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In this article, Dani explains the background and details of the Women's Suffrage Movement.
The united states SUFFRAGE movement
The united states SUFFRAGE movement
By Dani Porterfield
By Dani Porterfield
The women of America have demanded political equality far before the United States Constitution, but not until 1878 did a member of Congress actually make a proposal to formally amend the Constitution in the form of a 19th amendment. The events that took place before the Women's Suffrage Movement drive the present day and create the current world. So, to understand how society got to the monumental moments of the suffrage movement, it is important to look at the details.
The front of the Women's Suffrage Movement took place in the early 1900s-- the years leading out of World War I. There was an economic boom. It was the years of jazz and hope. Many of the men of the United States had just come home from war, expecting life to be the way it was before the war. It was not. During the war, women had entered the workforce, filling out manufacturing and agricultural positions on the home front and providing support on the front lines as doctors, nurses, and other previously strictly male-dominated jobs. According to the online article "Striking Women" by University of Sheffield professors Sundari Anitha and Ruth Pearson, “Women's employment rates increased during WWI, from 23.6% of the working age population in 1914 to between 37.7% and 46.7% in 1918.” Consequently, many groups saw the war and the ending of it as a sign of hope and possible freedom.
Photo from: The University of idaho
Photo owned by: National archives catalogue
Far before the turn of the 19th century, riots, civil rights protests, petitions and parades were present and got more and more elaborate leading into the 1920s. Each protest was led and influenced by key figures like Lucy Stone, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul, Susan B. Anthony, Matilda Joslyn Gage and so many more people who inevitably contributed to the bigger picture; these people moved mountains for women's modern rights. They had a vision. As stated by Susan B. Anthony in the National Susan B. Anthony House and Museum: “There is so much yet to be done, I see so many things I would like to do and say, but I must leave it for the younger generation. We old fighters have prepared the way.” That was their vision-- to see the incoming generation use their trail, add to it, and continue what they started. Even though many of these women (and men) fought for their rights, in most cases they would never get to see their hard work come to fruition. In the case of many women of color in the United States, these dreams would not be addressed for decades--though these women may have fought even harder than others.
The Women's Suffrage public protests themselves were something new. Many organizations like the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage (CU) and the National Woman's Party (NWP) set out new tactics to move the crowd forward. They even pressured the then president of the United States President Woodrow Wilson to show his support for the movement. NWP was particularly motivating for the public. As the Library Of Congress explained, “The NWP effectively commanded the attention of politicians and the public through its aggressive agitation, relentless lobbying, clever publicity stunts, and creative examples of civil disobedience and nonviolent confrontation.” These ideas were tactful and targeted. The organizations and the people involved focused on their goals above all else. NWP tactics got more and more aggressive and, as larger groups got arrested, they campaigned to be considered political prisoners. The boldness and danger of their actions, along with their constant agitation, compelled the nation and political parties. It was the last push for the 19th Amendment, which now prevents the United States government from denying the right to vote based on a person's sex.
Photo from: The National Women's history museum
Hard work is the reason women in the U.S. can turn in their ballots; it is also the reason both men and women have the right to formal education and equal education. The effects of the Women's Suffrage movement impact us today-- right now. Every choice we make positively and negatively impacts the future. We continually create the world that we live in. It is imperative that we continue down the path that has been made and then pave it forward as a responsibility and an expectation. Even though the Women's Suffrage movement feels so far gone, the great-grandparents of this generation lived in that world. Drastic changes can happen rapidly and subtly. They can be the most profound societal changes that will work toward the betterment of humanity.
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