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Women's Suffrage In The Progressive Era

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The Progressive Era is known for its social activism and political reforms across the United States. The list of reforms from the Progressive Era included women’s suffrage, the legal right to vote. During this time, women demanded to be full citizens of the United States, just as men were seen. Women of this time were seen gaining the right to own property and work, but still were not allowed to vote. Because of this, women’s suffrage was one of the major reforms that occurred in the Progressive Era. The movement for women’s suffrage began well before the Progressive Era, in in the 1820’s, when women joined groups that wanted reforms. This was a difficult time for women to have a voice because they were mainly seen as property and should …show more content…

According to Ann D. Gordon, “Susan B. Anthony did not expect to vote. Pursuing a strategy adopted by the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1871, she expected to be denied registration as a voter and subsequently to sue for her right to vote in federal court” (Gordon). Anthony was going to do everything in her power to fight for the right to vote. After registering to vote through bribery, she was approved. She, and fourteen other women voted, but Anthony was arrested after the election and faced trial. She was fined for the action but refused to pay and was held in custody. This was just the one fight for Anthony though, she continued fighting for women’s rights until her death. Both Stanton and Anthony were the beginning of notable names for women’s rights such as Jane Addams and Florene Kelley, who followed and helped continue the fight.
Although the right to vote for women was not established during the Progressive Era, the fight was well worth the wait. In 1900, women could vote in four states, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. In 1920, women were awarded the right to vote in every state. Women were also able to get better working conditions and wages, had more opportunity for better jobs, birth control, and make decisions within politics. The failures of the time would be that not everyone saw women as equal and women were not able to solely own

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