Women Can Finally Vote

There have been many determined women and organizations such as the NASWA and the NWP that have fought long and hard to gain the right to vote. Although it’s been a long battle to

Did you know that women in the United States did not have the right to vote until the year 1920? Exactly 144 years after the United States was granted freedom from Great Britain. The women’s suffrage movement, however, did not actually start until 1848, and lasted up until they were granted the right to vote in 1920. Women all over the country were fighting for their right to vote in hopes of bettering their lives. The women’s suffrage movement was a long fought process by many people all over the world, over all different races, religions, even gender. (Cooney 1)

Being born and raised in America, I and many other Americans have been taught that we live in a country of freedom. Women and men are treated equally; every human being has rights, and you have the freedom to move at will and without restrictions. Women have come a long way in our country, gaining rights ever since the dawn of patriarchy and proving that they are just as good as men with the ability to think, speak, and act for themselves. However, discrimination of women still exists in America and many other countries, but women are taking a stand and trying to eliminate the inequality between genders, such as the difference in salaries, and the bad representation of and portrayal of women in the media.

This photo captures American women voting for the first time after the 19th Amendment was passed on August 26, 1920. Women were always thought of less than man and were expected to stay home and take care of the children. They lacked important rights such as voting, being able to own property, and having legal claim to any money they might earn. But after about seventy years women proved that they, like men, deserve all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Gaining the right to vote was a historical step for women in America that was achieved through hard work and perseverance.

In Muslim societies such as Kuwait, women face issues with their right to vote and their right to run for political office. Under the reading of Islam it is interpreted by Kuwait’s that women are forbidden to hold a position of authority, but this interpretation makes no senses as under Islam it really states people are all equal (Korman 94). Other Kuwait’s believe that women are voting through their father or husband who cast a vote for the entire family not leaving a women’s voice unheard (95). Two great issues for women as we can see have been the right to vote and the right to run for political office. This was acted on in the year 1999 by Sheik Jaber III, past ruler of Kuwait, who issued a royal decree granting women the right to vote. Unfortunately, on November of 1999, the National Assembly voted down the measure, due to time, claiming it was not right to grant those rights for Kuwaiti women yet (Korman 94).

When our country was founded, only property-owning White men were granted the right to vote. After the Civil War, when slavery was finally abolished, the Constitution’s Fifteenth Amendment prohibited “the denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Only in the last century did the Nineteenth Amendment give women the right to vote. And a little over 40 years ago, the Twenty-sixth Amendment was ratified to expand the franchise by lowering the voting age from 21 to

Women first gained the right to vote on August 26, 1920 with the 19th amendment was approved, giving women full voting rights. Fortified by the constitutional victory in 1920, the handful of new women in Congress embarked on what would become a century-long journey to broaden women’s role in government. In the intervening years, the drive for more women’s rights encompassed the lives of the next generations of women. Even today, women are still fighting for their rights and stand up against prejudice. On the forefront of this movement are our women congresswomen who speak on behalf of all women. When Hillary Clinton announced her presidential candidacy, controversial questions immediately surfaced about the role of gender in politics. Through Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2008 and 2016, media is the principal propagator in showing bias and sexism.

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.

If I or a woman couldn’t vote in general today it would be an oligarchy where men would dictate history. I can’t imagine a world where women couldn’t vote but it did happen and was like that for a very long time. It’s very hard to accept the fact that women could not vote and were seen as inferior to men. If women still couldn’t vote today the U.S. itself would be a hypocrite. “We the people,” and more means everyone regardless of gender, sex, race, religion, ethnicity, etc.

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

Our country needs everyone to vote, including women. For instance, if only men voted then women wouldn’t have a voice in our country. Back in 1848 women didn’t have any rights. From the Declaration of Sentiments written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton States, “He becomes, in marriage, for all intents and purposes, her master -- the law giving him power to deprive her liberty, And to administer punishment.”. From the example given it shows once women are married they lose all their rights and have no voice. Once a woman divorces her husband back in 1848 she would lose custody of her children and would be about to become a teacher of religion or be in medicine. Overall, we need women to voice their opinion to help our country, not just men.

Just imagine being a woman and a second rate citizen.This happened to women in the past .Allowing women to vote is so very important for all. Women should be treated equally and fairly .women should have the same rights and freedoms of men and immigrants who are coming into America for their futures.

We do have the right to vote and I am thankful for those who have come before me to give me that ability because if we didn't have that, I know I couldn't do what I want to today. Beyond the right to vote Maude faced domestic subjugation and violence as well as sexual abuse and harassment in her workplace, and even lower wages something that the current wave of feminism is still fighting for. I hope it takes less than a hundred years to get to that point. I am tired of knowing people who have faced sexual assault, I am tired of hearing that women get paid less when they are equally as qualified, I am tired of the government trying to push their agenda on me just because I am a woman. I think this a common theme for a lot of women, we are tired of being the lesser when we should be equal with our male counterparts because we are humans too. It is 2017 and it has been 97 years since we have gained the right to vote and I am not going to back down or give my power back but, let the voice be heard thanks to those who came before me. I know many others will join me and I think that's the fight we call feminism, we will not back

Voting is one of the most privileged rights anybody can have in America. Early in the years, women didn’t have the right to vote. According to the article Why Women Should Be Included in the Voting Rights Act, women had no right to elect representatives of their choice and they weren’t allowed to be elected. Women are the most under-represented people in the United States.

In November of 2016, Americans will have a unique opportunity to vote for a woman for President for the first time. Many will not, for reasons related to her policies, her party, or even her past. But others will not solely because of her gender. In my opinion, gender, like race or sexuality, is irrelevant as a qualification for running for office. Others will disagree, and disagree rather forcefully. There will come a time when someone will tell me not to vote for this woman. When that time comes, will I be able to make my voice heard? Will I have the courage of my convictions?