Women’s Suffrage and Early Political Activism in America

It is believed that the first real step towards women’s suffrage in the Anglo-Saxon world was in 1792 with the publication of A Vindication of the Rights of Women, by Mary Wollenstonecraft (Women’s Suffrage).  This was Wollenstonecraft’s reaction to the Declaration of the Rights of Men, written during the French Revolution, which granted only citizenship to men in the new French Republic.  It questioned the natural, historical and divine inferiority of women that had been a belief for thousands of years (Manning).  Taking her ideas, the fight for women’s suffrage began along with the abolitionists during the Civil War (History.com).  The first convention was comprised of abolitionists women and men took place in 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York.  The Declaration of Sentiments was written at this convention stating that, “all men and women are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (History.com)”.

With passing to of the 15^th Amendment in 1850, extending suffrage to black males, there grew a rift in the suffrage movement (Women’s Suffrage).  Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony formed the National Women’s Suffrage Association in 1869 (History.com).  Upset that black men received the right to vote even before women, they went to the extremes of even teaming up with Southern racists to fight the federal government (History.com).  The American Woman Suffrage Association took the opposite stand, supporting the 15^th Amendment and fighting for women’s rights on a state by state basis (History.com).  It was in 1890 that these two groups finally joined together under the name, National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) (Women’s Suffrage).  There were several other, more militant, groups that staged protests including parades, vigils and even hunger strikes (National Archives).

Carrie Chapman Catt, elected president of NAWSA in 1915 was one of the most politically active women of her time (Women’s Suffrage).  The following year she revealed the “Winning Plan”, which was a blitz campaign to mobilize suffrage organizations across the country (History.com).  It was due in large part to her that the 19^th Amendment passed 5 years later, finally giving women the right to vote.

 

 

 

Works Cited

“The Fight for Women’s Suffrage.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2012. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://www.history.com/topics/the-fight-for-womens-suffrage&gt;.

United States. National Archives. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/woman-suffrage/&gt;.

“Women’s Suffrage.” History of Women’s Suffrage. Grolier Institute, Scholastic. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/suffrage/history.htm&gt;.

Manning, Susan and Peter. “The Longman Anthology, British Literature,” Ed., Fourth Edition, Volume 2A. The Romantics and their Contemporaries. Pearson Education, Inc.Web. 26 Mar. 2012.

Women in Early America

Unfortunately I do not have the time to touch upon the historical rights of women in all nations, but since democracy developed in Ancient Greece and Rome, I felt those were the most important to talk about.  Though out history there have been powerful women rulers in many nations.  Most famous of these were probably Queen Nefertiti and Cleopatra of Egypt, Queen Isabelle I of Spain, Mary Queen of Scots, Queen Elizabeth and Victoria of England, Catherine the Great of Russia and possibly the most relevant to many Americans, Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii.  More recently, we have seen Golda Meir in Israel, Indira Gandhi in India, Margaret Thatcher in England and Benazir Bhutto in Palestine.

Although these women certainly made big differences in their respective political positions, as well as socially, the majority achieved power through h monarchies.  The last four that I mentioned were all elected, yet most had family ties to the office before coming to power.

For this project I am focusing more on the part that women play in politics here in the United States.  This does not necessarily mean as leaders, since obviously there has never been a woman president.  I will start with the colonial history of women and move to woman’s suffrage.  I intend to touch upon the three waves of feminism, and from there focus on women in politics today.

In colonial America, women were considered the “weaker vessels” and not as physically or emotionally strong as the men (Sage).   Society believed them to be muscularly weaker, as well as more squeamish (WIC).  Since times were very difficult for all in the harsh New World, women became seen as needed to be protected by the stronger men.  While men were expected to risk even their lives for their wives, women were expected to defer to the judgment of men at all times (Sage).  Women did not have the right to say in any legal matters pertaining to them as they did not have suffrage or the right to hold public office (Sage).  We should not forget that the Constitution clearly states that “all men are created equal” with no mention of the female gender.

As was most common in most cultures, women usually held the jobs in the household, raining the family.  Since the family unit was so important, though, it gave them the opportunity to hold some power and gained respect.  When men voted, it was considered on behalf of the entire household, therefore allowing their wives some influences (Sage).

Also, since disease and injury were frequent occurrences, the women often times were able to step up and take over some of the more laborious roles of the males, if they became incapacitated (Sage).  Since this was often the case, that the woman had to take up a male’s labor role, they were granted more rights in the colonies than most other places in the word.  Women were allowed to participate in some public affairs, conduct business and even appear in court (Sage).  The Equity Law allowed women to sue their husbands for property and had a very liberalizing effect on women when it came about in the early 1800’s (WIC).  Girls were also allowed to tend Dame school, and sometimes further education if there was room (WIC).  It was important for women to be able to read the Bible in Puritan America (Sage).

Works Cited

Sage, Henry J. “Women in Colonial America.” Academic America, 2007. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://www.academicamerican.com/colonial/topics/women.htm&gt;.

“Women’s History in America.” Women’s International Center. Compton’s NewMedia, Inc., 1995. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm&gt;.

History of Women in Politics: Ancient Rome

In Ancient Rome, women did have more rights than those of Greece, and were considered to be citizens.  Women in Ancient Rome where allowed some personal freedoms, yet had no personal choice.  The main job of Roman women was once again to bear children and then raise them (Cavazzi).  As children, both males and females received the same education (Cavazzi).  Women of wealthier families received more education later in life (Cavazzi). They were still not allowed to vote or participate in political activities, though.  Women remained under constant supervision of men at all times, though, having an actual guardian.  This guardian was the father, until the women got married (Cavazzi).  If something happened to the male, then the women was assigned a male by the state (Cavazzi).  As Cicero once spoke of Roman men, “Our ancestors, in their wisdom, considered that all women, because of their innate weakness, should be under the control of guardians (Donn).”

Of course this did not prevent women from having an interest in politics. One such example was the attempt by women to repeal the Oppian Laws.  This law was passed by the Roman government by not allowing women to purchase any item that cost money, in an attempt to save money to be used in the fight against Hannibal (Shelton 299).  These laws dictated that, specifically, no woman could own more than half an ounce of gold, wear a dress designed with multiple coloured dyes, or ride in a horse-drawn carriage within a city (Cavazzi).

While women accepted it at the time for such reasoning, twenty years after the war against Hannibal, they rose up against it (Mason).  Many women stormed the Capital and Forum where the Assembly was meeting and others used all influential power they may have held over their husbands to gain support (Mason).  A mass-picketing began and more women came every day (Cavazzi).  Finally, the law was repealed and women had gained victory due to their activism and pure numbers.

As Ancient Greece and Rome are both two countries from which the United States bases their politicial structure of democracy off of, it seems mportant to touch on the rights, or lak of rights, of women in those times.  From here I will transition to the early years of the US.

Works Cited

Cavazzi, Franco. “Women.” Roman Society, Roman Life. The Roman Empire, 3 July 2009. Web. 24 Mar. 2012. <http://www.roman-empire.net/society/society.html&gt;.

Donn, Pete. “Status of Women.” Ancient Rome for Kids. 2008. Web. 24 Mar. 2012. <http://rome.mrdonn.org/women.html&gt;.

Mason, Moya K. “Ancient Roman Women: A Look at Their Lives.” Ancient Roman Women: A Look in Their Lives. 2012. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. <http://www.moyak.com/papers/roman-women.html.&gt;

Shelton, Jo-Ann. As the Romans Did. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1988) p. 37.

History of Women in Politics: Ancient Greece

The best way in which to view the present is often through deep consideration of past experiences.  As history has shown, women were not given equal rights to men in the political realm.  In Ancient Greece, for starters, women could not vote, own property, divorce their husbands or sue (Kluth).  They had very limited political power whatsoever, having to rely on decisions of their husbands on all matters.

There is a very interesting story for why women in Ancient Greece were denied the right to vote.  Before 1250 BC, all Greek citizens could participate in the democratic process (Kluth).  When choosing the patron saint of Athens, before it was called such, there was a vote held between Poseidon and Athena.  All the women voted for Athena, all the men voted for Poseidon (Kluth).  Since there was one more female than male voter, Athena won, hence the naming of Athens (Kluth).  Although the result was determined valid, the right for women to vote was revoked.

One way that women did in fact influence politics was through dialogue (Kluth).  Well-educated women, known as, hetaerae, or the English spelling of hetairai, were allowed to join men at banquets, where political matters and philosophy was discussed (Kluth).  The most famous of these was probably Aspasia, who lived with many Greek men and influenced them all to join in the cause for Persian sympathy.  She was supposedly from a royal Persian family.  Even Socrates was said to have visited her on occasion, bringing women along to be educated (Kluth).

Women in Ancient Greece, though, were considered very important to men, which gave them power to demand more rights for themselves.  If they were unhappy, men believed that they would not have healthy babies (Kluth).  The family was the basic unit of structure, and women were designated to “indoor tasks” while men were in charge of the business (Cho).  Women were not supposed to work outdoors, as this was viewed as a place for them to become “potential prey for rapists and seducers (Pomeroy, 21)”.  A woman could only venture outside of the home if granted permission by her husband, thus giving him even more authority over her (Cho).  Basically, this meant that the lack of say which women had in the legal realm and political matters did not often come into question in the household.

Works Cited

Cho, Anna. “History: Women in Ancient Greece.” Women of Ancient Greece. Pace University. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. <http://webpage.pace.edu/nreagin/F2004WS267/AnnaCho/finalHISTORY.html&gt;.

Kluth, Frederick J. “Politics and Women in Ancient Greece.” The Role of Women in the Art of Ancient Greece. RWAAG, 2009. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. http://www.fjkluth.com/polit.html.

Pomeroy, Sarah B. Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. New York: Oxford UP, 2008. Print.