The Importance Of Women's Rights And The Fight For Equality

Generations of women fought courageously for equality for decades. The ratification of the Nineteenth amendment was vindication for so many women across the country. After having spent so many years oppressed and unable to make way for themselves, women everywhere were growing tired of being unable to own property, keep their wages and the independence that an academic education gave them. The decades that ensued brought with them various female activists, men that supported them and a division of its own within the movement. The women’s suffrage movement lasted 71 years and cam with great discourse to the lives of many women who fought for the cause.

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.

In the years of 1848 to 1920 all that was important in the U.S. was giving women the right to vote. Right to voting was very important to women because it was thought to a beginning of a world of equality between men and women. The idea of equality helped create Women's suffrage (also known as woman's right to vote). In 1848, a group of abolitionist activists mostly women, but also some men gathered in Seneca Falls, New York to discuss the problem of women's rights to voting. Furthermore during the 1800’s and 1900’s “Women and Women’s Organizations” worked for broad based economic and political equality for women. Women didn’t gain the right to vote until the passage of the 19th amendment in 1919 which also helped empower some women to create the “National League of Women Voters” in 1920 to educate women about their rights and additionally it sponsored Women’s Equality Day which is held on the 26th of August to celebrate the anniversary of the 19th Amendment. Right to

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.

On June 4th, 1919 Women's suffrage was passed by Congress. This was later called the 19th Amendment. This Amendment granted women the right to vote. Women could now do what men have done, and they can do it just as good or better. Before this Amendment was ratified, women had been taken for granted. They had the same rights as slaves, if not less. For many years women have not had a voice in society, they had been less than a man. Women did all of the housework, took care of the children, cooked, and many more things an average “ housewife” did.

Women have come a long way ever since the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920 and thereafter with the Equal Rights Amendment Act in 1972 to the U.S Constitution. After decades of struggling and protesting, the 19th Amendment was passed and ratified to grant women the right to vote. Fifty-two years later worth of revisions and persistency, the Equal Rights Amendment was ratified in which it declared that everyone had both Human and Civil rights in the States regardless of sex. Not only did these amendments have an immense impact on the lives of women and sequentially with the rest of the citizens of this nation, but on the people of today’s century. Women have done a tremendous job in proving society wrong about the roles women are

Passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, the 19th amendment was a milestone for which many had struggled, it had taken years of agitation and protest to finally achieve this milestone. Female supporters of women suffrage organized, petitioned, and picketed to win the right to vote, but it took them decades to accomplish their purpose. By 1920, the American electorate had changed forever, but many argued that giving the right to vote to women wasn’t going to be enough. Women wanted independence, equality, they wanted the right to buy a house, practise blue collar jobs, they wanted to escape their domestic, housewife stereotypes. They proved themselves when the situation called for it; they served as nurses in all the wars, provided food, they served as telephone operators, journalists, and over 25 000 U.S women served in Europe during World War l. Had they not been successful in providing for the war, had they not been supportive and had they chosen to stay at home like they had been taught to do, this amendment would never pass. While both World Wars were and still are a very low point in history, it was nesessary for the enchancement of “equality”.

“In August 1920, with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution, some 10 million American women finally became the full political equals of men, eligible to vote in all local, state, and federal elections. In terms of sheer numbers, the Woman Suffrage Amendment represented the single biggest democratizing event in American history” (Amar, 2005).

In the 1800s women were looked upon as second-class citizens, depriving them the right to vote, run for office, to become educated or even to have any type of profession. After women were married they were not allowed to own their own property, wages/income, or sign contracts. After decades of intense political activities and rallies women were granted the right to vote in the year 1920. Women decided to take a stand as one and fight for equality amongst men and women, even if it meant dying for women in the future to one day cast a vote or run in the election.

Until early 20th Century, women had no rights and power in the United States. As the organizations for women’s suffrage established, women began to raise their voices against the discrimination by gender. Finally, the Nineteenth Amendment was passed by Congress in 1919 and enacted in 1920. The Nineteenth Amendment led the America to become today’s United States in which every citizen has equal rights. However, in 1920, not every woman gained the rights to vote. Asian, Mexican, African American women and other non-white American women still had no rights to vote and suffered from discrimination. Therefore, Asian, African, and Mexican American women had similarities that they were treated unequally and had to overcome the discrimination, yet

Women fought for their rights for hundreds of years before the 21st century. Countless women of different backgrounds and races come together to fight against inequalities of different magnitudes to achieve a similar goal. The 19th Amendment to the Constitution granted United States women the right to vote in 1920 but women achieved much more by then.

“The world has never yet seen a truly great and virtuous nation, because in the degradation of women, the very fountains of life are poisoned at their source” (Lucretia Mott). Lucretia Mott is one of the most famous women’s rights activist, abolitionist, and social reformer. American women were degraded of their rights until suffragist began to stand up for what they knew was a limitation of their American freedom. Riots and conventions were held by women so they could come together and demand their rights so they could be respected by society. By ratifying the nineteenth amendment, it changed the course of history as we know it today. This addition to the Constitution arguably gave women the ability to compare their rights with men’s. This impacted America tremendously by allowing women to have the power to change the outcome of political elections. The Nineteenth Amendment guarantees all American women the right to vote. With the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment women were given more freedom, because they could now work the same jobs as a man. It took until the 1980s for women to make up half of the workforce, this was a big change in the American economy because this gave women a financial status and freedom.

The United States has made great strides in improving the rights of women since the 19th amendment was passed in 1920, giving women the right to vote. According to the databases of the International Labour Organization, since 1979 the equality of pay has risen from 62% to an astounding 81% as of 2010 compared to their male counterparts. The data particularly shows that women are being

Women in American society have endured numerous struggles to fight for equality throughout history. Today American women have come a long way by narrowing gender gaps and becoming successful in aspects of life that are prominently male dominated. Although American women are living a better life than they were years ago, they still deal with inequality when it comes to the workforce, income, politics, domestic duties, and sex. The reason women are not equal to men in these aspects of life are because men hold most of the jobs in the STEM fields of work, make higher incomes than women in the same level of employment, dominate congress and the government, not looked upon to take care of the house duties, and are praised for sex rather than shamed like women are. Living as an American woman today is far from difficult but in contrast, living as an American man is still substantially better.

The word feminism essentially represents the cumulative number of ideologies and movements that advocate the equal rights of women on all grounds. While the concept has been present for centuries, its magnitude in the United States has only become largely recognized throughout the 20th century. In particular, feminism has had its most lasting effects through two large waves in the early 1900’s, whilst fighting for women’s suffrage, and the 1960’s to 1970’s, which focused on women in the workplace and counteracting the submissive roles assigned to women in the 1950’s. These political battles for gender equality have left lasting footprints on today’s society by giving women opportunities previously unattainable. Still, the fight for women’s rights is far from over, as today’s females face a new struggle involving the media. With the rapid progression of modern technology has come the immensely degrading trend of objectifying women. Women’s position in the media is heavily flawed, as females are seen as little more than their physical appeal, instead of human beings with large amounts of potential. This objectification is most prominently displayed through children’s literature, the use of advertisements, and sexual abuse, and must be eradicated for the security and equality of all women. Despite the decades of progress that have elevated the rights of women in this country, society will not obtain true gender equality until the media changes, since it has counteracted