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===Women===
===Women===
The legal status of women in the 19th-century trans-Mississippi West has drawn the attention of numerous interpreters, whose analyses fall into three types: 1) the [[Frontier Thesis]] inspired by [[Frederick Jackson Turner]], which argues that the West was, among other things, a liberating experience for women and men; 2) the reactionists, who view the West as a place of drudgery for women, who reacted unfavorably to the isolation and the work in the West; and 3) those writers who claim the West had no effect on women's lives, that it was a static, neutral frontier. The history of Montana shows that the Turner thesis best explains the improvement in women's status in Montana and the achievement of suffrage in 1914.<ref> Judith K. Cole, "A Wide Field for Usefulness: Women's Civil Status and the Evolution of Women's Suffrage on the Montana Frontier, 1864-1914". ''American Journal of Legal History'' 1990 34(3): 262-294 </ref>
Women played a crucial role in holding together Montana farms and ranches during the first half of the 20th century. Through oral interviews many of these women are now providing a clearer picture of farm life, demonstrating that women's economic role in farm life was central, not peripheral. As managers, financiers, and laborers they contributed essential daily support to farm operations.
The status of women in the 19th-century trans-Mississippi West has drawn the attention of numerous interpreters, whose analyses fall into three types: 1) the [[Frontier Thesis]] inspired by [[Frederick Jackson Turner]], which argues that the West was, among other things, a liberating experience for women and men; 2) the reactionists, who view the West as a place of drudgery for women, who reacted unfavorably to the isolation and the work in the West; and 3) those writers who claim the West had no effect on women's lives, that it was a static, neutral frontier. The history of Montana shows that the Turner thesis best explains the improvement in women's status in Montana and the achievement of suffrage in 1914.<ref> Judith K. Cole, "A Wide Field for Usefulness: Women's Civil Status and the Evolution of Women's Suffrage on the Montana Frontier, 1864-1914". ''American Journal of Legal History'' 1990 34(3): 262-294 </ref>
Margery Jacoby was a typical Great Plains teacher at the turn of the 20th century. She began teaching in Montana at 15 with a first-class certificate gained by examination. She lacked formal training but attended summer school to improve her skills. She taught because her family needed the money, and she wanted independence and an opportunity to advance her own learning. The need for teachers in the West and the belief that women were natural teachers for the young also contributed to her entry. Like other Plains schoolmarms, Jacoby was a Westerner by birth and changed teaching jobs frequently. Unlike most, she was elected county superintendent of schools, served two terms, married and quit the profession. However, she never lost interest in the classroom and her daughters later became teachers.<ref> Kathleen Underwood, "Schoolmarms on the Upper Missouri." ''Great Plains Quarterly'' 1991 11(4): 225-233 </ref>
Margery Jacoby was a typical Great Plains teacher at the turn of the 20th century. She began teaching in Montana at 15 with a first-class certificate gained by examination. She lacked formal training but attended summer school to improve her skills. She taught because her family needed the money, and she wanted independence and an opportunity to advance her own learning. The need for teachers in the West and the belief that women were natural teachers for the young also contributed to her entry. Like other Plains schoolmarms, Jacoby was a Westerner by birth and changed teaching jobs frequently. Unlike most, she was elected county superintendent of schools, served two terms, married and quit the profession. However, she never lost interest in the classroom and her daughters later became teachers.<ref> Kathleen Underwood, "Schoolmarms on the Upper Missouri." ''Great Plains Quarterly'' 1991 11(4): 225-233 </ref>
===Towns===
In Eastern Montana, the rural towns have evolved from a large number of widely dispersed villages in 1900, through a period of expansion over the first thirty years of 20th century, to a pattern of relatively concentrated population and businesses in an urban-based economy by 2000. Mechanization, especially the rapid replacement of horses by tractors after 1945, meant one family could operate a much larger farm, so some farmers bought out their neighbors, who then moved to town along with the surplus children.
Most rural communities declined steadily in population after 1920. A few, such as Miles City, Havre, and Lewistown, grew in population, expanded their economic base, and experienced an increase in their market areas for a limited range of goods and services. These communities also became centers of employment for their own and surrounding (farm and nonfarm) population. The rural economy diversified far beyond its exclusively agricultural base, with service employment in education and medicine important, as well as small-scale factories. Interstates and paved highways, along with cell phones and internet coverage encouraged a concentration in fewer, larger centers, which drew customers and clients from a wide radius. The discovery of oil and gas along the Dakota border gave a new lease to towns such as Glendive and Sidney in region previously known for extremely brutal winter weather.
In mountainous Western Montana, as the mining camps and lumber regions faded in importance, tourism grew rapidly and many areas attracted wealthy families looking for a second home where fishing, hunting, hiking and the wildlife could be enjoyed, together with good restaurants close by. Kalispell was especially attractive, as were the college towns of Missoula and Bozeman. Red Lodge, an old coal mining town, remade its self image and attracted tourists..
===Copper===
===Copper===