Women's club (United States)

Women’s clubs, also known as woman's clubs, first arose in the United States during the post-Civil War period of the late 1860s, in both the Northern and Southern United States. As a result of increased leisure time due to modern household advances, middle-class women had more time to engage in intellectual pursuits. They established numerous women’s clubs, many with a primary function of "study clubs and reading circles". They also frequently supported social welfare goals, such as building of schools, public libraries and hospitals.