Polictics and Equality: From Abigail Adams to Hilary Rodham Clinton - Coursework Example

History and Political Science   s submitted Polictics and Equality: From Abigail Adams to Hilary Rodham Clinton1. After reviewing the website articles on the suffrage movement, womens liberation, and women in public office, in what ways did the suffrage and womens liberation/feminist movements change the lives of women from 1848 to present day? The suffrage and women’s liberation/feminist movements irrevocably changed the lives of women from 1848 to present day in every field of our endeavor today.

Those brave women left us a heritage of women’s rights that have been achieved against great sacrifices in what we can call a peaceful revolution. The transition of women’s ideals put women in equity with males in the matter of economic, political and social status. Women strived to make a difference and to change the deep seated cultural attitudes that set the discrimination against women that denied them equal opportunities for development of their potentials. In a way, ideals and beliefs were slowly changed, and women aspired to be free to choose their own paths in life.

From domesticity, women now challenge societal problems and political issues and let their cries be heard in media, in rallies and by the government authorities. Women today are no longer submerged in discrimination but are able to play the defense for equal rights.2. How did the early years of feminism in the 1960s and early 1970s provide opportunity for women of today? The feminism in the `1960s and early 1970s laid the groundwork for greater possibilities for education, empowerment, working women, art and feminist theory.

These early years characterized the feminists’ goals to have women freedom, equal opportunity and control over their lives. Feminism inspired women to go to college, and to work professionally and to demand for equality in politics, religion, and in other areas and institutions as a balance of gender issues comes into place. Feminists’ movement influenced the way women talk, think and behave and beliefs that their options should be the same with the men. The women’s movement led to the passage of laws that guarantee equality and the right for reproductive freedom.

(Napikoski, L. n.d.) 3. One of the changes for women has occurred in terms of women who have run for president of the United States, and those who have served, or are serving, as Supreme Court justices. According to Joe Freeman (2007) between 1964 to 2004, there were 224 women who ran for president of the United States in the Democratic primaries and 14 were in the Republican primaries. But before these dates the first woman who ran for US presidency was Victoria C. Woodhull in 1872 under the Equal Rights Party (Kullman, 1997).

The first African-American woman to seek US presidency in 1972 is Shirley Chisholm after serving the US Congress in 1968. She is also the first African-American woman whose name appeared in the ballot as a presidential candidate.(Lowen, Linda, n.d.) In the area of Supreme Court, records of the Library of Congress (n.d.) show the first woman justice was Sandra Day O’Connor, who led a public service life from 1963-88. From 1696-75, she spent five years in the Court and then later as a senator in Arizona; a Maricopa County Superior Court judge (1975-79), and a judge on the Arizona Court of Appeals (1979-81).

In 1993, another woman, Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined the court. In 1972-80 she was the first tenured woman professor at Columbia University Law School, and was appointed to the U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 1980-83. She was known for her accomplishments as pioneering prosecutor for women’s rights. So far, there are only 2 women who have served as Supreme Court Justices during its 200 years of existence (Library of Congress, n.d.) 4. What do these changes indicate about the battles women have fought since the first Womens Rights Convention in 1848?

The changes simply revolutionize women’s attitudes on many things, visions and activities, such that women eventually became culturally powerful, politically motivated and conscious of equal rights. Women found that by being unified by goals they have the strength to move mountains, work their way to legalize their rights, get higher education and take control of their lives. The battles won by the women during the first Women’s Rights Convention in 1848 were not wasted because they won the constitutional right for suffrage for women that remain to be enforced today and will be enjoyed by future generations.

ReferencesFreeman Jo. 2007. The women who ran for President . Joe Freeman.com. Retrieved 15 July 2011 from http://www.jofreeman.com/politics/womprez03.htm#Kullman, Susan. 1997. Legal contender.. Victoria C. Woodhull first woman to run for president. A brief historical sketch. Feminist Geek. Retrieved 15 July 2011 http://feministgeek.com/teaching-learning/woodhull/Lowen, Linda. N.d. 04 May 2011. Shirley Chisholm: First Black Woman to Run For President.About.com. Women’s issues. Retrieved 15 July 2011 from http://womensissues.about.com/od/milestonesadvancements/a/ShirleyChisholm.

htmLibrary of Congress. American Women. Manuscript Division. Women justices, judges and attorneys. Retrieved 15 July 2011 from http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/awmss5/judg_attys.html#topNapikoski, Linda. N.d. Goals of the Feminists Movement. About.com. Women’s History. Retrieved 15 July 2011 from http://womenshistory.about.com/od/feminism/a/feminist_movement_goals_in_the_60s_a nd_70s.htm