The struggle for the women suffrage in the United States of America.
The years before 1920 for the American women were so terrific to an extent that they were denied various priorities. American women were denied so many privileges from even the minor rights that a woman should not be denied. The American women were not allowed to make their own decisions, which entailed from their own homes even to voting. American women were not allowed to have a hand on any property although they might have worked for it. Inheritance of a property to an American woman was not in any minds of a man. It was said that women were to be seen but not to be heard the men were to do the talking and the commanding but the woman was just to listen. This shows how worthless women were among the faces of the men (Buhle 106). Through the essay we are going to find out how the women struggled to their liberty, how the men, churches, newspapers and other foreign countries contributed to their liberty
At all costs, women educational backgrounds were very different from those that men enjoyed. The woman was accustomed to courses that she was to do in homes such as cleaning and nannies. Men who enjoyed courses like joining the army, becoming doctors amongst other good courses. Throughout that period, America was not a place to be for the women they did not like there stay (Mead 144). The American women tried to fight their suffrage through amendment of the women movement groups that united the women and helped them fight for their own rights. Some of the men also helped the women fight for their rights for they knew that women were calm, slow to making decisions but also they would give another person a chance in their thoughts (Lusted 116). These was the opposite to the men for they were not patient but were rough, made first decisions that were not wiser and also most men were so egocentric that they never give hearing to a neighbors problem.
American women pushed until they were allowed to take part in the war. The American women participate in the war though they did not fight but they took part in several ways. Through their participation, they got enlightened and chose to fight for their own rights. The women formed so many movements that helped them fight against their suffrage these movements included National Women Suffrage Union that was formed by Antony and Stanton. Another movement group formed by Lucy Stone known as American Women Suffrage Association fought for the rights of the women. These groups fought for the American women rights to be changed from the ancient duties of the woman and their hindrances to be reviewed and changed where necessary. These groups then later joined in 1890 to form one group by the name National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA) (Dudden 142).
After the war, the American women were congratulated in taking part in the war alongside the men, the president promised to help them fight against the women suffrage. The same year it was passed that voting will not be done from the aspect of a person’s gender. The women allowed to vote before 1920 were the widowed, the unmarried just because they had a hand in their own properties. The others were not allowed to vote because the man was the one entitled for everything in the homes so the woman who had no property were never permitted to vote (Buhle 115). Women such as Mary Church Terrell fought for the rest women as a whole to get rid of the injustices they were going through. The African Americans also contributed fully in the fighting for the equality of the women and men. The African Americans had their other minor reasons to fight for such as fighting against racism among others. Some of the African American’s who contributed were Lugenia Burns Hope, Booker T Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois amongst other various people. They fought for equality through different parties such as the NIAGARA movement, NACW only but a few among the other movement groups (Van 111).
Madame C. J. walker was also another African American woman who also fought for the women rights. She fought for the women by developing a company that was selling some hair products; through these, she got lots of money even more than the white men did. Madame’s business made profits and through these, she employed so many workers and helped them place some food on their tables. This made the women get independent even without the men; to some women it was a revelation, which made the men less vital. The American women got the courage to perform some tasks on their own. What will then prevent the women from voting after gaining the guts to stand on their own? Really, Madame C.J Walker helped the American women (Lusted 128).
The churches had different impacts on the normal woman and this is seen on various opinions given by some American women. The church also helped fight against the woman suffrage by giving some women platforms from where they aired their grievances. A woman by the name Perkins says that a church may have been a hindrance to the woman at the early times. At the time they were fighting against the woman suffrage the church was the one that gave her a platform to air her grievances. At the early times, the church was seen to be a place for men from the priesthood to other activities in the church (Dudden 131). Women did not participate in any church activities but only had to give the year to listen.
The suffragists had the church and the bible on their sides saying that God said that a man and woman are equal from the biblical point of view. The churches also supported these through preaching using the same bible and because they believed in the same God that the suffragist worshipped. The anti- suffragists were against it saying that the woman was substandard to the man even from the early ages in the bible. They go on and say that no woman had a say in politics (Mead 114). The anti-suffragists goes on and say that the woman is imperfect as compared to the man in terms of the strength might and intelligence. The anti suffragists say that a woman does not have the energy for self-defense and the minds like those of men.
Newspapers played a major role in the fight against the woman suffrages; they helped unite the woman in different states in America by giving the same information across the country. Although the newspapers were not so common among the people at that time but with the help of some of the journalists who were also fighting for the women’s rights tried so much as they could make the news get to the people. The journalists included William Monroe Trotter, James Weldon Johnson and Ida b. wells. The newspapers used included Chicago Defender, Amsterdam News, Pirtsburg Courier and the Black Press. Newspapers used to give out the time and the venue the meetings were to take place (Buhle 154).
The newspapers became widely read and other articles such as the journals played the same role with that of the newspaper. For instance, the woman’s journal played a very big role in the formation of the of the National American Woman Suffrage Association that came about after the unity of the early women movements the NWSA and the AWSA. Afterwards there was Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote an article called the Woman’s Bible but this led to her step down as the NAWSA president just because the entire group considered her to be drastic.
The suffrages in other countries such as Britain, Mexico and Argentina among many other countries also had same grievances with the American suffrages. The other suffrages in the other countries helped each other by joining hands and having conferences often. These conferences helped them to exchange ideas, motivate each other, and help pass the information across various countries, which helped fasten the process of getting their own privileges. Foreign countries gave motivation and hope to others after they are granted their privileges the other country gets motivated and keeps up the pressure so that they are also granted. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott participated in the World Anti Slavery Conference which took place in 1840 in London (Lusted 152). These helped the women activists meet with other women counterparts who were present at the conference and thus they exchanged the ideas.
The visit did not stop at that, the British women Emmeline, Christabel and Sylvia Pankhurst the women suffrages activists in England. They came severally to visit the other suffrages in the United States of America. The suffrages in the different countries had similar problems such that they were all fighting against the woman suffrages and the problems were only gender based (Van 162). This was the hardest of the challenges because the women alone could not fight against the men. Women had to pull some of the men on their side that was so difficult for the men were more than the women were. The men had their own believes which was hard for the women to change. The men believed that there was no way a man was equal to woman in whichever the case it may be.
Money was another predicament the women had, since the American women were not allowed to work, inherit or have a hand on her husband’s property. Then a woman had no source of any income thus difficult to take part in a movement that only comprised of women. The women had a difficult time to steer their movement ahead with no cash. Some of the women such as Madame C.J. Walker who were rich helped the group financially among other women such as Elizabeth Standon. Money was needed in every transaction in that they required money for travelling to the meetings, the women also needed the money to pay for services such as newspaper, journal printing (Buhle 123).
Some of the women activists got killed or jailed for taking part in the women demonstrations. After such acts, it became difficult to convince other women to take part in the movement that also became a major dispute among the woman. The women did not get support from the people who were in politics such as the president, the prime minster. This was difficult for the American women to get their views to the parliament. The women in different ways struggled until their information got to the people and then got to be allowed to vote in 1920. The women through there activists, demonstrations got the information to the parliament which was later amended in 1920 the women were allowed to vote (Dudden 171).
Works cited
Buhle, Mari J. The Concise History of Woman Suffrage: Selections from History of Woman Suffrage by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Matilda Joslyn Gage. Urbana, Ill: University of Illinois Press, 2005. Print.
Dudden, Faye E. Fighting Chance: The Struggle Over Woman Suffrage and Black Suffrage in Reconstruction America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. Internet resource.
Lusted, Marcia A. The Fight for Women’s Suffrage. Edina, Minn: ABDO Pub, 2012. Internet resource.
Mead, Rebecca J. How the Vote Was Won: Woman Suffrage in the Western United States, 1868-1914. New York: New York University Press, 2006. Print.
Van, Meter L. A. Women Win the Vote: The Hard-Fought Battle for Women’s Suffrage. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, 2009. Print.
