Daily Life of Women in the Progressive Era

Book excerpt: The political and social change of the Progressive Era brough conflicts over labor, women's rights, consumerism, religion, sexuality, and many other aspects of American life. This book illuminates the everyday experiences, priorities, and challenges of women in the Progressive Era. From the barnstorming "bloomer girls" who showed America that women could play baseball to film star, tycoon, and co-founder of the Academy of Motion Pictures Mary Pickford, and from the highly skilled "Hello Girls"--telephone operators who helped win World War I--to the remarkable journalist and civil rights activist Ida Wells-Barnett, women led both famous and ordinary lives that were shaped by and helped drive the dramatic social change taking place during the Progressive Era. -- From publisher's description.