Hello, I'm Mr. Marchant, and I'll be your history teacher for today.

I'm really looking forward to starting our learning journey together, and my role will be to make sure that you can meet today's learning objective.

Welcome to today's lesson, which is part of our Unit on Civil Rights in the USA.

Well, we've been asking ourselves, how successful was the Civil Rights Movement in America? By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain the successes and challenges faced by the Feminist Movement in the USA in the 1960s and 1970s.

There are two keywords which will help us navigate our way through today's lesson.

Those are abortion and contraceptive.

And abortion is the deliberate act of ending a human pregnancy.

And a contraceptive is a method used to prevent pregnancy.

Today's lesson will be split into three parts.

And we'll begin by asking ourselves, what was the Feminist Movement? In the 1960s, the Feminist Movement began to develop in the USA.

This movement demanded equality for women in America and supported measures to freedom from male control.

A number of factors contributed to the development of the Feminist Movement during the 1960s, including the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women.

Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique." And the Civil Rights Movement.

So we'll think about the influence of each of these factors in turn.

So, we'll start by considering the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women.

After being set up by President Kennedy in 1961, the Commission reported on widespread discrimination in the workplace.

These findings shocked Americans and raised awareness of significant inequalities between men and women.

For example, the report found that women earned around 60% less than men in the same jobs.

That only 4% are lawyers, and 7% of doctors were female.

And that in some jobs, such as cabin crew workers, women could still be legally fired if they were married.

So let's reflect on what we just heard.

What did the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women do? Did it encourage discrimination against women? It punished employers who discriminated against women, or it raised awareness in discrimination against women? Pause video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, welcome to everybody who said that the correct answer was C.

The Presidential Commission on the Status of Women raised awareness of discrimination against women.

For example, it reported that on average women were earning around 60% less than men in the same jobs.

Another factor which helped the Feminist Movement to develop was Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique." Betty Friedan was a female author.

And her book, "The Feminine Mystique" was published in 1963.

Friedan's book challenged the common view held in America that becoming housewives was the best thing for women to do.

"The Feminine Mystique" did this by highlighting that many housewives actually felt depressed and undervalued.

Betty Friedan's book quickly sold millions of copies and encouraged many women to campaign for change.

So let's make sure we have a secure understanding of what we just heard.

I want you to write the missing word from the following sentence.

"The Feminine Mystique" challenge the idea that American women should become blank.

So what's the missing word? Pause a video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the missing word was housewives.

"The Feminine Mystique" challenged the idea that American women should become housewives by revealing that many actually felt undervalued and suffered from depression.

And a third important influence on the Feminist Movement was the Civil Rights Movement.

The 1950s and 1960s witnessed widespread direct action and other challenges to racial discrimination launched by the Civil Rights Movement.

The success of the Civil Rights Movement in achieving change encouraged many women to believe that women's rights could also be improved in America.

So what impact did the Civil Rights Movement have on feminism in America? Was it A, convinced women that their rights could be improved? Did it convince women that their rights could not be improved? Or did it convince women that male leadership was needed for change? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was A.

The Civil Rights Movement helped to convince women that their rights could be improved, as they saw many instances of racial discrimination challenged and overcome in America.

In 1966, Betty Friedan and other campaigners set up the National Organisation for Women, also known as NOW.

NOW demanded complete equal rights for women, legalised abortion, and the right to paid maternity.

NOW members were mainly middle-aged women who organised petitions, marches, and legal challenges to instances of sex-based discrimination.

So what was the name of the feminist campaign group founded by Betty Friedan and others in 1966? Pause video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was the National Organisation for Women or NOW.

There were many organisations other than NOW involved in the Feminist Movement though.

Many younger women joined more radical groups in the Women's Liberation Movement and became known as the Libbers.

At the 1968, Miss America beauty pageant, 400 Libbers gained national publicity as they threw a number of products they called instruments of female torture into a freedom trashcan.

The binned items included mops, high-heels, makeup and even bras.

So let's reflect on what we've just heard.

Which group was most likely to become Libbers? Was it old women, middle-aged women or young women? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was C.

Where is most members of NOW were middle-aged women.

The Women's Liberation Movement was mostly made up of radical young women who became known as Libbers.

So we're now in a good position to put all of our knowledge about what the Feminist Movement was into practise.

In 50 words or less, I want you to summarise what the Feminist Movement was.

You should include as many of the following words in your summary as possible.

Freedom, Libbers, equality and NOW.

Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your response.

Okay, really well done for all of your effort on that task.

Especially, because that 50 word limit made it really difficult and you had to consider what was the most important information to include in your summary.

So I asked you to summarise what the Feminist Movement was, and your answer may have included, "The Feminist Movement hoped to free women from male control and achieve equality between the sexes.

Key feminist leaders included Betty Friedan, who helped found NOW in 1966 to increase the pressure for change.

Other feminist groups also emerged, such as the more radical Libbers in the Women's Liberation Movement." So really well done if your own summary look something like that model, which we've just seen.

And now we can move on to the second part of today's lesson where we are going to think about feminist achievements.

During the 1960s and 1970s, progress for women's rights inequality were made across a number of areas of life, in part due to sustained pressure for the Feminist Movement.

Achievements included, restrictions on discrimination in the workplace, greater sexual freedoms for women, and improved political representation.

In the 1960s and 1970s, a series of new laws were introduced that targeted discrimination against female workers.

In 1963, the same year that the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women reported its findings, the Equal Pay Act was passed, targeting the gender pay gap by making it illegal to pay women less for the same work as men.

The following year, the 1964 Civil Rights Act also banned discrimination based on sex in the workplace.

By 1972, a national campaign by NOW helped push the US Congress into passing the Educational Amendment Act, which guaranteed equal educational opportunities for men and women.

The same year, Congress also approved a change to the US Constitution known as the Equal Rights Amendment, or the ERA.

The ERA declared that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied by the United States or by any state on account of sex.

This amendment promised to extend equal treatment between men and women to all aspects of life rather than just the workplace as most previous laws had focused on.

So let's reflect on what we've just heard.

Which of the following aimed to ban discrimination against women in all areas of life? Was it the 1963 Equal Pay Act? The 1964 Civil Rights Act, or the 1972 Equal Rights Amendment.

Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was C.

The 1972 Equal Rights Amendment aimed to ban discrimination against women in all areas of life.

Women in the USA also gained more sexual freedom during the 1960s and 1970s as restrictions over women's bodies and relationships were overturned.

In 1965, all married couples were given the right to access contraceptives, allowing women to have sexual relationships with reduced risk of becoming pregnant.

Many feminist campaigners also focused on abortion rights as a key issue.

As in most American states, women could only have one in very specific circumstances, such as if they had been raped or if their life was at risk if they gave birth.

In 1973, in the Roe v Wade case, the Supreme Court declared that all women had the unrestricted right to a safe and legal abortion during the first three months of a pregnancy.

As a result, anti-abortion laws were overturned across the USA and would remain so until 2022.

Progress was also made in female political representation.

In 1968, Shirley Chisholm became the first Black female member at the US House of Representatives and would play an important role in organising other African American members in the following years.

In fact, although she was ultimately unsuccessful, Chisholm even gained the support of over 400,000 members at a Democratic party to be its candidate for the 1972 presidential election.

So let's check our understanding of everything that we've just heard.

We have a statement on the screen that says, women gained greater access to contraceptives, but not abortion.

Is that statement true or false? Pause video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that that statement was false, but we need to be able to justify our response.

So two justifications have appeared on the screen.

The first says that in the Roe v Wade case, the Supreme Court declared that all women whose health was at risk had the right to an abortion.

And the second says that in a Roe v Wade case, the Supreme Court declared that all women had the right to an abortion.

So which one of those two justifications is correct? Pause video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct justification was B.

In the Roe v Wade case in 1973, the Supreme Court declared that all women had the right to an abortion during the first three months of a pregnancy.

And let's try another question.

What was the name of the first African American woman to be elected to Congress? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the answer was Shirley Chisholm.

Shirley Chisholm was not only the first female, Black member of Congress, but Chisholm also received the support of 400,000 members at the Democratic Party in her run to become president.

So, we're now in a good position to put all of our knowledge of feminist achievements into practise.

I want you to explain two ways in which it could be argued that women's lives improved in the USA during the 1960s and 1970s.

You should ensure that the types of improvements which you identify are distinct from one another.

So pause a video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your responses.

Okay, well done for all of your hard work on that task.

So I asked you to explain two ways in which it could be argued that women's lives improved in the USA during the 1960s and 1970s.

And your answer may have included that, "During the 1960s and 1970s, women gained more legal equality with men and protection against discrimination based on sex.

For instance, in 1963, the Equal Pay Act made it illegal to pay female workers less than men who completed the same work.

Similarly, in 1972, the Education Amendment Act required female students to be offered the same opportunities as male students.

This meant that women gained more rewards for their work and faced less restrictions on their opportunities to progress with studying and in their careers." So really well done if part of your answer look like that model, which we've just seen there.

And your answer may also have included, "During the 1960s and 1970s, women gained more control over their own bodies.

A key issue for the Feminist Movement was sex and abortion, and progress was made in these areas to help women have sexual relationships without the risk of becoming pregnant.

For example, in 1965, all married couples gained the right to use contraceptives.

Eight years later, the Roe v Wade case saw the Supreme Court rule that all women had the right to a safe and legal abortion during the first three months of pregnancy, overturning anti-abortion laws in many US states." So again, really well done if part of your answer look like that model, which we just seen there.

And now we are ready to move on to the third and final part of our lesson for today.

Where we are going to focus on the challenges faced by the feminist movement.

Despite the various successes of the Feminist Movement, it also encountered a number of challenges and setbacks during the 1960s and 1970s.

In particular, the movement found that there was still opposition in many parts of American society to the changes it hoped to achieve.

The introduction of new laws did not immediately lead to less discrimination against women.

Despite the Equal Pay Act and Civil Rights Act, women's average pay remained considerably lower than men's by the mid-1970s.

In 1975, a woman's average income in the USA was just under 60% of the average man's just as it had been in 1965.

Similarly, the failure of businesses to do more to increase the diversity of their workforces led to now finding a sex discrimination complaint with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance against 1,300 corporations in 1970.

Lack of change was also an issue in politics.

Between 1973 and 1975, just 16 members of Congress, 3% of all representatives were women.

Although this was marginally higher than a number at any time between 1963 and 1973, it was still fewer than the 20 women who had sat in Congress between 1961 and 1963.

Similarly, as was the case under Kennedy and Johnson, no permanent members of President Richard Nixon's cabinet between 1969 and 1974 were women.

So reflecting on what we've just heard, how many women were appointed to permanent positions in President Nixon's cabinet? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the answer to that question was zero.

This was the exact same number as had been the case under President Johnson and also President Kennedy as well.

And let's try another question.

Which statement is most accurate? The Equal Pay Act made little difference to the gender pay gap.

The Equal Pay Act significantly increased the gender pay gap, or the Equal Pay Act significantly reduced the gender pay gap.

Pause video here and press play when you're ready to see the right answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was A.

The Equal Pay Act made little difference to the gender pay gap in America.

In 1975, women were earning on average about 60% as much as men, nearly the same as had been the case back in 1965.

Similar changes which the Feminist Movement hoped to achieve were because of outright opposition from other groups in America.

For instance, whilst the US Congress approved a programme to make childcare facilities more widely available in 1972, which would've allowed more mothers to return to work, these plans were blocked by President Nixon who considered them a threat to traditional family life.

Furthermore, was Congress approved the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972, the amendment required the support of at least 38 states before it could be added to the US Constitution.

However, a widely supported Stop ERA campaign was organised to pressure state governments not to support the change.

The Stop ERA campaign was led by a woman, Phyllis Schlafly, who suggested the amendment was a threat to both traditional family values and certain protections women had traditionally enjoyed.

Schlafly warned that ERA would lead to women being drafted like men to fight in the US Army in Vietnam, that abortion rates would rise and that it would also permit same sex marriages.

Despite the efforts of groups like now, the Stop ERA campaign proved successful.

35 states officially supported ERA, but this was short of the threshold needed to introduce the amendment.

So let's reflect on what we've just heard.

Who is the leader of the Stop ERA campaign? Was it Betty Friedan, Phyllis Schlafly, or Richard Nixon? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody who said that the correct answer was B.

The leader of the Stop ERA campaign was Phyllis Schlafly, who argued that the ERA was a threat to both traditional family values and certain protections women had traditionally enjoyed.

So we're now in a good position to put all of our knowledge of the challenges faced by the Feminist Movement into practise.

I want you to study Aisha's statement.

She says that the Feminist Movement only faced serious opposition from male politicians in the 1960s and 1970s.

But how accurate is Aisha's view at the challenges faced by the Feminist Movement in the 1960s and 1970s? Explain your answer.

So pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your response.

Okay, well done for all of your hard work on that task.

So I asked you, how accurate is Aisha's view at the challenges faced by the Feminist Movement in the 1960s and 1970s? And your answer may have included, "Aisha is correct that the Feminist Movement did encounter some significant opposition from male politicians.

For example, a programme to make childcare more accessible in 1972 was blocked by President Nixon, who considered the plans a threat to traditional family values.

Nevertheless, Aisha's view is not accurate as many male politicians did prove willing to support certain goals at the Feminist Movement.

For instance, Congress approved the ERA in 1972 to make sex-based discrimination unconstitutional, despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of its members were men.

Furthermore, serious opposition to the Feminist Movement emerged from many different parts of American society.

For example, the failure to make ERA an official part of the US Constitution was largely the result at the Stop ERA campaign, which was led by Phyllis Schlafly, who was neither a politician nor male.

Many different groups remained attached to ideas of traditional values in the 1960s and 1970s, and often opposed the efforts of feminist to achieve changes in areas such as full legal equality, employment and abortion.

So really well done, if your own answer looks something like that model, which we've just seen.

And that means we'd now reach the end of today's lesson, which puts us in a good position to summarise our learning about the Feminist Movement in the USA.

We've seen the increased awareness of inequalities between men and women help the Feminist Movement to grow in the 1960s.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the US government passed multiple laws providing women with equal treatment under the law.

Women gained more sexual freedom as legal restrictions around the use of contraceptives and access to abortions were overturned.

A significant gender pay gap continued into the 1970s though.

A new rights and freedoms for women faced opposition from various groups, including conservative women like Phyllis Schlafly, who led the Stop ERA campaign.

So really well done for all of your effort during today's lesson.

It's been a pleasure to help guide you for our resources.

And I look forward to seeing you again in future as we think further about social and civil changes in the USA during the 1960s and 1970s.