Timeline of Four Major Events of the Women's Movement

The Seneca Convention was held in Wesleyan Chapel in New York on July 19th, of 1848 and lasted until the next day, July 20th. Nearly three hundred women- and men- attended this convention, which surprised the organizers because they had only published a single advertisement about it in the local newspaper. (Lusted 12) At the end of the two-day convention, all points from both the Declaration of Sentiments and the resolutions had been approved by the women in attendance and the first major step in the fight for women’s suffrage was complete.

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.

Women have always been fighting for their rights for voting, the right to have an abortion, equal pay as men, being able to joined the armed forces just to name a few. The most notable women’s rights movement was headed in Seneca Falls, New York. The movement came to be known as the Seneca Falls convention and it was lead by women’s rights activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton during July 19th and 20th in 1848. Stanton created this convention in New York because of a visit from Lucretia Mott from Boston. Mott was a Quaker who was an excellent public speaker, abolitionist and social reformer. She was a proponent of women’s rights. The meeting lasted for only two days and was compiled of six sessions, which included lectures on law, humorous

Dolly Parton once quoted, “If you want the rainbow, you have to put up with the rain.” This quote helps understand the impact the Women’s Suffrage Movement makes on the present day. In 1848 the battle for women’s privileges started with the first Women 's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York. On August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment, which provided full voting rights for women nationally, was ratified in the United States Constitution when Tennessee became the 36th state to approve it (Burkhalter). Freya Johnson Ross and Ceri Goddard stated a quite valid argument in a secondary source Unequal Nation saying, “Since the ratification of the 19th Amendment, major social changes have transformed the lives of women and men in many ways but the United States has not noticed how far away our nation is from the gender equal future” (5). When women were finally granted the right to vote, barriers were broken which would allow an increasing chance to make progressive steps to a more equal nation, but our nation has yet to realize our full potential.

Who were the main people involved? Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott initiated the first Women's Suffrage Movement, July 19, 1848 at Seneca Falls Convention, New York. At this convention Elizabeth Cady Stanton echoed the preamble of the Declaration Of Independence. “ We hold these truths to be self- evident: that all men and women are created equally.” Proving that when we declared our independence it was for everyone not just men. In 1866, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony formed an American Equal Rights Association. The Association was dedicated to the suffrage goals regardless of race or gender. Lucy Stone fought about the 15th Amendment, Ratified in 1870, and that the Amendment states that, “ The right of citizens to vote shall not be denied on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.Many of the women involved in suffrage began political work in the antislavery

The campaign for women’s suffrage began in earnest in the decades before the Civil War. During the 1820s and 30s. American women were beginning to question what historians called the “Cult of True Womanhood.” Historians believed that the only “true” woman was a pious, submissive wife and mother concerned exclusively with home and family ("The Fight for Women’s Suffrage." par 2). An important motivator to opposing this way of thinking was The Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. A group of activist, manly women, gathered in New York to discuss the problems of

In 1869 Staton, Mott, and Anthony created the “NWSA” also known as the National Women’s Suffrage Association. This group did not allow male figures in and focused around the right to vote in national elections and passing the constitutional amendment. Soon after the other suffragist Lucy Stone founded her own organization. Stone started the “NAWSA” also known as the National American Women’s Suffrage Association. This group focused on getting votes state by state for suffrage. The only difference with this organization was that men were allowed to join, which caused many problems. 20 years later in 1890 Lucy Stone had become very ill and had passed away, since no one was there to run her organization (NAWSA) the NWSA group connected together. It was now fully known as The National American Women’s Suffrage Association (NAWSA) but this time men were not allowed to join.

After both of the ladies were being denied participation in the convention, they were livid. Stanton and Mott spent most of their extra time coming up with ideas for the Women’s convention that would be the first of its kind. Even though Mott and Stanton discussed of the first women’s convention, it did not take place until eight years after they had came up with an agreement, which made this women convention finally happen from 1840 to 1848 (Adams, Page 14).

3. In June 1919 a bill was passed by Congress, the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote. This bill was made law on August 26, 1920.

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.

Other influential women in women suffrage history, such as Lucy Stone and Henry Blackwell, formed the American Woman Suffrage Association in late 1869. This group’s goal was to continue Anthony’s and Stanton’s goal and gain voting rights for women through amendments to individual state constitutions. The territory of Wyoming was later the first to pass the women’s suffrage law; and women began to serve on juries there as early as the following year.

Sub-point A: Women formed organizations to fight for suffrage. One of the most memorable events was the gathering of abolitionist activist at the Seneca Falls Convention. The Convention was organized by Elizabeth Candy Stanton and Lucretia Mott. The Convention showed attention to unfair treatment of women, the convention was attended by 300 people and 40 of them was men. (show pictures of the convention)

The timeline of women’s suffrage is a one that spans from 1848 to 1920. The women’s rights movement in the United States started in the year 1848 with the first women’s rights convention held in Seneca Falls, New York. During this convention the ‘Declaration of sentiments’ was signed by 68 women who agreed that women deserved their own political identities. This document set forward the agenda for the women’s rights movement. In the year 1869, Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton formed the National Women’s suffrage Association which demanded that the 15th amendment be changed to include women right to vote. In the year 1890, The National Women Suffrage Association and the American Women Suffrage Association merged to form National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Colorado was the first state to grant women the right to vote in the year 1893, followed by Utah, Idaho, Washington, California, Oregon, Kansas, Arizona, Alaska, Illinois, Montana, Nevada, New York, Michigan, South Dakota and Oklahoma. The National Association of Colored Women was formed in the year 1896 to promote the civil rights of colored women. The National Women’s Trade Union League was established in the year 1903 in order to improve the working condition for women and also to bring their wages in par with that of men.

Women began to speak out against the laws that were deliberately set against them. Throughout this time period, women were denied the right to vote in all federal and most state held elections. Women

Two years after the Seneca Falls convention, the very first National Women’s Rights Convention was called to order in Brinley Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts, on October 23–24, 1850. Many famous women rights advocates attended the convention including Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucretia Mott. Over a thousand people attended the convention making Brinley Hall overflow with people. The speakers addressed many issues on women’s equality such as higher education, the right to own property, and to vote. Many newspapers wrote reviews about the conventions some positive and some negative, but no matter what side they were committed to they helped shine a light on the issues of women’s equality and gained many supporters (“mass movements”).