To Kill a Mockingbird

A world where women didn’t receive equal pay for the same work, couldn’t apply to the same colleges, or have equal job opportunities as a man, or even serve in the military (except in nursing positions) is an idea completely unthinkable to many citizens of the United States today. Although a society where these restrictions are customary is immoral and oppressive, before the 1930s, it was widely accepted. In the late 1920s and early 1930s many women began to make a strong effort to gain rights in The United States of America. Because of the efforts of these women, during the 1930s women began to receive more rights. This trend continued as women’s roles in society became greater and more important over time and up to this day. The women who stood up for their rights in the 1930s have significantly affected the rights and responsibilities that women have in modern times in the United States. The rights that women had in the 1930s are shown in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird by the prejudices and expectations of women in Maycomb, Alabama. In the 1930s and early 1940s, women were mostly only housewives and mothers, but this changed as women began to demand more rights. Their role at home and in society was mainly to take care of their home and children and take direction from men, especially their husbands. If a woman did work, she was often a teacher, secretary, nurse or worked in domestic service. In and before the early 1930s women began to fight for their rights and other beliefs by forming committees and organizations. In 1930 women in the Women’s Committee of the Council for Interracial Cooperation took a strong stand against lynching and in 1931 the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom lead a caravan protest across the country to support the World Disarmament Conference. In 1935, Mary McLeod Bethune organized the National Council of Negro Women, a coalition of 14 groups of African-american women. As women showed the affect that they could