Women Suffrage Movement

Allowing women the right to vote was a major stepping stone in providing equal rights to all women. This was no easy task to accomplish seeing that everyone considered women inferior to men. In 1848, the first women's rights convention took place in Seneca Falls, New York, where Elizabeth Cady Stanton asked the assembly to vote on a resolution demanding suffrage for women. The assembly made no effort to fulfill Staton's request. However, their unappreciation for women's rights only made them want to work harder towards their goal. After the civil war, Stanton continued with her fight along side of Susan B. Anthony. Susan B. Anthony is one of the most well-known women that fought for women's suffrage for more than fifty years. They strived for equal rights, however when the Fifteenth Amendment was created giving African American men the right to vote, Stanton and Anthony, "felt the amendment merely expanded male suffrage." I believe it is extremely unfair to start giving black men more freedoms, but completely ignoring the proposals for women. It shows the male dominance during this era and the little respect men actually had for women. I could only see this obstacle as motivation for women to work hard to gain their rights, and that's exactly what Stanton and Anthony did. They started the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) in order to try and appeal the Fifteenth Amendment to include women, too. Along with this organization, Anthony tried to vote in 1872, but was arrested and found guilty. This reminded me of Rosa Park's attempt at equal rights when she refused to sit in the white section. Women were treated with the similar disrespect as blacks because they were somehow "inferior" to men. Women had to fight for laws that women today often take advantage of. When I reach the age of 18, there is no doubt in my mind that I plan on voting, and would be offended if anyone ever questioned my freedom to vote because I am a women. I could only imagine the unfairness that women had to suffer through in the 19th and 20th century. Anthony refused to conform to the lack of rights for women no matter what the consequences were. She collected 10,000 signatures from 26 states to present to the Senate. To much disbelief, they "responded with laughter." This demonstrates that even the government had no respect for women's rights. The government during this time was clearly biased and only worked against women in fighting for what they believed it. Although it took many decades, women worked to display their power to the government. In 1919, Congress approved an amendment that would guarantee women the right to vote. Without this amendment, the opinions and power of women would still be looked at as inferior to men. Along with this, Stanton and Anthony are perfect examples of the power women do have to change society and the government.

Graham, Sara Hunter, Woman Suffrage and the New Democracy, 1996; Spruill Wheeler, Marjorie, One Woman, One Vote: Rediscovering the Woman Suffrage Movement, 1995.

Women's Suffrage Movement