What American Women Did, 1789-1920: A Year-by-Year Reference - Softcover

Coppens, Linda Miles

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0786432454 ISBN 13: 9780786432455

Publisher: McFarland, 2007

Synopsis

This reference book chronicles what American women did from the emergence of the republic through the end of World War I and the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. A broad spectrum of activities are depicted, showing their many accomplishments and how their activities affected the world around them. It was an era of great transition for all women.

A who's who of American women and some men (those who showed great support or, ironically, great opposition to women's reform) are described one year at a time, beginning with 1789 and ending with 1920. Each year's activities are organized into seven possible categories: domesticity, work, education, religion, the arts, the law and politics, and joining forces. The book is thoroughly indexed.

About this title

About the Author:

Linda Miles Coppens is an independent scholar who lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. Her doctorate is in geography; with a history specialization; and she has worked as an archivist. Her current research is on the classicist Edith Hamilton.

From Booklist:

This conveniently sized, chronologically arranged recounting of the American woman's role in the life of the U.S. is divided by year from 1789 to 1920. Under each year are listed one or more of seven categories: "Domesticity," "Work," "Education and Scholarship," "Religion," "Arts," "Law and Politics," and "Joining Forces." Use of these categories facilitates a more thematic approach than the event-by-event listing found in other chronologies. For example, the "Education and Scholarship" section under 1888 considers the professional careers of two women, Annie Nathan Meyer, who founded Barnard College, and Lucy Maynard Salmon, who taught history at Vassar.

The author, an independent scholar and writer, has produced a readable work that gives a relatively comprehensive view of the impact women had on national life from the inception of the American republic to the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, granting women the vote. Frequent, well-placed black-and-white photos and period reproductions are matched with such extensive and informative captions that each constitutes a complete entry in itself. This commentary, which often serves to point up subliminal messages about the status of the women pictured, is one of the strong points of the book.

Entries range in length from two or three column inches to several pages, depending upon the activity in a given category in a given year. It is not always easy to tell how an entry relates to the year under which it is listed, because many entries discuss activities that occurred over several years, and specific dates are provided infrequently. Names of women notable for their achievements, support of, or opposition to women's movements are noted in bold type, as are the names of men who were particularly influential in extending or denying rights to women. There is no cross-referencing. A number of statistical tables are included after the body of the work, as are source notes, a six-page bibliography, and an index that is useful for looking up names, less useful for topics.

Narrower in focus than the Handbook of American Women's History [RBB D 15 00], What American Women Did is a valid supplemental work, especially suitable for colleges and universities with strong women's studies programs. Recommended for high-school public, and academic libraries.

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About this edition

• Publisher: McFarland
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0786432454
• ISBN 13: 9780786432455
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 271