Women Suffrage Essay

“Women, we might as well be dogs baying the moon as petitioners without the right to vote!” These were the famous words of a key leader in the women’s Suffrage Movement, Susan B. Anthony. In the past, the rights guaranteed to men were not applied to women, and therefore caused great injustice. It wasn’t until the mid-1800s that women started to take a stand and fight for their voting rights. As a result, these actions caused a positive impact in our country and now, women have equal rights as men, as it should. There are some that say that it is just another part of history and that there is no importance behind it, in other words, it is irrelevant compared to the Civil Rights Movement for example. Women’s suffrage was a positive impact through the leadership of Susan B. Anthony, their hard work and contributions, and their succession in the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment.

Women also had the right to vote, but some women didn’t use that right because they had believed it was for men. Though other women saw this as a chance to get involved with politics. Women

Revised Thesis: The women’s suffrage movement opened many doors for the women of America and allowed them to achieve many objects they had never before thought of including: economic roles, political positions, and a place in social society.

Did you know that women in the United States did not have the right to vote until the year 1920? Exactly 144 years after the United States was granted freedom from Great Britain. The women’s suffrage movement, however, did not actually start until 1848, and lasted up until they were granted the right to vote in 1920. Women all over the country were fighting for their right to vote in hopes of bettering their lives. The women’s suffrage movement was a long fought process by many people all over the world, over all different races, religions, even gender. (Cooney 1)

Women eventually became repulsive against the standards of which they were being held to, yet they had to remain quiet. Several organizations were created regarding women’s suffrage. Many of the organizations had committed members who devoted all of their free time to the organization. Susan Brownell Anthony was one of those committed members. Anthony was born on February 15, 1820 in Adams, Massachusetts. She became interested in Women suffrage at a young age. She practically devoted her life to the Women’s Suffrage Movement. Anthony’s father worked as a farmer. Eventually he became wealthy by starting a cotton mill. Despite their, wealth they lived a simple life. Keeping up with their Quaker faith. Quakers believed in equality between the sexes. Anthony was raised in an environment filled with outspoken women resulting in her outspoken personality. In 1849, Anthony quit her job and rejoined her parents, who moved to Rochester Newyork, where Anthony became intrigued with the fight for women 's suffrage. Anthony 's participation in several organizations and outspoken nature made her a target for criticism. The editors of the newspaper attempted to perceive her to the public as a “bitter spinster” who only had interest in Women Suffrage because she could not find a husband, when in fact Anthony had received numerous proposals all of which she had refused. She felt that if she were to get married she would

Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton knew that they were being discriminated against because of their gender, and they refused to take it. "In 1869, however, a rift developed among feminists over the proposed 15th Amendment, which gave the vote to black men. Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and others refused to endorse the amendment because it did not give women the ballot." (Grolier). Stanton and Anthony formed the National Woman Suffrage Association to work for suffrage on the federal level and to press for more extensive institutional changes, such as the granting of property rights to married women. (Grolier)Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902), one of the main leaders in the women's rights movement, she worked for over 50 years to help women achieve the right to vote. She gave speeches to make her views known to everyone. On January 18, 1892, she spoke before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary. The speech was highly favorable, both within and outside the woman suffrage movement. (Solitude of Self)Susan B. Anthony registered and voted in the 1872 election in Rochester, NY. As planned, she was arrested (Susan B. Anthony Petition)

Women’s rights to vote women couldn’t vote back in the late 1800’s. Women had to stay home and take care of the children, cook and clean the house and when their husbands get home take care of them too. Although women had to do all those things they were not paid equal for the things they did. Women were told it is not job to vote that it is a man’s job to do the voting and women to take care of everything else. Gaining the vote for American women, known as woman suffrage, was the single largest enfranchisement and extension of democratic rights in our nation’s history. Along

seeking suffrage at this point and they wanted to have a say in government, including the right to

The “Declaration of Sentiments” by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott stated that all men and women were created equal, therefore they both should have the inalienable rights of “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness” (Doc 1). Since both women and men were created equal, the idea of suffrage should be of one for all, not subjected to only white, Anglo-Saxon males. These inalienable rights of liberty should pertain to the right to vote. Additionally, it was questioned that since women were able to take care of their families, loving and guiding their children, why were they not allowed the freedom to vote (Doc 6). This poem by Herman Paley discussed the idea of how various women throughout history “gave” the United States their leaders, then they should also have the right to

The Women’s Suffrage Movement of the 1920’s worked to grant women the right to vote nationally, thereby allowing women more political equality. Due to many industrial and social changes during the early 19th century, many women were involved in social advocacy efforts, which eventually led them to advocate for their own right to vote and take part in government agencies. Women have been an integral part of society, working to help those in need, which then fueled a desire to advocate for their own social and political equality. While many women worked tirelessly for the vote, many obstacles, factions, and ultimately time would pass in order for women to see the vote on the national level. The 19th Amendment, providing women the right to vote, enable women further their pursuit for full inclusion in the working of American society.

Susan B Anthony, a real dedicator to gaining women's rights, was introduced to abolitionism by Amelia Bloomer. (Weatherford 161) Her friendship ended up with a meeting with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, her lifelong partner in fighting for women's rights. Susan B Anthony did travelling and spoke widely, and became more focused on women's suffrage. She also helped to found the American Equal Rights Association and the National Woman Suffrage Association. with Lucy Stone. In 1872, in an attempt to claim that the constitution already permitted women to vote, Susan B. Anthony cast a test vote in Rochester, New York, in the presidential election. She was found guilty,

The timeline of women’s suffrage is a one that spans from 1848 to 1920. The women’s rights movement in the United States started in the year 1848 with the first women’s rights convention held in Seneca Falls, New York. During this convention the ‘Declaration of sentiments’ was signed by 68 women who agreed that women deserved their own political identities. This document set forward the agenda for the women’s rights movement. In the year 1869, Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton formed the National Women’s suffrage Association which demanded that the 15th amendment be changed to include women right to vote. In the year 1890, The National Women Suffrage Association and the American Women Suffrage Association merged to form National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Colorado was the first state to grant women the right to vote in the year 1893, followed by Utah, Idaho, Washington, California, Oregon, Kansas, Arizona, Alaska, Illinois, Montana, Nevada, New York, Michigan, South Dakota and Oklahoma. The National Association of Colored Women was formed in the year 1896 to promote the civil rights of colored women. The National Women’s Trade Union League was established in the year 1903 in order to improve the working condition for women and also to bring their wages in par with that of men.

In 1848 a group of women met at the Seneca Falls Convention in New York and began to formulate a demand for the enfranchisement of American women (Women’s Suffrage, 2011). Elizabeth Cady Stanton composed the Declaration of Sentiments, modeled after the Declaration of Independence, stating that “a man should not withhold a woman's rights, take her property or refuse to allow her to vote” (Kelly, 2011, para.3 ). The convention participants spent two days arguing and refining the content of the Declaration of Sentiments, then voted on its contents; the document received support from about one third of the delegates in attendance. The Seneca Falls Convention was not a resounding success, but it “represented an important first step in the evolving campaign for women’s rights” (Tindall & Shi, 2010, p.374, para.1).

Up until the 1920s, women’s struggle for their right to vote seemed to be a futile one. They had been fighting for their suffrage for a long time, starting numerous women's rights movements and abolitionist activists groups to achieve their goal. “The campaign for women’s suffrage began in earnest in the decades before the Civil War. During the 1820s and 30s, most states had enfranchised almost all white males (“The Fight for Women's Suffrage” ). This sparked women to play a more emphatic role in society. They began to participate in anti-slavery organizations, religious movements, and even meetings where they discussed that when the Constitution states "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain

Under women’s rights is, naturally, women’s suffrage (Rawls). The Socialist Party supported women’s suffrage because they believed that a woman’s vote was a step closer to a more egalitarian and socialist utopian society. Helen Valeska Bary, an administrator for the Los Angeles Political Equality League, said, in an interview with American history author Jacqueline K. Parker, that “every place where we had worked and sent literature and all that, we lost. We won in the places that we had neglected” (Bary). These places were rural areas, known as “cow counties.” They had not heard of the campaign for women’s suffrage until it had been reported in the newspapers that the referendum had failed. These voters then went to the voting boxes and voted for Amendment 8 (Bary). CONCLUSION