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Women's Rights In American History

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In the years following its acknowledgement as a nation free from England, what would come to be known as the United States of America released a collective breath. That word, freedom, brought to light the dream that for many of its people had been just that. With the drafting of the Constitution 1787, many of the nation’s freedoms as well as the guidelines that accompanied them were explicitly introduced. While this document was a profound and necessary step forward for the country, the government, and many states, did not extend these rights to all persons. Minorities, especially blacks and women, were most often left out.
The campaign for women’s suffrage, or the ability to vote, began in earnest in the decades before the civil war. At the …show more content…

On these days, the Seneca Falls Convention was held in upstate New York, organized and led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott (source). They called it “a convention to discuss the social, civil, and religious conditions and rights of women”. Of the one hundred people who attended, two-thirds were women. It was here that Stanton drafted the “Declaration of Sentiments” following a framework that closely resembled that of the Declaration of Independence. The document contained 13 resolutions, the goal of which was to achieve the right of franchise for women. Initially, reformers addressed social and institutional barriers that limited women’s rights: including family responsibilities, a lack of educational and economic opportunities, and the absence of a voice in political debates …show more content…

During the 1880’s, the two wings of the women’s rights movement struggled to maintain momentum. The AWSA was better funded, and the larger of the two groups, but it only had a regional reach. The NWSA, located in New York, relied on its state wide network, but also drew recruits from around the nation, largely due to the extensive speaking circuits of Stanton and Anthony. Unfortunately, neither group attracted broad support from women, or persuaded male politicians and voters to adopt its cause

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Women’s rights activists gave their movement the title “the women movement”. These women wanted to expand their professions out of the house and into higher paying jobs. They spread their belief that women’s unique homemaking traits would make society more humanized. Women’s clubs through the late nineteenth century began taking a stand on public affairs. These reformers started working more outside of the house in jobs such as consumer protection and housing improvement.

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Even though the message included gaining the support of the people to achieve a common cause of women getting the right to vote, Florence Kelley developed her argument through the community’s status dealing with child labor. The use of rhetorical strategies persuaded the audience -the Association accompanied by men and women across the country- to act in order to discontinue the practice of child labor. Additionally it conveniences the audience of the importance of the women’s point of view in the government. Other women in the National American Woman Suffrage Association exhaustingly fought in order to make their voice heard.

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1486 Words | 6 Pages

The Women’s Rights Movement originated from the public protest meeting in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848. Many at the meeting were skeptical about the demands being made to allow women to exercise the right to participate in government and vote. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the primary organizer of the meeting, remembered that many attending, including radical Lucretia Mott, thought that the demand was too far advanced for the time. They believed that advocating for political equality was also “too morally questionable” to include in this movement

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548 Words | 3 Pages

In the long run the Seneca Falls Convention became famous for discussing the shunned upon topic of woman’s right to vote, but the Declaration of Sentiments covered many other topics and grievances. These topics included woman’s rights in regards to obtaining an education, morality, divorce, and even religion. Also included were woman’s rights in regards to marriage, such as wages and earnings, legalities, property, and

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692 Words | 3 Pages

“The United States in the 1840s seethed with a variety of reform movements, inspired by the religious upheaval known as the Second Great Awakening” (DeBlasio). “The Declaration of Sentiments is a document drafted primarily by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and signed in 1848 by 68 women and 32 men, 100 out of some 300 attendees at the first women's rights convention, in Seneca Falls, New York, now known as the Seneca Falls Convention” (“Declaration”). “Formatted similarly to the Declaration of Independence, the Declaration Of Sentiments and Resolutions states the feelings of women who at this time had no legal rights in our country such as the right to own property, vote, earn wages, own business, own land, as well as other rights that men received

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522 Words | 3 Pages

The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 established the Declaration of Sentiments, which bears witness to the determination and strength of the early American women’s rights movement. The article, which was mostly written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and was influenced by the language and organization of the U.S, Declaration of Independence, boldly declared the inherent rights of women and demanded equality in all areas of life. In the 19th century, women experienced widespread discrimination and inequality; in these circumstances, the Declaration of Sentiments acted as a call to action for empowerment and justice. The significance of this document, which came about as a result of the growing women’s rights movement and was structured by other social reform movements of the era, acted as an incentive for further activism and

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174 Words | 1 Pages

After women gained their independence and right to vote, they were more confident and not afraid of other people’s opinions (Price par. 7). Even though women had gained the right to vote, the discrimination against them did not end (Perry par. 6). Women joined activist groups such as the National American Women Suffrage Association and the Congressional Union, where they protested with different tactics to get what they wanted (Dumenil p. 22).

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791 Words | 4 Pages

“Beginning in the 1880s, women’s clubs began largely as cultural organizations to provide women with an outlet for their intellectual energies” (Brinkley, 481). Women began gathering as groups to assess issues in society and this was the mark of a cultural shift. This is because prior to these groups, women had a limited voice in society and had little interaction with the public. Now, that women were more involved they began to create a voice for themselves during the Progressive Era. This then led to the battle for woman’s suffrage.

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The Antebellum Period that lasted roughly from 1825–1850 is an era known for its many reform movements and major transformations in American society. Prior to the popularity of reform movements in American society was the 1828 election in which Andrew Jackson became the seventh president. Jackson professed himself the “champion of the common man,” where the “common man” meant white men. Nevertheless, his presidency caused the development of a more popular mass democracy, or Jacksonian Democracy as it is commonly referred to. The westward expansion that occurred during Jackson’s presidency lead to a shift in America’s economical makeup from a mercantile/market economy to capitalism.

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213 Words | 1 Pages

In the Progressive Era, ‘women reformers did not have faith in the traditional biased government. The women reform group adopted new political techniques. There techniques included marching, and demonstrating as unbiased pressure groups’. (Goldfield, ed., The American Journey: A History of the United State, pgs.

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775 Words | 4 Pages

After the Civil War, women were willing to gain the same rights and opportunities as men. The war gave women the chance to be independent, to live for themselves. Women’s anger, passion, and voice to protest about what they were feeling was the reason of making the ratification of the 19th amendment, which consisted of giving women the right to vote. One of the largest advancement of that era was the women’s movement for the suffrage, which gave them the reason to start earning

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1123 Words | 5 Pages

Before the 1900s, women were portrayed as fragile individuals incapable of taking part in any hard work or making any decisions for themselves. Their dreams of taking part in the economy, politics, and society were denied simply due to their gender. It wasn’t until suffragists such as Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton decided to take a stand in 1848 and hold a meeting known as the Seneca Falls Convention. This was the first step towards a change for women’s rights that had lasting effects on American society. This suffrage movement grew influence throughout the Civil War and even post-war to the point where women all over the United States joined the suffragists in fighting for thier rights.

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1421 Words | 6 Pages

There was very little success and movement towards women having the right to vote except for places like Wyoming that needed to attract immigrant women to extremely lowly female populated lands. In 1869, Wyoming extended the right to vote to women and became the second state in the 18th century to allow women to vote behind New Jersey when it entered the Union in 1890 (588). Some women opposed the 15th Amendment and argued that native-born American women should have the right to vote over African-Americans and immigrants, while other feminists supported the era’s amendments because they believed they were steps in a positive direction towards ubiquitous suffrage. The consequence of the two side’s ideas were two separate women’s suffrage organizations: The American Woman Suffrage Association, with Lucy Stone as president, and National Woman Suffrage Association, run by Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

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1360 Words | 6 Pages

During Progressive Era, there were many reforms that occurred, such as Child Labor Reform or Pure Food and Drug Act. Women Suffrage Movement was the last remarkable reform, and it was fighting about the right of women to vote, which was basically about women’s right movement. Many great leaders – Elizabeth Cad Stanton and Susan B. Anthony - formed the National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Although those influential leaders faced hardship during this movement, they never gave up and kept trying their best. This movement was occurred in New York that has a huge impact on the whole United States.

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1366 Words | 6 Pages

Women’s struggle for equality has always been and is still is a difficult battle. Even though women gained the right to vote in the 1920, their battle of equality with men still continues to our present time. The women who started the suffrage movement were daring, and they stood for what they believed in. In the nineteenth century, people always thought that men and women should be in different places. The ideal woman in that century was supposed to be submissive and supposed to obey and serves the men who were around her.

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