Women Suffrage Essay, Research Paper
Women?s Suffrage…
Women of the early nineteenth century were considered to be
second-class citizens. Women were assumed to love and obey their
husbands, they were never to maintain a thought or express an
opinion. It was considered to be inappropriate if a woman were to
speak in public. After a women was married she didn?t have the right
to own property or sign a contract, and especially, she didn?t have the
right to vote.
Soon after, the idea of equivalency is what influenced the
Woman?s Suffrage Movement. Women in America decided that they
deserved more rights, including the privilege of voting. Women
started to become more educated. Then they began to participate in
reform parties. This increased involvement of women becoming more
familiar with politics. This resulted in women beginning to question
their voting inability.
In 1848, two activists, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Luretia Mott,
organized the first women?s rights convention which was held in
Seneca Falls, New York. They discussed and established the
Declaration of Sentiments. This establishment stated women to have
equal rights in voting, education, and property.
Suffrage was the primary goal of that the women?s rights
movement wanted to produce. However, the movement leaders
sustained that gaining the privilege of voting, could additionally lead
to alternative rights also.
Reformers of the Women?s Suffrage Movement encounter a
powerful disagreement from others. The Majority of the people who
opposed the movement, believed women weren?t intelligent enough to
make a political decision.
When fifteenth Amendment was passed to the Constitution, it
enabled privilege of black men to vote, but still women were not
allowed to vote. This caused the Women?s Suffrage Movement to
expand and become more pronounced. In 1869, two national
organizations were assembled to achieve the right to vote. These two
organizations were the National Woman Suffrage Association and the
American Woman Suffrage Association.
In 1872, Susan B. Anthony, from the National Woman Suffrage
Association, led a group of women to vote in the presidential election.
Anthony was arrested for voting illegally. She attracted focus from
other nationwide because of her trial.
Lucy Stone and her husband, Henry Blackwell, led the American
Woman Suffrage Association. The principal of this coalition was to
persuade individual states to grant women the right to vote.
In 1890, both of these organizations combined to assemble the
National American Woman Suffrage Association.
The early 1990?s started with a new generation of activists.
Carrie Chapman Catt and Maud Wood Park were some of these new
leaders. They obtained support from middle-class women.
Additional leaders, such as Lucy Burns, Alice Paul, Harriot E.
Blatch, the daughter of Elizabeth Stanton, appealed to young groups
of people to make transformations for the future. They began different
sorts of protests, they formed marches and picketing. In one event,
Alice Paul and her supporters went so far as to chain themselves to
a White House fence.
Finally, after 70 years of petitions and protests, in 1919 the
Nineteenth Amendment was approved by congress enabling women
the right to vote. Not long after the Equal Rights Amendment was
passed meaning equal rights for both men and women.
This proves to you that just about anything can be possible.
Women, who were second-class citizens, elevated themselves to be
equal to men. Now we have women in congress, and women
managing major companies. This just shows you to get what you
want, it just takes hard work and dedication.