“We ask justice, we ask equality, we ask that all the civil and political rights that belong to citizens of the United States, be guaranteed to us and our daughters forever.”
-Susan B. Anthony
The following paper analyzes Women’s Suffrage Movement and its impact on the Women’s Rights Movement before 1920. The Women’s Suffrage Movement is also known as women’s suffrage, it was an endeavor to attain the women’s right to cast a vote. Moreover, the women’s suffrage also elaborated the significance of women’s right for a run of office and was an integral part of the women’s rights movement. Evidently, throughout the nineteenth-century women from different countries, specifically from the United States and Britain, developed organizations to create their path for suffrage. Consequently, it was the year 1988, when the first-ever organization of women’s rights established internationally; the organization was called the International Council of Women (ICW). (Cooney, 2005)
To comprehend the impact of Women’s Suffrage Movement, on the Women’s Rights Movement; it is imperative to have an insight of women’s suffrage first. Women’s suffrage was conducted through all over the United States, and other countries to gain the legal right for women to vote. This movement took place after the struggles of several decades; initially, the endeavors were started on a local basis and eventually, the scope raised and became national, in the year 1920. Chronically, it is stated that the subject movement picked up strength throughout the 1840s and in the year1848 it emerged from a wider and more substantial movement that is known as women’s rights movement. (Eisenberg, 1998) In this perspective, the Seneca Falls Convention considered being important as it approved a resolution to support the women’s suffrage. However, some of the convention’s organizers presented their opposite views, yet the resolution passed on the favor of women. According to most of the people at that time, the perception of suffrage was based on the extremity and impractical, nevertheless, regardless of immense opposition; the women’s suffrage emerged as an imperative and sensitive issue of the activities of movement in 1850.
It was the year 1869 when Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony and Lucy Stone organized their organizations that were believed to be the first national suffrage organizations and were competing for each other. (Stanton, 1881) However, because both organizations featured same vision and objectives, therefore, they merged into one entity, that is known as National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). NAWSA established in 1890 and Anthony became its leading person. (Barry, 2000) When it comes to the significance of Women’s suffrage, throughout the women’s rights movement prior to 1920, no one can deny the value of suffrage demand. As the matter of fact suffrage movement manifests itself from the wider and more substantial movement of women’s right. Therefore, women’s suffrage is believed to be a supportive chunk of the overall big picture.
In that era, women were facing different issues altogether and for this reason, writers’ block of feminists played a prominent role to deliver and highlight the severity of different factors. Take the instance of “A vindication of the rights of women” (Mary Wollstonecraft, written in 1792), and Sarah Grimke’s “The equality of the sexes and the condition of women” that published in 1838. Moreover, “women in nineteenth-century” was also published in 1845 that was penned by Margret Fuller. The underlying purpose of all writers and activists was to attain legal rights for women and to deal with the societal sexism. In this regard, they have to tackle several obstacles, and therefore the women’s suffrage developed an important outcome through managing the voting issues of women, powerfully. The subject struggle eradicated notable barriers from the path of the overall movement of women’s rights. One of the hurdles was substantial antagonism that held back women to involve in public affairs, and the perception was severe because many of reform activists were unable to digest the idea. However, with forced implications in 1839; women acknowledged as American Antislavery Society’s members. Nonetheless, the organization divided into two fragments by the time of the next convention, in which women were allocated to different communities.
Women’s rights movement was fighting for a broad range of rights for women, meanwhile, the focus of the suffrage movement was solely on the women’s right of voting. The struggle from which suffrage went through, smoothed the path for overall women’s rights movement. Suffrage was a more complicated field of effort as laws regarding marriages also affected the freedom of women to vote and conducting other legal contracts. At that time, marriages bonded females from certain independent activities that build barriers for the suffrage campaign. According to the law practices at that time, a female’s legal existence merged with her husband during the marriage and they became one legal person in the view and treatment under the American law. The issue of restricted rights restrained women from several states to approve contracts, by signing them legally that in turn elevated the difficulties for women to organize halls for conventions, and to develop and disseminate printed materials. Such things were required for the rapid dispersion of the underlying message of the suffrage movement, but impeded due to unfair legal implications. Nevertheless, gradually different states overcome the restrictions through marriage, and many rich and influential men supported the movement against married women’s property laws. Such wealthy men did not want their daughters to encounter miserable situations after marriage and therefore stood against such vague statute. (Rosenberg, 1982)
It is evident that before the commencement of Women’s suffrage movement females were observed as some inferior creatures, and had a low status among societal characters. However, the suffrage movement emerged from a greater campaign of the women’s rights movement, and supported its core essence and facilitated to attain its fundamental essence. The suffrage boosted the woman’s presence in social, economic and political areas. Tragically, women in that era were treated badly, and white males were superior to all women in all perspectives. Cooking, cleaning, and nurturing the family was the sole purposes of a woman’s life. Further, women encountered lowest possible opportunities to get an education and adequate jobs. If by any chance they got some jobs; their salaries were considerably lower than men. Similarly, women were deprived of political issues, and society and law denied several of their rights; the voting right was top of the list.
But, as the time passed women comprehended their true value, and under the supervision of different feminist and activist, they fight for their basic rights through several reforming movements. Through movements like Rights Movement and Suffrage Movements, they realized that it is worthy to fight for rights and independence. Therefore, they further evoked to snatch their equality and disparity among all Americans. Such movements eradicated unequal practices that were part of the society either on the basis of color, race or gender. And by analyzing the above-provided content it becomes definite that before Suffrage and Women’s right Movements women were compelled to live an inferior life, but the dawn of movements brought a new sunshine to their lives.
Work Cited
Barry, Kathleen. Susan B. Anthony: a Biography of a Singular Feminist. 1st Books Library,
2000.
Stanton, Elizabeth Cady, et al. History of Woman Suffrage. Fowler & Wells, 1881.
Eisenberg, Bonnie. “History of the Women’s Rights Movement.” National Women’s History
Project,www.nwhp.org/resources/womens-rights-movement/history-of-the-womens-
rights-movement/.
Cooney, Robert. Winning the Vote: the Triumph of the American Woman Suffrage Movement.
Published and Distributed by American Graphic Press, 2005.
Rosenberg, Rosalind. Beyond Separate Spheres: Intellectual Roots of Modern Feminism. Yale
Univ. Press, 1993.
