Essay Equality and Citizenship

In the 1900’s, women began to fight the battle that would eventually be the win of a lifetime: the right to vote. The 19th amendment finally granted them their wishes. In 1920, women wanted the same rights and equality as men. Women during this time were treated as minorities because they were immigrants, or people of color, but all were unable to vote. These strong and encouraging women put together large groups and organizations to fight for what they wanted. They were fearless and ready for anything that came their way.

They were still looked down upon for their nurturing habits. Women were the ones who ran the house when it came to protecting it. While fighting for their equality they used this in their favor, saying that they are the ones who know what needs to happen for their home to be protected to the fullest potential. They used what they knew to gather the public’s attention, and this is how they were able to make a change when it came to public sanitation, education, and other factors that lead to a better home. Even though all women were fighting for the same thing, they split up in groups that would benefit more individuals. African American women would fight for the ending of racism, females that worked for equal pay and working conditions, and women who did not work, worked towards fighting for better education systems, better healthcare, and equality in the political system. These small groups of women fighting for different things, all made a huge difference when they came together, and helped changed the lives of Americans all over the country.

Women and those of color began to speak out for their right to vote and fight back against the injustices they were facing. Their problem was that if they didn’t have anyone in power to defend them, they wouldn’t make any progress. It was crucial for them to have the right to vote to get people in power that would help them get their unalienable rights. During the 1850s, the women’s rights movement gathered steam, but lost momentum when the Civil War began.

The 14th amendment is an amendment about civil rights and liberties. In the 14th amendment, it talks about equal protection of the law for all people no matter what race, religion age gender economic status or anything else it also states that due process and equal protection must be enforced at state levels too.The 14th amendment was created in an effort to end discrimination. In theory the 14th amendment sounds wonderful and very effective however in real world situations the 14th amendment and bill of rights are not as effective as they were thought to be. This is evident through many things a few these are inequalities that are still present (document 1,4), still favored rich over the poor(document 3) and still does not show equal protection for all races (document 5).

There were the concerns that the fight for women’s right and African American rights would cause a big conflict. The radicals in Congress did mention this, but that what they wanted. Providing rights to both women and African American were giving up some sort of power, some people in congress did not want to give up a part of their power and authority. Later on in the fourteenth amendment, it was stated that the right to vote was granted on African American men. There was a slow gain of rights for the African American women, which later brought up the question, “are their only men in the African American

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

From the 1880’s to the 1920’s, the Progressive Era was a period in American history where women’s suffrage gained the most momentum. Due to justified Progressive Era reforms and the creation of various organizations during this time, women were able to successfully protect people who were, for example, immigrants, poor, and African Americans belittled by the norms of society. With the full participation of American women, they exercised their full rights as citizens to create public institutions and shape public policy. Redefining the social structure, these middle-class women received support from other women which essentially led to changes of the rights of and treatment of American women in society. Thwarted by a male-dominated society, pleas for better treatment and equal rights made by women in the forms of protests, conventions, parades, and speeches, were often seen as foolish and meaningless. However, women’s unrelenting efforts combined with the atmosphere of reform resulted in positive outcomes such as the right to vote, the creation of new educational opportunities, and the introduction of better working conditions for women, which drastically impacted the way women apply themselves in society today.

citizen. The fourteenth amendment did also promise all citizens the equal protection of the laws. The fourteenth amendment also guaranteed the african american vote. This amendment was manly proposed by the republicans because they were interested in the african american vote. They were so interested in the african american votes because with this votes they could have more power over their rival political party the democrats.

The 14th amendment was established after the American Civil War. It addresses the equal protection and rights for everyone. In addition to equal protection under the law to all citizens, the amendment also prohibits citizens from being deprived of life, liberty, and property. Although our laws guarantee equal treatment for all citizens, we often judge people based on their color, religion, and gender.

The fourteenth Amendment from the United States Constitution was adopted in July 9,1868 and was premeditated as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. This Amendment was to address citizenship rights and equal protection of laws. It was also proposed in response to problems related to former slaves forming from the Civil War. Mostly the 14th Amendment includes equal rights because the 1st section of the 14th Amendment States that all people are born or naturalized in the United States and are subject to the juridification thereof, are U.S citizens and no State can enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States. The 15th Amendment was addressed for granting African-American men the right to vote.

It was not until after the Civil War that these ideas started to change in America. “Dozens of women’s colleges were founded after the Civil War, and many formerly all-male colleges began admitting women.” (Shi and Tindall, pg. 569) By 1900 nearly one-third of college students were women (pg.569) In the early 1900’s women began to liberate themselves from the home, their social roles, and even some of their character traits. New public venues for female interaction were created, from charitable associations to women’s clubs. The increase of female interaction brought a means to change the lack of female influence in government. In 1869 the National Woman Suffrage Association was founded by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, which not only campaigned for woman suffrage, but also for new laws to make an abused wife get a divorce easier and for female workers to get higher pay (pg. 712-714) It was not until the spring of 1919 after WWI that the Nineteenth Amendment was passed giving women a Constitutional guarantee of their right to vote (pg. 775). Women gaining the right to vote was one of the greatest social developments that happened in America because since women made up forty percent of the electorate they had the capability to change the course of politics (pg.

In the nineteenth century, civil rights were becoming a topic of discussion, as more and more people decided that inequality wasn't okay. Slaves had been emancipated a few years before the issue of the female voice in politics was acknowledged. Women were beginning to have more rights and independence. They were now able to own their own property and a federal law for equal pay for equal work was passed. However, there were still revisions to be made. In 1888, Isabella Beecher Hooker went before the International Council of Women to discuss why women should be granted suffrage. Preceding her address, an unnamed individual went before the Senate's Committee on Privileges and Elections in response to a proposed constitutional amendment that would give women a right to vote in 1878. Both of these passages have very different takes on the subjects, one is for and one is against women being granted suffrage, but they both agree on one thing: female's ability to defend the country.

Post-Civil War, Northern women became increasingly active in the Black-suffrage movements in the North. They strategized that by enforcing the right of suffrage for African-Americans they would automatically receive the right to vote. Their calculations were based off of the hierarchal rules implied by the Jim Crow South. During the Jim Crow Era, segregationists feared that reconstruction would mess with the inherent order of their society by making Black men equal to White men and beneath them allowing Black women to be equal to White women. Their restoration period stressed that the gender/racial hierarchy be preserved as follows: White men, White women, Black men, and then Black women. The Northern women assumed that there was no way they would give Black men the right to vote without giving White women the right to vote first, since they were higher up on Jim Crow’s hierarchy. However, their initial plan was unfeasible due to mutual disagreement amongst men in regards to women’s suffrage. Even the radical men believed that supporting women’s suffrage was pushing things too far and risked the nullification of the fourteenth amendment. Regardless of, they pushed for its ratification.

During the 1850’s the women’s rights movement in the United States continued to build, but lost momentum when the Civil War began. After the war ended, the 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution were drafted and ratified; protection to all citizens - with the term “citizens” defined as male, and suffrage for black men, respectively. The drafting of the 15th Amendment caused animosity with women’s rights activists and led them to believe that this was their chance to push lawmakers for truly universal suffrage. They “allied

Up until the 1920s, women’s struggle for their right to vote seemed to be a futile one. They had been fighting for their suffrage for a long time, starting numerous women's rights movements and abolitionist activists groups to achieve their goal. “The campaign for women’s suffrage began in earnest in the decades before the Civil War. During the 1820s and 30s, most states had enfranchised almost all white males (“The Fight for Women's Suffrage” ). This sparked women to play a more emphatic role in society. They began to participate in anti-slavery organizations, religious movements, and even meetings where they discussed that when the Constitution states "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain