the setting
In the early 1800s, the American public caught a glimpse of Quaker life. The “Religious Society of Friends,” commonly known as Quakers, is a Christian community founded in England in the seventeenth century that holds beliefs and maintains practices that necessitate egalitarianism. For instance, Quakers do not generally address anyone with honorifics according to their sex, including “sir” or “ma’am.” Through the elimination of titles, neither gender is given a comparative advantage: there are fewer connotations based on gender titles. Similarly, the Quaker ideal that offered equal education for men and women made its way into American society.
The Quaker belief in egalitarianism affected issues aside from those of gender, one of the issues being race. During the 1800s, Quaker women partook in the Abolitionist movement, and through their participation, they gained experience in leadership roles. Lucretia Mott, a Quaker woman who is also regarded a pioneer in the Women’s Rights movement, was one of these women fighting the battle against slavery. By joining the Abolitionist movement, Lucretia Mott, as well as other Quaker women, acquired leadership skills while learning how a representative government works. The utilization of that knowledge expanded of their own freedom since they were unfamiliar with their inherent rights as American citizens prior to enlisting in the movement. Women acquired a sense of political independence, which translated into a desire to join the work force and spend less time performing household chores. Yet, businesses were not in dire need of employees due to the adequate and cheap performance of child laborers. Not until the Great Depression did women join the workforce due to the desperate need for any wages possible. Legislation to limit child labor was difficult to pass seeing as how wealthy business owners possessed a great deal of influence on the government and would not accept the loss of profits by being required to increase wages for adult workers. At the end of the 1920s, the Great Depression struck, which served as the impetus that brought about the decline of child labor. Adults, including women, were so desperate for jobs that they agreed to work for exceptionally low wages. Hoards of women entered the work force during this time. More economic opportunities were created for women, affording them with greater economic presence in the home, and consequently giving them more influence as the woman of the house.