Six well-bred women stood before a judge in the Washington D.C. police court on June 27, 1917. Not thieves, not drunks, not prostitutes, like the usual attendants there. They included a university student, an author of nursing books, a prominent campaign organizer, and 2 former school teachers. All were educated accomplished and unacquainted with criminal activity, but on that day they stood in a court of law with their alleged offense, “Obstructing traffic”. What they had actually done was stand quietly in front of the White House holding banners, urging president Woodrow Wilson to add one sentence to the constitution: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any account of sex”. The debate over Women’s Suffrage stretched from the mid 1800’s to the early 1900’s, as women struggled to gain a voice in politics. Women’s Suffrage is the right of women to vote. Today, women in nearly all countries have the same voting rights as men, but women did not begin to gain such rights until the late 1800’s. They had to overcome strong opposition to do so. The first clear assertion of Women’s Suffrage was made at the Women’s Rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York. At first Women’s Suffrage was only the goal of a few reformers. After the end of the civil …show more content…
Some believed that this time was “Negro’s Hour” and the votes for black men should take precedence over votes for women. Other’s led by Stanton and Susan B. Anthony disagreed and believed women should demand their right to vote at the same time. Many men at the time believed that women were not capable of participating in politics, and that it would degrade them and lead to the disintegration of family. With such opposition the Anthony amendment seemed doomed to lie dormant
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Show MoreThrough years of gender inequality throughout the nation, one of the most important causes for women was when they received the right to vote, as it allowed them to have a voice within the country. While looking throughout the fight for Women’s Suffrage, many would say that it ultimately ended on August 26, 1920- when the 19th Amendment was officially ratified. Although this seems accurate, many others would say that the fight ended when the Supreme Court 's ruling ultimately established the Nineteenth Amendment. This is best shown by the ratification of the 19th amendment, Leser v. Garnett, and the overall process to reach the final ruling during the case.
Anthony’s speech is historically significant and reached many people in America who eventually saw that women’s suffrage should be achieved. Throughout this essay, I will discuss how she was able to persuade her audiences, what types of arguments she used, and how powerful the speech proved to be in assisting in women’s suffrage. As I begin to explain these topics, I will examine how this led to an increased amount of attention on women’s rights and eventually led to the Nineteenth Amendment being created in 1920. Susan once said it was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the union. (Barnett 42).
The history.com’s staff explains the stages that the women of the past went through to gain them the 19th Amendment on August 26, 1920. Simplified the 19th Amendment is the right for the citizens of the United States to be able to vote and not be denied by the United States or by any State on account of their sex. It talks about when the 14th amendment was ratified in 1868, it granted all citizen the right to be able to vote. But they defined “citizen as male”, giving the right to vote to the black men. Because of this many women, including Susan B. Anthony rallied and protested the 15th amendment, believing that it could push lawmakers into making it so that women could vote along with the men.
The topic of equal rights is still as relevant today as it was back in the late 1800's when women were fighting for their rights. Though today we are fighting on a different level for different reasons, it is fair to say that the women that fought for their right to vote had to put up a very long and hard fight. Not only were they fighting to be seen as equal to men, they were also trying to get the world to see the progress they had made when their husbands went away to war. They were very adamant in trying to prove that not only could women do everything men could do, but they could also do it better in some cases. When the women who voiced their opinions were scoffed at by the men they knew they equaled, they knew they had to keep fighting if they wanted to have a chance for a full opportunity at
In the year of 1873, Susan B. Anthony had been arrested for casting an illegal vote at the last presidential election. This time period was known as the Women’s Rights Movement. Many women had began to acknowledge that they were treated unfair by society’s standards against them, and had began to stand up for themselves and their fellow women. At this time, women were not allowed to vote. Most were stay-at-home mothers because men did not find them suitable for most jobs the men accommodated, and society discouraged them from even getting a real education.
Women would no longer be looked upon as the lesser half, they wanted to be seen just as capable as men. So they fought for their right starting in 1848. This movement took years, to be exact 72 years. These women had some persistence to stay with their battle no matter how tough it was. The first part in winning women's suffrage was the parades and protests.
During Progressive Era, there were many reforms that occurred, such as Child Labor Reform or Pure Food and Drug Act. Women Suffrage Movement was the last remarkable reform, and it was fighting about the right of women to vote, which was basically about women’s right movement. Many great leaders – Elizabeth Cad Stanton and Susan B. Anthony - formed the National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Although those influential leaders faced hardship during this movement, they never gave up and kept trying their best. This movement was occurred in New York that has a huge impact on the whole United States.
Women’s suffrage began early on, in the mid 1800s, and only came to fruition in 1920. Suffragettes formed groups to fight for their rights, and the passage of the nineteenth amendments demonstrate the success of these groups, including the National Woman’s Party and the National American Woman Suffrage Association on politics. Progressivism was at it roots, a group movement, and the passage of this amendment signifies the inherent triumph of Progressivism. Goals of the Progressives were simple when simmered down: “Progressives sought to improve the conditions of life and labor and to create as much social stability as possible” (Link and McCormick 182). The accomplishment of female suffrage improves the female condition of life and betters social stability, as well as extends democracy.
And their traditional roles included staying home, rearing children and looking after their families. Women were not granted the right to vote until August 18th 1920 (The 19th Amendment, n.d.). The 19th Amendment to the U.S Constitution granted American women the right to vote—a right known as woman suffrage. This was only less than a hundred years ago, while men have been given that right since the beginning
In 1848 Black women made their first bid for equality in meetings with black men. “At one meeting of the National Convention of Colored Freedmen in Cleveland, Ohio a black woman proposed that women delegates be allowed to speak and vote as equals, eventually, they reclassified eligible voters as “persons” instead of men and women were allowed to participate equally”. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Stanton changed the 15th Amendment by supporting that it should voting rights to former slaves, and that it should also include women. The northern part of the country often gave more rights to black women, the southern part of the country was sadly more close minded and still saw women as incapable and not as good as men. During the Civil War white and free black women in the North established soldiers’ aid societies.
Women Suffrage Movement did not end at 1912, but this year was the most significant breakthrough through the whole event. For the first time of the national party in United States, Republican Party adopted a women’s suffrage plank. “The favorable Minority Report meant that some of the leaders of the Republican Party supported women 's rights claims on the Constitution.” (Dubois, 124) Dubois suggested that Republican Party somewhat support women’s rights, even though they did not began their action
The 14th Amendment of the Constitution emancipated the African-American slaves by stating that all citizens were to be free. Women were free in the United States;however, they were far from equal. The most significant way in which women weren’t equal is that they were not allowed to vote like their male counterparts. Women during the mid 19th century and into the early 20th century took notice of this fact and fought for years to give women the right to vote. Some women took what was viewed at the time as a radical approach by fighting for suffrage at the federal level, while other women took a more passive approach by fighting for suffrage at the state level.
In 1874, Susan B. Anthony was jailed for trying to exercise the right that all men were granted but every woman was denied, the right to vote (Document 1). Twenty six years earlier, the first women’s right movement convention was held to discuss the stark disparity between the genders. A fight that would last for seventy years, the fight for the vote, was a pivotal era in the fight for viewing women as equals. This was a fight against society that has little progress for a long time and the reasoning why is clear. The struggle of women is not a unique story, and the denial of suffrage and equality was led by men because of man's fear of losing power and control in society.
In a perfect democracy, both of these groups should have been able to easily petition the government and have their voices heard equally. The age of social reform in America closely mirrored social reform in Britain, both in time and in subjects. Britain abolished slavery in 1833, and groups of influential women’s suffragists argued for women’s rights much like those in America. The abolitionist and women’s rights movements perhaps drew inspiration from British reforms, and both nations found themselves in similar moral condition after the Revolution. However, America would have a long way to go before these social reforms actually strengthened
Women’s Suffrage Australia, DRAFT Elizabeth Albans Women’s suffrage was one of the first milestones to achieve gender equality. In 1902, the newly established Australian Parliament, passed the Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902, which enabled women to vote in the federal election and stand for the federal election. The suffragettes fought for equality, the right to make decisions and argued against the view that women were intellectually inferior to men. However, not everyone agreed with the changes the suffragettes wanted to bring. They argued that women were equal but different, already had indirect power and could not fulfil the duties of a citizen.