Six well-bred women stood before a judge in the Washington D.C. police court on June 27, 1917. Not thieves, not drunks, not prostitutes, like the usual attendants there. They included a university student, an author of nursing books, a prominent campaign organizer, and 2 former school teachers. All were educated accomplished and unacquainted with criminal activity, but on that day they stood in a court of law with their alleged offense, “Obstructing traffic”. What they had actually done was stand quietly in front of the White House holding banners, urging president Woodrow Wilson to add one sentence to the constitution: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any account of sex”. The debate over Women’s Suffrage stretched from the mid 1800’s to the early 1900’s, as women struggled to gain a voice in politics. Women’s Suffrage is the right of women to vote. Today, women in nearly all countries have the same voting rights as men, but women did not begin to gain such rights until the late 1800’s. They had to overcome strong opposition to do so. The first clear assertion of Women’s Suffrage was made at the Women’s Rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York. At first Women’s Suffrage was only the goal of a few reformers. After the end of the civil …show more content…
Some believed that this time was “Negro’s Hour” and the votes for black men should take precedence over votes for women. Other’s led by Stanton and Susan B. Anthony disagreed and believed women should demand their right to vote at the same time. Many men at the time believed that women were not capable of participating in politics, and that it would degrade them and lead to the disintegration of family. With such opposition the Anthony amendment seemed doomed to lie dormant