The Fight for Women's suffrage 1848-1920
Maggie McCann
Mrs. Cowherd
English
8 May 2014
The Fight for Women’s Suffrage: 1848-1920
Many women take their freedoms for granted. When they vote, they do not think of how they are allowed to vote, when they get to speak up for anything they feel vehemently about, they do not consider why they are granted to speak ,and when they earn their incomes, they do not reflect on who gave them this privilege. The men and women who made all of these things possible established the preliminaries for coming women to pursue out a life of freedom.
Life for women before suffrage was purely unfair. Women were not granted many freedoms that men held. Women in the early 1920s had a lack of educational and economic opportunities, such as the right to earn their own wages (The Women’s). Many teachers believed girls did not need to know many things that boys were taught. Women were also denied a voice in political debates (The Women’s). Finally, women were not allowed to divorce from an abusive or destructive marriage (Stanton).
There were two instigators of suffrage that helped other women stand up for themselves and for other women all across America. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony made changes that eventually made way for the 19th Amendment. After the two met, they turned out to be a powerful team. Together they formed the National Women Suffrage Association (or the NWSA) (Colman). Susan’s parting words to the NWSA was her quote that would fuel suffragist for many years to come, “Failure is impossible”. Elizabeth’s most famous quote was something she once wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal.” Between the two of them, there was enough passion to motivate decades of women, and that is just what they did.
Even after the 19th amendment was ratified, many women’s votes mirrored their husband’s votes. As Emily Blair, a Missouri suffragist, said,
Women were welcome to come in as workers, but not as co-makers of
Mrs. Cowherd
English
8 May 2014
The Fight for Women’s Suffrage: 1848-1920
Many women take their freedoms for granted. When they vote, they do not think of how they are allowed to vote, when they get to speak up for anything they feel vehemently about, they do not consider why they are granted to speak ,and when they earn their incomes, they do not reflect on who gave them this privilege. The men and women who made all of these things possible established the preliminaries for coming women to pursue out a life of freedom.
Life for women before suffrage was purely unfair. Women were not granted many freedoms that men held. Women in the early 1920s had a lack of educational and economic opportunities, such as the right to earn their own wages (The Women’s). Many teachers believed girls did not need to know many things that boys were taught. Women were also denied a voice in political debates (The Women’s). Finally, women were not allowed to divorce from an abusive or destructive marriage (Stanton).
There were two instigators of suffrage that helped other women stand up for themselves and for other women all across America. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony made changes that eventually made way for the 19th Amendment. After the two met, they turned out to be a powerful team. Together they formed the National Women Suffrage Association (or the NWSA) (Colman). Susan’s parting words to the NWSA was her quote that would fuel suffragist for many years to come, “Failure is impossible”. Elizabeth’s most famous quote was something she once wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal.” Between the two of them, there was enough passion to motivate decades of women, and that is just what they did.
Even after the 19th amendment was ratified, many women’s votes mirrored their husband’s votes. As Emily Blair, a Missouri suffragist, said,
Women were welcome to come in as workers, but not as co-makers of
Cited: “The Women’s Rights Movement, 1848-1920.” History, Art, and Archives. Web. 16 April 2014. http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-publictions/WIC/historical-essays/no-lady/womens-rights/ New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC. 2011. Print.