How Did Annie Get Your Gun

Even at a young age, Annie Oakley contested the roles of men and women. Annie had a difficult

This was frowned upon by most of the community because women were said to be needed at the household where they should stay and take care of the household. As more women colleges opened such as the Holyoke Seminary, a school that opened specifically to educate women. As women became more educated, they tried to gain a voice in the community and among the nation socially and politically. An example of this is Dorothea Dix where she protested and changed many of the prison treatment and also treatment for the mentally ill as stated in Document F. Women would later to go on to where bloomers which symbolizes that they were equal to men in every way. One way that they were gaining a political voice was at the Women's Rights Convention at Seneca Falls, New York in the mid 1800's. Elizabeth Stanton stated the Declaration of Independence which stated, "all men and women were created equally." This convention launched the modern Women's Rights Movement, and made women's voice be heard around the nation. In addition to this women petitioned for multiple women's rights that would be passed. This movement gained women equal rights to men due to the Second Great

Her name was not high in government, but high in the fight that women across the country were involved in one way or another. Carrie Lane Chapman Catt was a leader, along with Susan B. Anthony, who campaigned for the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Her role in this “civil war” led her to be a member of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) and the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA).

An example of this push could be found in a petition to a Massachusetts legislature in 1753 as it is stated “...On every principle of natural justice, as well as by the nature of our institutions, she is as fully entitled as man to vote and to be eligible to office… she is entitled to a voice in fixing the amount of taxes and the use of them, when collected, and is entitled to a voice in the laws that regulate punishment” (Document F). This quote refers to the idea of no taxation without equal representation within the Declaration of Independence and the Seneca Falls Convention in New York in 1848, as it centered around the idea that women should be able to vote. Women were also able to take a stance in promoting and gaining equal rights even if it took a backseat to other issues and was the lingering in the background. An example of this would be when Dorothea Dix sought to create change within this nation through a series of national reports on those in prisons and insane asylums. Dorothea Dix advocated improving the conditions within jails, prisons, and insane asylums as well as pin responsibility, of the individuals within the institutions, on the federal government. Her reports showed the public that insanity was a disease of the mind rather than created by one’s own will. She also reported on how many of those with mental issues were

Susan B. Anthony was born in 1820 and raised in the Quaker tradition, where men and women were considered equal under God. Women were allowed an education, could preach equally with men, and had far more power within their denomination than anywhere else, which was unheard of in the early 1800’s. However, Susan did not know that. As an adult, she would find that the reality was that most women were uneducated, had few legal rights, and were subservient to men. It was then that Susan decided to give up her career as a teacher, and commit the rest of her life to the cause of feminism. Anthony realized that the law played a major role in setting men over women, and they would have the power to change laws only by obtaining the vote. This made

World War I also provided women with the means to finally achieve suffrage. Groups such as the National American Woman Suffrage Association, led by Carrie Chapman Catt, enthusiastically joined the war effort, thereby intertwining patriotism and women’s rights. After the House of Representatives passed the women’s suffrage amendment in January 1918, President Wilson told the nation, “We have made partners of the women in this war. Shall we admit them only to a partnership of suffering and sacrifice and toil and not to a partnership of privilege and right?” (James and Wells, 67-68). True political equality did not result from the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment—very few female candidates were elected in the 1920s—but, in the words of Allen, “the winning of the suffrage had its effect. It consolidated woman’s position as man’s equal” (96).

In the mid to late 1700's, the women of the United States of America had practically no rights. When they were married, the men represented the family, and the woman could not do anything without consulting the men. Women were expected to be housewives, to raise their children, and thinking of a job in a factory was a dream that was never thought impossible. But, as years passed, women such as Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, and Elizabeth Blackwell began to question why they were at home all day raising the children, and why they did not have jobs like the men. This happened between the years of 1776 and 1876, when the lives and status of Northern middle-class woman was changed forever. Women began to

Throughout the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, gender roles began to change as women became active participants in American society. For instance, women became active in expressing their views against alcohol and pushed for the prohibition and temperance. Organizations such as The Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), argued that alcohol led to societal problems. Male and female reformers banned together to argue that alcohol was immoral and causing a negative impact on women. Women, if married, would experience an abusive, violent drunk husband who neglected his family and gambled his money away. Thus, the evils of alcohol became part of the progressive agenda that eventually led to the passage of the 18th amendment. Along with prohibition, women also took active roles in acquiring suffrage. In “The Politics of Good Government,” Gayle Gullett argued that in the California Women’s Movement built a nonpartisan broad suffrage umbrella that sought to enhance their “special interests.” Middle-class women assured their male allies that women’s enfranchisement was essential to progressivism. Furthermore, middle-and working-class women argued that suffrage would not only protect working women but women in general. Working class men and women also united to seek reform. Thus, through these heterogeneous groups, the California Women’s Movement built a unified coalition that led to women’s suffrage in 1911. [46] As America entered the First Great War, the

With Seneca Falls, 1848, the movement began in earnest. Early suffragists often had ties to the abolitionist movement. (Lecture 18) With the Civil War era, suffragists split over voting rights for black men. There was a need for regrouping and rethinking in the face of a reconstructed nation because there was a push for black men to get the right to vote. There were Women’s Rights conventions every year up until the Civil War, and in 1851, a resolution that “resolved, the proper sphere, for all human beings is the largest and highest for which they are able to obtain”. (Lecture 24) This captures the true essence of both the Women’s Suffrage Movement and the Abolitionist Movement. Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony were Abolitionists and a majority of suffragettes were as well as well as involvement with the temperance movement. (Ibid) The question was raised, should women keep advocating for women’s rights or do they need to support the war? This resulted in the pause between 1861-1865 when there was not a women’s convention for the first time. Women were deeply involved with the Union cause and were vital to upholding society and keeping stores in business by serving as “deputy husbands”. (Ibid) Women also had a direct role serving in the war, some served as nurses in addition to some fighting for the cause. Sarah Edmunds Seelye was one of the few who fought under a man’s name, she served under Franklin Thompson for the 2nd Michigan Infantry until she deserted due to

of the expectations of women and how each woman has to fit a certain role as a

who got shot for what she believed in. She also wanted to make equal rights available, and

In her report, Veronica Loveday writes about Women’s Rights Movement, during World War two, and many restrictions women faced. Women’s rights movement in the U.S. begun in the 1960s as a reaction to the decades of unfair social and civil inequities faced by women. Over the next thirty years, feminists campaigned for equality, such as equal pay, equal work , and abortion rights. Women finally gained the right to vote with the passage of the 19th amendment to the constitution in 1920.

(Goldfield, 338) Since the cult of domesticity was making women inferior to men, women decided to do as the slaves did and fight for their own freedom. The women’s rights movement began in the mid-1800s. Female and male abolitionist found it necessary that women should be able to have the same rights as men. Just because biologically they are different, it does not mean they do not deserve the same rights. Women were denied the right to vote, property and a right to an education or job. (Goldfield, 338) At first the women’s movement was slow. Many women were afraid to speak out in fear of being shunned by their community. This was a brand new scary task that Women for the first time were going to deal with. A women speaking out against the norms of society was seen as a terrible thing to do. When you have many women speaking out for the same thing a change must be done. When the first national convention for women’s rights was called in Seneca Falls, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott were able to successfully use the Declaration of Independence as a model for their own Declaration of Sentiments. (Goldfield, 339) In their Declaration they branded that “male patriarchy as the source of women’s oppression” (Goldfield, 339) Stanton and Mott called for full women’s rights and to become independent citizens. Although the fight for women’s rights was always an important issue, most abolitionists deemed it less important

Women eventually became repulsive against the standards of which they were being held to, yet they had to remain quiet. Several organizations were created regarding women’s suffrage. Many of the organizations had committed members who devoted all of their free time to the organization. Susan Brownell Anthony was one of those committed members. Anthony was born on February 15, 1820 in Adams, Massachusetts. She became interested in Women suffrage at a young age. She practically devoted her life to the Women’s Suffrage Movement. Anthony’s father worked as a farmer. Eventually he became wealthy by starting a cotton mill. Despite their, wealth they lived a simple life. Keeping up with their Quaker faith. Quakers believed in equality between the sexes. Anthony was raised in an environment filled with outspoken women resulting in her outspoken personality. In 1849, Anthony quit her job and rejoined her parents, who moved to Rochester Newyork, where Anthony became intrigued with the fight for women 's suffrage. Anthony 's participation in several organizations and outspoken nature made her a target for criticism. The editors of the newspaper attempted to perceive her to the public as a “bitter spinster” who only had interest in Women Suffrage because she could not find a husband, when in fact Anthony had received numerous proposals all of which she had refused. She felt that if she were to get married she would

This new generation of activists fought with this new agenda for almost 20 years until a few states in the West began to extend the vote to women. The Eastern and Southern states still refused to give in, but this didn’t stop the National American Woman Suffrage Association. In 1916, Carrie Chapman Catt, president of the NAWSA, worked vigorously to get women’s organizations from all over the country together and fight side by side. “One group of activists, led by Alice Paul and her National Woman’s Party, lobbied for full quality for women under the law” (Divine). She used mass marches and hunger strikes as strategies, but she was eventually forced to resign because of her insistence on the use of militant direct-action tactics (Grolier). Finally, during World War 1, women were given more opportunities to work, and were able to show that they were just as deserving as men when it came to the right to vote. On August 18th, 1920, the 19th amendment was ratified, allowing women to vote. This drawn-out and arduous battle opened a new window of opportunity for women all over the country. Significant changes in both social life and job availability began to create what is now referred to as the “new women.”