Following the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, NAWSA dissolved, but it many of the members moved to join the League of Women Voters (Barber). Maud Wood Park became the first president (Barber).
It was in the following years that the second wave of feminism arose in ways of expanding women’s right to choice, mainly through the idea of contraption and abortion. The first step in this fight was the creation of the American Birth Control League in 1921 by Margaret Sanger (Imbornoni). This organization was soon to become known, as it is today, as Planned Parenthood. The mission of the League was to provide information and education on how to prevent pregnancy (“Margaret Sanger”). It was in 1923, under the presidency of Sanger, that the first clinic was opened (“Margaret Sanger”).
In an attempt to get more involved in the political realm, Sanger formed the National Committee on Federal Legislation for Birth Control in 1929 for the purpose of lobbying the U.S. government for birth control legislation (“Margaret Sanger”). Sanger’s first success was a judicial ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for exempting physicians from the Comstock Law (“Margaret Sanger”). The Comstock Law of 1873 was a federal law prohibiting the selling or distributing of material which could be used for abortions or as contraceptives (“Comstock Law”). There were many other legal suits from advocates of birth control in the following years (Imbornoni).
In 1955 the first lesbian organization, Daughters of Bilitis (DOB), was founded (Imbornoi). Although beginning with social purposes, it soon became much more politically active as women began to gain more footing in that realm.
Eleanor Roosevelt became one of the first women who held a political position in American history when President John F. Kennedy appointed her chairwoman of the newly formed President’s Commission on the Status of Women in 1961 (Imbornoni). The purpose of this Commission was to research issues relating to women and make proposals in areas including employment, education, tax laws and Social Security policies (Lewis).
The National Organization for Women (NOW), which is still a prominent organization today, was founded in 1966 (Imbornoni). The mission of NOW is to end sexual discrimination in the workplace and they do this through political means such as lobbying, litigation, as well as public demonstrations (Imbornoni).
I find all of the above events to be some of the most important in U.S. history of political activism by women. It is extremely relevant to my overall topic since, the idea of women’s rights remains such a highly contentious political matter. Fighting for legislation which protects women’s rights have worked to give women more political power, as well as helped particular people gain power in American politics.
Works Cited
Barber, E. Susan. “One Hundred Years toward Women Suffrage Historical Timeline.” Women Suffrage Timeline. Library of Congress. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. <http://americancivilwar.com/women/Womens_Suffrage/womens_suffrage_timeline.html>.
“Comstock Law of 1873.” TheFreeDictionary.com. Farlex, 2012. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. <http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Comstock%20Law%20of%201873>.
Imbornoni, Ann-Marie. “Women’s Rights Movement in the U.S.” Infoplease. Pearsons Education Inc., 2007. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. <http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline2.html>.
Lewis, Jone J. “President’s Commission on the Status Of Women.” About.com Women’s History. The New York Times Company, 2012. Web. 30 Mar. 2012. <http://womenshistory.about.com/od/laws/a/status_women.htm>.
“Margaret Sanger.” United States American History. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. <http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1676.html>.
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