An Introduction to Women's Rights Groups in the 19th Century
Following the end of the Civil War, ratification of the 15th Amendment in 1870 prohibited the restriction of a citizens right to vote based on race. Newly freed African-Americans were now able to take part in the political processes of the United States, so long as they were men. It was another fifty years before the 19th Amendment extended suffrage to American women, of any race. The two major groups of the Women’s Movement who fought for voting rights, the National Woman’s Suffrage Association and the American Woman Suffrage Association, aided by the combination of the two groups and the social and political developments throughout the years, led to the 19th Amendments ratification in 1920, when the movement began to falter and fade.
In the early 19th century, century, women were limited to the home and care of the children. Arguably the first defining moment of the Women’s Movement was the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, the first women’s rights convention held in the United States. Elizabeth Cady Stantion read aloud the Declaration of Sentiments, a statement that rewrote the Delcaration of Independence, replacing the concerns the colonists had written about with the greivences women’s had towards the limited rights afforded to them. Stanton went on to become a founding member of a major women’s rights party, the National Woman’s Suffrage Association, along with Susan B. Anthony. The group was formed as the result of a split in the American Equal Rights Association. The radical group sought to achieve women’s rights through constitutional amendments, not limited to the right to vote, but also looking to make divorce easier and to end discrimination in the workplace. A less militant group was also formed, the American Woman Suffrage Association, by Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe and Josephine Ruffin. The group was less concerned with controversial issues, and only with securing the vote. Althought the groups had been split since 1869, the two combined in 1890 to
In the early 19th century, century, women were limited to the home and care of the children. Arguably the first defining moment of the Women’s Movement was the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, the first women’s rights convention held in the United States. Elizabeth Cady Stantion read aloud the Declaration of Sentiments, a statement that rewrote the Delcaration of Independence, replacing the concerns the colonists had written about with the greivences women’s had towards the limited rights afforded to them. Stanton went on to become a founding member of a major women’s rights party, the National Woman’s Suffrage Association, along with Susan B. Anthony. The group was formed as the result of a split in the American Equal Rights Association. The radical group sought to achieve women’s rights through constitutional amendments, not limited to the right to vote, but also looking to make divorce easier and to end discrimination in the workplace. A less militant group was also formed, the American Woman Suffrage Association, by Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe and Josephine Ruffin. The group was less concerned with controversial issues, and only with securing the vote. Althought the groups had been split since 1869, the two combined in 1890 to