To understand the significant change in the role of the women is to understand its roots. Traditionally, women in colonial America were limited in the roles they played or limited in their "spheres of influence." Women were once seen as only needed to b ear children and care for them. Their only role was domestic; related to activities such as cooking and cleaning. A married woman shared her husband's status and often lived with his family. The woman was denied any legal control over her possession, land, money, or even her own children after a divorce. In a sense, she was the possession of her husband after marriage. She "... was a legal incompetent,

The 1960s was finally the climax of the women's movement. The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by Congress under Title VII, prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. (Rappaport 252) This law could have not been passed at a better time. "Statistics [have] showed that the number of women over 35 years of age in the work force had jumped from 8.5 million in 1947 to almost 13 million in 1956." (Kaledin 64) Female employment had increased at a rate four times faster than that of men. The proportion of wives at work had doubled from 15 percent in 1940 to 30 percent in 1960. (Kaledin 65)

"During World War 1 (1914-18) women were given the opportunity to work in jobs previously held by men. Though they lost these jobs when the men returned, they had tasted freedom and independence, and liked it. By 1920 changes in marital laws, new ideas of sexual liberation, availability of birth control devices, and opportunities for college education greatly expanded the options of middle-class women. Mass-produced goods freed them from some housework. They could buy factory-made clothes for their families instead of sewing them. They bought canned and baked goods instead of doing all the cooking and baking themselves. Oil furnaces, indoor running water, vacuum cleaners, electric irons had also simplified work. The new mass communications of the radio and women's magazines contained advertising that campaigned to get women to buy the newest and best of everything--household appliances, cosmetics, and the latest fashions." (Rappaport 210)

As the 19th was a milestone for women's movements, the 20th century was a landmark of change for women. Support for women's suffrage grew and by 1914 seven western states and the Territory of Alaska voted for women's suffrage. The 20th century was also a change in all areas of society and the way women lived, as America heads into World War 1 and its aftermath. It was also the dawn of technology that changed women's roles as well.

Feelings of their own gender being excluded from practically every sort of opportunities economically, politically, and socially emerged during the 19th century as they fought for reform and a change in their "sphere of influence." This feeling became the spark of the many movements as America approached the 19th century and beyond.

After World War 2, society had already adapted to the changing role of women. Their occupations in industry was no longer seen as unusual. Women faced less and less criticism for having jobs outside the household. It took society over two centuries to change it traditions but it was all worth it. "Never Underestimate the Power of a Woman," (Kaledin 17) became a well-known slogan in the 1950s as changes continue to happen. Even with some setbacks as women were laid off from their jobs when veterans returned back from the war, their continued on to fight for better jobs and their rights as women equal to men. (Zeinert 98-99)

"Daughters had long been denied access to schooling in favor of their brothers," (Clinton, 17) The majority of

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Approximate Word count = 2052
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)