In the book “Major Problems in California History”, there are two decades in two chapters that share some similarities and differences. For example, Chapter 5 discusses about women playing a role during the California Gold Rush, while Chapter 8 discusses about women progressives who created and took part in the progressive movement in California. Both chapters take place in different decades, while Chapter 5 takes place during the 1850’s – 1870’s, Chapter 8 takes place during the early 1900’s. A similarity both of these chapters share is that both chapters discuss about women having a major role in two important decades in California. On the other hand, both chapters are different because they take place during a different time period in California. …show more content…
Both decades are similar because during the 1850’s – 1870’s, women played an important role during the Gold Rush in California. While, during the 1900’s women played a major role in the progressive movement in California. For example, in the first essay of Chapter 5 the author JoAnn Levy states, “Enterprising women engaged in almost every occupation and inhabited every level of society.” Author JoAnn Levy also states, “Women mined for gold, raised families, earned substantial sums by their domestic and entrepreneurial labors, and stayed on to help settle the land, contributing a facet of gold rush history that until now has been largely overlooked and forgotten.” In addition, Chapter 8 shares a similarity in Gayle Gullet’s essay where she states, “Women in California won the vote in 1911 and fundamentally changed the status of their citizenship.” The author Gayle Gullet also states, “Women reformers searched for ways to further transform their citizenship, they wanted to go beyond enfranchisement and acquire more political power, thereby enhancing both their membership and position in the American …show more content…
While Chapter 5 has a woman named Louisa Clapp describe her experience as a gold “mineress” in the Gold Rush, Chapter 8 has a woman named Mary S. Gibson who provided leadership for the Americanization movement. For example, in Chapter 5 the gold “mineress” Louisa Clapp states, “Nothing of importance has happened since I wrote you, except that I have become a “mineress”, having washed a pan of dirt with my own hands, and procured therefrom three dollars and twenty-five cents in gold dust.” Louisa Clapp also states, “Each woman who was a gold “mineress” would exhibit on her return, at least twenty dollars of the “oro”.” In comparison, the author Gayle Gullet states, “Mary S. Gibson created a place in government where women wrote, directed, and carried out policy.” Also, the author Gayle Gullet states, “Gibson transformed her hometown of Los Angeles into a showplace of Americanization, and became an officer of the California Federation of Women’s Clubs.” Author Gayle Gullet also states, “Mary Gibson’s most significant contribution was her home teacher program, which was an innovation designed to send female teachers into the immigrant home to teach the foreign mother “American”