Women's Suffrage In The Nineteenth Century

In the late 1800’s through the early 1900’s, women were not given the rights they have today and were being mistreated, but because of a few brave women who gave up their lives to fight for what they knew was right, this all changed. Many of these women were educated and brave, but were still denied their rights. Women have suffered through this long battle to get what they knew they deserved and took time out of their lives to fight for what they believed in, which was to have a voice. Women wanted to get the same respect that men were given. The women’s suffrage movement was not only in the United States, but it was all over the world. It took the women’s suffrage movement many years to work and come through, but women were finally able to vote and have the same rights as men. Through their work in the suffrage movement, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony and many more changed the role of women in society.

In 1848 women decided that they wanted to have a voice. Women from all over the United States became tired of listening and abiding by the rules that men put in place. Many men thought all women were good for was cooking, cleaning, and caring for the children. When the country went to war women were left behind to take care of everything while the men were gone. This was an eye opener for most women, and that is when they came to the conclusion they were good for more. There was so much women were not allowed to do that men could, and a lot of it could only change if women had the right to vote.

Women, like black slaves, were treated unequally from the male before the nineteenth century. The role of the women played the part of their description, physically and emotionally weak, which during this time period all women did was took care of their household and husband, and followed their orders. Women were classified as the “weaker sex” or below the standards of men in the early part of the century. Soon after the decades unfolded, women gradually surfaced to breathe the air of freedom and self determination, when they were given specific freedoms such as the opportunity for an education, their voting rights, ownership of property, and being employed.

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 summer of eighteen forty-eight two women Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B Anthony who founded the National Women’s Suffrage Association in eighteen sixty-nine met with a small group of people determined to give women a larger sphere of action than the laws and customs of that day allowed (Taylor 13). At this time in our country women were denied the right to vote, made to give their husbands the land and property which they may have control of, plus nearly no say in legal or professional matters. To give you an idea of what the women were up against on July thirtieth, eighteen sixty-eight a group lead by T.H. Mundine wrote a declaration stating that all persons meeting age, residences, and citizenship requirements be deemed qualified electors “without distinction of sex” (Taylor 14). This motion was referred to the state of Texas and in January eighteen sixty-nine, it was rejected on a vote of fifty-two – thirteen. The motion that was shot down was not anything to major by today’s standards. It was a simple bill to allow women to have a more reasonable portion of the burdens of government (Taylor 14). As this example illustrates women had a huge wall to climb of they wanted to be even with men in societies eyes.

go to the House of Lords and pay also to get the divorce, which was a

In the 1900’s women did not have the same rights as men. They weren’t allowed to do certain things and are not considered equal. Once women started to protest this, the whole nation got involved and there were some disagreements. The amendment was first proposed in 1878 to Congress but not seriously considered. In the early 1900’s a Representative proposed the Susan B. Anthony Amendment to allow women the right to vote. After the amendment passed in the House of Representatives, the Senate also passed the amendment. The vote then went to the states and it was one shy state away from the two thirds requirement and it was all up to Tennessee to break the vote. The decision was all up to Republican Harry T. Burn who was against the amendment but his mom was the one to change his mind. With a change in Tennessee’s vote the amendment officially passed the nineteenth amendment on June 4, 1919. The whole question is who supported and who opposed the passing of the nineteenth amendment? The people who obviously supported the nineteenth amendment were the women across the nation. Some more than others but in some way all women wanted to be treated equal. There were even some men who supported the amendment like Frederick Douglass who was a former African-American slave. Even though it seems like a lot of people want this amendment to pass and agree to equal rights, there were people who did oppose to the passing of the amendment. Being mostly men, an even bigger group disagreed with

In the late nineteenth century, women were beginning to take a stand for their equal rights in society. The term “new woman” was used to describe these women, openly proclaiming their independence from men. It was a woman’s way to threaten the conventional ideas of society, and to bring about their own changes (Buzwell). Following their well-known suffrage movement, women claimed their freedom sexually, physically, and in the workplace. For many years’ prior, women were expected to be the typical housewife, watching over the house, cooking, and cleaning. They were property of their husbands. During their equal rights revolution, women pursued careers like doctors or lawyers and fulfilling their sexual desires for purposes other than bearing children. As today’s society may never know the struggles and misfortunes during the Victorian era, Dracula leaves a time capsule behind to elaborate on the realities during such a prominent generation (Podonsky). Considering this given criteria, a new woman comes in a variety of forms; some women represent a stronger sexual desire while others demonstrate character traits on equality in work and education. In the case of Dracula, the two main female characters take two different forms; one blatantly sexual and one chaste (Humphrey). Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula portrays the ideas of a “new woman” in a modern society, utilizing Mina’s and Lucy’s characters to display opposite characteristics of the feminist movement which draw attention to

Suffragists advocated for women 's enfranchisement to not only secure political rights for female, but also for social equality between genders. This is supported by the information that is outlined in the Declaration of Sentiments, which was written during the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. As a matter of fact, this convention initiated and set the notion of women 's enfranchisement into motion. In the declaration, pro-suffragist men and women implied that females were not treated equally to their male peers but repressed by the traditional values and ideas of the society. They also suggested that a woman did not have a legal entity under the law. Thus, the individual freedoms which are outlined in the Bill of Rights did not directly apply to women. Suffragists were convinced that in order to improve the social conditions of women, it was necessary for her to be politically represented, which can only be achieved by gaining the right to vote. It is essential to note that when referring to the social conditions, suffragists are pointing out issues, such as, women receiving smaller wages than men. Other social issues include: women having to give up the full child custody to her husband after divorce; women being discouraged from attending higher educational institutes; and more.

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.

In the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s, women played a significant role in social reforms. During this time, women fought for women’s voting rights. It took almost two years for the 19th amendment, women’s voting rights, to get passed. The 19th amendment was later passed in 1920. Once the amendment was passed, it unified suffrage laws across the United States. Because these women fought for what they wanted and stood up for what they believed in, they made history.

If women were never given the right to vote and do other political things in America and England, the world would be much more cruel, due to the lack of gentleness from women, thinking about things before you do them, and taking charge and being a part of the solution.

Women always tried to find a way they could fight for their country just like men did. They willing offered and volunteered. Women fought for more than 200 years to obtain the rights only white men were guaranteed. While women worked to help free slaves, they noticed similarities to the unfair matters to their situation. Why did women not have the same rights as men?

“Men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less” (Susan B. Anthony). Throughout history women have been deprived of certain rights that men have been accustomed to since birth. Investigative Journalism and the media have helped women create impeccable change in women's rights over the course of the 19th century to today. Because of their exemplary efforts to change legislation, women have been able to make incredible change in woman suffrage, wages and employment, and access to higher education.

California women and men worked tirelessly to strengthen the women’s suffrage campaign from 1893, when the state legislature passed an amendment permitting women to vote in state elections, through the final passage of the amendment in 1911. The strength of the movements themselves, passionate support overcoming harsh opposition, pushed by the people and the organizations championing for the women’s vote were the main contributing factors which accumulated in the eventual passage of Amendment 8. Since California women have begun to vote, there have been many advancements and setbacks in the other women’s rights movements, including the Nineteenth Amendment and the Equal Rights Amendment.