Old West Essay

929 Words4 Pages

American history and the history of the “Old West” have often been portrayed as a story of white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant men. Despite this, there are many other groups that have left a significant impact on society then and even today. These groups have made valuable contributions to the development and settlement of the West. Throughout history, both Women and African-Americans have gone through hardship, oppression, and many other struggles; however, both of these groups fought back against oppression and reformed history for the better. For instance, women left their mark on history by advocating for policy changes and reform. They often pushed the boundaries of traditional gender roles and expectations. Through this push for reform, women …show more content…

More specifically, women played a huge role in American history as well as the history of the “Old West.” An example of the significant impact women had on history is their advocacy for policy changes and reform, which frequently challenged traditional gender roles and expectations. This persistent push for change eventually led to a landmark achievement: the right to vote. The West is considered to be the first home for women’s suffrage in the United States (Zócalo Public Square). According to Gilder Lehrman, “the West offered women unprecedented opportunities to do what so many men did: to reinvent themselves. Even the Homestead Act provided for single women to claim land of their own, and thousands of women did just that” (Gilder Lehrman). Women used the united State’s expansion of the west to their advantage; they began to push for reform that allowed them to claim …show more content…

It took many years, but eventually, women got the right to vote in the United States. To understand how women got the right to vote, it is important to understand when the movement began. After the civil war, there were “all sorts of reform groups were proliferating across the United States—temperance leagues, religious movements, moral-reform societies, anti-slavery organizations—and in many of these, women played a prominent role” (Women’s Suffrage). Women had already had a significant impact on other movements. The fight for women’s suffrage ended with a victory for women across the nation when they received the right to vote from the nineteenth amendment (Women’s