Everyone knows that back then "men" meant mankind as in humans, women were included. They didn't need to be told their lives were of equal worth then, they already knew.
They could also be secretaries, teachers, nurses, midwives. During World War I and World War II women took over the men's roles in factories. Where I live women dominated the textile industry in the 19th century. The left don't teach this because it doesn't fit their narrative of "muh women kept barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen until the 1970s"
You don't need to know too much history to understand that the South from the civil war to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 tended to be opposed to minority rights. The more liberal a congressman or senator was the more likely he would vote for the Civil Rights Act.
That's why Strom Thurmond left the Democratic party soon after the Civil Right Act passed. He recognized that of the two parties, it was the Republican party that was more receptive to his message and the South gradually became home to the conservative party, while the north became home to the liberal party.