The women’s suffrage movement in England began 1867 when john Stewart mills who was a British philosopher, political and a feminist, suggested that woman should have the right to vote to parliament. Although parliament refused the issue, women did start to take action and the issue later grew of importance. This paper will cover how women were treated back in the 1800s, the forming of the woman suffrage movement and when it achieved the women right, and what impact did it have on women then and for future generations Women in the 1800s were completely controlled by the men in their lives, first by their fathers, brothers, or any male relatives and later in life by their husbands. Back then, women were made to believe that their only purpose …show more content…
They united in 1897 and by 1913: nearly five hundred regional suffrage societies had joined, making the NUWSS the most influential alliance according to parliament UK. There were two groups that each used different means to try and win women the right to vote. These groups were known as the suffragists and the suffragettes. The suffragists used peaceful activities to make their cause known. They held meetings, produced pamphlets, and drew up petitions. This although did not receive much attention and did not make exciting news. Which is why in 1903 Emmeline Pankhurst, who was frustrated at the lack of progress made in getting women the vote, along with her daughters Sylvia, Christabel and Adela, decided to establish the Women’s Social and Political Union (Rebecca Myers). This group become known as the suffragettes, they were more militant and aggressive than the Suffragists and organized rallies, marches and petitions (Rebecca Myers). The suffragettes gained much attention and spurred a lot of violence for their cause. There were many large-scale rallies, two of the most important were the 1908 and 1913 rallies in Hyde Park. Although it was a struggle for both groups by 1918, the Representation of the People Act granted women over 30 the right to vote, as long as they were married to or a member of Local Government Register. Women gained full suffrage
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.
A women suffrage amendment was brought to the U.S. Congress in 1868 but failed to win support as well as a second amendment in 1878. In 1869 a woman named Elizabeth Cady Stanton got together with Susan B. Anthony, a women’s rights activist, and organized an association called the National Woman Suffrage Association. With this union they would gather with women and fight for women’s suffrage. Later, in 1890 they joined with their competitor the American Women Suffrage Association and became the National American Women Suffrage Association. “NAWSA adopted a moderate approach to female suffrage, eschewing some of the more radical feminism of other women’s rights groups in favor of a national plan designed to gain widespread support” (3). What the association did was they changed their initial tactic towards suffrage for women so that they can be able to obtain support from all over. Having little to no movement on the national front, suffragists took the next step to sate level. That was when Eastern states granted women suffrage, but hadn’t spread to Western states.
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.
Women throughout the suffrage act were faced with many challenges that eventually led into the leading roles of women in the world today. Suffrage leaders adopted new arguments to gain new support. Rather than insisting on the justice of women’s suffrage, or emphasizing equal rights, they spoke of the special moral and material instincts women could bring to the table. Because of these women taking leaps and boundaries, they are now a large part of America’s government, and how our country operates.
Women, like black slaves, were treated unequally from the male before the nineteenth century. The role of the women played the part of their description, physically and emotionally weak, which during this time period all women did was took care of their household and husband, and followed their orders. Women were classified as the “weaker sex” or below the standards of men in the early part of the century. Soon after the decades unfolded, women gradually surfaced to breathe the air of freedom and self determination, when they were given specific freedoms such as the opportunity for an education, their voting rights, ownership of property, and being employed.
“Compare and contrast women’s suffrage movements of the late nineteenth and early centuries with the European feminist movements of the 1960’s and 1970’s.” Whereas the women’s suffrage movements focused mainly on overturning legal obstacles to equality, the feminist movements successfully addressed a broad range of other feminist issues. The first dealt primarily with voting rights and the latter dealt with inequalities such as equal pay and reproductive rights. Both movements made vast gains to the social and legal status of women.
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.
It was Theodore Roosevelt, who stated that, “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care”, conveying the idea that with no voice comes no change. In the morning of August 26, 1920, the 19th amendment was ratified, which centralized mainly on the enfranchisement of women. Today, they have the legal right to vote, and the ability to speak openly for themselves, but most of all they are now free and equal citizens. However this victorious triumph in American history would not have been achieved without the strong voices of determined women, risking their lives to show the world how much they truly cared. Women suffragists in the 19th century had a strong passion to change their lifestyle, their jobs around the nineteenth century were limited to just children, family, and domestic duties. It consisted of a very low rate of education, and job opportunities. They could not share their opinion publicly and were expected to support their male family members and husbands during the time. Women knew that the way to enfranchisement was going to be tenacious, and full of obstacles along the way. Therefore a new organization was formed, The National American Women Association (NAWSA), representing millions of women and Elizabeth Cady Stanton as the first party president. This organization was founded in 1890, which strategized on the women getting education in order to strengthen their knowledge to prepare for the suffrage fight. NAWSA mainly focused on the right to vote one state at a time. In 1917, a member named Alice Paul, split apart from NAWSA because of the organization’s tactics and major goals. Due to this split, many other suffragists from NAWSA bitterly divided into a new organization named, National Women’s ...
WWI and Women's Right to Vote in 1918 The Campaign for women’s right to vote started in the 1860’s with mainly middle class women and some men. At first the campaigning was peaceful and respectable and the lobbying was conducted discretely, without causing hindrance to anyone. It commenced in large cities such as London and Manchester however soon more people joined and the campaign spread across England. The women were known as suffragists (NUWSS) and were an amalgamation of many suffragists’ societies but after four decades of campaigning some women felt they had made no progress and decided to take violent action. These were known as suffragettes (WSPU) and started in 1903.
Although they were fighting for a worthy cause, many did not agree with these women’s radical views. These conservative thinkers caused a great road-block on the way to enfranchisement. Most of them were men, who were set in their thoughts about women’s roles, who couldn’t understand why a woman would deserve to vote, let alone want to vote. But there were also many women who were not concerned with their fundamental right to vote. Because some women were indifferent in regards to suffrage, they set back those who were working towards the greater good of the nation. However, the suffragettes were able to overcome these obstacles by altering their tactics, while still maintaining their objective.
Women were confronted by many social obligation in the late nineteenth century. Women were living lives that reflected their social rank. They were expected to be economically dependent and legally inferior. No matter what class women were in, men were seen as the ones who go to work and make the money. That way, the women would have to be dependent since they were not able to go to work and make a good salary. No matter what class a woman was in, she could own property in her own name. When a woman became married she " lost control of any property she owned, inherited, or earned" ( Kagan et al. 569). A woman's legal identity was given to her husband.
The fight for women’s suffrage had its roots early in the seventeenth century. The earliest recorded instance of a woman seeking suffrage in America occurred in 1648, with a woman named Margaret Brent. Brent was a property owner in Maryland, who was entrusted with managing the estate of Governor Leonard Calvert after his death. The Calverts were the Proprietors of Maryland, and had close ties with the Brents. ("Margaret Brent (1601-1671)") In 1645, a few years before his death, Leonard Calvert had hired a group of soldiers to defend his new colony during Ingle’s Rebellion. ("Margaret Brent ") Soon after he died however, those soldiers demanded their pay. Since Brent had used all of the governor’s money to pay his many debts, she did not have any way of paying the soldiers. Yet, she came up with an idea to pay the soldiers and stop them from revolting. On January 21, 1648, Brent requested two votes in the Maryland General Assembly. She wanted one vote for herself as a property owner and another for being Lord Baltimore’s attorney. Brent wanted to convince the Assembly to pass a tax that would help pay the soldiers. However, the new Governor denied her request, refusing to give a woman such power in the Assembly. Despite having her request denied, Brent did not give up trying. In the end, she sold some of Lord Baltimore’s ca...
At the turn of the century, many women believed it was about time they were given the rights of men. To start, women protested for the right to vote and caused a movement that would last almost twenty years. This movement became known as the Suffrage Movement and led to the creation of multiple women activists parties and associations. To get their point across they used a range of tactics originating throughout the world, some included peaceful protests to extreme lengths of women tying themselves to the white house fencing. Through these many years these women activists won the right to vote with the 19th amendment.
Today’s society and the society of the early 1900s have completely diverse attitudes and beliefs about women. This ranges from their roles in society to what they’re supposed to do in the household, plus where their place is around men. In today’s society, however, women are allowed to vote, have high-paying jobs, and even own property!
In the past the traditional concepts of what it means to be a woman were taught in the early stages of development. Parents encourage outdated roles in the way little girls are dressed, the toys they play with, and the books that are read to them. As pointed out in "X: A Fabulous Child's Story" by Lois Gould, girls were treated a distinct way. In the late 1800s, women did not play an important role in society at all. Their job was mainly to cook, clean, sew, take care of the children, and keep the house in order. They were treated as a material possession rather than a human being that could think and act for themselves and looked upon as a decorative member of the household. Women were treated just as sex objects , alive just to satisfy a mans needs and desires. They were robbed of their true identity. The male always dominated over the women and it was not viewed as "unfair." The history...