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Womens suffrage in america
History of women's suffrage in united states
Womens suffrage in america
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America was supposed to treat everyone equally, although, when the country was founded, women were excluded from the right to vote. It was socially unacceptable. Women were continually taught, from a very young age, that they weren’t mature enough, or mentally capable of making decisions for themselves. This was an injustice to women, and, in order for them to gain justice, they had to fight for their right to vote, a right that should’ve been given to them from the beginning. The U.S. Constitution was adopted and signed in September, 1787. It had 10 amendments originally, bur since 1787, 17 amendments have been added, making a grand total of 27 amendments. One of these amendments was the 14th Amendment, which was ratified in 1868. Section …show more content…
At this point, they were simply fighting for social acceptance. Brave women began to give public speeches about their opinions on slavery and women’s rights. These women included Ernestine Rose, Abby Kelley Foster, and Lucy Stone. Several women also attempted to vote, but were either turned down or arrested for violating the law. About a decade later, the first National Women’s Rights Convention took place, due the fact that women’s suffrage had begun to become a very well-known concept among America’s female population. As suffrage continued, several suffrage organizations were established, two of which were on the national level. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton co-lead one, while Lucy Stone lead the other. Both groups were rivals for years, even though they both wanted primarily the same thing. Eventually, the two groups became allies and merged in the 1890, under the name National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) with Anthony as the leader. By 1916, a woman named Alice Paul formed the National Women’s Party (WWP). Unfortunately, over 200 of its supporters were arrested while picketing …show more content…
An article called “The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women’s Right To Vote” on www.archive.org says: “Few early supporters lived to see final victory in 1920.” But, if it weren’t for the first suffragists, we might not be where we are today. Because of them, women are treated more like human beings and less like livestock. Women can now vote freely, can play in female sports leagues, can work pretty much any job, or not work a job at all. America is now a far cry from where it was in the beginning. Life, for both the male and female populations, is equal and just. Although America wasn’t created equal to women, it is now. Women can now vote freely and do all the things men can do. The prolonged war for justice for women’s right to vote is over, a right that should’ve been given to them in the very beginning, has been given to them now. America now really is the home of the free and the home of the
(Nugent, p. 116) The amendment granted woman’s suffrage, and was the fruit of many years of labor of several women’s rights groups, such as the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and prominent women’s rights activists, such as Susan B. Anthony. The amendment expanded the bounds of popular democracy, bringing attention to women who felt increasingly ignored as participants in the political system (Piott, p. 166). Being the inalienable right of any citizen, the right to vote inevitably expanded the political freedom of American women, and also opened other doors of opportunity to them; they could advocate for more job opportunities, better economic security, and advantageous marital and family
The U.S. Constitution was completed on September 17, 1789 and has served as a model for the constitutions of many other nations. The constitution of the United States of America is the oldest written national constitution in use and consists of twenty-seven amendments.
For too long, women has been deprived equal rights as men. Even though women played a vital role in the building of this nation, they are deprived the rights of first class citizenship. Especially in the late 1800s and early 1900s, women were instrumental in upholding a traditional family values, they helped in the industrial age, they took care of war victims during the First World War, women worked overtime in the weapon factory to make sure the American military had a steady supply during the War and many more participation to ensure a smooth and enjoyable society is achieved. But men took their role for granted and refused to acknowledge their full importance and the amendment of the constitution to give them the rights to earn equal
Women, like black slaves, were treated unequally from the male before the nineteenth century. The role of the women played the part of their description, physically and emotionally weak, which during this time period all women did was took care of their household and husband, and followed their orders. Women were classified as the “weaker sex” or below the standards of men in the early part of the century. Soon after the decades unfolded, women gradually surfaced to breathe the air of freedom and self determination, when they were given specific freedoms such as the opportunity for an education, their voting rights, ownership of property, and being employed.
Susan B. Anthony was an equal rights activist and one of the founders of feminism. She was fined $100 for voting illegally in the 1872 election. She was outraged by this, and traveled the country speaking on women’s suffrage and equal rights. Though women weren’t given the right to vote until 14 years following her death, she delivered a powerful speech, now known as “Women’s Right to Suffrage” to express her anger with the lack of rights in this country. She argues that “we that people” isn’t just inclusive to white men, and that both men and women should be given equal opportunity. Today, Ms. Anthony’s words still echo into the hearts and minds of fourth wave feminists, like myself, and inspire them to continue fighting against inequality
What does “movement” mean? There are many definitions for the word. In this case, I am referring to a political meaning. Movement is a series of organized activities working toward an objective. There have been many groups in history to start up movements throughout the decades. One that stands out to me the most is the Women’s Suffrage Movement. Women’s movements are led by powerful, courageous women who push to better the lives’ of women or lives’ of others. Most familiar movements are those involved in politics, in efforts to change the roles and status of womanhood in society. Groups of women also attempt to improve lives of others with the help of religious and charitable activities. Either it was a political, religious, or charitable women’s movement, each woman of each group have made an impact on today’s view of women and achieved greater political involvement.
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.
Through the history, women have always fought for their rights creating a new space for their participation as citizens. After the First World War during the 1920s and 1930s new histories of women suffragettes have been written. During that period of time some activist groups were created, for instance, the Edwardian women’s suffrage movement that created in women a ‘Suffragette Spirit’ with the same goals and purposes even with the same militant procedures such as radical feminism that involved hunger strike and forcible feeding. This argument have become controversial due to different points of view in recent years. Another samples are the formation of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), a group led by Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst under an autocratic system; Women’s Freedom League (WFL), a self-proclaimed militant organization and National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS). These groups were formed in Britain giving way to creation of some texts that explain the actions of the feminist groups and were the basis to achieve the right of suffragettes. Furthermore, the author of this article talks about a second narrative published in 1914 by Constance Lytton that explain about her own experiences in a militant period and personal sacrifice in an attempt to vote. Finally, her experience of militancy had become the archetype of suffrage militancy. In addition, she became in a feminist and kept touch with important members of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). According to Lytton (cited in Mayhall, 1995: 326) She said that whilst she felt sympathy towards men, children and even animals – those that she said were ‘down-trodden’ – she had completely ‘been blind to the particular sufferings ...
However, the different kinds of views and perspectives made sure women did not gain suffrage for a long time. Two of the main oppositions included the church and men. Both viewed women as incompetent and completely reliable on men. However, the National American Woman Suffrage Association led by Susan B. Anthony, and women all across the country made sure their rights were recognized and earn their equal place in America (Rosenzweig 236). One of the many ways they achieved this was by tackling other problems in society, such as child labor and labor rights. By working with other organizations to promote these social reforms, women “infused the suffrage movement with their commitments to social justice and the labor movement” (Rosenzweig 237). All their hard work over the decades finally led to the ratification of the 19th amendment in 1920: the civil right of women to vote in the United States. A group of people who did not have any say in society not only brought about so much social reform, but also later won their civil right to
During the mid-1800s, women were seeking equal rights to men. They struggled for many years, slowly gaining new rights. At the Seneca Falls Convention, about 240 men and women protested for equal rights, approving a Declaration of Sentiments, stating that all men and women are created equal. In the end, the people voted for equal opportunity at work, at school, and at church, slowly and narrowly passing. Some people, such as Susan B. Anthony, spoke for all women in the face of crowds that heckled her. In some states, women achieved new legal rights, such as owning land. In addition, there were new educational opportunities for all women, such as new schools being built. At the same time, women attained chances at careers that were previously
The Women’s Suffrage Movement took place from 1848 through 1920 when the 19th Amendment was ratified, giving women the right to vote. Before this, women were considered property of the husband and were expected to clean the house and take care of the children. So, women did not have the same rights that white men had. Even if a woman had a job, it had to be approved by the husband before she could get it and all of the income that she would make belonged to her husband. Due to this inequality, the Women’s Suffrage Movement was started to fight for women’s rights. The Women’s Suffrage Movement was important to American history because it gave women rights. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia
Nonetheless, this reform of women did not halt to the rejection, nor did they act in fear. The CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION states: “One of the main leaders of the women’s suffrage movement was Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906). Brought up in a Quaker family, she was raised to be independent and think for herself. She joined the abolitionist movement to end slavery. Through her abolitionist efforts, she met Elizabeth Cady Stanton in 1851. Anthony had not attended the Seneca Falls Convention, but she quickly joined with Stanton to lead the fight for women’s suffrage in the United
It was Theodore Roosevelt, who stated that, “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care”, conveying the idea that with no voice comes no change. In the morning of August 26, 1920, the 19th amendment was ratified, which centralized mainly on the enfranchisement of women. Today, they have the legal right to vote, and the ability to speak openly for themselves, but most of all they are now free and equal citizens. However this victorious triumph in American history would not have been achieved without the strong voices of determined women, risking their lives to show the world how much they truly cared. Women suffragists in the 19th century had a strong passion to change their lifestyle, their jobs around the nineteenth century were limited to just children, family, and domestic duties. It consisted of a very low rate of education, and job opportunities. They could not share their opinion publicly and were expected to support their male family members and husbands during the time. Women knew that the way to enfranchisement was going to be tenacious, and full of obstacles along the way. Therefore a new organization was formed, The National American Women Association (NAWSA), representing millions of women and Elizabeth Cady Stanton as the first party president. This organization was founded in 1890, which strategized on the women getting education in order to strengthen their knowledge to prepare for the suffrage fight. NAWSA mainly focused on the right to vote one state at a time. In 1917, a member named Alice Paul, split apart from NAWSA because of the organization’s tactics and major goals. Due to this split, many other suffragists from NAWSA bitterly divided into a new organization named, National Women’s ...
In Shirley Chisholm’s “For the Equal Rights Amendment” speech, by using rhetorical devices of antithesis and ethos, she motivates her intended audience during the Women’s Rights Movement. Most women wanted to be equal to men but many went against it and did not want women to get equal rights as white men have. Women’s right to vote was successful. Most women today do not get equal treatment as the men do. The equal rights are still happening today. The movement affects people today because if women did not have the right to vote in the past then women today would not vote either and most women have more equality today than in the past.
In 1869, two organizations for the promotion of women’s suffrage were founded with different opinions on how to reach the same goal. The National Women’s Suffrage Association (NWSA) was headed by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. This group opposed the 15th amendment, while suggesting the passage and ratification of another, new amendment, specifically granting women the right to vote. This was considered a more radical view on the matter, and promoted a wide variety of other feminist views as well. The other organization, called the American Women’s Suffrage Association (AWSA), supported the 15th amendment, while calling for yet another amendment for women’s enfranchisement. This organization was more focused on trying to make this and other feminist reforms seem less radical, and more in tune with the values of the American people. After the negative response to the proposal of a new federal amendment, both groups tried new approaches, such as challenging the constitutionality of their exclusion from the vote in the supreme court, only to be rejected again.