AboutSonia Pressman Fuentes Expertise I am one of the founders of the second wave of the women`s movement. I was a founder of NOW and FEW (Federally Employed Women) and the first woman attorney in the Office of the General Counsel at the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). I am an expert in the history of the women`s movement in the 1960s and '70s, especially in the provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited employment discrimination based on sex, among other things.
Experience I have been involved in women's rights since 1965.
Organizations I belong to NOW and the Veteran Feminists of America nationally and the Brandeis University National Women's Committee in Sarasota, FL. I am a member of the board of Americans United for Separation of Church and State in Sarasota, FL. My writing has appeared in law and other journals, newspapers and magazines, both in hard copy and online, all over the world. Examples are the "Washington Post"; the Kielce-Radom Special Interest Journal for Jewishgen.com; "Outlook," Canada's progressive Jewish magazine; The Philippines Law Journal; "Common Sense," an international law journal; "Jewish Affairs," in South Africa; and "Frontiers," a feminist law journal.
Education/Credentials I have a B.A. from Cornell University, where I graduated Phi Beta Kappa and an LL.B. from the University of Miami School of Law, where I graduated first in my class.
Awards and Honors Superior Performance Award at the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission); Medal of Honor from the Veteran Feminists of America; induction into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame; inclusion in various Who's Who of Women publications; inclusion in "Women of Achievement in Maryland History" reference work; Women at Work award.
Question When the typewriter was first patented and produced, is it true that women whose husbands died or, at times, divorced them, could assume the position of going to a school and learning how to use the typewriter in order to get a job that saved their name and gained them money, instead of having to be a prostitute or going to debtor's jail, therefore saving the lives of women and putting them one more step ahead to the women's suffrage movement?
It appears clear that the invention of the typewriter provided jobs for women, but I don't know that they had to be widows or divorcees--it would have provided jobs for lots of women, including single never married women, widows and divorcees. I don't know that I'd go so far as to say this kept them from having to be a prostitute or going to debtor's jail or that it had much to do with suffrage. The suffrage movement began in 1848 at Seneca Falls before the invention of the typwriter.
Wikipedia has this to say about debtors' prisons in the US:
"In 1833 the United States reduced the practice of imprisonment for debts at the federal level. Most states followed suit. It is still possible, however, to be incarcerated for debt: debts of fraud, child-support, alimony, or release fines can land a citizen in jail or prison, or prevent one’s release."
The first practical typewriter was invented by Christopher Latham Sholes and was marketed by the Remington Arms company in 1873, a time when imprisonment for debts at the federal level had already been reduced and was later followed by the states.
While jobs for women were limited, certainly prostitution wasn't the only choice. Women could certainly have found jobs at salespersons, librarians, cooks and housekeepers, clerks, entertainers, artists, or in businesses for themselves. I think it's sufficient to say that the invention of the typewriter opened up jobs for women.
