Women, Schooling, and Labor Force Participation, 1900–1920: Some Reflections on the Use of Quantification in Social History

WOMEN, SCHOOLING, AND LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION, 1900-1920: SOME REFLECTIONS ON THE USE OF QUANTIFICATION IN SOCIAL HISTORY C h r i s t i n e M. Shea College of Human Resources and Education West V i r g i n i a U n i v e r s i t y Morgantown, West V i r g i n i a " T h a t B i t c h - g o d d e s s , QUANTIFICATION!" c r i e d s o c i a l and i n t e l l e c t u a l h i s t o r i a n C a r l Bridenbaugh i n h i s 1962 p r e s i d e n t a l address t o the American H i s t o r i c a l A s s o c i a t i o n . ! The memory o f h i s e x c l a m a t i o n rang through my ears as I read t h e p a p e r , "Women, S c h o o l i n g , and Labor Force P a r t i c i p a t i o n . " But t h e n I paused—wondering—what was i t t h a t so c h a l l e n g e d my h i s t o r i c a l p e r s p e c t i v e when I read t h i s paper by P r o f e s s o r Rury? While understanding and sympathetic t o t h e concerns of many o f my f e l l o w h i s t o r i a n s , i t seems t h a t many of t h e r e c e n t c r i t i q u e s of q u a n t i f i c a t i o n have f a l l e n wide of the mark. My concern i s not t h a t o f P e t e r Loewenberg who charged t h a t q u a n t i t a t i v e methods are " . . . ego synt o n i c f o r p e r s o n a l i t i e s who need emotional defenses a g a i n s t e x p e r i e n c e . " 2 N e i t h e r do I t h i n k t h a t my concerns are d e f i n e d by C. Vann Woodward, one of our l e a d i n g American i n t e l l e c t u a l h i s t o r i a n s , who observed: . . . t r a d i t i o n a l h i s t o r i a n s have reacted d e f e n s i v e l y and b e l l i g e r e n t l y [when] c o n f r o n t e d w i t h equations they cannot r e a d , w i t h t e c h n i q u e s t h e y cannot understand, [ a n d ] w i t h copious d a t a beyond t h e i r comprehension. They see t h e i r a u t h o r i t y c h a l l e n g e d , t h e i r h u m a n i s t i c values t h r e a t e n e d , t h e i r canons o f c r i t i c i s m r...