The Contributions Of The 19th Amendment Woman Suffrage Movement

For the longest time, women’s role in society was very narrow and set in stone. Women weren’t given the chance to decide life for their own, and there was a very sharp distinction of gender roles. Women were viewed as inferior, weak, and dependant. They were expected to be responsible for the family and maintainance of the house. But as the 19th century began, so did a drastic change in society. Women started voicing their opinions and seeking change. Trying to break away from this ideology called “cult of domesticity” was a lengthy, burdensome, and demanding struggle.

Women were not allowed to vote nor were they paid as much as men for completing the same job. In a 1889 payroll from Lyman Mills in Holyoke, MA we see that a man and a woman performing the same work for the same duration of time, could have a three dollar difference in their weekly wages. Three dollars may not seem like much but it is equivalent to $74.36 in today’s money! Suffragist Susan B. Anthony once said that the preamble of the Constitution says “’We the people of the United States…’ It was the people; not we the white male citizens; nor we, the male citizens; but we the whole people, who formed the union.” Women gained their right to vote in 1920 when the nineteenth amendment was passed.

The entire Women’s Movement in the United States has been quite extensive. It can be traced back to 1848, when the first women’s rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. After two days of discussions, 100 men and women signed the Declaration of Sentiments. Drafted by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, this document called for equal treatment of women and men under the law and voting rights for women. This gathering set the agenda for the rest of the Women’s Movement long ago (Imbornoni). Over the next 100 years, many women played a part in supporting equal treatment for women, most notably leading to the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which allowed women the right to vote.

My topic of choice is the background behind the 19TH Amendment of the United States. Voting is important in the United States because its shows that we’re a part of a movement that allows us to vote for whose best for running our country. Well what if you were denied this right not because of your race, but your gender? Women were denied the right to vote for years because men felt that they weren’t an important part of decision making in America. They believed we were already busy with raising children, taking care of the home, and “serving” our husbands, that we shouldn’t have to deal with the pressure of voting.

In the early days, women didn’t shared the same rights as men because women were seen as maintaining their position at homes and leaving men in politics just because they were seen as delicate compared to men (which in other words showed women unequal to men). However, it was just a matter of time when women realized that they’re not receiving their basic rights in the United States. This lead women fight against inequality but, it wasn’t easy at all because they had to face long struggle known as women’s suffrage movement that give the women right to vote. That’s why the 19th amendment was the results of decades of efforts that women put in order to get granted officially with the right to vote in the form of an amendment to the constitution. Which states that “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account for sex.” However, it’s important to know that women didn’t see the right to vote just as the opportunity to participate in the process of choosing the leader of the country but instead, they saw the right to vote as a symbol of recognition. Due to the fact that, it will give them and the others the recognition of their existence in the nation along with giving them the right to speak against the events and matter that will affect their life (Cote). I believe that the 19th amendment about the voting rights of women was passed mainly because several generations of women's lectured,

Darkness reigned over America as women fought for their freedom. Women suffered from discrimination based on gender for decades, always subordinate to men. This led to protests across the nation during the Progressive Era, and started a 72 year long dispute. After years of discrimination, an amendment finally passed in the states granting women more freedoms and less gender discrimination. Due to the change, America was led into a better future. The Nineteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was finally passed which legalized women’s right to vote and created a voice for women.

The Constitution States, “The rights of all citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex”(United States Constitution). The 19th amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920 after many years of women protesting and demanding equality from the government . From the views of many people who believe that the American Revolution was radical all men were treated equally. Conversely, this aspect was taken very literally in the that women were excluded from voting and making

The Women’s Suffrage Movement of the 1920’s worked to grant women the right to vote nationally, thereby allowing women more political equality. Due to many industrial and social changes during the early 19th century, many women were involved in social advocacy efforts, which eventually led them to advocate for their own right to vote and take part in government agencies. Women have been an integral part of society, working to help those in need, which then fueled a desire to advocate for their own social and political equality. While many women worked tirelessly for the vote, many obstacles, factions, and ultimately time would pass in order for women to see the vote on the national level. The 19th Amendment, providing women the right to vote, enable women further their pursuit for full inclusion in the working of American society.

The amendment I have decided to discuss is the 19th amendment. I chose to discuss this amendment because I am a female an amendment 19 gave females the right to vote. The 19th amendment was an extremely important victory for the women's suffrage movement. Amendment 19 was adopted on August 18th,1920 says that the government and the states cannot deny one to vote based on sex. This means that women have a right to vote.

Prior to August 18th, 1920 for nearly 70 years the rights of women were dismissed in favor to the rights of men. Woman could not own property, have a say in earned income or have the right to vote. The momentous adoption of the 19th amendment initially gave women

During World War I, women filled many of the jobs men left open, yet they still had no say in the government, although they were clearly equal to their male counterparts. The Nineteenth Amendment prevented states from denying people the right to vote because of their gender. It addressed the need to reform the way

Of all the issues that were in the middle of reformation mid 1800’s, antislavery, education, intemperance, prison reform, and world peace, women’s rights was the most radical idea proposed. The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 was a rally held by Elizabeth Cady Stanton with the common goal to eventually achieve equal rights among all citizens. Frederick Douglass, who became an acclaimed activist in the African American Equal Rights movement, accompanied the movement. Moreover, The Declaration of Sentiments was a document that reflected the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, reiterating the sentiment from the Bible that “all men [and women] are created equal.” Concurrent to the publication of this document, for the first time, women insisted that they were men’s equals in every way. The Declaration of Sentiments was pivotal in Women’s history, although it was not given credit until the late 20th century. However, immediately after the Declaration of Sentiments was published, women and activist groups were inspired to take action towards rights for all underprivileged American citizens. The convention took place in a small town in upstate New York, which was home to four of the five people who organized the gathering. (DuBois, 1999, p. 45) This was the first time female equality was discussed in a public place. The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 was one of the most important events in women’s rights history.

During the 20th century, male and females were not being treated equally a lot of women started getting mad because they weren’t getting jobs or the right to vote as men, so it led to the Civil Rights Movement, the Equal Rights Amendment was involved, because women weren’t treated equally or given the same rights as males. The Civil RIghts Movement was when there was a lot of racism and black and white people weren’t given the same rights, it was unfair to the black because they couldn’t do so many things like vote and also there was sex discrimination. In 1923, Alice Paul, leader and founder of the National Woman’s Party, considered that ERA should be the next step in the 19th Amendment in granting equal justice under the law to both sexes, male and female, in the U.S. Alice Paul said “ We women of America tell you that America is not a democracy. Twenty million women are denied the right to vote.” A text from the amendment said “Equal of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”

right to vote when the 19th amendment got ratified in the year 1920. Before the 19th amendment, only 4 states gave women the right to vote. The western states gave women the right to vote so that more people could come to their states. The women suffrage was run by strong women. Two of the women were Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady. The women got the right to vote because they have been fighting for their rights since 1775, women were striking for their rights at their job to so that they can be equal as men, the women’s right convention that opened the new possibility for women, and the 4 states that gave women rights before the 19th amendment.

For my unit plan I decided to teach Women Suffrage and examine the 19th Amendment. Throughout the unit I want to explore what occurred from the first National Women’s Convention in 1848 until 1919 when women received the right to vote. By the end of the lesson I hope that my students will be able to identify the important leaders of the movement and understand the important events that led up to the amendment being passed.