Major Problems in American Women's History

Major Problems in American History

by Sharon Block (Editor), Ruth M. Alexander, Mary Beth Norton

Designed to encourage critical thinking about history, the Major Problems in American History series introduces students to both primary sources and analytical essays on important topics in U.S. history. Major Problems in American Women's History is the leading reader for courses on the history of American women, covering the subject's entire chronological span. While attentive to the roles of women and the details of women's lives, the authors are especially concerned with issues of historical interpretation and historiography.

Genres: History, American History, Nonfiction, Textbooks, Gender

592 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Sharon Block is an associate professor of history at the University of California Irvine.

Reviews

[Andy]

An outstanding text for students of gender studies. Recommended for personal or formal studies.

[Hannah DN]

A+ book on feminism. Covers major topics. Isn't particularly compelling in the sense of radical feminism, but it's a good historical guide.

[Bennett]

4/5*

A comprehensive and interesting collection of primary sources and academic essays about women in American history, starting with the American Revolution, and moving through the antebellum period, post-Civil War America, the gilded and progressive eras, the interwar period, World War I, and the Cold War. It ends with an in-depth analysis of so called “third wave” feminists after 1990. The authors explore things like women’s activism (in organizations dedicated to temperance and abolitionism, as well as those focused on women’s labor rights, political rights, and reproductive rights), social and cultural barriers/opportunities for women (Republican Motherhood, slavery, access to the public sphere, women and work, consciousness raising groups, education, marriage, racism, class differences), and how the past can be used to better understand the issues women face today.

It is evident that the essays and primary sources were carefully selected by the editors. Despite having studied marginalized populations throughout American history for years, I learned a great deal while reading Major Problems. I hope for a fourth edition that includes women in “Trump’s America” and the “me too” movement.

Highly recommend for people interested in learning about how women adapted to and challenged gender norms throughout American history.

[Timothy]

A textbook of primary sources and essays in contemporary women's issues. The focus has become increasingly on the sexual nature of women's lives which is tied to the trend toward this topic in history. In addition, the text has become more pluralistic in it approach to the multiple meanings of what it means to be a women in the United States.