All that we take for granted was once a long way coming, and while looking at the progressive politics of Victoria Woodhull, it’s difficult to believe she’s not breathing and advocating her causes today. A monumental women’s suffragist, she practiced what she preached and became the first of her gender to start a weekly paper, become a stockbroker, and even run for president in 1872 with Frederick Douglas while her politics on the likes of free love and gender equality transcended nearly all mindsets of her time. Though her attempts at radical politics were frequently shut out by a conservative nation and she never did attain the offices she and the Equal Rights Party dreamed of, her endeavors and successes continue to inspire and remind us of the heavy ground we have yet to tread today.
Born a bright child with six siblings and an illiterate mother, she set out in an attempt to better herself through the prospects of marriage at the age of fifteen with a doctor. As she learned of his alcoholism she divorced, an action deemed unthinkable at the time, and later went on to marry the anarchist James Blood to prove her self worth was not determined by society’s view on a woman’s sexual history. Despite the fact that their marriage had lasted eleven years, she found love yet again and did not hesitate to divorce. Through the perils of her marriages Victoria was provided all the reason she need be for her support of free love, which had only recently been established by the likes of feminist authors such as Mary Wollstonecraft and was then regarded as a taboo subject. During her speech in Steinway Hall she was not object to openly stating that she had ‘a natural right to love who I may,’ and said speech is mainly remembered for her con...
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...n, she remained strong and later went on to publish The Humanitarian with her daughter from her first marriage.
Works Cited
"THE CLAFLIN FAMILY. - Arrest of Victoria Woodhull, Tennie C. Claflin and Col. Blood--They Are Charged with Publishing an Obscene Newspaper. - View Article - NYTimes.com." THE CLAFLIN FAMILY. - Arrest of Victoria Woodhull, Tennie C. Claflin and Col. Blood--They Are Charged with Publishing an Obscene Newspaper. - View Article - NYTimes.com. N.p., 03 Nov. 1872. Web. 06 Feb. 2014.
Goldsmith, Barbara. "About Victoria Woodhull." RSS 20. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2014.
Shearer, Mary L. "About Victoria Woodhull." RSS 20. N.p., 27 Oct. 1999. Web. 06 Feb. 2014.
"Victoria Woodhull (1838–1927)." Open Collections Program: Women Working,. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2014.
"Victoria Woodhull Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2014.
Martin Pugh, in his evaluation of women’s suffrage, focuses his narrative on the Victorian Suffragists, especially from the 1870s to 1890s, arguing- unlike many other historians- that their contribution to the securing of votes for women was instrumental. Presented through 10 essays, focusing on specific topics related to the Suffragist movement, Pugh provides an in depth analysis of both the tactics and political climate the Victorian Women’s Suffrage movement faced. Organised in roughly chronological order, the prose is fluent with constant reference to central ideas featuring in each text, consolidating Pugh’s point.
While being born in the modern times, no woman knows what it was like to have a status less than a man’s. It is hard to envision what struggles many women had to go through in order to get the rights to be considered equal. In the essay The Meanings of Seneca Falls, 1848-1998, Gerda Lerner recalls the events surrounding the great women’s movement. Among the several women that stand out in the movement, Elizabeth Cady Stanton stands out because of her accomplishments. Upon being denied seating and voting rights at the World Antislavery Convention of 1840, she was outraged and humiliated, and wanted change. Because of Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s great perseverance, the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 was a success as well as a great influence on the future of women’s rights.
Emily Murphy played a vital role in helping women reach a level of true equality during the twentieth century. When visiting a prairie farm, Emily Murphy noticed a stressed woman. The woman was stressed because her husband had sold their land and ran off to the United States, leaving the woman homeless. Becoming very determined, Emily Murphy set out to change the law. In 1911, the Dower Act was finally passed in Alberta, which gave women the right to own one-third of their husband’s property.1 Emily Murphy's important decision to help amend the law in a way that it was beneficial to women showcases her determination to make sure women got their rights. Even though the law was not totally fair, it still shows that Emily Murphy took an initiative and helped women reach a step closer to their goal. Before Murphy took this essential action, many women were left homeless, since they had no right over their husband's property, and if she had not done so, many more women would fall victim. Women being able to own property was a significant matter in those days, and this was only made possible with the ...
Fern, Fanny. Ruth Hall & Other Writings. Ed. Joyce W. Warren. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 1986.
I have read Kathryn Kish Sklar book, brief History with documents of "Women's Rights Emerges within the Antislavery Movement, 1830-1870" with great interest and I have learned a lot. I share her fascination with the contours of nineteenth century women's rights movements, and their search for meaningful lessons we can draw from the past about American political culture today. I find their categories of so compelling, that when reading them, I frequently lost focus about women's rights movements history and became absorbed in their accounts of civic life.
Women throughout the suffrage act were faced with many challenges that eventually led into the leading roles of women in the world today. Suffrage leaders adopted new arguments to gain new support. Rather than insisting on the justice of women’s suffrage, or emphasizing equal rights, they spoke of the special moral and material instincts women could bring to the table. Because of these women taking leaps and boundaries, they are now a large part of America’s government, and how our country operates.
Women faced multiple challenges to establish themselves as equals to men throughout history however, this would have never been possible if not for social progress movements to eliminate gender barriers. Consider the statements of “that is woman’s work” and “that is man’s work”. First, imagine the year is 1920; what vision instantly comes to your mind in what was woman’s work and what was man’s work? Now, fast forward to current day; what instantly comes to mind in consideration of what is woman’s and man’s work? The comparison of the differences of 1920 and 2014 is night and day. Crystal Eastman, a socialist feminist, observed that the 19th Amendment was an important first step but that what women really wanted was freedom and equality. She was campaigning for the equivalence of women in social, political, cultural, and economic status. In the essay titled "Now We Can Begin," she laid out a plan toward this goal that is still relevant today and shared her vision of life that she wanted for herself and women across the nation. (Eastman)
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This movement which was inspired by the ideologies of courageous women and fueled by their enthusiasm and sacrifice is often unacknowledged by most historians in the chronicles of American History. Today the movement is often misunderstood as a passive, white upper class, naive cause. But a deeper study would reveal that the women’s suffrage movement was the one that brought together the best and brightest women in America, which not only changed the lives of half the citizens of United States but also changed the social attitudes of millions of Americans.
In 1917 when "A Jury Of Her Peers" was written, women were the homemakers. Although Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale fit the domest...
In the Victorian era, in New York City, men and women roles within the society were as different as night and day. A man regardless of his extra curricular activities could still maintain a very prevalent place in society. A woman’s worth was not only based family name which distinguished her class and worth, but also her profession if that was applicable.
To begin with, there are many events in United States history that have shaped our general understanding of women’s involvement in economics, politics, the debates of gender and sexuality, and so forth. Women for many centuries have not been seen as a significant part of history, however under thorough analyzation of certain events, there are many women and woman-based events responsible for the progressiveness we experience in our daily lives as men, women, children, and individuals altogether. Many of these events aid people today to reflect on the treatment of current individuals today and to raise awareness to significant issues that were not resolved or acknowledged in the past.
Schneider, Dorothy. American Women in the Progressive Era 1900-1920. New York: Facts on File, 1993.
“Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity” (von Garnier, 2004, part 10) and that is exactly what courage was viewed as when the women’s suffrage movement erupted in the mid 1800’s and it was quite the uphill battle from there. Iron Jawed Angels captures the height of the women’s suffrage movement with Alice Paul, a liberal feminist, as the front woman on the battle against Congress. Paul’s determination to pass a constitutional amendment can be seen through her dauntless efforts to go against the societal norms of the time to fight for women’s rights. Through the first wave of the women’s suffrage movement seen in Iron Jawed Angels, the struggles women endured for equality have a lasting impact on
Similar to many of the great feministic novels of its time, Jane Eyre purely emerges as a story focused on the quest for love. The novel’s protagonist, Jane, searches not only for the romantic side of love, but ultimately for a sense of self-worth and independence. Set in the overlapping times of the Victorian and Gothic periods, the novel touches upon both women’s supposed rights, and their inner struggle for liberty. Orphaned at an early age, Jane was born into a modest lifestyle, without any major parent roles to guide her through life’s obstacles. Instead, she spent much of her adolescent years locked in imaginary chains, serving those around her but never enjoying the many decadences life has to offer. It is not until Jane becomes a governess that many minute privileges become available to her and offer Jane a glance at what life could have been. It is on her quest for redemption and discovery that she truly is liberated. Throughout Charlotte Bronte’s classic novel Jane Eyre, the story’s protagonist Jane, struggles to achieve the balance of both autonomy and love, without sacrificing herself in the process.