Women's Rights Research Paper

Women have fought to be where we stand today! Standing as equals “ All men and women are created equal”. These women stood tall as they endured harsh brutality to fight for a greater cause. Women like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, Henry Blackwell and more all play a big role in the fight for equal rights among men and women. Those women have forever changed our society and their story is what shaped America to what it is today. America where everyone is free and everyone lives as equals.

During 1869 Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton started the National Women’s Suffrage Association (NWSA). The NWSA was focused on changing the 15th amendment, which granted black men, but not women the right to vote. There
Anthony had argued that the fourteenth amendment gave women the constitutional right to vote in the federal elections. As pointed out the amendment stated, “ all persons born and naturalized in the United States… are citizens of the United States”, and as citizens were entitled to “privileges” of citizens of the United States. On that same year November 1st Anthony and three others entered a barbershop that happened to be a voters registration office. The election inspector refused to accept Anthony’s request to register but she continued to push quoting the 14th amendment. The inspector still refused and that is when Anthony gave an argument she felt could not be ignored. "If you refuse us our rights as citizens, I will bring charges against you in Criminal Court and I will sue each of you personally for large, exemplary damages!" She added, "I know I can win. I have Judge Selden as a lawyer. There is any amount of money to back me, and if I have to, I will push to the 'last ditch' in both courts. The supervisor told the inspector to allow them to take the oath stating to the men “do you know the penalty of law if you refuse to register these names?”. When the polls opened on November 5, 1872 Anthony and eight other women cast their ballot. Anthony’s vote went straight to the U.S grant and was promised a respectable hearing. Anthony later wrote a letter to her dear friend Elizabeth Cady
at 7 Oclock—& swore my vote in at that—was registered on Friday & 15 other women followed suit in this ward—then in Sunday others some 20 or thirty other women tried to register, but all save two were refused— all my three sisters voted—Rhoda De Garmo—too— Amy Post was rejected—& she will immediately institute bring action against the registrars—then another woman who was registered but vote refused will bring action for that— Similar to the Washington action—& Hon Henry R. Selden will be our Counsel—he has read up the law & all of our arguments & is satisfied that we are right & ditto the Old Judge Selden—his elder brother— So we are in for a fine agitation in Rochester on the question— I hope the morning’s telegrams will tell of many women all over the country trying to vote— It is splendid that without any concert of action so many should have moved here so impromptu— [Anthony here changed subject for a