Women During the 1920s

Happy International Women's Day! Over the course of time there have been many women leaving incredible marks in the world, including many back to the 20s. In our American Studies course, I was apart of the group that covered women and their prominence in this time period, including a few people to be discussed. These three prominent figures were Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and Margaret Sanger. Both Paul and Burns were American suffragists who partook in protests constantly in hopes of helping towards the ratification of what is known as the 19th Amendment. They often worked side by side, Alice being recognized as the leader strategist and Burns being the organizer. Both ladies were part of the hunger strike which happened during one of their several arrests, and resulted in them and other women being forced fed. Despite being involved in a lot of their work together, both had their independent impacts. Paul is known for having established a legacy of nonviolent actions. Burns took on many protests on her own, including various situations in which she would picket and spread messages via banner(s). Eventually these voices as well as many others were heard upon the ratification of the amendment- women were finally allowed to vote. Aside from Alice and Lucy, there is also Margaret Sanger, who was a birth control activist and easily recognized as the founder of the modern birth control movement. She opened the first birth control clinic in America, which led to a trial (and appeal) to which she made a point that for women to have an equal stance in society, they are to be making their own decisions, including whether or not to bear a child. This, of course, was also influential on health matters- being able to prevent other dangerous situations (an example being unsafe abortions). These, however, are only three examples of uncountable women who fought very hard to make their resilience and strength heard. Still today, women are striving for what they truly deserve, and proving themselves by each day as well. A day such as today is important to commemorate past and present women for contributing so much to the world just as anybody else.