Over the past century, Virginia and the United States have encountered a number of drastic historical changes. As both men and women had the right to cast a vote in the most recent election, a little less than a century ago women did not have to right to vote. It was not until women throughout the United States came together to spark a suffrage movement that lead to congress passing the Nineteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution which provided women with the right to vote.
The suffrage movement within the state of Virginia began in the year of 1870. Despite determined efforts, the earliest movement for woman’s suffrage in Virginia was not very successful. On November 27, 1909, a small group of writers, artists, physicians, reformers, teachers, club women, business members and came together to create the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia. The Equal Suffrage League (ESL) of Virginia was among one of many suffrage groups that joined the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSO). However, by the time Virginia’s ESL was created, NAWSO and other suffrage organizations elsewhere had already been established for ten years. In the ESL’s early years, recruitment and organization was the groups’ primary focus and happened to be one of the most difficult challenges Virginia activists encountered. In 1910, one of the group members stated that their efforts to recruit individuals who supported suffrage, had very little arousal. She also mentioned that they encountered parental opposition in which after they recruited young women to the organization, their fathers did not give them permission to attend a suffrage meeting. During the same year, NAWSO was not recruiting members, acquiring adequate finances, or building ...
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...Graham, Sarah Hunter. “Woman Suffrage in Virginia: The Equal Suffrage League and Pressure-Group Politics, 1909-1920. The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. 101.2 (1993): 227-250.
McDaid, Jennifer Davis. "Equal Suffrage League of Virginia (1909–1920)." Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 7 Apr. 2011. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
McDaid, Jennifer Davis "Woman Suffrage in Virginia." Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 7 Apr. 2011. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
Roberson, John. "Two Virginia Novelists on Woman's Suffrage: An Exchange of Letters between Mary Johnston and Thomas Nelson Page." The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 64.3 (1956): 286-290. Virginia Historical Society. Web. 11 June 2013.
Woman Suffrage Amendment. Proceedings in the United States Senate. 63th Congress 1st Session. Document No. 155. 31 July 1913
Martin Pugh, in his evaluation of women’s suffrage, focuses his narrative on the Victorian Suffragists, especially from the 1870s to 1890s, arguing- unlike many other historians- that their contribution to the securing of votes for women was instrumental. Presented through 10 essays, focusing on specific topics related to the Suffragist movement, Pugh provides an in depth analysis of both the tactics and political climate the Victorian Women’s Suffrage movement faced. Organised in roughly chronological order, the prose is fluent with constant reference to central ideas featuring in each text, consolidating Pugh’s point.
The Web. The Web. 3 Dec. 2013. http://ows.edb.utexas.edu/site/women-early-20th-century>. "The National American Association of Woman Suffrage Under Carrie Chapman Catt."
With the rise of woman suffragists in the mid-nineteenth century came the subsequent rise of anti-suffragists. Surprisingly, however, many of those who opposed woman suffrage were women themselves. In fact, in a letter written to the editor of the New York Times in 1873, one woman maintained, "for every one woman who desires the vote, there are ten [at least] who do not wish to do so" (qtd. in Bjornlund 80). But with so much opposition, why was it that the anti-suffragists lost this battle? It all came down to their tactics. While anti-suffragists were genteel and dignified in their approach, a method consistent with the nature of women (Marshall 352), suffragists were more radical and militant. Though diametrically opposed in their strategies, it was essentially the extremist approach of the suffragettes that ultimately resulted in the ratification of the 19th Amendment.
In the years after 1870 there were many reasons for the development of the women’s suffrage movement. The main reasons were changes in the law. Some affecting directly affecting women, and some not, but they all added to the momentum of Women’s campaign for the vote.
According to Ellen Carol Dubois, the campaigns to acquire women suffrage were not easy that they required voters to “be persuaded to welcome new and unpredictable constituencies into the political arena” (420). There was also severe resistance in the North about the immigrant vote and the exclusion of African American and poor whites in the South (420). Immigrants in the North and African American in the South were not fully qualified to vote for the women. Harriot Stanton Bl...
Social movements refer to informal groups of people who focus on either political or social issues. The goal of the social movement is to change things in society, to refuse to go along with the norm, and to undo a social change. For example, the Women’s Rights Movement that began in the 1840s was geared towards getting women more equality in relation to political, social, and economic status in society (Foner). Along with this, women gained a louder voice to speak out about what they wanted to change and implemented the change. Prior to the Women’s Rights Movement, women were often timid, compliant, obedient, and mistreated. After the 1920s, a movement towards more equality was shifted in society views, however not all were convinced or changed by the new ideas of women. Although women began to get increased rights, the typical gender roles, which they were expected to follow did not loosely lesson. Women still found themselves doing the same gender roles, house roles, and family roles even after the 1920s. It was not until the 1960s when the Feminist movement began (Foner). The literary piece is “Why I Want a Wife” by Judy Brady and the goal of the Feminist Movement was to create new meanings and realities for women in terms of education, empowerment, occupation, sexual identity, art, and societal roles. In short, the Feminist Movement was aimed to gain women freedom, equal opportunity and be in control over their own life.
What does “movement” mean? There are many definitions for the word. In this case, I am referring to a political meaning. Movement is a series of organized activities working toward an objective. There have been many groups in history to start up movements throughout the decades. One that stands out to me the most is the Women’s Suffrage Movement. Women’s movements are led by powerful, courageous women who push to better the lives’ of women or lives’ of others. Most familiar movements are those involved in politics, in efforts to change the roles and status of womanhood in society. Groups of women also attempt to improve lives of others with the help of religious and charitable activities. Either it was a political, religious, or charitable women’s movement, each woman of each group have made an impact on today’s view of women and achieved greater political involvement.
During the last 4 months, I’ve studied a lot about Canadian history and come across many great historical events that have shaped Canadian identity. The two most defining moments between the years 1900 to 2000 were women’s suffrage which was an issue to determine if women should have the right to vote or not. The other defining moment for Canada was Expo 67, which was the most successful worlds fair in history.
While the women’s suffrage movement was none violent and mainly carried out by organized meetings, lobbying congressman, and picketing protests, the women that participated in it could do nothing to stop the violence of their oppressors from coming to them. In January 1917, the National Women’s Party, led by suffragists Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, began to picket, six days a week, in front of the white house for their right to vote. At first largely ignored, they became under frequent attack with no help from the police. Then starting th...
the Nineteenth Amendment were signed into the Constitution, there granting women the rights to vote.
McDaid, Jennifer. "Women's Struggle for Equality: The First Phase, 1828-1876." H-Net. N.p., June 1998. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. .
Cooney, Robert. Winning the vote: The Triumph of the American Women Suffrage Movement. California: American Graphic Press, 2005. Print.
The Fifteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits the government, federal and state, from denying citizens the right to vote based on “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Nevertheless, this amendment still did not give women the right to vote. Gender equality in current times is an essential part to the modern democratic government. Under international standards, both men and women should have equal opportunities to participate in the political process. However throughout history, women, the numerical majority, were neither encouraged nor allowed to participate in the United States political process through political attitudes and institutions. Women gained momentum for the women’s rights movement, their struggle for suffrage and equality, through their ability to bring their differentiating views together to work towards one goal.
Jane Addams, Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. These women lived at the turn of the century, and fought vehemently for a cause they believed in. They knew that they were being discriminated against because of their gender, and they refused to take it. These pioneers of feminism paved the road for further reform, and changed the very fabric of our society.
During the 19th century, women began efforts to change society’s perspective of women’s place in society. Such topics include family responsibilities, the lack of education allowed, economic opportunities, and the need of voice representation in political debates. The idea that would start the movement happen when Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were denied to attend the Anti-slavery convention in London this caused them to arrange the first Women’s convention in Seneca falls, New York. Both women were denied entrance because the men in this era believed limiting women’s rights as in family responsibilities, a lack of edu...