women’s suffrage movement

women’s suffrage movement

Introduction

The women’s suffrage movement was a struggle to give women the right to participate in the democratic elections in the United States, and it lasted for several decades. The campaigns for the event took approximately a century before women were allowed to vote in elections, and the fight was not easy. The campaigns experienced severe challenges, including disagreements over strategies that threatened to cripple the movement more than ones. However, on August 18, 1920, after a heated debate in Congress, the 19th Amendment to the constitution was ratified. It enfranchised all American women who, for the first time, were declared to have the right to vote in the general elections like their male counterparts (Wright, 2017). The event was very significant then as much as it is today since it marked the beginning of women’s participation in democratic events. It is a fact that women’s suffrage movements were prompted by various factors that amounted to discrimination of women in many activities, including denial of the right to vote and their achievement not only empowered women but also resulted in significant economic and social impacts.

Causes of the women suffrage movements

In most traditional communities, women were considered unequal to men and thus enjoyed fewer rights than men in society. In the United States, women were excluded from voting. However, at the beginning of the 18th century, several women, most of whom were members of the club movement and the settlement house movement, felt the urge to pass reform legislation. Since they did not vote, they relied on politicians to implement their ideas. Unfortunately, most legislators considered them as a disenfranchised group and thus were unwilling to help with the reforms. Over time, they realized the only way to succeed with the reforms was by winning the voting rights. As a result, at the turn of the century, women transformed the suffrage movements into mass movement advocating for the right to vote.

Course

In 1848, women organized a women right’s convention at the Seneca Falls in New York that marked the beginning of the woman suffrage movements. The organizers of the event included Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, among other pioneers of women’s rights. The main activities of the organization included circulating petitions and lobbying and lobby Congress to amend the law and consider women an enfranchised group. They aimed to conduct civic education that enlightened society on the validity of women’s suffrage.

In the 20th century, two organizations were formed from the movement, namely the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) and the National Woman’s Party under the leadership of Carrie Chapman Catt and Alice Paul, respectively. NAWSA campaigns targeted enfranchising women in individual states. They also urged President Wilson and Congress to amend the constitution in favor of women suffrage. Conversely, NWP also lobbied the White House and the Democratic Party to pass the Amendment, but they used for radical methods, including picketing the White House. The pioneers of NWP, Alice Paul, and Lucy Burns felt that the leadership of NAWSA was passive. They needed a more aggressive movement similar to the suffrage movements that had been witnessed in some parts of Europe.

During World War 1, the suffrage movement changed their tactic to criticizing the government for being hypocrites by pretending to establish democracy in other countries while American women back home were denied the same democracy. Not all women supported a more radical move in the quest for voting rights. For instance, Chapman Catt and NAWSA disagreed with NWP, claiming that the methods used by the latter were unladylike and that they generated bad publicity for the woman suffrage movements.

Consequences

The first significant result of the woman suffrage movements was the ratification of the nineteenth Amendment. Different states began considering the option the option of passing suffrage movement amendment. The reform was achieved on August 18, 1920, when the Tennessee legislature approved the Amendment. The combined efforts of both the NAWSA and NWP had forced legislators to ratify the enfranchising of women. As a result, women were granted their voting rights and would participate in the presidential election. The event marked the most significant achievement of the movements.

Evidence

The most important evidence for the woman suffrage movements is the fact women today participate in voting in presidential. Before the ratification of the 19th Amendment, women did not participate in general elections. Voting was considered a men’s issue. In the years before the 20th century, women were discriminated against and rarely participated in matters of decision-making or held leadership positions. After the passing of the Amendment, the democratic rights of women in society have been extended significantly. In American society today, women are not only allowed to vote but also hold public offices.

Conclusion

The topic of human suffrage is of considerable significance and remains relevant today, just like it was in the 19th century. Although many people take for granted the freedom they have today, it is important to acknowledge the events that led to such achievements. Reading and researching about the topic is among the best ways of understanding and appreciating the efforts of the participants of the woman suffrage movements. Besides, the topic of woman suffrage is one of the historical events that motivated people to come out and lobby for their rights. The suffrage movements and the passing of the 19th Amendment were the first steps towards achieving equality between both men and women.

Researching the women’s suffrage movements changed my view of the movements in some way. On literary terms, the suffrage movements were protests by women that led to the winning of voting rights. However, while researching the issue, a reader would realize the movements were more than demonstrations. The women encountered severe challenges, including disagreements within the group, such as the one involving strategies by NAWSA and NWP, even though it was their combined efforts that caused success. Some of the lenses in which an individual can view the woman suffrage movements include factors that led to their success, who the main participants were, whether all women were supportive of the movement, and the barriers encountered. The research highlighted hidden things like the fact some women were against the movement, too, and that not all men were against it.

A historian could pursue a further study on the woman suffrage movements in two ways. The first would be regarding who was against the movements and the reasons for opposing the movement. This could focus on the women who opposed the efforts of fellow women even though they were also victims. Another branch that a historian could pursue the topic would be in terms of forms of suffrage movements today. It would be important to understand how women of today fight against discrimination in society and the challenges they encounter.