I believe that some people did not want women to vote partly because of the fear of the unknown, but also because they believed that women to be made to stick to household duties, getting married, and having kids. They were expected to take care of the kids as well as the father went out for work.…
First of all, source 18 is showing that people were giving up on the vote and the suffrage campaign because it seemed as if nothing was going to happen and that the 'dead period of the movement begun '. For a long period of time, no bills or laws had been passed on the issue of women 's suffrage and even when elected MP John Stuart Mill proposed to change the word 'man ' to 'person ' in 1867 it was rejected by parliament. This seemed to give little hope for the future of the campaign and did agree that the vote for women seemed further away than ever.…
In the Declaration of Independence it says that all men are created equal, and many have said that this applies to all people no matter the sex, race, religion, etc. The most important factor in granting suffrage to women in America is if women are worthy of suffrage or not. Some say women should not be able to vote because the US may not grant suffrage to anyone and women should remain in a separate sphere others say women are supposed to be endowed with inalienable rights, which includes suffrage.…
When, Susan B. Anthony (one of the first suffragettes), got the “crazy” notion to be able to have an opinion on political matters, men’s pride was about to pick a fight with one of the strongest forces this world has ever known, woman. When first brought to Congress in 1848, it wasn’t even thought about. No was the only response for such an absurd notion. However, women were just getting started. They marched…
To understand the reasons behind some women getting the vote in 1918, one must look back at the history of the women’s movement to fully understand the reason female suffrage was sought and gained. In Victorian Britain there was a longstanding and persistent belief that men and women occupied separate spheres. The separate spheres ideology promoted the belief that due to women’s roles in reproduction, they were best suited to occupy the private sphere of home and family. Alternatively, men were designed to occupy the public sphere work and politics . However, this ideology was a direct contradiction to the reality of Victorian women who, in 1871, constituted nearly 32 per cent of the total British labour force.…
Anthony made several significant impacts upon the United States’ Women Suffrage movement; most notable among those impacts was her 1872 speech entitled “Women’s Right to Vote.” Anthony’s text proved to be an effective document in arguing for women’s suffrage with her thought-provoking arguments of reason. In her analysis of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, Anthony found women’s rights present in the rights of “all men.” Her reversal of logic concerning the use of gender pronouns in law documents served as a strong appeal to reasonable interpretation, and her examination of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments proved women’s voting right through the terms “person” and “slave.” It was through these claims by Susan B. Anthony and other powerful feminists alike that the foundation of women’s rights were laid in logic and reason to stand the test of time for future female…
Women were not treated as equals with men before the second half of the eighteenth century. They had to marry, obey their husbands and have children, only receiving little education. In the eyes of the law they had little power and men were their superiors. For example, once they were married, everything they owned belonged to their husband, this meant that if they separated the women would be left with nothing, not even her children, as they too, belonged solely to the husband. Around 1850, the rights of women started to change, as laws were made to improve women's education and rights in marriage. However women were still not allowed to vote in the general elections. Many women considered this as a huge prejudice, and that they would have to carry on being second-class citizens until they received the right to vote because a lot of women thought that having a say in general elections would give them more opportunities and rights. Before 1918, only men had the vote, even though they had to qualify by meeting the property qualification (which was someone who earned 40 shillings a year and was a freeholder). Therefore, not all men did qualify, but many women did qualify, and as a result could vote in local elections. As I mentioned above, people had to meet the property qualification in order to vote. Many women did own property of the right value, and so were entitled to the vote. The Married Women's Property Act made even more women qualify, as they could keep their earnings. Women had to endure the same laws as men and also had to pay taxes, like men. So, the women only saw it fair to be able to vote, which gave women a say in what the laws and taxes were. One of the arguments used against women's suffrage was that they were considered physically and mentally too weak. Women's argument towards that was that women had become successful monarchs of this country, for example, Queen Elizabeth I and the present Queen of the time, Queen Victoria. If women were suitable…
Before the First World War, women did not have the vote because they were not seen as contributors towards shaping the country, economically or politically. This is because they were confined, practically, to their homes, as all they could do is cook, clean and look after the children. This is when groups like the Suffragists and the Suffragettes formed. Their aim was to gain the vote. However, propaganda against them made women look useless, even more so. Therefore, not much was changing for them.…
“Other writers argued that women were equal if not superiors to men, called for recognition of the abuse women suffered under men’s tyranny, and intimidated that society would be better served if economic power resided in women’s hands- but their voices were few and barely heard. More…
Women first petitioned Parliament for equality in 1649- but were told that it was unnecessary as their husbands represented them in political affairs. 250 years later many people in Britain (women as well as men) still agreed with the Parliamentary response to the petitioners for women’s rights in 1649. However, the women’s suffrage moment in Britain took hold of the country in the 1860’s. Women (over the age of 30) finally won the vote in 1918- although historians are still debating over what was the main cause of women gaining the vote: the militant suffragettes, the more peaceful suffragists or World War One.…
The majority of fighting against the document was men. They liked to be dominant and believed women played a perfect role in the society. Men felt threatened by changing their dominant role, and they did not want to admit that women were quite qualified for the work which belonged to men.…
In 1789, the Declaration of Rights of Man was adopted by the National Constituent Assembly during the French Revolution. Essentially, this document lays out the “sacred rights of men and of citizens” (Pomeranz 171). As with any change in government, there was controversy amongst many. In this case, many women were angered, especially Olympe de Gouges. De Gouges was a self-educated, French widow who wanted the human rights in the French Constitution to be equal and parallel for both men and women. In response to the Declaration of the Rights of Man, in 1791, she wrote Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Female Citizen. In this, she is essentially demanding that women, particularly widows, gain rights to wealth and property in marriage.…
Allowing women to vote would create a disturbance in these roles as women would be able to have a voice outside of household affairs. Having a voice in political processes would not just be a privilege, but would be a responsibility and bring more responsibilities. The possibility of having another responsibility made women uncomfortable. Some women were already content with their roles and did not wish for any changes. Other women were already overburdened with other responsibilities and gaining a new responsibility as a citizen would burden them further.…
There were several key reasons why women were not given the right to vote when our founding fathers wrote the Constitution. The emphasis at the time was based on property not the pursuit of happiness, the wording was not meant for citizens but for persons, there was a strong link between those who armed themselves to fight for the United States should be the ones allowed to vote, and during this time period it was felt that politics should be reserved for men. A strong cultural belief such as this does not change easily; it would certainly take at least a generation to pass before the next generation would start looking at things in a new light. Also, during this time period everything was dominated by men. Men ran the households, and then ran the church, they handled the business and government and women were expecting to take care of the household and raise children. It would be many years before any type of consideration towards woman suffrage would even be taken seriously.…
The French Revolution was the spark of revolutions all over the world. It was during this period in which the rights of man citizens were gained in France. Although men gain the rights of liberty, property, and security; women did not (Lecture 2/15/16). A Vindication of the Rights of Women, written by Mary Wollstonecraft became a turning point in history. One could say that Wollstonecraft created feminism, which is the belief that men and women should obtain the equal rights and opportunities. In the source, Wollstonecraft’s purpose was to explain how men and women are equal. This type of thinking during the 18th century was not very common, because men were the only beings that were considered “free thinkers” that could rule and change the…