Molly Dewson, Womens Advocate During the New Deal

Molly Dewson, Women's Advocate During the New Deal Known for:  reformer, activist within the Democratic Party, womens suffrage activistOccupation:  reformer, public serviceDates:  February 18, 1874 - October 21, 1962Also known as: Mary Williams Dewson, Mary W. Dewson Molly Dewson Biography Molly Dewson, born in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1874, was educated in private schools.  Women in her family had been active in social reform efforts and she was educated by her father in politics and government. She graduated from Wellesley College in 1897, having been the senior class president. She, like many of the well-educated and unmarried women of her time, became involved with social reform.  In Boston, Dewson was hired to work with the Domestic Reform Committee of the Women’s Educational and Industrial Union, working to find ways to improve the conditions of domestic workers and make it possible for more women to work outside the home. She moved on to organize the parole department for delinquent girls in Massachusetts, focusing on rehabilitation. She was appointed to a commission in Massachusetts to report on industrial working conditions for children and women and helped inspire the first state minimum wage law. She began working for womens suffrage in Massachusetts. Dewson had lived with her mother, and retreated for a time in grief over her mother’s death. In 1913, she and Mary G. (Polly) Porter bought a dairy farm near Worcester.  Dewson and Porter remained partners for the rest of Dewson’s life. During World War I, Dewson continued to work for suffrage, and also served in Europe as the head of the Bureau of Refugees for the American Red Cross in France. Florence Kelley tapped Dewson to head up the National Consumers League effort after World War I to establish state minimum wage laws for women and children. Dewson helped with research for several key lawsuits to promote minimum wage laws, but when courts ruled against those, she gave up on the national minimum wage campaign. She moved to New York and there lobbied for an act limiting working hours for women and children to a 48 hour week. In 1928, Eleanor Roosevelt, who knew Dewson through reform efforts, got Dewson involved in leadership within the New York and national Democratic Party, organizing women’s involvement in the Al Smith campaign.  In 1932 and 1936, Dewson headed the Women’s Division of the Democratic Party. She worked to inspire and educate women to be more involved in politics and to run for office. In 1934, Dewson was responsible for the idea of the Reporter Plan, a national training effort to involve women in understanding the New Deal, and thus supporting the Democratic Party and its programs. From 1935 to 1936 the Womens Division held regional conferences for women in connection with the Reporter Plan. Already plagued with heart problems in 1936, Dewson resigned from the Womens Division director position, though continuing to help recruit and appoint directors until 1941. Dewson was an advisor to Frances Perkins, having helped her get the appointment as secretary of labor, the first woman cabinet member.  Dewson became a member of the Social Security Board in 1937. She resigned due to ill health in 1938, and retired to Maine. She died in 1962. Education Dana Hall SchoolWellesley College, graduated 1897

Demographic Transition Model

Demographic Transition Model The demographic transition model seeks to explain the transformation of countries from having high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates. In developed countries, this transition began in the eighteenth century and continues today. Less developed countries began the transition later and are still in the midst of earlier stages of the model. CBR CDR The model is based on the change in crude  birth rate (CBR) and crude death rate (CDR) over time. Each is expressed per thousand population. The CBR is determined by taking the number of births in one year in a country, dividing it by the countrys population, and multiplying the number by 1000. In 1998, the CBR in the United States is 14 per 1000 (14 births per 1000 people) while in Kenya it is 32 per 1000. The crude death rate is similarly determined. The number of deaths in one year is divided by the population and that figure is multiplied by 1000. This yields a CDR of 9 in the U.S. and 14 in Kenya. Stage I Prior to the Industrial Revolution, countries in Western Europe had high CBR and CDR. Births were high because more children meant more workers on the farm and with the high death rate, families needed more children to ensure the  survival of the family. Death rates were high due to disease and a lack of hygiene. The high CBR and CDR were somewhat stable and meant the  slow growth of a population. Occasional epidemics would dramatically increase the CDR for a few years (represented by the waves in Stage I of the model. Stage II In the mid-18th century, the death rate in Western European countries dropped due to improvement in sanitation and medicine. Out of tradition and practice, the birth rate remained high. This dropping death rate but the  stable birth rate at the beginning of Stage II contributed to skyrocketing population growth rates. Over time, children became an added expense and were less able to contribute to the wealth of a family. For this reason, along with advances in birth control, the CBR was reduced through the 20th century in developed countries. Populations still grew rapidly but this growth began to slow down. Many less developed countries are currently in Stage II of the model. For example, Kenyas high CBR of 32 per 1000 but low CDR of 14 per 1000 contribute to a high rate of growth (as in mid-Stage II). Stage III In the late 20th century, the CBR and CDR in developed countries both leveled off at a low rate. In some cases, the CBR is slightly higher than the CDR (as in the U.S. 14 versus 9) while in other countries the CBR is less than the CDR (as in Germany, 9 versus 11). (You can obtain current CBR and CDR data for all countries through the Census Bureaus International Data Base). Immigration from less developed countries now accounts for much of the population growth in developed countries that are in Stage III of the transition. Countries like China, South Korea, Singapore, and Cuba are rapidly approaching Stage III. The Model As with all models, the demographic transition model has its problems. The model does not provide guidelines as to how long it takes a country to get from Stage I to III. Western European countries took centuries through some rapidly developing countries like the Economic Tigers are transforming in mere decades. The model also does not predict that all countries will reach Stage III and have stable low birth and death rates. There are factors such as religion that keep some countries birth rate from dropping. Though this version of the demographic transition is composed of three stages, youll find similar models in texts as well as ones that include four or even five stages. The shape of the graph is consistent but the divisions in time are the only modification. An understanding of this model, in any of its forms, will help you to better understand population policies and changes in developed and less developed countries around the world.