Dbq Women Equality

As early as 1848 women began forming a movement for gender equality, but not until the late 1800s and early 1900s did this movement gain significant recognition throughout the United States. As the fight for gender equality grew, compromises were made, rights were recognized, and reform progressed onward. Though it took almost three-quarters of a century, since the Seneca Falls movement in 1848, women’s rights reached a milestone as they gained the right to vote in 1920, but this was no small fight won.
When feminists first gathered in Seneca Falls in 1848, they had full equality for women on their minds, with little approval or support from anyone. Many of these first feminists were avid supporters of equality for all, which many viewed

as wildly visionary and enthusiastic. To support their views these feminists made a Declaration, in which was contained that “all men and women are created equal”, that they had been oppressed on all sides, and that men had made women “civilly dead” as they denied political representation to them.

The Declaration went on the challenge every social idea of the women’s proper place. With these extreme ideas, the feminist movement did not see much change in government and society or a significant increase in support until, the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were passed without recognition for the right for women to vote.
Though many feminists still fought for full equality, many began to focus on women’s suffrage as the beginning of a new era. As women’s suffrage came more into focus, the argumentative reasons for women’s equality and rights began to look at the differences between men and women, and not their similarities. Suffragists described women as being spiritual creatures that could

elevate the morality of the government, and like a good family needs contributions from both husband and wife, the government needs contributions for males and females to be effective. Along with this comparison of the family to the government, suffragist Jane Addams compared the tasks of a women, such as caring and raising her children, caring for her home, preserving the health of her family, and having a clean home, to protecting the society as a whole, by setting safety and health regulations and laws on child labor and other working conditions, saying it was “enlarged housekeeping”. This comparison helped to enforce the idea that if women acquire the right to vote they would be able to protect the family, or society, through political involvement. As the women’s rights movement began to grow, suffragists began to take on prevalent issues to gain more appeal and support from the country. Carrie Chapman Catt gained favor of many as she protested, saying that in order to avert from despoil of the nation’s wealth, the vote of the slums should be given to women. Others went as far to say that there were more white women that were literate than foreign voters or black voters. Statements such as these gain much support for the suffrage movement as nativism was prevalent during this time, and as more support was gained the future of women’s rights began to look better.
As more support was gained in favor of women’s suffrage, suffragists and women’s rights organizations began to push harder to reach their goal of gaining the right to vote.

Organizations, such as the National American Woman’s Suffrage Association, began to push for a new amendment with their “Winning Plan”. This plan was set in place by Carrie Chapman Catt, in which state efforts would reinforce federal efforts, in a way that for every local victory additional congressmen and senators would be persuaded to vote in favor of women’s suffrage. As Carrie and other suffragists put the “Winning Plan” place, they began to more states grant women’s suffrage, and as local governments continued to do so Carrie began to focus on Washington D.C., but most importantly the president, Woodrow Wilson. By the time a new Congress convened in 1919, twenty-six states were petitioning to enact a federal amendment for the women’s suffrage, and when putting it to a vote it looked as if there was never any contention over subject. With votes in the House at 304 to 90 and in the Senate 56 to 25, the Nineteenth Amendment was passed in Congress, then fourteen months later it became a law, as Tennessee was the thirty-sixth state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment giving women the right to

vote.
With the victory of the Nineteenth Amendment, equality for women began and a surge of reform was ignited as women gained political influence. Many saw women’s suffrage as the start of the reformation of society, with protection of workers and customers and child labor laws, among other reformations. Though the women’s rights movement didn’t see much improvement until 1920, equality for all and reform in government wouldn’t be where it is today it it weren’t for the strong willed campaign for women’s rights.