Women's Suffrage Dbq

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The subject of women’s suffrage was a highly debated, and highly controversial topic, with various groups of men and women on both sides of the argument. After a long battle, women in the United States eventually won the right to vote with the passage of the 19th Amendment in June 1919. The 19th Amendment was only able to be passed through endless years of convincing the men in power that women deserved to have political rights, as they were full citizens of the United States. Persuading men that women needed political rights was a struggle in itself, and many key advocates for women’s suffrage spent their whole lives trying to coax people to support their movement. Mr. B, the focal point of this essay, is one such person who had to be convinced …show more content…

B had worked in a factory, producing textiles, so he would have experienced truly horrible conditions just like all the other women who were working at his garment factory. Having been in the shoes of the women would make Mr. B more sympathetic, and supportive of the women working to get the conditions changed. The first step to improving the labor conditions in factories would be women getting the right to vote because that is a prevalent issue for them, and they would want it on the ballot. As Florence Kelley elegantly put it, “No one needs all the powers of the fullest citizenship more urgently than the wage-earning woman.” Women from all walks of life had to work to support their families, and working in dangerous conditions meant the women were not as productive as they could have been because injuries were common, and the factories they were working in did not promote extreme work ethics, as they were dirty, dark, and extremely hot. Having dark and unsafe conditions led to fewer clothes being produced, which was exactly the opposite of what businessmen wanted. According to Florence Kelley, anyone who was disenfranchised in the garment industry made it weaker and contributed to the businesses not flourishing as much as they could

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