In celebration of women's history month, the Gilded Gentleman is presenting this episode of the

Bowery Boys podcast, highlighting the women of the progressive era, from the Henry Street

settlement to the Cabrini Shrine, pioneers who saved the lives of thousands of New Yorkers in

need in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Hey, it's the Bowery Boys.

Hey.

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Hi there. Welcome to the Bowery Boys. This is Greg Young. I swear, this is Tom's last week away from the show,

but I will be joined in this episode by several guests who will help me tell a very special story.

Within just a few decades between the 1880s and the 1920s, so much social

change occurred within American life, upending so many cultural norms and advancing so many

important social issues that these years became known as the Progressive Era.

Now, we've talked about many aspects of the Progressive Era on this show.

Political reforms, labor movements, crackdowns on vice.

Even Prohibition itself is considered an end result, albeit a faulty one, of the progressive era.

But on today's show, I want to talk about one particular aspect of the movement,

the lives of women and children in the late 19th century.

The conditions of our world are so different today.

Parenting is totally different, well-being education.

Decent healthcare is a luxury in comparison to the 1890s. Playgrounds are now an assumed part of an urban environment. Women can give birth in sanitary conditions in the care of trained

professionals, and they can even decide for themselves whether to conceive a child at all.

All of these advancements in modern life came from the progressive era, and all of them

...