The rise of feminism

Organized efforts by women to achieve greater rights occurred in two major waves. The first wave began around the mid-19th century, when women in the United States and elsewhere campaigned to gain suffrage-that is, the right to vote. This wave lasted until the 1920s, when several countries granted women suffrage. The second wave gained momentum during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, when the struggle by African Americans to achieve racial equality inspired women to renew their own struggle for equality. The awakening of consciousness that climaxed in a new wave of American feminism began at the close of World War II and not as is often mistaken believed in the 1960's. At the end of World War II, American women represented 36.1 percent of the national and according to the economists they controlled two-thirds of the country's wealth.