Women 's Rights Movement : Elizabeth Cady Stanton And Lucretia Mott

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In the nineteenth century, women’s rights activists began fighting for economic freedoms to receive the same amount of legal respect as men. On July 19, 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott held the first gathering devoted solely to women’s rights in Seneca Falls, New York (“Women’s Rights Movement”). Stanton formed an alliance with Susan B. Anthony to try and move forward with their ideas to develop the right for women to vote (“Women’s Rights Movement”). In 1869, the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) and the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) were created, but struggled to maintain momentum throughout the years as they were not getting the support they wanted from middle class women and men until a later date (“Women’s Rights Movement”). There were a number of women’s organizations that were created during this time because it showed all of the diverse interests between religions and political parties (Hall 191). In the late 1880s and early 1890s, middle class women began to volunteer and spread the ideas and thoughts of these women activist groups (“Women’s Rights Movement”). The Suffrage Movement that began after the meeting was held came in subsequent waves. Women’s Rights Conventions were held up until the start of the Civil War and became very largely attended. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Matilda Joslyn Gage, and Lucy Stone traveled for the next forty years lecturing on the Women’s Rights Movement where the right to vote became the main issue they wanted to focus on first (“History of the Women’s Rights Movement”). Women thought that if the right to vote was granted to male immigrants that could barely speak English, they should be able to vote as well. This campaign took many d... ... middle of paper ... ...role to society and the Progressive Era shows exactly how vital they are to the United States today. Most of the energy from activist was put towards the suffrage movement, but it helped develop other changes in the lives of women. Access to higher education became more available as educational institutes began to open their doors to women so they had the opportunity to receive the same level of education as men. (encyclopedia.com) “As a result, females could begin to enter, at least in small numbers, traditionally male professions, becoming authors, doctors, lawyers, and ministers” (encyclopedia.com). In the Progressive Era, many organizations were created to enhance women’s rights across the United States and also world-wide. The developments made in the U.S. helped shape other countries as well and move them further along in their fight for women’s rights.

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