THE SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT

THE SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT

The suffrage movement traces its origin to the 19^th century and culmination in 1920 following the Nineteenth Amendment of the US Constitution through which the women folk were granted the right to vote¹. Interestingly, however, it is around the times of the Amendment which saw the rifest backing to the anti-suffragism crusade². The ‘Antis’ movement was primarily entrenched in the need to parade the feebleness of the women fraternity beyond their old-style roles, widespread partialities and the fear of change.

According to most of the anti-suffragism arguments, the women’s suffrage movement strongly prompted deep-seated feminism eventually undermining the traditional social order and gender roles³. Other prevalent partialities were rooted in the belief that the women had no right to vote as they lacked the stability of mind and temperamental stillness during emergencies and could, therefore, not be trusted to make such sensitive decisions. The men also feared the imminent change. According to the males in the anti-suffragism camp, the women owed them submission and domestic labor⁴. On the other hand, they were expected to provide masculine governance to their wives and families.

The anti-suffragist activities were justified in reference to the context of the times. Even though suffragists ultimately won the argument and fight, the hostility from the ‘Antis’ obviously delayed their activities and eventually shaped the social wellbeing of the people. For instance, the events of the women suffragists gradually shifted from the early radical feminist experiments to sounder democratic operations. Initially, the women’s suffrage movement was considered to be a significant threat to the government. However, the government authorities finally chose to give suffragism a sober view to ending the fierce debate between the two fiercely conflicting sides.

Bibliography

Hume, Leslie. The National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies 1897-1914 (Routledge Revivals). London: Routledge, 2016.

Mickenberg, Julia. “American Girls in Red Russia: Chasing the Dream.” EuropeNow (2017): 1 – 432.