The 1995 documentary, One Woman, One Vote as part of the popular American Experience PBS program. The film chronicles the women’s suffrage movement which started in the mid 1800s in Seneca Falls. The film also follows the work women which played major roles in the movement such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. The film begins with activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton facing controversy at the Seneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention for her views regarding woman suffrage during. This was viewed as controversial by many seeing as women had previously never been able to vote and it was not something that many have given much thought to. It wasn’t until African-American abolitionist, Frederick Douglass spoke in support of equal voting
rights that the controversy died down. Santon befriended Quaker school teacher Susan B. Anthony soon afterwards became active in the suffrage movement and they both became powerhouses in the movement. The abolitionist and suffrage movements faced a lot of overlap which became difficult to chose what to fight for. The movement faced many issues, but ultimately the work of the movement garnered many states to become suffrage states. This film follows the chronological order in which the events of the suffrage movement had taken place. The approach that the filmmakers chose to take was to have a narrator explain the events as well as voice over of primary documents to further elaborate the narration. For example towards the beginning of the film, there were voice overs of letters written between Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Also, the voice overs of court documents allowed the viewer to grasp what had occurred back then. The narrations and voice overs play over pictures of the involved people and places as well as relevant imagery to keep the viewed tuned in. Seeing as the primary sources used in the film are over a hundred years old their use of language varies a bit; however, the narration helps to better explain the events in the film. All in all, the documentary was very informative. The fact that it incorporated primary sources such as letters and court documents added to the validity of the narration and effectively conveyed the material of the film. The relevant imagery made for a pleasant viewing experience and the narration was very informative. The lack of primary sources regarding women rises the questions as to whether all of the information in the film is accurate as of the events that occurred during the suffrage movement. The film really expanded upon a woman’s role and impact on politics.
Kathryn Kish Sklar I have read Kathryn Kish Sklar book, brief History with documents of "Women's Rights Emerges within the Antislavery Movement, 1830-1870" with great interest and I have learned a lot. I share her fascination with the contours of nineteenth century women's rights movements, and their search for meaningful lessons we can draw from the past about American political culture today. I find their categories of so compelling, that when reading them, I frequently lost focus about women's rights movements history and became absorbed in their accounts of civic life. I feel Kathryn Kish Sklar has every right to produce this documentary, after studying women's rights movements since before college at Radcliff College, Harvard University and U. of Michigan where earned various degrees in history, and literature.
Although women did not have the same rights as men, they came to possess a mentality that was a force to be reckoned with in a fight for equality. In 1848 at Seneca Falls, New York, 150 women and 30 men met to dispute the male sovereignty of the time. At this conference, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, an educated, married abolitionist, presented the “Declaration of Sentiments”. This document was a testament to the drastic changes the United States would have to go through to include women in its widespread ideals. As the basis for their argument, the writers of the Seneca Falls Declaration utilized the Declaration of Independence to catch the attention of the public and display the severity of the situation. However, in her oration, Stanton changes the male centralized voice of the Declaration of Independence. When addressing the self –evident truths, she expressed that “all men and women are created equal” instead of the original phrase that excluded women (Anthony, Stanton, and Gage, 239). Their document was further structured with 18 grievances and 11 resolutions; each was meant to recognize women as equal members of society. As the current government has “become destructive of [life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness], it is right of those who suffer from it to refuse allegiance to it, and to insist upon the institution of a new government” (Anthony, Stanton, and Gage, 240). Because women were rightfully entitled to an equal station beside men, they demanded the recognition of the rights that society was currently denying them. The most controversial resolution presented at the conference was the desire to vote. Women wanted this ability because they deserved to have a voice in the laws that would inevitably affect them. As free American citizens, it was their inalienable right to vote and have some form of representation in legislation. The Seneca Falls Conference and the Declaration of Sentiments was just the beginning of a public fight for women’s equality and rights.
However in the mid 1800’s women began to fight for their rights, and in particular the right to vote. In July of 1848 the first women's rights conventions was held in Seneca Falls, New York. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was tasked with drawing up the Declaration of Sentiments a declaration that would define and guide the meeting. Soon after men and women signed the Declaration of Sentiments, this was the beginning of the fight for women’s rights. 1850 was the first annual National Women’s rights convention which continued to take place through to upcoming years and continued to grow each year eventually having a rate of 1000 people each convention. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were the two leaders of the Women’s Rights Movement, in 1869 they formed the National Woman suffrage Association with it’s primary goal being to achieve voting by Congressional Amendment to the Constitution. Going ahead a few years, in 1872 Susan B. Anthony was arrested for voting in the nation election, nevertheless, she continued to fight for women’s rights the rest of her life. It wouldn’t be until 1920 till the 19th amendment would be
In the beginning of the 1840s and into the 1850s, a rather modest women’s reform was in the process. This group was full of visionaries that began a movement that would soon lobby in change and this movement was the groundwork of equality for women and their right to vote within in the United States. Despite their efforts this movement required a length of seventy years to establish this necessarily equality and the right for all women to vote along the side of men. According to the CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION “After male organizers excluded women from attending an anti-slavery conference, American abolitionists Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott decided to call the “First Woman’s Rights Convention.” Held over several days in
On April 12, 1964, Malcolm X stepped in front of a crowd of two thousand in Detroit’s King Solomon Baptist Church. Ministers initially attempted to prevent Malcolm X from using the church to deliver the speech at the last minute, as they had already estimated the potential for controversy (“Say It Plain, Say It Loud”). Many historians deem the speech, titled “The Ballot or the Bullet,” Malcolm X’s greatest performance. Only a month after departing from the Nation of Islam and joining the mainstream Civil Rights Movement, Malcolm X already recognized the vital flaw in the movement: the African American expectation of help from the white population. “The Ballot or the Bullet” aimed to point out that flaw and unite all African Americans through
Early in the history of the movement there was Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Starting with a relative handful of elitist, well-educated female activists, they declared that the right to vote was necessary to make men and women equal under the law and in every facet of daily life. Later, when alliance with other political and social reform movements was made necessary to further the goals of the movement, there was Jane Addams. The argument changed to one of the American woman needing the vote in order to better the daily lives of their families, their friends, and their society. But the goal was always the same: equality for men and women. Equality eventually symbolized by the right to vote.
Women began standing up for more rights and realizing that they could be treated better. 1840 the World Anti-slavery Convention in London showed a great example of inferiority of women. Women were denied a seat at the convention because they were women. Women like Elizabeth C. Stanton and Lucretia C. Mott were enraged and inspired to launch the women’s rights movement. Elizabeth Stanton promoted women’s right to vote. “If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to forment a rebellion and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.
Obtaining the right to vote wasn’t going to be an easy process for women. So the many campaigns, petitions, pickets and organizations in the mid 1800’s to the early 1900’s were a start to many rights. This lengthy process began on July 19, 1848. On this day the Seneca Falls Convention took place in New York, New York. Over 200 men and women came in and gave their opinions on voting rights.... ...
One Woman, One Vote. Dir. Ruth Pollak. Prod. Ruth Pollak. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), 1995.
When giving his speech “The Ballot or the Bullet” Malcolm X spoke in a content and tone that made this speech very impactful to his audience and listeners which is still relevant today. Malcolm X was convinced that voting was the way to change racial prejudice in America. The Ballot or the Bullet is directed at African Americans and encourages them to stand up for their rights at all cost. He spoke with such knowledge, attitude and passion that put emphasis on the importance of African Americans being educated and educating themselves on politics. Malcolm X was a prominent spokesman of the civil rights era, his words when spoken were very potent and influential especially in the black community. Because Malcolm X was very direct in his speech, the audience responded positively and respectfully. “It 's time for
The entire Women’s Movement in the United States has been quite extensive. It can be traced back to 1848, when the first women’s rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. After two days of discussions, 100 men and women signed the Declaration of Sentiments. Drafted by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, this document called for equal treatment of women and men under the law and voting rights for women. This gathering set the agenda for the rest of the Women’s Movement long ago (Imbornoni). Over the next 100 years, many women played a part in supporting equal treatment for women, most notably leading to the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which allowed women the right to vote.
Some of the great women who were willing to deal with those things were Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Jane Hunt, Mary McClintock, and Martha C. Wright. These women gave this movement, its spark by conducting the first ever women’s rights convention. This convention was held in a church in Seneca Falls in 1848. At this convection they expressed their problems with how they were treated, as being less than a man. These women offered solutions to the problem by drafting the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions.
In 1848 Lucretia Mott (A abolitionist, Philadelphia Quaker and women’s rights activist) and Elizabeth Santon together organized the Seneca Falls convention in New York. The model used for the declaration of independence began with the assertion that “All men and women are created equal.” The convention passed twelve resolution, the twelfth being the woman’s right to vote, over a minority opposition. Women’s right activist won a few noble victories. In 1860, Stanton’s lobbying helped secure passage of a New York law allowing married women to own property. In 1863 Stanton and Susan B Anthony organized the women’s national league which gathered four hundred thousand signatures on a petition calling for a constitutional amendment to abolish slavery; its founders used the organization to promote women suffrage as well. Despite High Expectations, the war brought women a little closer economic or political equality. Women in offices and factories continued to earn less money than men the war did not alter the definition of women’s sphere and Northern Politicians saw little value in women’s suffrage. Women did not secure the national right to vote until 1920.
The Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 started a women’s rights movement; a small group of women demanded the right to vote, claim progress in property rights, experience employment and educational opportunities, have social freedoms, and other essential demands touching every aspect of life. Women wanted a change and needed a new place in society. They did not have the most basic democratic equality of all, the equal right to vote, until the 19th amendment was adopted in 1920. As they gained the right to vote, women began feeling the right to explore other opportunities.
“The history of the past is but one long struggle upward to equality,” this was stated by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a very crucial women’s suffragist. Over time, women’s history has evolved due to the fact that women were pushing for equal rights. Women were treated as less than men. They had little to no rights. The Women’s Rights Movement in the 1800’s lead up to the change in women’s rights today. This movement began in 1848 with the Seneca Falls Convention. For the next 72 years, women continually fought for equal rights. In 1920, they gained the right to vote which ended the movement and opened the opportunity for more change in women’s lives. Because of the Women’s Rights Movement, women today are able to vote, receive