Throughout history women have often, if not always, been second-best to men. Women have frequently been denied the rights and opportunities that men have had. For years a women’s only role was to stay home and care for the family. This belief became widely popular in the “cult of domesticity” movement in the 1800’s. The cult of domesticity was the belief that women should stay home as ‘moral guardians’ of family life. They were expected to be weak, nurturing, and selfless (2). Many women opposed this belief, and started to fight for equality. The Women’s suffrage movement helped bring many changes to society’s view of women and their rights. The campaign for women’s suffrage began in the decades before the civil war. At the same time, many people started looking for reforms. People started temperance clubs, religious movements and moral-reform societies, anti-slavery organizations–and in many of these, women played a prominent role (3). The first big step in women’s suffrage was made in 1848, when women’s rights activists Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott invited men and women to Seneca Falls, NY to discuss the problem of women’s rights. At this convention, the delegates produced a Declaration of Sentiments that states “We hold these truths to be self-evident...that all men and women are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (3). In the 1850’s the women’s rights movement gathered momentum, but lost it when the Civil War began, because attention became focused on the war and the abolition of slavery. Women’s rights were put to the side. Then in 1869 the National Woman Suffrage Association, led by Susan B Anth... ... middle of paper ... ...ger, William L. Barney, and Robert M. Weir. The American Journey: A History of the United States. Fourth ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998. Print. 3) History.com Staff. "The Fight for Women’s Suffrage." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. 4) Imbornoni, Ann-Marie. "Women's Rights Movement in the U.S." Infoplease. Pearson Education, n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. 5) "15th Amendment to the Constitution." Web Guides: Primary Documents in American History. The Library of Congress, n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. 6) Williamson, Heidi. "Women's Equality Day: Celebrating the 19th Amendment's Impact on Reproductive Health and Rights." Center for American Progress. Center for American Progress, 26 Aug. 2013. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. 7) Rosenberg, Jennifer. "Flappers in the Roaring Twenties." About.com 20th Century History. About.com, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
Bender, David L. The Women's Rights Movement, Opposing Viewpoints: Greenhaven Press, Inc., San Diego 1996
"The Women's Rights Movement, 1848–1920." The Women's Rights Movement, 1848-1920. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013. .
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.
Staff, History.com. "The Fight for Women’s Suffrage." 2009. History.com. A+E Networks. 06 May 2014. .
During America's early history, women were denied some of the rights to well-being by men. For example, married women couldn't own property and had no legal claim to any money that they might earn, and women hadn't the right to vote. They were expected to focus on housework and motherhood, and didn't have to join politics. On the contrary, they didn't have to be interested in them. Then, in order to ratify this amendment they were prompted to a long and hard fight; victory took decades of agitation and protest. Beginning in the 19th century, some generations of women's suffrage supporters lobbied to achieve what a lot of Americans needed: a radical change of the Constitution. The movement for women's rights began to organize after 1848 at the national level. In July of that year, reformers Elizabeth Cady Stanton(1815-1902) and Lucretia Mott (1793-1880), along with Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) and other activists organized the first convention for women's rights at Seneca Falls, New York. More than 300 people, mostly women but also some men, attended it. Then, they raised public awar...
During the last 4 months, I’ve studied a lot about Canadian history and come across many great historical events that have shaped Canadian identity. The two most defining moments between the years 1900 to 2000 were women’s suffrage which was an issue to determine if women should have the right to vote or not. The other defining moment for Canada was Expo 67, which was the most successful worlds fair in history.
The fight for women’s rights began long before the Civil War, but the most prominent issue began after the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments joined the Constitution. The rights to all “citizens” of the United States identified all true “citizens” as men and therefore incited a revolution in civil rights for women (“The Fight for Women’s Suffrage”). The National Women’s Suffrage Convention of 1868
Some of the great women who were willing to deal with those things were Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Jane Hunt, Mary McClintock, and Martha C. Wright. These women gave this movement, its spark by conducting the first ever women’s rights convention. This convention was held in a church in Seneca Falls in 1848. At this convection they expressed their problems with how they were treated, as being less than a man. These women offered solutions to the problem by drafting the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions.
Women’s rights are constantly a topic of media discussion today, but the movement back in the 1800s was much less conspicuous than the movement of today, making it more successful. The main problem with women’s rights today is the lack of child care for working mothers. Women in the past were expected to stay at home and take care of the children while the man went out and earned the money for the house. Nobody batted an eye when men were never home to see their children, but when women began joining the workforce, it was suddenly unacceptable for them to not be home with the kids all the time, making them bad mothers.
Immediately after its passage by the Senate the Suffrage Amendment was signed. Guest was limited to representatives of that National American Woman Suffrage Association. Women have the same rights as men, because of the 19th Amendment. The 19th Amendment was formed in 1878, but didn’t pass until 1920. For 70 years, women fought for this law to pass. Women were treated as second class citizens. Women wanted the same rights as men, regarding their gender. August 26th is the anniversary date of the Nineteenth Amendment. It is called Women’s Equality Day.. The Amendment was brought to congress over women suffrage. These women fought for their rights for 70 years. Finally getting the amendment ratified on August 18, 1920.
Cooney, Robert. Winning the vote: The Triumph of the American Women Suffrage Movement. California: American Graphic Press, 2005. Print.
Jane Addams, Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. These women lived at the turn of the century, and fought vehemently for a cause they believed in. They knew that they were being discriminated against because of their gender, and they refused to take it. These pioneers of feminism paved the road for further reform, and changed the very fabric of our society.
The entire Women’s Movement in the United States has been quite extensive. It can be traced back to 1848, when the first women’s rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. After two days of discussions, 100 men and women signed the Declaration of Sentiments. Drafted by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, this document called for equal treatment of women and men under the law and voting rights for women. This gathering set the agenda for the rest of the Women’s Movement long ago (Imbornoni). Over the next 100 years, many women played a part in supporting equal treatment for women, most notably leading to the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which allowed women the right to vote.
"Rights for Women." Rights for Women. National Women's History Museum, 2007. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
University of South Carolina, 2004. Pearson Education. Info please. Almanacs: “Key Events in Women’s Rights Movement” 2005 31 March 2005. Wohlpart, Jim.