Feminism In America Essay

450 Words2 Pages

Feminism and Its Place in Modern American Society In the 1963, most American’s thought gender equality was not needed or attainable. It was a wide spread thought that a women’s job should be the caretaker and nothing else (Coontz). In 1977, still two thirds thought it was, “much better for everyone involved if the man was the achiever outside the home and the woman takes care of the home and family” (Coontz). By 1994 the numbers flipped and two thirds of Americans rejected this notion (Coontz). In 1963, the women were in dire need of gender equality and yet a large majority of the female population didn’t realize they were being wronged. Feminism sprouted from necessity, for 170 years women have bravely fought for the most basic human rights. …show more content…

After 2 days, 68 women and 32 men signed the Declaration of Sentiments, which specified the inequalities women faced and how they wanted things to change. They came up with twelve resolutions that called for equal treatment of women and men and voting rights for women. This was the start of the women’s rights movement in America. 21 years later, in 1869, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman Suffrage Association with the goal of achieving voting rights for women in America. Lucy Stone and Henry Blackwell do the same and form the American Woman Suffrage Association. In 1890, the two groups merge to create National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). The goal is still the same, gain voting rights for women. Three years later and Colorado is the first state to adopt an amendment granting women the right to vote. A couple states follow suit but ultimately the right to vote was not nationwide until 1920 when the 19th amendment passed. In 1921, Margaret Sanger founded the American Birth Control League, which eventually became the Planned Parenthood Federation of America in 1942. It wasn’t until the 1960’s that the FDA approved birth control. In 1962, President Lyndon Johnson's affirmative action policy of 1965 to cover discrimination based on gender. In 1969, California adopted a "no fault" divorce law, which allows couples to divorce by mutual consent. By 1985