“Unattached” Women
A federal report on women receiving government assistance in Chicago.
Organized Labor and the New Deal
A page from a union scrapbook highlighting the involvement of women in Depression Era picket lines.
Activist Art on a World Stage
A sculpture created by Harlem Renaissance sculptor Augusta Savage for the 1939 World’s Fair.
Life Story: Mary Kawena Pukui, 1895–1986
The story of a woman whose Hawaiian heritage inspired her to resist Americanization and dedicate her career to cultural preservation.
Life Story: Emma Tenayuca, 1916–1999
The story of a labor leader who led a major food-industry strike in her early 20s and was eventually ostracized for her political beliefs.
Life Story: Dorothea Lange, 1895–1965
The story of a documentary photographer who captured the lives of citizens from the New Deal through World War II.
Life Story: Mary McLeod Bethune, 1875–1955
The story of a woman whose Progressive Era commitment to education and civil rights led to high-profile roles in New Deal America.
Life Story: Ellen Sullivan Woodward, 1887–1971
The story of Southern widow who transformed her need to work into a high-ranking government career.
The Jazz Age
The Jazz Age Key Ideas 1. Women exercised their newfound political and economic opportunities, shaping American society and consumer culture. 2. Mass production and expanding media allowed women of diverse backgrounds to access new styles and activities that were dramatically different from those of their mothers’ generations. 3. Although the 1920s saw rapid change, marriage, motherhood, and domestic life remained the main focus for most women, regardless of background. 4. The Nineteenth Amendment marked the end of a period of intense – and often unified – social activism. While women continued to fight for social and political change, activists divided across issues. Introduction Young women at outdoor sports event. Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. The Jazz Age The 1920s began with
Life Story: Mabel Walker Willebrandt
The story of the highest-ranking woman in the federal government who used her intellect and her network to enforce Prohibition and reform the prison system.
