Women in Labor: Mothers, Medicine, and Occupational Health in the United States, 1890–1980. By Allison L. Hepler. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 2000. Pp. xii, 177. $18.95, paper.

B-Tier
Journal: Journal of Economic History
Year: 2001
Volume: 61
Issue: 1
Pages: 242-243

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 1 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Progressive Era reformers believed that women workers needed to be protected from the hazards of industry because women were mothers. These reformers defined motherhood broadly, maintaining that a mother's duties included caring for and rearing children and maintaining safe, moral, and healthy households. Maximum-hours limits and prohibitions on night work were intended to protect working women from being too fatigued to perform these duties. In Muller v. Oregon, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld gender-specific protection laws, justifying the state's role in this arena by asserting it was in the public interest “to preserve the strength and vigor of the race” (p. 23).

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:cup:jechis:v:61:y:2001:i:01:p:242-243_54
Journal Field
Economic History
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-26