myriad of women's associations and clubs which flourished
during the era.
285
Within the traditional sphere of the home, changes
took place which resulted in an expansion of the free time
potentially available to women. In the latter decades of
the nineteenth century, the development and dissemination
of information about effective birth control methods was
spreading. Those developments had their first impact upon
middle- and upper-class urban women, with the information
spreading more slowly to other sectors of the female popu
lation. The ability to limit effectively the number of
children one had appeared to be directly linked to the
development of a trend, particularly pronounced in urban
areas, toward more youthful marriages coupled with a
reduced number of children. Fewer children and a growing
period of time spent by children in schools meant the
potential for reduced child rearing obligations for many
women.
Also, in the urb~n areas a multiplicity of factors
converged to make the running of a home a potentially
less time-consuming operation. For those who were inter
ested, apartments or boardinghouses offered a simpler
alternative to the single-family dwelling, while restau
rants and laundries presented options to those who wished
to eliminate certain household chores. In addition, pre
pared foods, ready-made clothing, and a variety of labor
saving devices first began to lighten the burden of the
286
day-to-day running of the household in cities and towns
of late nineteenth century America.
Just as the time needed to run the urban, middle
class household was diminishing, the number and variety
of employment opportunities deemed respectable were
undergoing a phenomenal expansion. Between 1890 and
1920, white-collar and professional occupations exhibited
considerable growth; during those years native white
women of native born parents, especially in the urban
areas, entered the labor force in record numbers. How
ever, at the very time that a growing number of women
found their way into a greater selection of occupations,
women workers also tended to concentrate in those sectors
of the professional and white-collar fields that had the
least power and prestige. Although most young women
terminated their employment when they married, the experi
ence of working, with the contacts and independence that
a job brought, had a positive impact upon feelings of
self-esteem and self-reliance.
Even women who did not themselves work were
affected by the changes brought by expanded employment
opportunities for women. The more that women deviated
from the pattern of a life that revolved solely around
the home, the more readily other women could follow suit.
For those women, who in an earlier era would have felt
287
compelled to remain married, no matter what, the possi
bility of supporting themselves plus the greater variation
in lifestyles were probably important factors with
respect to the rising incidence of divorce during the
late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Although
urban and rural divorce rates were similar, the majority
of divorced women lived in cities and a high percentage
of divorcees were employed.
During the era, although the percentage of
employed, married women did increase, opposition to
employment for married women remained so strong that
women generally were forced to choose between marriage
and a career. Most women ultimately opted for marriage,
but that decision did not necessarily imply satisfaction
with the choice. Indeed, the era saw the development
of a powerful inner conflict in women between the tre
mendous pressure to fulfill, above all else, one's role
as wife and mother and the attraction of the working
world with its varied contacts and the chance for
autonomy and independent status. Many women never
resolved that conflict between the two contrad'ctory
role choices.
The cities and towns of the era saw a tremendous
upsurge in the growth of all sorts of associations for
women. Not only did the increased free time of urban,
288
middle-class women allow these organizations to flourish~
but the focus of activities often was shaped by problems
common to urban areas. In a way, the associations and
clubs, self-improvement or outreach, were a compromise
between a traditional home-centered life and the pursuit
of a career. The multitude of voluntary organizations
in which urban women became involved offered both a chance
for self-improvement and a sense of doing something of
use without threatening the family hierarchy and thus
was less subject to criticism than employment. Even
the voluntary organizations posed an inner conflict
between the demands of the home role and the desire to
be an active participant in the "outside" world, and
women felt compelled to justify their involvement on the
basis of its having a positive impact upon their roles
as wives and mothers.
Certain aspects of an urban environment appeared
to have the greatest impact upon women and the types of
lives they led. Interestingly, population size did not
seem to play an important role. At least in cities of
25,000, or possibly as low as 2,500, conditions appeared
to be conducive to the development of an expanded sphere
of activity for women. An increase in city size, with
few exceptions, did not appear to alter dramatically the
functioning of the variables. This does not mean that
289
city size was always an unimportant factor, but rather
that for the particular variables studied, it did not
appear to be significant.
The data also suggest that researchers must care
fully assess what size places should be considered to be
urban and what rural, and not arbitrarily set too high a
cutoff for the urban category. In 1920, with at least
two of the variables, child/woman ratio and marital
status, places between 2,500 and 25,000 appeared to
function more as urban places than as rural ones, while
for all of the variables , towns between 25,000 and 50,000
manifested urban behavior patterns. The failure to con
sider places 2,500-25,000 in size as urban could have
masked differences or magnitude of differences between
the urban and rural sectors.
More generally, attention could be directed toward
the following questions. What functional differences
between the urban and rural sectors exist for other
variables? Does a functional definition of urban (with
respect to particular variables) differ according to the
time period studied? Such questions can only be answered
by further investigation, but hopefully material pre
sented in this study will have at least pointed to the
need to refine our concepts of urban and rural.
290
In contrast to city size, the economic orienta
tion of a city was closely correlated with the propensity
of women to remain single and to be employed. In those
cities leaning more heavily toward Manufacturing and
Mechanical activities, more single women were present and
a higher percentage of women were employed. Conversely,
in cities where the proportion of people involved in
Trade and Transportation was higher, both the percentage
of single women and the percentage of employed women
declined.
Between 1890 and 1920 , the strength of both the
positive correlation between Manufacturing and Mechanical
and the percentage of employed native white women of
native born parents, and the negative correlation between
Trade and Transportation and the percentage of employed
native white women of native born parents decreased.
During the same time period, the positive correlation
between Trade and Transportation and the percentage of
married native white women of native born parents declined,
and the negative correlation between Manufacturing and
Mechanical and the percentage of married native white
women of native born parents disappeared. Similarly, the
negative correlation between Manufacturing and Mechanical
and native white child/woman ratio shifted to positive
while the positive correlation between Trade and
291
Transportation and native white child/woman ratio became
negative.
Cities with a higher component of their total
labor force in Manufacturing and Mechanical occupations
appeared to have had an early advantage in offering
employment opportunities to women. In such cities manu-
facturing jobs as well as domestic work were available to
women. Prior to 1890, cities which inclined more heavily
toward Trade and Transportation activities had limited
job possibilities for women. With the post-1890 boom
in white-collar occupations, the female labor force in
Trade and Transportation cities grew rapidly and the
earlier advantage held by Manufacturing and Mechanical
cities appeared to diminish. As employment opportunities
in the two types of cities changed, so did the marital
and fertility patterns of the female residents. In par-
ticular, the increased percentage of employed native
white women of native born parents in Trade and Transpor
tation cities appeared to be linked with the decline in
the percentage of married native white women of native
born parents and with the lower native white child/woman
ratio.
As with economic function, the sex ratio of a city
was strongly related to the marital and employment pat
terns of women· the more men there were, the higher
292
the percentage of married women and the lower the per
centage of employed women. The positive correlation
between sex ratio and female employment was especially
strong for the aggregate population. Among the aggregate
population, women seemed more likely to be "pushed" into
often unwanted, disagreeable jobs because of the lack of
other options, while for native whites of native born
parents, entrance into the labor force appeared more a
result of the "pull" exerted by the positive aspects of
being employed.
Although the general behavior patterns in urban
areas differed significantly from what was found in the
rural sector, the presence of significant variation among
cities indicates that caution must be used in making
generalizations from single-city studies. Hopefully,
the scope of this study has aided in the development of
generalizations whose applicability and ways of function
ing can be fur~her analyzed and tested in studies of
individual cities.
Within each region, as well as in the entire
United States, the urban sector offered women both
increased autonomy within the traditional sphere of the
home and an extension of their activities into the "out
side" world. No longer were the home and its functions
deemed to be the sole proper focus of activity for women.
293
Indeed,what was considered to be women's proper sphere
underwent considerable expansion during the era. In
short, in the cities and towns of the late nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries, a recognizably modern
woman, with an expanded number of options to choose from
and new conflicts to cope with, first began to emerge.
294
APPENDIX
295
CENSUS DATA: COLLECTION AND METHODOLOGY
The following pages contain a discussion of how
the census data used in this dissertation were gathered
and the methods used in data reduction. Following a
brief discussion of certain problems associated with the
use of nineteenth century census data, the general pro
cedure followed is described and then a more detailed
discussion of each of the census years is given.
Despite the advantages of working with census data,
there are certain limitations. First, the conclusions
derived from the data are clearly only as reliable as the
data themselves. Especially with the earlier census years,
less sophisticated and precise data gathering techniques
probably led to errors in the final report. Such errors
would become particularly crucial if an historian chose to
base a study upon a relatively small sample.
Another problem, especially with the earlier
censuses, was the large number of inconsistencies in the
presentation of data. For example, employment figures
were generally given for those 10 or older, but for 1870
and 1880, corresponding figures for the entire 10 or
older population were not given. For most years,
296
employment figures were given for all cities 25,000 or
larger. However, for 1890 the figures were for cities
50,000 or larger while for 1880, figures were given for
selected cities of 25,000 or larger. In addition, for the
purposes of this study, the pre-1890 censuses contained
limited information: only employment figures for the
aggregate population and the aggregate sex ratio were
available. In general, the more recent the year, the
greater the amount of available data.
Prior to 1910, urban and rural categories were not
presented for most data. For those years, for each vari
able for which information was given, I derived an urban
and rural total from raw census data. For 1910 and 1920,
relatively detailed information regarding urban and rural
areas was given for most of the variables. In the 1910 and
1920 censuses, urban was designated as all places 2,500 or
larger. However, employment figures were given only for
those cities of 25,000 or larger. Since for most of the
years studied and for most of the variables, information
was given for cities of 25,000 or larger; unless otherwise
specified, urban will be equivalent to cities of 25,000 or
larger and rural anything less.
The variables for which information was collected
were as follows: (1) child/woman ratio: the number of
children under 5 per 1,000 women 20-44; (2) employment:
percentage of women, generally 10 or older, who were
297
working; (3) sex ratio: the number of men per one
hundred women. Since the impact that availability of
men had upon the marriage rate for women was of particular
interest, when possible, the sex ratio for the 15 or older
population was calculated; (4) conjugal condition: the
percentage of females 15 or older, who were single,
married, or divorced. Until 1910, data regarding the
number of single females 15 or older were not always
available for every city. In order to arrive at a rela-
tively accurate estimate of this number for each city,
the numbers of married, widowed and divorced women were
summed, with the assumption that most would be 15 or
older, and that sum was subtracted from the total number
of 15 or older females to get the number of single females
who were 15 or older.
The following procedure was used for each census
year to arrive at the urban and rural totals. For each
state which had at least one city of 25,000 or larger,
information regarding the variables was obtained for the
state as a whole and for each of the 25,000 or larger
cities. By using only those states with cities of 25,000
or larger, sufficient information was obtained regarding
the differences between the urban and rural United States,
while still following the state-by-state variation regard
ing differences between the city and the surrounding
298
countryside. For each variable, the overall urban average
was obtained for a state by taking the mean of the city
values for that state. Each city was weighed equally when
making the calculation, since "the city" was really the
unit under investigation . . In this way New York or Phila
delphia or Chicago were not, because of the sheer number
of inhabitants, given dominance in their respective state
totals. The rural average for each state was arrived at
by subtracting the urban total from the state total for
each variable and then calculating the mean. Then all of
the state urban means and the state rural means for each
variable were added separately and divided by the total
number of states to obtain national averages. In order to
ascertain that the differences between the urban and rural
means were statistically significant, at-test for paired
variates was performed, pairing each state's urban and
rural meansfor the calculation.
At-test for paired variates is a statistical test
used to determine whether the different means seen for two
related samples (in this case, populations) can be
attributed solely to chance or if the difference between
the two population means is statistically significant.
"p" expresses the significance. The closer to 1 that "p"
is, the weaker the significance and the more likely the
difference is due to chance. For example, p = .05 means
that there is one chance in twenty that the results have
299
occurred due to chance, while p = .01 means that there is
only one chance in 100 that the results are due to chance.
1
I~ addition to overall urban/rural differences, a
study of the differences among cities was made in an
attempt to detect aspects of city life which influenced
roles for women in society. Size of city was one variable
examined. The cities were grouped into the following size
categories: 25,000-50,000; 50,000-100,000; 100,000-
500,000; and 500,000 or more. For each size groupin~ the
mean standard deviation, and variance were calculated.
The impact of certain types of economic activity
upon the variables was also examined. The original plan
had been to classify each city for each census year
according to major economic activity, but inadequate
information was available in most of the censuses to per
mit precise enough categories to be developed.
2
Moreover,
even relatively precise categories had the disadvantage
of lumping together cities which really exhibited signifi
cant differences in economic activity. For example, "Manu
facturing" would have included cities with as little as 35
percent of their work force in manufacturing or as much as
75 percent. Since there was interest in being able to
pick up more subtle variations among cities, the category
approach was rejected.
300
The calculation of the Pearson Correlation
Coefficient was selected as a much more sensitive and
desirable approach for analyzing the impact of economic
activity. For each census year except 1910, the per
centages of the total work force in each city engaged i n
( )
. (2) d d .
3
1 manufacturing and tra e an transportation
occupations were calculated. The percentages derived
from those calculations were used as indicators of a
city's economic activity. Then a Pearson Correlation
Coefficient was calculated to determine if a significant
relationship existed between economic activity (the per
centage of the total work force in the above categories)
and each of the variables. "r," the correlation coeffi-
cient, gives one an estimate of the strength of a linear
relationship between two sets of observations. The
closer to 1 or -1 that "r" is, the more highly correlated,
either positively or negatively, the two sets of observa-
tions are. "p" expresses the significance of the corre-
lation. The closer to 1 that "p" is, the weaker the
significance and the more likely the correlation is due
to chance. For example, p = .05 means that there is one
chance in twenty that the results have occurred due to
chance, while p = .01 means that there is only one chance
in 100 that the results are due to chance.
301
An examination was then made of how the sex ratio
of a city affected the remaining variables: child/woman
ratio, employmen~ and conjugal condition. The same pro
cedure was followed for employment and conjugal condition
where in each instance an investigation was made of how
each of the remaining variables was affected. In all of
the above calculations, Pearson Correlation Coefficients
were calculated.
Next, an investigation of the effects of regional
differences on the different variables was made. The more
inclusive census regional division which designated five
major regions was followed.
4
Especially for the earlier
years, there were too few states with cities of 25,000 or
larger in some of the regions to make a more detailed
division of regions possible. For each region, separate
totals of state urban and rural means were made and
regional urban and rural means were calculated. A check
was made to see how the degree of urbanization within a
region affected the difference between the urban and the
rural means of a particular variable. The percentage dif
ference between the urban and rural means for each variable
was calculated; for example, what percent greater was
urban female employment than rural in the North Central
region. Next, the degree of urbanization of each region
was obtained. For 1890 through 1920, the census provided
302
figures for the percent of the total population in each
region living in places of 2,500 or more. For 1870 and
1880, I was able to calculate the percentages.
After the preceding analysis was completed for
each census year, an analysis, spanning the entire 1870-
1920 period, was made for the urban and rural totals for
the entire United States. Each variable was plotted with
respect to time so that temporal trends in urban and
rural values could be detected. The effect of urbaniza
tion upon the difference between the urban and rural means
for each of the variables, for the United States as a
whole and for each of the fiv8 regions, was analyzed for
the entire time period.
As mentioned earlier, each census year presented
different limitations regarding data collection. In 1870
and 1880 the amount of data available was small. For 1870
two major sources of data were used: the 1870 census and
the U.S., Department of Commerce and Labor, Special
Reports, Marriage and Divorce: 1867-1906, volumes one
and two. From the 1870 census, information regarding the
aggregate male and female population plus the total number
of employed females, 10 or older, was available for all
cities of 25,000 or larger except Nashville. Sex ratios
were derived from the total number of males and females.
Unfortunately, information regarding the total number of
303
females 10 or older who lived in the cities was not given.
Therefore, the female employment rate was arrived at by
ascertaining what percent employed females 10 or older
were of all females.
The calculation of 1870 and 1880 urban and rural
divorce rates presented a number of problems. Since
divorce laws differed widely from state to state, the
overall United States urban and rural rates had to be
computed without having the legal differences between
states mask the significant urban and rural differences
which existed in virtually every state. No information
regarding the number of divorced persons residing in a
particular area was given in the censuses. So, an estima
tion of urban and rural divorce rates was arrived at by
using divorce figures from U.S., Department of Commerce
and Labor, Special Reports, Marri• age and Divorce 1867-
1906, and population figures from the censuses.
Divorce figures were given for the number of
divorces registered in each county of each state for every
ten-year period starting in 1867. Designated as urban
was any county which had at least one city of 25,000
within its boundaries. Then for each state the total
female population for the entire state and for each of
its urban counties was obtained, and the urban county
totals were subtracted from the state totals to get the
304
total number of females in the rural portion of the state.
Total number of females was used rather than total popula
tion since the interest was in the female divorce rate.
Also, since there generally were more females in the
cities than in the surrounding rural area for almost every
state, it seemed that this approach made overstating the
female urban divorce rate less likely than if the entire
population were used. Next a calculation was made of the
average number of divorces to occur in a one-year period
for each state as a whole and for each urban county within
the state. The sum of the urban county divorces was sub
tracted from the state divorce total to obtain the total
number of rural county divorces. Then the divorce rate
for the rural county total and for each urban county
within each state was computed using the female popula
tion figures from the census and the divorce figures from
the U.S., Department of Commerce and Labor, Special
Reports, Marriage and Divorce: 1867-1906. The average
urban divorce rate for each state was then obtained by
t k
. h f th b d' S
a ing t e mean o e ur an county ivorce rates. Then
total United States urban and rural averages were calcu-
lated by taking the mean of the state totals. In order to
ascertain that the differenc8 was statistically signifi
cant, at-test for paired variates (using the urban and
rural totals from each state) was performed.
305
Since the divorce figures for 1870 refer to
divorces granted in an area rather than the residence of
divorced persons, there may well have been some inaccuracy
in the urban/rural difference as a result of people taking
up residence in a particular city and then leaving after
their divorce was granted. In addition, since the divorce
figures were given for counties rather than specific
cities, the urban/rural difference may be somewhat diluted
by the inclusion of some rural areas in the urban total.
Despite the lack of complete accuracy in the 1870 divorce
figures, valuable information was still obtained.
Overall urban and rural differences, impact of
city size and economic activity, and regional differences
were calculated for each of the variables. The effect
that regional differences in degree of urbanization had
upon the urban/rural difference found for each variable
also was analyzed. The urbanization of each of the five
regions was calculated by using a table from the 1880
census which listed all places with a population of 4,000
or more in 1880 and also gave their populations for 1870.
6
This table probably picked up most, if not all,of the
towns with 2,500 or more people in 1870.
For 1880 much the same information for the same
variables as were found for 1870 was available. The one
unfortunate difference was that information about female
306
employment was given only for fifty selected cities
rather than for all cities of 25,000 or more. This meant
that twenty cities between 25,000 and 35 000 were omitted.
Thus the 1880 urban/rural employment figures are somewhat
less accurate than the 1870 ones. The same procedures
described for 1870 were followed for the 1880 data. As
with the 1870 divorce statistics, certain states had to
be eliminated because of missing or incomplete records.
7
The degree of urbanization for each of the five regions
was calculated as follows: the 1880 table which listed
all places 4,000 or more in population was supplemented by
an 1890 table which gave all places which had a popula
tion of 1,000 or more with the corresponding population
figures for 1880.
By 1890, considerably more information was avail
able. For cities of 25,000 or more, data regarding the
total number of males and females 15 or older, for both
the aggregate and the native born of native born parents
populations, were available. Employment data were given
for females 10 or older for both the aggregate population
and native whites of native born parents, but only for
cities of 50,000 or more. Thus the difference between the
urban and rural working rate was somewhat masked by the
need to include those cities between 25,000 and 50,000 in
the rural category. For the first time data for the
307
child/woman ratio and conjugal status were available.
8
Information about the aggregate and the native white child/
woman ratios was available for all cities of 25,000 or
9
more. The conjugal status of the 15 or older, aggregate
female population in all cities of 25,000 or more was
given. Unfortunately, information regarding the conjugal
status of 15 or older native white females of native born
parents was only given for cities of 100,000 or more which
limited the usefulness of any urban/rural comparison for
this variable.
Some, but not all of the 1890 data, were present
in ready-to-use form in the census: 10 or older aggregate
and native white of native born parents, employed females;
females 10 or older for the aggregate population for
cities of 50,000 or more; females and males, aggregate
and native white of native born parents, 15 or older for
cities of 100,000 or more; and the conjugal condition for
females 15 or older, for both the aggregate population
and for native whites of native born parents for cities of
100,000 or more. Other data needed for the variables had
to be calculated, with the tables of ages providing a
great deal of information. The tables were used to obtain
the child/woman ratio for both the aggregate and native
white populations, the number of native white females of
native born parents who were 10 or older in cities 50,000
308
or more, and the number of males and females, 15 or older,
for cities less than 100,000. The tables giving conjugal
status were used to obtain the number of single, married,
and divorced females of the aggregate population according
to the method described in the "general procedure"
section. The percentage of females, 15 or older, who were
married or single was computed on the basis of all females
who were 15 or older. The percentage of divorced females
was computed on the basis of all women who could have been
divorced- married plus divorced females - rather than on
the basis of all females. Also calculated was the urban
county versus rural county divorce rate as had been done
for 1870 and 1880.
Approximately the same amount of information that
had been available in 1890 was present in the 1900 census.
The only differences were that employment data were given
for the 10 or older, aggregate female population for
cities of 25,000 or larger while, for native whites of
native born parents, employment figures were given for
females 16 or older. Information regarding the employ
ment of native white females of native born parents
came from the U.S., Department of Commerce, Statistic• s of
Women at Work: 1900. In order to keep the 1900 employ
ment figures of native white females of native born
parents comparable to those of preceding and succeeding
309
years, I derived the employment rate by using native
white females of native born parents who were 10 or older
as the population base rather than those who were 16 or
older. Since most employed females were over 16, this
approach allowed for a reasonable degree of accuracy.
The same procedure used to collect and reduce the data in
1890 was followed for 1900.
For 1910 the amount of information regarding the
conjugal condition of females increased: for all cities
of 25,000 or more, the conjugal condition of the aggre
gate female population and for native white females of
native born parents was given. Data for males and
females, 15 or older, for both the aggregate population
and for native whites of native born parents were avail
able. However, there was less information than had been
present in either the 1890 or the 19· 0 censuses regarding
female employment and the child/women ratio. Employment
data were given only for the aggregate population for
cities of 25,000 or more. Sufficient data were unavail
able for native white females of native born parents.
10
For the child/woman ratio, not enough information was
given to calculate a ratio for native white women. Since
the child/woman ratio of native and foreign born white
women differed significantly, it was pointless to calcu
late a separate ratio for white women in non-Southern
310
cities which would have lumped together these two very
different groups of women. Therefore only an aggregate
child/woman ratio was computed. Because of these limita
tions and because of questions raised regarding the
11
accuracy of the 1910 female employment data, the
analysis of the 1910 data was more limited than that done
for other years.
By 1910 many of the data were presented in ready
to-use form. The tables of conjugal condition provided
information about the conjugal status of both the aggre
gate female population and native white females of native
born parents, and the total number of males and females,
15 or older, for the aggregate population and native whites
of native born parents. The age tables contained the data
for constructing the child/woman ratios. Occupation
tables provided figures both for the number of females of
the aggregate population , 10 or older, and the number of
employed females.
Only for 1920 was information available for all
of the variables and all of it was presented in imme
diately usable form. As with the 1910 census, information
regarding the number of males and females, 15 or older
and the conjugal status of females came from the tables
of conjugal condition. Information regarding females 10
or older and their employment came from the tables of
311
occupations. Most of the data were contained in the 1920
Census. The one exception was the information about the
child/woman ratio which was found in the U.S., Department
of Commerce, Ratio o·f Children to wo· men. In addition to
containing data for cities of 25 000 for all of the vari
ables, the 1920 census also presented a breakdown for
child/woman ratio and conjugal . condition into an urban
(2,500 or more) and a rural (2,500 or less) category.
Thus for these variables, a determination of whether
places between 2,500 and 25,000 in size were more "urban"
or more "rural" was made. Unfortunately , since comparable
information regarding employment in places 2,500 or more
and 2,500 or less was not given, it was not possible to
determine whether places 2,500-25,000 in population were
more "urban" or more "rural" with respect to female employ
ment.
As can be seen from the prec~ding pages, each
census posed a slightly different set of problems. But
in spite of the difficulties presented by the inconsist
encies and limitations of the data, the United States
census and related special reports offer a rich source of
material for the historian which, if used wisely, will
provide valuable new insights into the history of the
city.
312
NOTES
1
All simple calculations were performed on a
Texas Instruments SRl0 hand calculator. More complicated
statistical operations (mean, standard deviation, and
variance, t-test for paired variates, and Pearson Correla
tion Coefficient) were performed on a Wang 600 desktop
computer. See M. J. Moroney, Facts from Figures (Balti
more: Penguin Books, 1951); H. T. Hayslett, Statistics
Made Simple (Garden City: Doubleday & Co., 1968);
William Guenther, Concepts of Statistical Inference (New
York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1965), for discussions of
these statistical tests.
2
The original plan had been to follow. a classifi
cation schema somewhat on the order of that proposed by
Chauncy Harris, "Functional ~ ::.assification of Ci ties in
the United States," Geographical Review 33 (January 1943):
86-99. The more recent and detailed typologies such as
Robert Atchley, "A Size-Function Typology of Cities,"
Demography 4, no. 2 (1967) :721-733, required much more
information than was available in the censuses.
3
For most of the years under study, no breakdown
between the total engaged in trade and the total engaged
in transportation was given. In 1920, trade and trans
portation figures were presented separately and an analy
sis of each one's impact was made.
4
The states found in each region are as follows.
North Atlantic: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massa
chusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey,
and Pennsylvania. South Atlantic: Delaware, Maryland,
Washington, D.C., Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina,
South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. North Central:
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota,
Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and
Kansas. South Central: Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama,
Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.
Western: Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona,
Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and California.
313
5
For 1870, some states with cities of 25,000 had
to be omitted for various reasons. Alabama-the pre·-1887
records for Mobile were destroyed by fire. Illinois
Cook County records were destroyed by fire in 1871. South
Carolina--divorce was illegal except between 1872 and 1878.
Also, Cincinnati was not included in the Ohio total since
its records were destroyed by fire in 1884.
6
There was no list of towns of 2,500 or more in
the 1870 census.
7
cincinnati and Mobile records were incomplete.
(See footnote 5.)
8
The census itself points out certain limitations
in the data regarding conjugal condition: no attempt was
made to discover whether or not people who reported them
selves as married had previously been widowed or divorced.
Also, a person might report himself or herself as married
in an effort to conceal a separation from a spouse. (See
U.S., Department of the Interior, Eleventh Census 1890,
vol. 1, Population, pt. 1, p. lxxviii.)
9
Because of limitations in the information avail
able, the child/woman ratio of native born white women was
calculated rather than that of native whites of native
born parents. To arrive at the native born white rate,
figures for native whites of native born parents for chil
dren under five, and native whites of native born parents
plus native whites of foreign born parents for the women
20-44 were used.
10
Although the number of employed native white
females of native born parents, 10 or older, in cities of
100,000 or larger was given, the corresponding number of
total native white females of native born parents, 10 or
older was not available.
11
see the following two studies. Robert Smuts,
Women and Work in Ameri• ca (New York: Columbia University
Press,, 1959); Smuts, "The Female Labor Force," pp 71-79.
314
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347

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Creator Wilson, Margaret Gibbons (author)

Core Title Women and the city, 1870-1920

School College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program History

Degree Conferral Date 1977-08

Publication Date 08/19/1977

Defense Date 08/19/1977

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