Question 1 (Document-Based Question): 55 Minutes

Question 1 (Document-Based Question): 55 minutes

Suggested Reading period: 15 minutes

Suggested writing period: 40 minutes

Directions: Question 1 is based on the accompanying documents. The documents have been edited for the purpose of this exercise. You are advised to spend 15 minutes reading and planning and 45 minutes writing your answer.

Write your responses on the lined pages that follow the question.

In your response you should do the following:

•  State a relevant thesis that directly addresses all parts of the question.

•  Support the thesis or a relevant argument with evidence from all, or all but one, of the documents.

•  Incorporate analysis of all, or all but one, of the documents into your argument.

•  Focus your analysis of each document on at least one of the following: intended audience, purpose, historical context, and/or point of view.

•  Support your argument with analysis of historical examples outside the documents

•  Connect historical phenomena relevant to your argument to broader events or processes.

•  Synthesize the elements above into a persuasive essay that extends your argument, connects it to a different historical context, or accounts for contradictory evidence on the topic.

1.  Compare and contrast the roles of American women in the 1920s with those of women in the 1950s.

Document 1

Source: Welles Page, Ellen; “A Flapper’s Appeal to Parents”; The Outlook; magazine article; 1922
I want to beg all you parents, and grandparents, and friends, and teachers, and preachers—you who constitute the “older generation”—to overlook our shortcomings, at least for the present, and to appreciate our virtues. I wonder if it ever occurred to any of you that it required brains to become and remain a successful flapper? Indeed it does! It requires an enormous amount of cleverness and energy to keep going at the proper pace. It requires self- knowledge and self-analysis. We must know our capabilities and limitations. We must be constantly on the alert. Attainment of flapperhood is a big and serious undertaking!
[…]Most of us, under the present system of modern education, are further advanced and more thoroughly developed mentally, physically, and vocationally than were our parents at our age. We hold the infinite possibilities of the myriad of new inventions within our grasp. We have learned to take for granted conveniences, and many luxuries, which not so many years ago were as yet undreamed of. We are in touch with the whole universe. [...]We are the younger generation. The war tore away our spiritual foundations and challenged our faith. The times have made us older and more experienced than you were at our age.

GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.

Document 2

Source: Johnstone, Will B. ; 1920s cartoon; exact date unknown

GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.

Document 3

Source: 1950 Tide Detergent Magazine Advertisement; Artist Unknown

GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.

Document 4

Source: Harry Henderson, “The Mass-Produced Suburbs: How
People Live in America’s Newest Towns.” Harper’s Weekly,
November 1953. (Harry Henderson based his observations on
extensive visits, observations, and interviews in 1950s suburbs.)
The daily pattern of household life is governed by the
husband's commuting schedule. It is entirely a woman's day
because virtually every male commutes. Usually the men
must leave between 7:00 and 8:00 A.M.; therefore they rise
between 6:00 and 7:00 A.M. In most cases the wife rises
with her husband, makes his breakfast while he shaves, and
has a cup of coffee with him. Then she often returns to bed
until the children get up. The husband is not likely to be back
before 7:00 or 7:30 P.M.
This leaves the woman alone all day to cope with the needs
of the children, her house-keeping, and shopping. (Servants,
needless to say, are unknown). When the husband returns,
he is generally tired, both from his work and his traveling. . . .
Often by the time the husband returns the children are ready
for bed. Then he and his wife eat their supper and wash the
dishes. By 10:00 P.M. most lights are out.
For the women this is a long, monotonous (boring) daily
[routine]. Generally the men, once home, do not want to
leave. They want to "relax" or "improve the property" -putter
around the lawn or shrubbery. However, the women want a
"change." Thus, groups of women often go to the movies
together.

GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.

Document 5

Source: Goldin, Claudia; NBER Working Paper Series: “Discrimination Against Married Women Workers, 1920s to 1950s” ; 1988 [EXCERPT]
By the 1950s firms could no longer ignore older, married women and certain aspects of the workplace were altered. The marriage bar, which at its height affected 75% of all local school boards and more than 50% of all office workers, was virtually abandonedin the 1950s. The rhetoric of the workplace changed as well. Wherea married woman was once an anomaly, perceived as an inefficient worker, she was now the coveted employee. In mid-1950s one personnel director, whose firm had previously barred married women, praised older women's "maturity and steadiness," and another noted "they are more reliable than the younger [female workers]."

Document 6

Source: Chafe, William H. “Women in the Early to Mid-20th Century (1900-1960): Social and Economic Conditions”; 1990 essay
The employment rate for women in the 1950s increased four times faster than that for men. Significantly, the greatest changes occurred among women who before World War II had not usually been employed. The number of married workers grew from 7.5 million in 1947 to 10.4 million in 1952. The number of mothers at work leapt 400 percent, from 1.5 millionto 6.6 million. And the percentage of wives who were employed in households where the husband earned between $7000-10,000 a year (clearly a middle-class salary in the 1950s) increased from 70 percent in 1950 to 25 percentin 1960. By the early 1960s, more than half of all women college graduates were at work compared with only 36 percent of those with just a high school diploma. Almost none of these women were holding jobs that were in competition with men. Most were trapped in dead-end sales and clerical positions, with little chance of promotion or increased wages. Yet they were doing jobs that women in their class and position had not previously held.

GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.

Document 7

Source: Joanne Meyerowitz, “Beyond the Feminine Mystique: A
Reassessment of Postwar Mass Culture, 1946-1958.” The Journal of
American History, Vol. 79, No. 4 (Mar., 1993), pp. 1455-1482.
Meyerowitz examined 489 articles in eight monthly magazines from the 1950s.
The Woman’s Home Companion (a popular women’s
magazine) conducted opinion polls in 1947 and 1949 in
which readers named the women they most admired. In
both years the top four women were [women involved in
politics].
The postwar popular magazines were also positive about
women’s participation in politics. The Ladies’ Home Journal
had numerous articles that supported women as political and
community leaders. One article in the Ladies’ Home Journal
from 1947 encouraged women to “Make politics your
business. Voting, office holding, raising your voice for new
and better laws are just as important to your home and your
family as the evening meal or spring house cleaning.”

END OF DOCUMENTS FOR QUESTION 1

Isabella Browning

Katelyn Ke

Natasha Collier

Justin Interiano

DBQ SCORING NOTES

Prompt: Compare and contrast the roles of American women in the 1920s with those of women in the 1950s.

Thesis

Possible thesis statements could include the following:

·  Although both the 1920s and 1950s saw increased job opportunities for women, the '20s became an era of liberation from tradition while the '50s emphasized the family unit and the idea of women as family caretakers.

·  The feminist movement most visibly took a stronghold in the 1920s, as women were given the right to vote, while the ideal woman in the 1950s was viewed as inept without her husband.

·  The 1920’s and 1950’s were both decades of change for how the world viewed women; however, the 20’s focused on a more radical liberation and the 50’s put more emphasis on the woman being the homemaker.

·  In the 1920s and the 1950s, women saw increased job opportunities and involvement in politics; however, the ‘20s saw more radical defiance of gender stereotypes among young women with the popularity of the flapper image, while ‘50s women were expected to learn home skills and to only to work until marriage.

Analysis of Documents

As explained in the scoring notes, to earn full credit for analyzing documents, responses must include at least one of the following for all or all but one of the documents: intended audience, purpose, historical context, author’s point of view. Although examples of these elements are listed below, these examples of analysis must explicitly be used in support of a stated thesis or a relevant argument.

Document 1

Source: Welles Page, Ellen; “A Flapper’s Appeal to Parents”; The Outlook; magazine article; 1922

·  Intended audience: American adults during the 1920

·  Purpose: to explain flapper culture and how the younger generations in the 1920s differ from the older ones

·  Historical context: Written during the Golden Age and during Prohibition, flapper culture greatly influenced what women were expected to become, with many flapper women having day jobs and wearing more revealing clothing.

·  The author’s point of view: written by a young flapper woman who presents the idea that the women of her generation are not to be looked down upon by older age groups, but rather, should be admired and accepted.

Document 2

Source: Johnstone, Will B. ; 1920s cartoon; exact date unknown

·  Intended audience: General American public

·  Purpose: to demonstrate the liberation of women during the 1920s

·  Historical context: The fashion and urban culture of the 1920s encouraged freedom that led to women becoming flappers, wearing revealing clothing and turning against what was initially viewed as acceptable for women to do in public.

·  The author’s point of view: created by a man who critiqued the change in women’s image in the 1920s with the advent of flapper culture.

Document 3

Source:

·  Intended audience: Women in the 50’s

·  Purpose: To sell Tide soap to women by targeting the stereotypical 1950s housewife

·  Historical context: Women were viewed as the homemakers of the household, and therefore products which catered to that image, such as Tide soap, were marketed towards women and depicted wives and mothers in their advertisements.

·  The author’s point of view: Women are happy being the cleaners of the home and find joy in doing household chores.

Document 4

Source: Henderson, Harry; “The Mass-Produced Suburbs: How People Live in America’s Newest Towns.” Harper’s Weekly, November 1953.

·  Intended audience: Readers of Harper’s Weekly, People not living in the suburbs

·  Purpose: To reveal the patterns of daily life for women in 1950s suburbia

·  Historical context: Following World War II, many white families moved to the suburbs, resulting in women being expected to become housewives in new suburban homes.

·  The author’s point of view: written by an observer of suburban life who viewed women’s daily routines as housewives in the 1950s as boring, repetitive, and unfortunate.

Document 5

Source: Goldin, Claudia;”Marriage Bars:Discrimination Against Married Women Works, 1920’s to 1950’s.” National Bureau of Economic Research, October 1988.

·  Intended audience: Historians, students

·  Purpose:To contrast the extent of discrimination to married women in a social and economic aspect from the 1920’s to the 1950’s.

·  Historical context:The changing problems faced by women workers throughout the time span of 30 years, focusing on the start and rise of the push for women equality.

·  The author’s point of view: Written by a professor of economics at Harvard University, Ms. Goldin is one to advocate the discrimination of unequal pay between the genders.

Document 6

Source: Chafe, William H.; "Women in the Early to Mid-20th Century (1900-1960): Social and Economic Conditions"; essay; 1990

·  Intended Audience: historians, students

·  Purpose: to inform his audience on the changing roles of women in the 20th century

·  Historical context: Employment rates for women were rising during the 1950s and many more women were married because it was generally more accepted in society to be married and have a family.

·  The author’s point of view: written by a man who researched the expansion of the role of women in the workforce in the 1950s.

Document 7

Source: Meyerowitz, Joanne; “Beyond the Feminine Mystique: A Reassessment of Postwar Mass Culture, 1946-1958.” The Journal of American History, Vol. 79, No. 4 (Mar., 1993), pp. 1455-1482.

·  Intended Audience: historians, students

·  Purpose: To reveal how women of the 1950s had interest in politics, despite stereotypes.

·  Historical context: 1950s women’s interest in politics and women in politics exemplifies similarities with women of other post-women’s voting rights generations,despite the expectations of society discouraging them.

·  The author’s point of view: written by woman who examined magazines in the 1950s and created conclusions on the interests of women at the time.

Analysis of outside examples to support thesis/argument

Possible examples of information not found in the documents that could be used to support the stated thesis or a relevant argument could include the following:

·  I Love Lucy/The Honeymooners (1950s)

·  The idea of the "New Woman"

·  Flapper culture

·  Changes in fashion in the 1920s

·  The increased popularity of home economics classes in the 1950s

·  American conformity in the 1950s as a result of the Cold War

·  First woman to be elected to congress-Jeanette Rankin (1916)

·  The number of women and men voting is approximately equal for the first time. -1957

·  19th Amendment ratified- 1920

·  “White Flight” phenomenon

Contextualization: Students can earn a point for contextualization by accurately and explicitly connecting historical phenomena relevant to the argument to broader historical events and/or processes. These historical phenomena may include, but are not limited to, the following: