Throughout American history, one conflict has been consistently fought for in hopes that there will one day be equality: the apparent gap between women’s rights and men’s. This topic emerged over the countless decades that women fought to try and gain equal representation. Although women had been struggling with gaining equal rights because of the dominance of white men, they did not allow their male “superiors” to extinguish their passion for change. If anything, men’s clear disagreement against allowing women their rights was something that drove and inspired women even more. In fact, many women, especially Angelina Grimke and Catherine E. Beecher, continuously wrote letters and contributed many years of hard work to prove that they are not …show more content…
Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Alice Paul, to name a few. One letter by Grimke to Beecher—The Sphere of Woman and Man as Moral Beings the Same—spoke of how women were equal to men by quoting paragraphs from a book, disputing them, and then stating her own opinions. One of Grimke’s quotes is about how man gains his superiority and following by instilling “a sense of shame, by fear and by personal interest” and drives by “physical force”. Although, Grimke disputes this quote saying that, if this were true of Jesus and if Jesus had told his disciples when he sent them out to preach the gospel, would they use fear, shame, and personal interest to get the result they want? Would they drive by physical force? No, Grimke doesn’t think so. Grimke’s overall point is that, if women are suppose to be “kindly, generous, peaceful and benevolent”, and men are suppose to “strike fear” and “use force”, that women are in fact the superior and men are the subordinate because Jesus says that, “moral power is immeasurably superior to 'physical …show more content…
Though in the beginning men believed women should not gain the right to vote or be independent because they were not competent enough, women proved this to be a myth. Angelina Grimke and Catherine E. Beecher especially fought for their equal rights through their letters until their voices were heard and listened to. It is because of their strong willpower and bravery that men and all American’s were able to see that God’s words were true and that the Constitution was not only for men. By reason of this, women no longer are seen as subordinate, inferior, or incapable. Grimke, Beecher, and many other valiant women made sure of this, and their determination is what helped to overall excell women’s rights and show men that they had no right or reason to think of women as inept or lesser. In the end, women’s hard work did not go unappreciated or unnoticed, especially by their male
Led by a fair number of women, the Second Great Awakening opened new possibilities for women. The idea that women were subordinate to men was slowly becoming a thing of the pass. Women broke the social norm and began to lead reform movements in order to gain rights. The Grimké sisters regularly spoke to coed audiences about abolitionist efforts in order to gain support and spread the idea of abolition (Pastoral Letter to the Liberator, 1837). However, women didn’t fully receive equal legal status and rights until the mid-nineteenth century. The Seneca Falls Convention ultimately paved the way for women’s rights and the Declaration of Sentiments proposed “women’s equality in everything from education and employment to legal rights and voting”(Hewitt, Lawson
All throughout history, there is not a time in which women have not been treated with disrespect, harmed, ridiculed, or seen as less than men. Despite countless denial about their rights, to quote Senator Mitch McConnell, ‘She had appeared to violate the rule. She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.’ Although this statement was meant in response to Elizabeth Warren reading Coretta Scott King’s letter and not intended as an empowering statement, that’s exactly what it’s become. It perfectly captures how women have been throughout history and continue to be as long as there is injustice against them. In terms of equal rights for women, looking at many times in history such as the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848
Throughout the nation’s history, American’s have sought to put an end to discriminatory practices and bring equality toward minority groups. For example, Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech were directed at putting an end to mistreatment of African Americans. Likewise, Jane Adams and Susan B. Anthony used their authority as women’s rights activists to push for greater equality amongst the genders. While some may argue that women are lagging behind in the race to equal rights, others claim the opposing approach. In today’s society, women are achieving true equality due to a shift in the old stereotypes toward women, increasing opportunities for women to become educated, higher expectations for women in the workplace, and a stronger influence of women in government positions.
For more than a century, women from all over have deliberately confronted and engaged in numerous protests to destroy all restrictions, control and violations in regards to many prejudices made against their gender. Yet, it was not until the mid 1800’s that powerful women such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucretia Mott passionately fought and publically spoke for the rights that women deserved as American citizens. Essentially, the movement for women’s full entitlement reached out to an enormous audience with the Seneca Falls convention in New York and inspired the creation of a written stand on political requests by Stanton and other activists, named and remembered as The Declaration of Sentiments. At
The United States was founded by the principle that “all men are created equal” but as we struggled for the fight of equality for African Americans, we forgot about the fight for equality for women. It is not until thirty years after the Gilded Age when the 19th Amendment was passed, giving women the right to vote. A major advocate for women’s suffrage was Elizabeth Cady Stanton who believed that “that the isolation of every human soul… must give each individual the right to choose her own surroundings” (188). Even though women were able to come together during this period, they could not fully unite as African American women were left out of the movement, as illustrated in Live Pryor’s plea for help from Susan B. Anthony, another strong advocate for women’s rights. Ultimately
I chose this topic because the feminist agenda in the United States today is often ignored because it is mistaken for misandry. I have heard countless men ( and sadly, women) say that they are not “feminists” which completely undermines the countless decades of people fighting for women to merely have the right to vote. Without the work of women like Susan B.Anthony and Cady Elizabeth Stanton,and Jane Addams, women today would still have to turn over their wages to the man of the house, they couldn’t work long term, and they most certainly could not work while their husbands stay home with the kids. I hope that this essay furthers my appreciation and educates me on the progress of women’s rights in the United States.
Imagine living in a world where women have no power or voice or control over their own lives. A world where women are property to their husbands or fathers or white privileged men, and their sole purpose in life is to have children, children that she would not even have a say in how their raised. The issue regarding women’s rights has been a worldwide dilemma since the very beginning of human life. Males have had this negligent idea cemented into their brains that they are very superior to females. In the US throughout the 19th century there were very many distinct differences between the roles of men and women in society.
No true words were spoke than those by Ms. Susan B. Anthony, “Oh, if I could but live another century and see the fruition of all the work for women! There is so much yet to be done.” Those words are still true today. Even though Ms. Susan B. Anthony, Ms. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and other activists worked hard to get equal rights for women to allow them the right to have a say in how our government is run there are still places in the world where women and even some men aren’t allowed to vote. Some of those places may actually be surprising, others maybe not so much. Even still some of the trials these women went through to end women’s suffrage and the lack of political equality is worth taking a look at even ninety-one
Between the years of 1972 and 1982, women and other supporters were fighting one of many fights for the Equal Rights Amendment. “Women and supporters lobbied, marched, rallied, petitioned, picketed, went on hunger strikes, as well as, committed acts of civil disobedience.” One of the very first problems for advocacy was the significant difference of equality for men and women. In this time of history, the Constitution only granted rights to the individuals who had all the power of decision-making and influence: white males. Social traditions and ideas of common law were defined for women from an English influence. With English tradition as the biggest influence, many women were denied many legal rights. Some of these rights included: denied
There are many aspects of life that people take for granted in the United States today. A public school system, sewer systems, clean water, electricity, free speech, are perfect examples, and all of which most Americans do not think twice about having. These aspects have not appeared out of thin air in modern America. They have been molded, shaped, and created throughout time. One part of life that is taken for granted at times is women’s rights. Women throughout history have fought for the right to vote, for equal pay, and to be treated as men are. Over time, they have evolved to be included, represented, and accepted into today’s society. There were many contributing factors to help these women achieve their goals. History has extensive amounts
With the advancement of suffrage to equal pay, over the last century, women’s rights have progressed immensely. Through historic marches and demonstrations across the United States, women protested for their equal place in politics and social progress. Despite the fear-mongering components used in achieving these rights, women’s rights are still thoroughly debated within society today. Over the last century, incredible and unreachable goals have been fulfilled for women, such as the right to vote and a sense of equal state in the “Free World,” and can only improve in the years to come.
Society has long since considered women the lessor gender and one of the most highly debated topics in society through the years has been that of women’s equality. The debates began over the meaning between a man and woman’s morality and a woman’s rights and obligations in society. After the 19th Amendment was sanctioned around 1920, the ball started rolling on women’s suffrage. Modern times have brought about the union of these causes, but due to the differences between the genetic makeup and socio demographics, the battle over women’s equality issue still continues to exist. While men have always held the covenant role of the dominant sex, it was only since the end of the 19th century that the movement for women’s equality and the
Through out history, Americans have fought for the rights of freedom in their country, freedoms that have been passed down through dozen’s of generations. Freedom’s such as religion, speech, press, slavery and the right to vote. Americans, though very aware of their freedoms, often take them for granted and forget the struggles that their ancestors went through to obtain them. One example of this struggle is a woman’s right to be treated and looked upon by the government as equals. This was not an easy battle to win, and it took a strong few to begin to bring the struggle that women had faced for centuries to an end.
Women’s Rights was one of the major social changes that began to gain attention in the media and to peak in active activity during the twentieth century. Women’s rights had been in the making since the eighteenth century. Some of the earliest documented words for Women’s rights appeared in a letter to John Adams by his wife Abigail Adams. During the making of the United States constitution (from the eighteenth to nineteenth century), she wrote to her husband and asked him to “remember the ladies”. The first state to permit women to vote in the United States (before the nineteenth amendment was drafted) was New Jersey. However, there were restrictions upon who was eligible to vote. Some of these restrictions included
A struggle for equality has taken place for over 150 years. Women’s rights have been violated and changed. Many large factions have band together in this fight. Through ups and downs we are breaking all the boundaries that were placed before us.