During the Reconstruction era, women's lives in the North and South advanced economically, politically, and socially. Women were becoming part of the emerging consumer culture as they became more active in a political sector. As the ideal of “true womanhood” began to lose its importance in U.S. society, the New Woman began to gain popularity with higher levels of education, leisure, paid employment, and participation in politics. As women gained personal freedoms, restrictions were still placed on them to look and act a certain way compared to the previous model of true femininity, although its representation varied depending on the woman's race and social position. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay New higher education opportunities became available during the 1860s and 1919s. However, those who benefited most exclusively were wealthy white women. Thanks to their higher education, women could have better opportunities for jobs that were not considered suitable for women: administrative, clerical, legal, and political positions (Dubois and Dumenil 302, 327). Even the wealthiest women could run their own homes in the settlements; one of these women was Jane Addams. African American women were able to become shopkeepers and teachers, but complicating their new freedom was the establishment of Jim Crow laws and public lynchings under often false accusations. In Ida B. Wells' autobiography, Crusade for Justice, she described the lynching of her friend Thomas Moss as "an excuse to get rid of the Nergoes who were acquiring wealth and property... keeping the race terrified." Her testimony, as well as her involvement in further investigating the allegations made by lynching victims, led to her being kicked out of Memphis in 1892 (Dubois and Dumenil 314, 316). Unfortunately, working and lower-class women were not afforded the same opportunities for further advancement in U.S. society. They were sequestered into factory jobs, and their stay in settlement homes provided only temporary relief to their situation, although their lifestyle was respected (Dubois and Dumenil 368-9). In contrast to the education of immigrant women, the education that young Native girls received in government-run boarding schools was designed to assimilate them into the dominant American culture, as Americans felt there was a need for non-Americans to become civilized. For Native girls, it meant settling into domesticity and receiving harsh punishments – whipped or tied – if they “reverted to their Indian ways” or attempted to run away (Dubois and Dumenil 349). To receive funding, Indian boarding schools would submit images of Native girls before and after their “Americanization.” A pair of photos taken of three young Native girls before and after their assimilation show their hair cut, dressed in American clothing and sitting at a table. The only thing in common is the look of pain on their faces. Given their low status, it was rare for Native children to progress in society when very few achieved basic English literary skills. Since women had more free time for leisure, there was an expectation that women would be seen as presentable and beautiful when outside the home. Cosmetics, previously worn by prostitutes, were sold and presented to women as something to cover their flaws, attract future husbands,stand out from other women and set the standards of beauty for other women, especially girls. Further impetus to the sale of cosmetics and the creation of salons was the monitoring of a woman's appearance by men and other women, advertising, private door-to-door sales of cosmetics, and the expansion of cosmetics to be sold in local pharmacies (Peiss 373-4, 378). Wearing makeup and keeping up appearances was an indication of a woman's wealth and how much she valued herself. If a lower-class woman was seen without makeup in the public sector, she was considered inferior to middle- and working-class women who bought makeup and wore it while working. During the Progressive Era, wealthy women outside the home had the freedom to become philanthropists and activists. One of the most prosperous philanthropists was Madam C.J. Walker, daughter of enslaved parents, who acquired wealth and status in the cosmetics industry catering to African American women (Dubois and Dumenil 421). The growth of wage-earning women increased during the Progressive Era. In 1920, 20% of the workforce was made up of women, and over half of the workforce was made up of immigrant and/or non-white women. After the Civil War, nursing was no longer viewed as a “domestic service.” The teaching profession also evolved to the point that women could be professors. Although segregation was enforced in the North and South, black women were able to form their own schools in local communities to educate children during professionalization (Dubois and Dumenil 408-9). Despite these changes, women were still expected to become mothers and put aside their professional careers while children were young. Immigrant women, wives and daughters, were expected to become wage earners as they attempted to maintain old world customs. Their way of earning money was through housework for more affluent upper-middle-class white women. Given the increase in immigration, many lived in cramped and poorly maintained rooms. A photo taken by Jacob Riis for the New York Tribune shows five women staying perhaps temporarily in a police station with laundry hanging on the line and their only means of furniture and heating being a stove. Riis's photo reveals the extent of homelessness, the collapse of a working-class family, and why many immigrant women and why immigrant women felt the need to contribute a wage for their families (Dubois and Dumenil 392 ). With more and more women working outside the home, women have begun to express their opinions in a more public and political way. The most recent wave of the suffragist movement gave middle-class women a voice in political contexts by attracting the attention of wealthy and working-class women. However, funding for the marches and attention came from wealthy women's husbands. During what would be the women's era, women's organizations such as the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) granted women a voice in politics through demands for fair wages, the establishment of a week maximum working hours and the end of child labor. (Dubois and Dumenil 286, 309-10). Additionally, their alliance would bring more attention to women's suffrage, particularly with the endorsement of Susan B. Anthony and a shift toward changing women's suffrage. Some immigrant women joined women's movements with the promise of gaining freedom for themselves and perhaps their daughters (Dubois and Dumenil 363). Yet no women of color have been invited to participate in women's movements and organizations, nor are any women known to have been involved.