Essay On Women's Suffrage Movement

The women’s suffrage movement spanned over 72 years, affected three generations, and rallied millions of women. Those 72 years started in 1848 with the Seneca Falls Convention and ended when the 19th amendment was passed in 1920. In those 72 years, women spent approximately 50 years educating the public in both states and across the nation. The next 20 years were spent pushing women’s claim to a vote. The suffrage movement was the single largest enfranchisement and extension of democratic rights in our nation 's history, and correspondingly the suffrage movement was one of the two most important United States political movements of the 20th century. Despite all the statistics, the suffrage movement gave women the right to vote when voting rights

The first and most important of these conventions was the Seneca Falls Convention held on July 19 and 20 in 1848 (American Woman Suffrage Movement). The Seneca Fall Convention took place in New York and it gathered both men and women. These abolitionist activists gathered to discuss women 's rights because they believed women deserved their own rights. In the same way, these activists believed that the Declaration of Independence’s phrase “that all men are created equal” should be changed to “that all men and women created equal”. (Fight for Women 's Suffrage). Enfranchisement, admit to citizenship and the right to vote, was first considered for women at the Seneca Falls Convention (Grolier). Finally, at the Seneca Falls Convention delegates adopted the “Declaration of Sentiments”. This was a document derived from the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Sentiments fought for equal education, equal treatment under the law, and the right to vote, and the document was signed by 68 women and 32 men. The decade following the conclusion of the Seneca Falls Convention was filled with more conventions and conferences over women 's rights and to improve married women property rights and various

Women had failed to win the right to vote from 1896 to 1910. Then in 1919 the House of Representatives and Senate voted in support of the 19th amendment. For the amendment to be put into place and added to the Bill of Rights it required a three fourths majority approval from the states. (American Woman Suffrage Movement). Wyoming was the first state to allow women to vote (Grolier). Concluding the state approval was Tennessee, which was ratified by a single vote. This single vote passed Tennessee as a state for the 19th amendment and gave the amendment more than a three fourth majority among the states, passing the 19th amendment. (American Woman Suffrage Movement). On August 26, 1920, the 19th amendment was passed and granted women the ballot